PLOUGHSHARE is a black/death metal band from Australia that hit the scene in 2017 with their debut EP “Literature of Piss.” Since then they have released another EP and are now dropping their third full-length album “Second Wound.” This is my first experience with the band but I’m impressed with the way they handle extreme metal. It’s definitely a sound all their own–they walk their own path and do a great job in doing so. As it weaves in and out of blackened death, the many layers of their music reveal themselves. Sometimes the band is vicious as a rabid dog. Other times they take a page from ULCERATE’s book and play heavy music without it being heavy in the conventional sense. Many of the passages evoke a classic sense of underground urgency while others lean into atmospheric meanderings.

Regardless of where the songs are at any given moment, it’s all always convincing and makes sense within the parameters of the structure. The songs are on the longer side of the fence with two of them being over the 11 minute mark. The lengths are fine with me because it allows the band plenty of time and breathing room to grow and nurture their dark path. Since it’s just five songs, I will say a little about each. The album begins with “The Fall of All Creatures,” and it’s a good indication as to the direction of this album. It’s unhinged and peppered with dissonance throughout, bolstered by intense drumming that pushes the atmosphere to a hellish mixture. As the tempo weaves from fast to slow and back around again, the song is a roller coaster of urgency and dismal tunnels of unlight. Around the 7:31 mark, the atmosphere grows cold and alien, ending the song on a disturbing finality.

“Desired Second Wound,” has its burgeoning moments gripped by icy bass and ambient sounds. It’s a little psychotic and creepy as the buildup steadily rises to a boil, which simmers overboard after the two minute mark. It maintains its tight grip on the unraveling of reality even as it pushes towards new sonic frontiers. As the hallmark approach, the band ramps up the speed, which eventually mixes into their twilight zone style of black metal for an extra helping of “fucked up extreme metal” with a side of “you’re going insane but you like it.” “Thorns Pressed Into His Head,” is much more straightforward than the previous two songs, at least in some ways. The vocals are crazy—wild and extreme. The guitars are much more searing and rumble with a special ferocity. The bass at the halfway point changes the very feel of the song, a welcomed twist in this evil myth.

“The Mockery of the Demons,” continues the album’s often used (and welcomed) approach of putting the bass front and center. This is a long, layered song that offers many rewards to be reaped though multiple listens. It’s off putting in a cerebral way but that’s how I like it. At other times, it’s embracing old school black metal with full speeds of sinful gallops. The band leans heavily on atmospheric layers beginning at the halfway point but it only adds to the songs extremity and distrubing tone. The final song, “So Reverend and Dreadful,” feels like it could collapse at any minute with it’s winding music that snakes through like a predator running down its prey. The slower tempo in the song’s mid section is gripping and bleak, complimenting the passages that come before and after it.

All in all, PLOUGHSHARE’s “Second Wound,” is a fantastic journey of weird worlds and a strong late year surprise for metal.