From Brazilian speed metal to Italian doom: This month’s highlights from the underground

There's always far, far too much music coming out every month to adequately shout about. Especially when it comes to the underground. Every month, we endeavour to round-up some of the highlights we've come across from the subterranean world of noise. As winter thaws and March heralds the first shoots of spring, it's time to celebrate with some old-school death, some doom, a returning sludge legend, and some nervy, hangovery oddness…

First up, beloved Brazilian speed metal maniacs Whipstriker are finally back with their long-awaited fifth album, Cry Of Extinction. In equally good news, titular mainman Whipstriker’s influences still haven’t left the 1980s, and throughout this brilliantly wild-eyed attack he bathes deeply in the sounds of Sodom, Motörhead, Venom and Exciter, with a passion that only comes from those truly dyed-in-the-wool devotees of this kind of stuff. He knows how to mix the aggression with writing absolute bangers as well, turning Six-Eyes Crow Division, Heartrippers and the title-track into immense celebrations of simply loving this stuff. Superb, as ever.

London-based crypt lurkers Necromaniac live up to their name on their brilliantly-titled Sciomancy, Malediction & Rites Abominable debut, a slab of old-school death metal evil, wrapped in the diabolic atmosphere of early Slayer and Possessed. When they go full-pelt, as on Daemonomantia and Teraphim (Skull Sorcery), featuring a riff brilliantly close to Slayer’s Black Magic, they’re a whirlwind of metal power. Meanwhile, on Calling Forth The Shade, with its tortured screams and haunting bass riff, they demonstrate how ably they could soundtrack a ritual sacrifice.

Heading to America’s Pacific Northwest, Grave Infestation’s second album, Carnage Gathers, takes a similarly morbid angle. Satisfyingly, among the expertly-executed thrash-out, they also do a good line in guitar harmonies that sound like an exhumed Iron Maiden, and slower double-bass-drum chug, both of which amply demonstrated during the excellent Black Widow.

And if it’s more death madness you’re after, the cunningly-named Demo, uh, demo from Sweden’s Death Pulsation will hit the spot. Featuring members The Throat Of Open Graves on vocals and guitarist Cracked Skull Revelation, you know you’re in for a good time, and so it proves across these three excellent tracks of jagged, death that sit somewhere between Death and Incantation. Keep an eye out on this lot.

On the meaning of their new album Tavastland, Finnish metal crew Havukruunu explain: “Tavastland tells how in 1237 the Tavastians rose in a rebellion against the church of Christ and drove the popes naked into the frost to die.” Righty-ho. The music within is just what you might expect, a very Finnish stripe of black metal – epic, melodic, occasionally chuggingly heavy, sometimes with a haunting choir, and slightly dusted with a dark sense of foreboding.

For those after something slower, here’s the return of Arkansas sludge monsters Rwake, 13 years since they last released an album. The Return Of Magik sees a much more expanded version of the quintet’s sinister blueprint. The heaviness is present and correct, of course, but it frequently pitches and yaws between double-barrelled sludge-outs and more proggy riffs, or more involved composition. For those who thought the band were done, it’s a welcome comeback that takes multiple listens to properly spot all the various moving parts. If you don’t know them yet, it’s a curiously great place to start.

At the more traditional end of what doom has to offer, Italian sect Midryasi’s Kult have just released their excellent Mountain Devil debut EP. Featuring members of Italian legends Doomsword, it’s no surprise that they deal in doom metal with particular emphasis on the second word there, and the three tracks here are definitely worth the time of fans of Witchfinder General, The Lamp Of Thoth and Friends Of Hell.

And finally for something on the odderside: Noisepicker. Led by Brit underground legend Harry Armstrong (Hangnail, Orange Goblin, End Of Level Boss), their new The Earth Will Swallow The Sun album is, as expected, a brilliant slice of dark eccentricity. Recalling in equal measure the more warped moments of Irish noiseniks Therapy?, Nick Cave and, at times, something of the claustrophobic magic of Chelsea Wolfe, it’s a jagged listen, a journey through life’s dark side via the medium of satisfyingly off-kilter riffs.

Read this next:

• The 15 greatest death metal albums of the ’90s
• The story of doom metal in 29 songs
• NECKBREAKKER: “We wanted to make an old-school death metal album that hits in the same way as a modern hardcore record”