I was going to kick off the next series of reviews with some of my favorite non-metal albums of 2024, but the other day I got a big box of new vinyl from a label I love (and love to gently chide): 20 Buck Spin. They are deservedly one of the darlings of the independent metal scene, and consistently have some of the best death metal (and now black metal with the latest from Hulder) released in any given year. But man do they have a type when it comes to their death metal, and over time I’ve suffered more than a little fatigue from the similarities both in sound and visual presentation. Despite that, I’ve heard a lot of great things from their recent releases which were all covered over at Nine Circles¹, so I broke down and picked up their latest three big 2024 releases. We’re starting with the one I’m least familiar with: Los Angeles’s Civerous and their rotted sophomore record, and debut for 20 Buck Spin, Maze Envy.

Where do you begin? Well, let’s begin with that artwork: unreadable logo aside, it’s just another reason why I’ll proclaim until the day I die that metal has the best album art, and take it more seriously than anyone else in the industry. There was a big blue push in the art department last year, so I’m happy to see it nowhere in evidence here.

“The Azure Eye” is approximately two minutes of anxiety wrapped in bowed and chopped strings, and is a fitting opener to Maze Envy. This is an album whose purpose is to induce unease. And unease is there in spades with the first full song, “Shrouded in Crystals”. The opening feels almost like a dirge, the guitars slopping on deck like a listing boat before opening into what I can only call the Standard 20 Buck Spin Attack², or S20BSA for short (let’s make it a thing!). Vocals are so buried in the suffocating mix that even looking at the lyrics sheet I get a little lost. Thankfully the music, though similar to a lot of what the label puts out is plenty solid, with a sickening bass tone and drums that sit high in the mix, keeping everything locked in plenty tight. There’s a break where drummer Aiden Neuner gets almost jazzy, and it’s a key moment that tells me I’m probably going to like the rest of the album, provided there are more little surprises like that.

“Endless Symmetry” starts innocently, clean guitars chiming far left and right in the soundstage while synths pad out the space for ambiance. At two and half minutes, it’s an interesting choice to place another instrumental right after the first proper song, essentially sandwiching it with the brief intro. But it does act as a sweet segue into “Labyrinth Charm” which features Derek Rydquist of The Faceless and The Zenith Passage on vocals, and with the guitar break and ripping solo right up front it’s a refreshing left turn from the more murky opening track. I’ll be damned if I can make out the vocals, but I do note in the lyrics a reference to crystal envy.

No maze envy yet, though.

In all seriousness this is a monster track, full of different riff ideas executed flawlessly, wicked pinch harmonics and a chugging attack that blends into a psychedelic swirl of crunchy guitars, sweet drums fills, and an almost blackgaze solo. It’s a real unique spin on the death metal formula. The side closes out with “Levitation Tomb” and if there’s a common thread running through Civerous it’s their ability to open a song in a way that draws you in. The music is again fantastic and surprising: in the midst of furious guitars and double kicks there’s an ominous lead line that elevates the horror of the track. It twists into a new musical idea, an almost staccato march that gradually devolves into a maelstrom of distortion and guttural vocalizations. The only small complaint I have once again is the vocals are just too buried in the mix – I get this is a cornerstone of modern death metal, but in this case I’m really intrigued by the lyrics set forth by vocalist Lord Foul, and I wish they were just a little more upfront and perhaps a slight bit brighter to not get lost in the same frequencies as the rest of the music. Solid track, and a good way to close out the side.

Side B is limited to just two songs, but they’re mammoth, nine-minute epics. It starts with the title track: finally, we get to the actual maze envy! The band’s taste for doom comes through in the beginning moments, and despite the keyboards filling the space there’s enough room left for the vocals to be more pronounced. There’a lurching, almost intentionally de-tuned sound during the next section which ramps up the speed to merciless levels. I wouldn’t exactly categorize Civerous as “progressive” but the way they’re able to mix different ideas and genres and still keep things buried deep in their brand of death metal is really solid. There are multiple breaks where you forget you’re listening to S20BSA (I swear it’ll catch on): one break in particular could be post metal from Pelagic Records. I also love an extreme metal band that’s not afraid to use extended chord voicing, and in between the black metal tremolo picking and subtle string orchestrations are some wonderful thick chords that veer away from simple power chords.

Finally there is “Geryon (The Plummet)” and the funeral doom blends with strings right out My Dying Bride to create a vibe that sets Civerous apart from their peers: in the wallowing tempo there are small flourishes that would be obscene for another band, but kudos to the guys for making it work. I feel like it’s starting to become a cliche with me, but I really dig when bands save their strongest work to close an album. “Geryon” feels grandiose, even in its sprawling madness of guitars (credit to Daniel Salinas and Alonso Santana for making their guitars distinct but still utterly filthy) there are regal notes of tragedy. And then the track really goes for it, and for a moment I’m lost in a beautiful world slowly being lost to time…that is, until those guitars return for more madness.

It’s such a great ending that I immediately want to start Maze Envy over and see what it was about “Shrouded in Crystals” that left me wanting. That’s a good thing, because over the last year or two I’ve felt this uniformity to the output of 20 Buck Spin that gradually left the band bereft of individual identities. Even the artwork started looking the same. That didn’t stop me from naming both Ulthar and Tomb Mold on my best of 2023 list, and I still trust 20 Buck Spin to know their death metal like no one else. It’s a good thing, because I might have overlooked Civerous and the other bands we’ll cover here otherwise.

In the meantime if you’re looking for some bludgeoning death metal with moments that will definitely take you by surprise, you can do a lot worse than check out Maze Envy.

¹ You can read Vince’s review of the album over at Nine Circles here.

² See VoidCeremony, Lunar Chamber, Ascended Dead, Tomb Mold, Vastum, Torture Rack, Ulthar, Dream Unending and Worm,…the list goes on, and that was only last year.