Certainly, The Great Heathen Army felt less like a genuine effort to write a complete album, and more an exercise in writing big arena-rockers for fans to pretend to row along with, while holding imaginary drinking horns aloft.

In other words, Amon Amarth got a little… hokey.

Listen, I’m all for having a good time, even more so for not taking oneself too seriously – and sure, you can argue that the whole Viking thing has always been a little bit on the side of cheesy, I guess. But what Amon Amarth has always excelled at (particularly since their breakthrough With Oden On Our Side), is finding that real sweet spot between genuinely great songwriting and album-building, and leaning in just enough to the Viking aura to make the whole thing all the more engaging and fun (particularly in a live setting).

Alas, recent efforts like The Great Heathen Army and Berserker (and many would argue Jomsviking – I personally disagree), though boasting a few bangers on each respectively, overall felt like a band going for style over substance.

Which is why it brings me IMMENSE joy to tell you, Amon Amarth has rediscovered that critical balance. I think The Allfather Awakens is the best Amon Amarth has sounded in a LONG time. I’m talking, like, 15 years here, when they dropped my personal-favorite AA album, Surtur Rising (I realize this in and of itself might be a controversial opinion, but that album fucking rips and you can’t convince me otherwise).

Now look, I’m not saying this is a complete return to With Oden On Our Side or Twilight of the Thunder God era AA. The band that has slowly but surely embraced more melodic, anthem-heavy elements of the last few releases – that’s just part of the reality of who this band is in 2026. And that’s great! Who doesn’t love a great friggin’ anthem?! And we sure as hell get a couple here – particularly the immensely catchy and bouncy “We Rule the Waves” with its sing-along chorus and simple, super-effective riffing. But it also carries a bit of a sense of self-assuredness that was lacking in recent efforts.

Ditto for the titular “The Allfather Awakens”, which, sure, the riffs are certainly lifted and slightly rearranged from past AA work, but god damn if they don’t sound tight as hell with drummer Jocke Wallgren, who, to these ears, sounds the most in sync with the band as he ever has. And hell yeah, we get a banger of a drinking track with “Kvasir’s Blood,” a nice and heavy down-tuned headbanger featuring some of Johan’s lowest, most menacing vocals to date (more on this shortly) and a rollicking chorus about drinking mead made from the blood of the gods which, how is that not going to bring a smile to your face? It’s fun as hell.

But it’s not all just arena-friendly anthems this time around. Album opener “Gjallarhorn” (the best opener the band has had in a minute) strikes a perfect balance – featuring some awesome sing-along “woah”-ing that will sound amazing in a crowd of thousands of metalheads, but also puts some of the band’s signature tremolo-picking riffs on full display with absolute glory. I honestly haven’t felt my blood pump and heart race like this from an AA track in a long time, and it’s a welcome return – and it only continues with the follow-up “Eight Legs of Thunder” coming hot on its tail –  a fitting ode to Odin’s eight-legged horse Sleipnir (not their first, but maybe their best), boasting appropriately galloping riffs, and genuinely one of Olavi Mikkonen’s most epic, inspired solos of his career. It’s such a fun track that, again, sees the band leaning into the Viking fun without crossing over into being too cheesy.

And then there’s the punishing “Die with a War Cry” that may genuinely be one of Amon Amarth‘s heaviest tracks to date (certainly of their modern era) – showcasing more of Johan’s apparent new mastery of deep, growling lows that sound straight out of Helheim itself. Say whatever you will about any of AA‘s more recent work, John Hegg continues to get better and better with every release and deserves his flowers.

I also really like the addition of the band’s first acoustic track in “Upphaf.” It’s a perfectly placed break in the middle of this record that brings an unusual sense of reflection and serenity to the otherwise furious affair. If anything, I see no reason this couldn’t be integrated more into even more traditionally heavy or epic Amon Amarth tracks (not that it needs to be a focal point; it’s just another nice wrinkle). I think it also let the band feel confident on closing out the album on two absolute friggin’ scorchers – first with the blazing “Oden’s Hunt,” which sends the band on a full-throttle attack of tremolo-picking and relentless double-kicked drumming. Again, Johan sounds absolutely monstrous on this track, particularly on the crushing bridge leading up to the final chorus.

Closer “Ascending Like An Eagle” features some riffing that could easily have found its way on some of the band’s earlier albums, before switching into some more modern soaring leads in the chorus, a nice nod to the old while embracing who they are as a band now, and a super strong end to what was such a well-balanced and crafted album.

I can’t tell you how nice it is to be this excited about one of my favorite bands’ new albums, and to see them, this late into their career, settle into a groove they’ve struggled to find, to deliver such an immense album. I want to stress that this album isn’t just good because of how much better it sounds than their recent output (not just from a songwriting perspective, but from a production standpoint, this album just sounds so much more full and robust as well), this album stands tall just fine all on its own. Amon Amarth got serious again without sacrificing the fun that has always made them such a compelling act, and we can all only hope that they can continue to strike this epic balance.

Odin, The Allfather has awoken, and so has Amon Amarth.

Boy, I sure do. My first exposure was 2002’s Fermina, a transitional album that saw the band move away from the melodic death/black metal of their first two efforts (Evanescent, Everfading in 1998, and August Wernicke in 1999) into more progressive, gothic pastures. 

Fermina introduced the world to the clean vocals of Tuomas Tuominen, who up to that point had used some standard rasps and growls, but to this day his svelte tones remain some of the best clean singing in metal I’ve ever heard. However, the band split up in 2007 after Aerolithe. You can still hear Tuominen on his darkwave rock project, Wait, Stone & Sure (which also features Hänninen).

But around 2019-2021, Fall of the Leafe guitarist Jussi Hänninen formed two new projects: the death/doom band The Bleak Picture, with vocalist Tero Ruohonen, and Autumfall, also with Ruohonen and drummer Olli Pirkkanen. Hänninen has released three self released  albums under the Autumnfall name, but until now I was completely unaware of the project’s existence. That has been rectified immediately, as all of Autumnfall‘s albums are now in my possession.

Astute readers and Fall of the Leafe fans will recognize Autumnfall from the name of the first Fall of the Leafe demo, and while unfortunately Tuominen is not here, Hänninen and his immediately recognizable dancing, shimmering layered riffs are back, as Autumnfall returns to the early, more raw days of Fall of the Leafe, (most of these songs were written in 1998-2001) and adds more polished and elegant melodic and symphonic black metal.

Phew, sorry for that long-winded intro, but Christ, this brings back memories. While in The Bleak Picture the sound is more traditional Rapture-ish Finnish death/doom, here, Hänninen’s sumptuous, unique riffs instantly bring you back to the band’s early Evanescent… and August Wernicke days, and even Fermina. Just with black and death metal vocals from Ruohonen.

Listen, every note here is just exquisite, and no one creates and plays riffs quite like Hänninen (early Dark Tranquility’s Skydancer, and Of Chaos and Eternal Night are the nearest comparisons), even when delivered in a slightly more aggressive style.

From the opening piano tinkling of “The Halo in Utopia”, with its uniquely Hänninen-styled flourishes, the haughty layers and leads of “Lightless Depths”, the elegant blast beats of “Dark Goddess”, the death/doom stomp of “Mists of Eternity”, and shimmering “Crystal Skies” to the surprisingly fierce “Pulse”,  and gorgeous closer ‘The Timeless Kin”, the whole album could be August Wernicke meets Fermina, just sped up, more keyboards and with harsh vocals instead of clean singing (I mean listen to “The Blind Brother”).

How I never came across this project until their third album is staggering, but I’m glad I did and will definitely keep tabs on this band as well as The Bleak Picture.

The trio, comprised of Vollicide, Logan Mayhem, and Nemesis, don’t have much information out there about their background (except bassist /vocalist Vollicide, who has  The Design Abstract, Ut Interficias Inanis, and Violent Goat Rot under his credits), but deliver a very impressive style of chunky and technical death metal.

The focus is definitely on the ‘chunky’ aspect, as the production and the songwriting lend themselves to a very nice, hefty, stammering presence, bolstered by some solid, head-bopping songwriting and an authoritative bellow.

The promotional email references ‘groove metal’ and the likes of Gojira, Septicflesh, and Meshuggah, and that’s not a stretch; I’d throw in Decapitated’s more modern, chunkier moments (the main riff and guitar tone in “Primitive Voices I” gave me “Day 69” vibes), and maybe the Danish scene like Illdisposed and Dawn of Demise.

There’s also a tribal, sometimes industrial pulse and throb aspect to some of the material that adds just a little something I can’t quite put my finger on (i.e.,  “Atavistic Anarchy”, the intro/ interludes “Incipient Aeternam”, “Paleopraxia”).

The trio breaks out a blast beat or faster moment here and there, like the still-beefy “Primitive Voices I and II” and “Sequential Lifeblood” and even a little atmosphere to start and end “Primitive Voices III”. But it’s tracks like “Moulded By Emptiness”, the trundling “The Lifeless Black”, and “Sequential Lifeblood”, “Chaos Transcendent” and closer “Writhe” that will have you failing the ‘don’t head bang’ challenge pretty quickly.

Ethereal Void and Primordial Dissonance aren’t doing anything particularly new or exciting, but there is something here that keeps bringing me back to it.

Then I thought that was doing a disservice to France’s Hrothgar, and also that if a reader has clicked on this link, they already know who the band is.

So, I’ll get right to it and tell you about Hrothgar’s second album, Tales of Valhöll.

It’s like Amon Amarth shadow dropped a new album.

Fuck.

So there are plenty of unashamed, spot-on homages, odes and borderline rip-offs littered all over the place in metal; Wizardthrone (Bal Sagoth), Forlorn Citadel and Urdôl Ur (Summoning), the countless Dismember clones, and of late, the Lorna Shore wanna bes. And the line between homage and rip-off is very thin. And it’s a line Hrothgar often comes close to, and blasts right over.

Along with the bands I mentioned above, Hrothgar is easily one of the more…… mimicking? Seriously, if one of these songs came on, and you were not paying attention, you could easily just assume it’s a song from any Amon Amarth album, old or new. Quentin Peyrouse is a dead ringer for Johan Hegg, and I mean a dead fucking ringer. The riffs are that rousing, chunky but melodic, Viking-tinged style, and the production is beefy but clear. Hell, even the album cover art.

The thing is…. I dig it. It’s as good as, if not better than, some of Amon Amarth‘s more recent efforts over the years, and certainly better than Amon Amarth‘s lazier efforts.  The riffs are absolutely on point in capturing that epic, rousing, beer hall or ‘Viking long ship ploughing through the waves’ mood. I mean, just listen to opener “Jörmungandr”, “Face to Face”, “Fight You Like a Beast”, “Ulfhednar”, and that’s just in the album’s first half…The second half has the likes of “Fenrir’s Tale”, but the overtly idolizing formula is the same. But also still enjoyable.

The album’s back end has more of that beefy melancholy similar to “As Loke Falls” or “Cry of the Black Birds” on songs like “Hræsvelgr”, “Giant”, “Blazing Shores”, “The Voyager”, and closer “The Kraken”, which actually kinda kills. Amon Amarth might wish they could have penned some of these riffs, as they are more entertainingly Amon Amarth than Amon Amarth can be at times.

They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, well if that’s the case, Amon Amarth should be flattered into fucking oblivion by what Hrothgar has kicked out on Tales of Valhöll.

But occasionally I’ll throw on Liquid Metal just to see what’s going on, or listen to Ian Christie’s ‘Roots’ show, and I have, every so often, I have heard a new band or song I have dug, which has led to checking the band out further. One such example is Arizona’s  Wyrmhaven. I thought the name was cool, and the song was “Unrelenting Storms”. I found the song on Spotify, added it to my liked songs playlist on Spotify, and followed the band on social media.

Lo and behold, a few weeks later, the full album shows up in my mailbox, so I had to check it out. And what we have here in this confident, solid debut is a modern metal mix that does a little 00s metalcore, a little melodic death metal, a little black metal, a little death metal, a solid production and master ( from Zach Ohren), and some decent songwriting that ties it all together.

When listening to the album’s brisk 35 minutes, with all those elements, I get hints of The Black Dahlia Murder, Revocation, Darkest Hour, All Shall Perish, Uphill Battle, early Poison The Well, and other 00s metalcore pioneers. It’s not quite the pure homage as say, Victim of Fire from last year, as it’s cleaner and more solo-filled.  And while they do all of those genres quite well, it’s a ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’ sort of situation.

Vocalist Steve Naemark has a higher register rasp, with the occasional bellow, and the two guitarists, Travis Skye and Nick Cown (Gravecarver), have listened to plenty of the above genres, and the songs are rife with solos, and as I mentioned above, Zach Ohren’s mastering sounds crisp and sharp, as all his 00s and 10s albums were.

The lead single “Unrelenting Storms” and “Beneath the Pale”  succinctly sum up the band’s many influences, while other songs like “Violent Afterglow” and the more balladic closing duo of “Lifeless Oceans” and “Obsidian Gold” lean a little more blatantly into the 00s metalcore sound, or the more technical, melodic death sounding “Nightshade’s Embrace” stomping “Morning Star”, and burly, dommier “Pendulum faces”.

A solid debut, and I look for marked improvement on album number 2 should they stick together and keep making music.

Typically, my first experience with an album is the “morning test.” I get up to work out in the morning, and while I am preparing to do that, I turn on some music. This is also a kind of background test. I must admit nothing stood out to me upon the first morning test, as the production doesn’t have much heft. I do want to point out that’s not uncommon when I first listen to an album, so that’s no slight or snub.

Next, we have the headphones/workout test. This is likely self-explanatory, but I only wear headphones when I work out, so they go together like peanut butter and ladies. This is where the album starts to gel with me, and if it doesn’t after a few listens, it’s probably not going to resonate. However, Sons of the Abandoned did. Take for instance, the third track, which stopped me in my tracks due to the brief vocals/voiceover of Moonspell’s resident vampire, Fernando Ribeiro. I must admit my embarrassment at first because I thought it was Nergal of Behemoth. Otherwise, it’s an Arch Enemy-flavored melodic death metal banger with a galloping riff, sort of standard affair, until the quieter part with Fernando, which leads into a blazing fretboard guitar solo.

After that is the car test. I drive a convertible, so I enjoy having the top down and blasting some heavy metal. Does that make me an asshole? I’m confident I am with or without the convertible. “The Path That Never Ends” stood out during this test because of the driving main riff and Diva Satanica’s cavernous vocals. However, slightly past halfway, Laura Guldemond of Burning Witches appears with clean vocals and growls behind them. Of note are the cymbal crashes through those sections, making for another excellent change of pace.

The smell test: That doesn’t apply here, and I’m not even sure why anyone would ask.
Much earlier on the album, if you’re looking to stomp someone into the dirt, and I know you are, the title track “Sons of the Abandoned” will do the trick. The weeping lead during the chorus almost serves as an emotional reprieve, then it goes immediately back into the main ditch-digging riff. The smooth solos and leads throughout deserve a mention because of their consistent excellence as well.

Is Sons of the Abandoned a world beater or album of the year contender? No, but it scratches that melodic death metal itch I think most metalheads suffer occasionally. It took me probably far longer than it should to get these words and, therefore, the review out in the world. Rest assured, it’s indeed a banger worthy of your attention.

One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about the band, and while it may seem odd, is the band logo. I find it pretty striking and cool to look at. While some of the band’s albums have been stronger than others, album #7, Heaven Wept, is the best one yet for Inferi. Check out the batshit insane album cover – it’s absolutely nuts, and coincides with the technical shredding, brutality, known as Inferi.

Along with main man Malcolm Pugh and vocalist Stevie Boiser, the band welcomes two new members, making the band ½ new. Spencer Moore on drums (Archspire) and Sanjay Kumar on guitars (Wormhole), complementing Malcolm, are among my favorite shredders. Additionally, if you’re unfamiliar with The Artisan Era label, then if you enjoy bands such as The Black Dahlia Murder, Wormhole, The Faceless, and Decrepit Birth, then you will love Inferi.

“The Rapture of Dead Light” wastes no time with a fancy schmancy intro. Brutality right off the jump. Ruthless. The guitar work, with Sanjay added, is an addition to propel the band even further. Vicious brutality and while there is a bit of Wormhole extra brutality, the Inferi sound remains intact, with respect to the noodling and extreme technical precision. Check out the double bass at the 2.15 mid-paced moment. It will run over you like a hungry, hungry, hippo. Tons of guitar solos and Stevie’s vocals are filthy, gruff and in your face. The extreme technical madness going on, is flawless. One of the best album openers all year folks.

The title track has a phenomenal opening sequence destined to start a monstrous pit in all the galaxies above. Heavy, slammin’ and crushing. This moment is like a tank just getting its treads started. After the groove, drum roll and right into the scorching blast and tempo changes. One minute there’s a blast, few seconds later some galloping, then a slowdown and the orchestral arrangements, from Malcolm, breathe life all over the place. The slow beat down groove erupts and the guitar riffing is most excellent. Harmonies over the rhythm, add even more light to this, then right into a scorching blast with keys abound all over this sucker. In some of the extreme madness, Inferi comes across as Rings of Saturn, especially the soloing at the 3.43 timestamp. Pure madness, christ almighty, technical ferocity!!

“Of Rotted Wombs”, starts excellent and then the blast beat with the harmonies and sheer brutal melodies are face ripping. Start and stop moments and orchestral choral vocal moments as well…this is another scorcher. The album ends with “Godless Sky”. Cutesy piano opening then right into the mid-paced crunching heaviness. Tempo shifts galore, like a charcuterie platter, much to choose from here. The drums at the 1.38 section are tremendous and I am feeling like I am being para diddled to death. Midway through the song, and the isolated riff and growl signifying the Holy Shit part, will rip you in half. Killer groove, then atmospheric melodies and beautiful musical compositions follow.

Heaven Wept is outrageously fun, brutal, melodic, punishing and mesmerizing. The musicianship is tremendous and song structures never get boring. This album is more noodly than previous efforts and is also Inferi at the top of their game. The face ripping brutality and speed makes me do my cardio 10x faster. Winning. The production and mix is loud with everything sounding punch you in your face worthy! In terms of technical precision and brutality Inferi, not only have upped their game, they have released an album tough to beat this year, in their genre of death metal.

If you are familiar with Switzerland’s Stortregn, then you know they started as a melodic black metal band on albums like Emptiness Fill the Void, but transitioned to a more technical death metal sound on later albums like Finitude.

Well, apparently Negro missed the band’s earlier style, as he has gone back to the more melodic black/death metal stylings of early Stortregn with No Plenitude Without Suffering.

He’s helped out by Merlin Bogado (Dyssebeia) on guitars & bass and Nicolas Muller (Akiavel) on drums to bring his vision to life. It’s a fine album of polished melodic black/death metal with a little nod to the likes of Dissection, Naglfar, etc., and of course Stortregn’s early works, but with a super clean, modern delivery.

There are some really good, enjoyable riffs here and there,  such as early highlights like the start of “Testimony of an Obsolescent World” and “Shining Amidst the Lights”, with its light keyboards.  As well as a mid-album acoustic break with ” Smells Like Dead Autumn Fire”.

“Black Flame Reviver” begins the album’s back end with a brief saxophone intro, before another fine riff kicks in, and a nice solo ends the track. And closer “Peregrination Towards Childhood Memories” sounds like a classic, more somber 90s melodeath number you might hear on a Gates of Ishtar album, rounding things out on a solid high note.

It’s very fortunate that At the Gates gives you little time to think before getting into the first track and single, “The Fever Mask.” A galloping melodic death metal riff begins before Tomas’ unmistakable roar. Some on the staff, and I will not provide names, stated it’s “by the numbers.” Does that make it bad, though? No, that’s exactly what I wanted, and if you’re a fan of the band, I don’t see any issue.

A little further into the album, one of the best tracks, with the catchiest hook, of course, is “In Dark Distortion.” In the lyrics, there’s a call back to the first song I mentioned. The drumming of Adrian Erlandsson stands out early behind the slightly dissonant riff. The dissonance is more noticeable in the chorus, but make no mistake, this isn’t anywhere close to a Portal song.

It’s very difficult for me to pick an overall favorite track, but “Ritual of Waste” is also a great one. The poignant drums right on the beat with the riff give it all a sense of urgency. In the chorus, we are treated to some deeper growls by Tomas, and after each chorus, the music is given ample space to breathe, painting an introspective atmosphere amongst the blistering riffs.

On the first listen, I found it quite depressing that there’s an end to the album, almost assuredly marking the finality of At the Gates’ output. It’s another solid melodic death metal riff on an album full of them. With around 2 minutes left, there’s a prolonged instrumental section, proving once again that those gentlemen know how to build atmosphere, juxtaposing it with the poignant riffs, all forming a final decisive, death metal blow.

I won’t even pretend for a moment that reviewing The Ghost of a Future Dead was an easy task. I struggled with it from the first note and wanted to make sure what I say in memoriam to an icon matters. The truth is that many of the songs take similar paths and sound like one another. When listening to the entire album, though, my fears are assuaged. This is what At the Gates was meant to do, and their final (I assume) album reminds everyone in case they had forgotten. I highly enjoy and recommend it. The truth that is shown, countering my earlier statements, is that Tomas’ words and music will live on, so perhaps this god is indeed immortal.

And this is one of those rare promotional emails I get that nails the FFO part; for Fans of Dark Tranquillity, At The Gates, Dimension Zero, In Flames, and duh…. Night In Gales; so it’s well done, high octane shredding Gothenburg styled melodic death metal.

The quick, 5-song affair blazes by with heavy-handed Slaughter of the Soul-like gusto, including Müller’s Tompa-like (RIP) raspy howl, melded with dual In Flames-like harmonies and grooves. It’s very well produced, and the trio has the influence nailed. In fact, I’d put this up there with some of the better At The Gates styled stuff like Light This City, Darkness Everywhere, Nail Within, and of course, with Müller’s presence, Night In Gales.

There are some slower riffs like opener “Circus of Mankind”,  and very Whoracle/Colony-esque “Final Witness”, some faster riffs (“Ashes”, “Sirens and Sinners”), all of it thick with Dahs’ top-notch riffs and plenty of solos. There’s even some very subtle, hard-to-hear female vocals buried in “Sirens and Sinners”, which I’d like to hear a little more of for future releases, to make this just a little more than a pure ATG ode, which is still fine.

Upiór (a Polish word meaning ‘Revenant’) is a newish project formed by Tomasz “Josh” Jaskuła, based out of France, and he has some fairly notable folks helping out, including Ben B on bass from Gorod,  and drummer Kevin Paradis (Construct of Lethe, ex-Aborted, ex-Benighted).

And to no surprise, if you know my tastes, this is highly symphonic/orchestral death/black metal with Jaskuła composing all the orchestration, and it’s top notch. Think more savage melo-death, like Mors Principium Est, mixed with, say, Fleshgod Apocalypse‘s, Xaon‘s, or Brain Blast‘s super-orchestrated sounds.

According to the band’s bio, this sophomore album draws inspiration from Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz’s and his poem ‘Dziady’ as well as from the psychological darkness behind Francisco Goya’s ‘Black’ Paintings. That’s well and good, but it’s the music that really stands out here as a truly epic, bombastic form of melodic death metal that’s about as good as anything in the genre of late.

The 11 tracks contain 4 instrumentals, but the 8 ‘proper’ tracks deliver bombastic, but elegantly fierce music, with oodles of riffs, some expectedly twangy bass lines, and tons of epic moments, all wrapped up in a stellar production.

The whole album is basically one long standout, but certainly, I kept coming back to “The Woman That Weeps”,  “Forefathers’ Eve (Part II)”, and “Spells of Necromancy” as truly exceptional songs that I will enjoy the rest of the year for sure.

Of note, later in the year, the band will be releasing Forefathers’ Eve (Damnation), a different interpretation of the album’s songs with the orchestration removed. It will be interesting to see if it hits me as hard, as even though songwriting is strong regardless of the symphonic elements, orchestration is often my favorite element of these albums.

She should have stayed, though, because this new album scratches a lot of specific itches. No disrespect, but if you were only “whelmed” by TBDM’s Servitude in 2024, this might cause you to sit up straight and listen. The first track I’ll mention, “1912,” is far from worship with its clean vocals to begin and the background symphonics, but once they end, the song truly gets going with the mix of high and low vocal approaches we’ve all come to expect. Those symphonics continue through most of the song, and there’s even a bass drop around the 3:00 mark. A couple of tasty solos later, and we’re moving along.

Carrion Vael continues to employ the symphonics well, which means restraint, such as on “Black Chariot,” the final song. Their usage gives each chorus a grandiloquent feel but certainly doesn’t take away from the bludgeoning. I won’t lie and tell you their approach has a lot of tricks other bands of the same sub-genre don’t also use, but there’s far more confidence and bombast.

Along these same lines is “40 Echoes Upon the Parlor.” It begins with a breakneck-speed main riff, which transitions into grandiose clean vocals in the chorus. These vocals almost veer into what I’ve called “goblin cleans.” You’ll know what I mean immediately. It’s the best hook on the album with the symphonics in the background and double bass accompaniment.

At this point of the review and perhaps impressions from the cover art, you might be asking yourself, “Well, where’s all the barbarian cock, forehead-slapping heaviness?” It’s in “19(fucking)78.” Oh, but there’s singing here as well, with an epic chorus to open the album. There’s even a spoken word section, so we’re still not lacking in variety. This is a mission statement if I’ve ever heard one, with the blazing fast riffs, kicks, and all the other elements creating a synergy that tells you exactly what you’re about to receive for the next 42 minutes.

I have only two complaints, and they are incredibly minor. One has nothing to do with the music. My first is that even within the variety displayed, it’s the same variety in each song. If that isn’t making sense, it means the band has a lot of great tricks, but they use almost all of them in the same way, song-by-song. Once again, however, those tricks are brilliant, so they are minor.

The final complaint is more of an observation. You guys had to get that barbarian cock on the cover, didn’t you? Considering the accompanying weaponry, an intelligent barbarian would do himself well to keep that particular sword in its sheath. Regardless, Slay Utterly is a certified, stamped, sealed, and delivered banger to start 2026, and will be repeated because of it for the rest of the year.

With a lineup that features former and current folks from the likes of Nightrage, Night Crowned, Avsmak, Dark Funeral, and Torchbearer, it’s no surprise that this is high-quality stuff, and these guys can shit this type of music out in their sleep. The nine songs all deliver razor-sharp, tightly wound, fierce, yet melodic black/death metal, featuring some keyboards, gruffer vocals, and a crystal-clear production.

From opener “As Humanity Falls” to closer “Luciferian”, there isn’t a weak song on the album, in particular “Regnum in Tenebris” and “Människan till kol”. And like its predecessor, some female vocals pop up here and there to make tracks like “All Shall Become None” and  “Ascend into Ruin” even better.

A fine follow-up to the debut and a veteran act that should truly take off when they release album number 3.

I picked Havamal with the hope that I would get a Falkenbach type of thing, because Falkenbach has a song called “Hávamál” and boy, I was wrong as hell. It doesn’t matter, Havamal Age of the Gods is still a powerhouse performance, so even though it wasn’t Falkenbach, it’s still Swedish, melodic viking-themed death metal perfection. Excuse me while I go swing a sword around in the backyard…

Age of the Gods is Havamal’s third full-length album, and it’s incredible. There you go, review over.

No, not really. If I didn’t mention the depths of badassery that these guys dive into with this crushing release in detail… well, what kind of reviewing person would I be?

“The Pagan Path” is the thunderous opener, and holy fucking shit, they knock heads out of the park. There is a galloping beat that does kind of remind me of Falkenbach, but that’s where the comparison ends. It’s quiet at first, like fog on the battlefield, and then boom! It erupts into that galloping Power Metal groove, and let me tell you a story; when Havamal lock into a groove, they fucking LOCK. My ears are literally in tatters after listening to Age of the Gods, and brothers and sisters, that is fucking grand.

The assault keeps going with “Wolfraiders,” and they pepper it with beautiful blasting where it is called for, and that’s one thing I love about this album is that it’s not all a blast fest. Just when the moment calls for it. The same goes for “The Day of Reckoning”; it’s a huge song with some Iron Maiden meets Amon Amarth, and naturally, with a name like that, it has to be monumental. It cuts through your ears and brain like a broadsword.

“Sigmund Fafnirsbane” dips its nose into Iron Maiden territory big time with a galloping rhythm section that feels like you’re being sucked up into some sort of insane combat. The solo in the middle is just chef’s kiss, it’s a huge presence on this motherfucker. But, it’s the death by a thousand cuts delivery of “The Shaman” that makes me giddy as fuck. Starting with a flurry of deadly blast beats it goes back and forth between savage blasts and Speed Metal fury, a bludgeoning track indeed.

“Hymns of the Fallen” is another mid-paced crusher, heralding the memories of the ones who have gone before. The midsection is beautiful and reflective before the big finale and melds perfectly into “Loki’s Damnation” a violent whirlwind of raging blasts and battle axe sharp riffs. This is an incredibly brutal track, as anything Loki-related should be.

I could have gone the easy route and just compared Havamal to Amon Amarth. I mean, you saw how quickly I could have ended it, right? Anyway, these guys don’t sound like Amon Amarth, not completely. I hear some Einherjer and Enslaved in the barrage of Age of the Gods, and that’s where the final track “Ashwalker” blasts out of the speakers like a blizzard. It’s a brutal closer to this utterly fantastic album.

Age of the Gods is a powerhouse album; it melds Black Metal, Power Metal, and Melodic Death Metal together to make a stew of tasty riffs and bludgeoning drums. If you like any of the bands I mentioned, hell, maybe you’ll hear something different than what I did; that’s the magic of music. Go ride your horse to the local mom and pop store and violently demand Age of the Gods.

For those unfamiliar, the band began as a more metalcore/progressive metal instrumental act before adding vocals and evolving into a melodic death metal project with very clear ties to the likes of Arsis and, in our opinion, the 00s metalcore act The Human Abstract. And all of those influences are still in play for the all-important follow-up album, maybe even more so.

The shredding, neoclassical backbone is still incredibly present, and very well done as two new guitarists (Steve Bacakos and Mike Hisson) from the debut. appear to have upped the shreddage even more from the debut. Add in some very strong songwriting, especially in the album’s second half, and even a couple of flamenco-inspired and orchestral flourishes (“Procession”, “Gallows Hymn”), and the recipe is here for a killer album avoiding the sophomore slump.

Admittedly, the album takes a few tracks to warm up and really grab me, but when it does, around “Wage of Exile”, where the sweep arpeggios are hot and heavy reminding me (as they did on thier debut) heavily of tracks like“Mea Culpa” and “Vela, Together We Await the Storms” from The Human Abstract‘s Nocturne album, t really locks in. The same can be said of “The Racking”, the moodier, groovier “Crown Crusher”, and “Citadel”, which closes this fine sophomore album on a surprisingly uplifting note.

Power Metal? Deathcore? Prog Rock?

Of course not. It sounds like Fucking Amon Amarth.

I say that with a caveat. Relatively unknown Aussie Vocalist Clint Williams brings a blacker, more melodic death metal rasp to the proceedings, which carries over a little of the project’s entire sound; so to speak, a slightly more melodic black metal-ish version of Amon Amarth. Take that as you will.

The 5-song, 25-minute taster covers all the familiar Amon Amarth bases from raging urgent numbers like “Storms Rage” and the more somber title track, and tracks that do a little of both like “Mound of Stones”. All carrying those ever-so familiar Amon Amarth strains of melody and layering, which have a slight Viking Edge.

It’s crisply produced, if a bit less chunky than Amon Amarth, but it’s still very familiar, as you’d expect from this lineup that will hopefully make Fimbul Winter more than a one-EP affair.

So when I got an email from Moscow’s Renunciation, asking us to cover their second album, Make Babylon Great Again, I checked the band’s music out and was kinda blown away.

As their core, Renunciation, who are comprised of veterans from multiple Russian acts like Humaniac, Skylord (who are seriously killer), Instorm (who I covered waaaay back in 2013), and others, play a form of technical, melodic, blackened death metal. As a starting point, think modern Hypocrisy, but with the intensity cranked to 11, with a heavy, shreddy dash of old Children of Bodom, then add a little more technical death metal like and even an orchestral flourish or two akin to Soreption.

That gets you in the ballpark, but a lot is going on here. From the hawkish screeches of Demether Grail (which come close to getting grating Ill admit), the super shreddy, Alexi Laiho-inspired guitar work of Lexey Kotov, to the unpredictable, complex song structures that still somehow remain both catchy and frenetically impressive.

For a snapshot of the band’s impressive all-encompassing sound, check out blistering opener “Apex of Frustration”,  which is Hypocrisy on bath salts, and the 7th track “Idols and Ideals”, where choppy, stuttering riffs collide with Bodom-esque melodies and leads in a kaleidoscope of expert musicianship.

But some other elements are going on, such as the Arabic vibe and Saxophone in the title track, the more controlled stagger of “Shiva Invictus”, , or the 8th track “Mandaean Principle”, which is a total ripper of a song, bordering on grindcore, with more of a focus on shredding, complex riffs, vicious melodies, and a random techno dance beat.

Closer “Неизбежность” is a bit of an outlier (maybe a cover song?), as it only has moments of frenzied shreddage amid a darker, moodier overall vibe and some climactic clean folky vocals. But still, an intense, impressive and expertly played album.

Denver’s Victim of Fire has been around since 2016, and this is their third album. They describe themselves as ‘Stadium Crust’, whatever that is.

But what I’m hearing is an utterly nostalgic throwback to the early second wave of metalcore, when Maiden, At The Gates, and dual guitar licks were creeping in as a primary influence. I’m talking At War With Shadows, Undying, As Hope Dies (I get a really strong “Legions Bow to a Faceless God” vibe), Tragedy, early, early Light This City, Unearth, and Darkest Hour, Hamartia, and even some 00s melodic hardcore akin to Killing the Dream or Have Heart. This isn’t polished, cleaner Killswith Engage-type metalcore. This is much more raw and ferocious.

And it fucking rules.

The Old Lie is a furious 37 minutes of raw, feral, blackened metalcore/crust. The pace is pretty similar from track to track, with a viciously energetic gait, as the drums keep a steady gallop for the most part, even with a few interludes and intros here and there.

The vocals are black-ish metal shrieks, no singing or croons. And the songs are simple, yet visceral, with a power cord and solo-laden stabs of melodic fury. And while the majority of the material is the same frenetically melodic hack’n’slash as heard on absolute rippers like “The Old Lie”, “Apocalyptic Inclination”, “Soldiers Dream”, “Wayward Light”, “Nightmares of Ceasefire”, and “Discordance”, they do add some cool leads on the likes of “Front Towards Enemy” and even some atmospherics for the seven minute penultimate track “Disharmonist”.

The album ends with a fucking riotous cover of Iron Maiden‘s “Aces High”.  And while the song has been covered to death, this one has to be one of my recent favorites, giving the tune a slight speed up and nastiness, but still recreating the glory and Steve Harris twang of the original, ending a fucking killer album on a fucking killer high note.

Apparently, the members were in a band called Locistellar that dissolved I guess and ever since then they’ve put out four singles under the Lacabra banner, starting with “Fractured” (2022), “Human Quilt” (2023), “Fractured” (2024) and “Enemy” (2025); all leading up till this point of a full-length, proper record. So, how is it?

Holy Hypocrisy, Batman! It’s pretty fucking good, not going to lie; I’m pretty fucking impressed with it. There’s something for all tastes and it sounds phenomenal while delivering the goods in true 2000s Melodic Death Metal fashion. This isn’t all rampant Hypocrisy worship as there are nods to Arch Enemy (Doomsday Machine era), Carcass (Heartwork era), and even The Absence.

“Blood of the Goat 1876” gets it going with some killer riffing and then the galloping rhythm takes over, with a huge The Arrival vibe. It’s a badass song and they even sneak in some clean vocals near the end.

It’s hard to not get stuck in the weeds of comparisons, “Fallacy” bursts out with some Catch-22 era Hypocrisy with a twisted riff and a shredding solo over some ultra-quick drums. “Human Quilt” is this brutish beat-down with some samples thrown in for good measure. Some super tasty interludes make it a favorite track.

“Nothing” is sort of a vanilla track, there’s a cool riff but it’s a pretty standard Melodic Death Metal song with some more clean vocals, it gets better near the end but overall it’s kind of a filler song. Some cool riffs but… “Reprobate” is a much better track. Coming in hot as fuck with a “Nemesis”, fat Arch Enemy riff and some tasty blasting throughout; proving that sometimes brutal speed is best.

“Enemy(Feeding the Flames)” is a sweet as fuck thrasher, another fat riff opens it up for the world to see, it’s a nasty track that doesn’t let up for it’s 3:52 minute run. “I am Thee” starts off with this weird ass riff before the blasts kick in, this is a bit of a mechanized Black Metal track, just ridiculous fun.

“The Devil’s Mechanic” is a familiar-sounding song, in that the riffs are kinda similar to another song but I can’t put a name to it. It’s a very Arch Enemy sounding track so maybe that’s who it’s reminiscent of.

“Fractured” has an Abducted feeling that I can’t shake, particularly “Slipping Away” the last track from that album. This is a cosmic journey and is the perfect ending to this self-titled, overall beastly album.

So despite one sort of boring song, Lacabra is a solid Melodic Death Metal album. It nods to its influences i.e.; Hypocrisy, Arch Enemy and Crypta, just to name three. If this sounds like something you’d enjoy then I suggest you check this album out and let the Melodic Death Metal wash over your eardrums.

“Into the Burning Lands” opens with nice guitar harmonies and a hopeful feel.  Like, I could see a crowd bouncing up and down to this song. Members Simon Mengs (Drums), Fabian Hildebrandt (Guitars), and Manuel Glatter (Vocals, Guitars) have all been together for a while, and they gel. At a little prior to the three-minute mark, with the nice heavy chug groove.  The song then shifts to more of that melodic tone and honestly, super, duper vanilla here, folks.

“Storm of Resistance”, with the battle charged lyrics, has cool vocals and you know I am hearing a lot of Gorefest influence, but not the sicko grinding death metal Gorefest, that is the best, but rather the Erase – Chapter 13 era.  This song is a melodic death and roll romp, and at times Manuel gets into some lower register growls, but it’s not until song #5, “Embrace the Void” that there is really any type of fast part.  The opening is a gallop, old school in nature, and I wanted this moment to keep continuing, yet the song shifts to more of that slower melodic style.  The guitar work is well done, and I appreciate the musicianship on this.  There is a lot of emotion played in this song.  It does have some depressive melodies.  This is a really good song – the best one here.

“At the End of Our Reign” has more of that hopping up and down vibe.  With the isolated vocal moments, then right into the chugging groove, this moment has a big feel to it.  Like I could see these moments, in a live setting, being highlighted with white lights coming on to accentuate these moments as the crowd is headbanging in unison.  Very cool guitar harmonies all over this song. The album ends with the title track.  Again, very melodic, guitar harmonies all over the place, and more of the mid-paced groove.  The song is one of the better ones on this album and a few moments of downbeat heavy chu,g, and when Manuel goes deeper in his vocal range, those are the moments I tend to like the best.

Veins of Fire is a fair-to-middling Deserted Fear album.  The band is shifting towards more of a melodic flair of death metal, which, while some may appreciate, the songs on this are just vanilla.  There is no really great song on this.  There is very little resembling the Deserted Fear, which I originally enjoyed.  I think the band can do better, but when bands usually shift to certain styles later on in their album discography, that is usually the continuing trajectory of their sound.  A let-down album in my opinion.

So I’m willing to forgive the fellas for all of those words they just kinda threw together here. Like, sure, it is a complete and, with a little patience, coherent statement, but it kinda reminds me of corporate lingo in the way that it uses so many additional and unnecessary words just to say “Waking Nightmares.” That’s it! That’s all they had to say. When I go to drop a deuce, I don’t say I’m “Ejecting the Spent Remains of Otherwise Masticated and Digested Foreign Substance.” I took a shit.

Anyway, you’re not here for the autism you wanna know if this album is good or not. Right.

At this point, it might be fair to assume Katatonia certainly doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone, but the recent bombshell departure of Anders Nystrom suddenly sees the band, Jonas Renske especially, under a new and unexpected microscope. I also did opine that 2023’s Sky Void of Stars was one of the best and most complete efforts the band had put together in quite some time – certainly not far removed from the darker, more goth-leaning sort of melodic rock/metal this era of Katatonia has settled into as of late, but a much more focused and memorable version of it for sure.

The first thing you’ll probably notice with NAEOTWS is that, perhaps not actually that shockingly, the departure of Nystrom seems fairly negligible. Certainly, this is owed in large to the prevailing notion that Renske has pretty much been the captain at the helm of Katatonia for a bit now. All the hallmarks are here – the startling and off-putting sudden start to the album on opener “Thrice” which, once again, somehow caught me off guard and ill-prepared for the band to get right down to business. It is however, another in a long-running streak of killer album openers, and showcases the band’s more progressive leanings in stellar order, with clever, evolving riff work from new guitarists Nico Elgstrand and Sebastian Svalland. Granted, it’s fair to wonder how much input either had into the riffs or songwriting but, either way, the signature Katatonia tone and timing is all instantly recognizable. You could remove Renske’s vocals from the track altogether and there’s still be no question who recorded it.

A big part of that “Katatonia sound” at this point is also unquestionably the drumming of Daniel Moilanen, now having been with the band for nearly a decade and having established a style all his own that goes such a long way to setting the tone of each record he’s been a part of. His ability to carry the pace on tracks like “Wind of No Change,” “Lilac” and “Warden” where good stretches are left to him to carry the load is impressive and necessary to the entire picture Renske is painting. I point out these three in particular as they are real standouts on the album, the first having such an immense presence with chanted backup vocals and sturdy, heavy riffing that all come together to feel like I’ve stumbled into some kind of cult ritual where, I have a sneaking suspicion they’ll be “borrowing” some of my blood. “Warden” features one of the album’s catchiest choruses that will find appeal with metalheads and goths alike, (once again) brilliantly bridging the gap between the two in a way it seems only Katatonia is this capable of.

And really, for better or worse (depending on your perspective) that whole “this is obviously Katatonia” vibe is prevalent through the entire album. The guitars, using whatever effect it is they’re using on on “The Light Which I Bleed,” are unique and obvious to this band alone. The pacing of the album, the tone and ebbs and flows, I can’t really say any of it is unpredictable. For me, this is not a complaint. Much like my love for bands like Amorphis and Children of Bodom and Mors Principium Est, you’re likely never going to catch me complaining about getting more of a sound I love. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a band finding their lane, especially if it’s so unique to them, and sticking with it so long as they’re still keeping the songs engaging – and Katatonia certainly have done that again here on (insert ridiculous name here).

So if you’re wondering what life after Nystrom sounds like for Katatonia, the truth is, it sounds a whole heck of a lot like it has for getting on the past couple decades. If it wasn’t clear before, this is now Jonas Renske’s ship to steer. For those of us who’ve been on board, the seas are steady and clear. If you’ve been looking for a reason to jump ship, grab a life jacket and take a nose dive, I guess. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

I wasn’t expecting what I got from Children of Eve. I was expecting some Vampire Doom outfit. I was wrong as wrong can be, however, because like I said before, Nightfall is Melodic Death Metal through and through. Plus, they’ve been around forever… I never heard them until now. However, they have been spreading their disease since 1991. Where the fuck was I? Oh yeah, graduating from high school… Anyway, I’m late to the party, but whatever. Let’s go!

“I Hate” bursts out of the gate on a flurry of double bass blasting, razor-sharp riffs guide the track through the slow bits around the 2:21 mark, when the solo kicks in with some sick soloing. It’s an unrelenting opening track and is followed by the decidedly slower “The Cannibal.” It’s slower, yet no less brutal, and there’s some killer female vocals hidden amidst the roaring from vocalist Efthimis Karadimas. I get a nice taste of early Amorphis with that track.

“Lurking” is a ass kicking thrasher, sporting a powerful mid section, it’s a blistering track and an early favorite. There are many huge moments on Children of Eve. The weird electronics at the beginning of “Inside My Head” had me thinking that it was going to be a cover of the Cure’s “The Caterpillar” but it isn’t (fortunately). “Seeking Revenge” bursts in like nobody’s business, bringing some great scattershot riffing, brutal Thrash erupts while the maelstrom spins at top speed.

Each track on Children of Eve is a spike to the face. Equally beautiful and savage riffs intertwined for maximum punishment, and “For the Expelled Ones” is a great example of this melding. I fucking love this track so much. It reminds me of Night in Gales, Toward the Twilight, and Thunderbeast albums. It’s just bludgeoning and gorgeous at the same time.

“The Traders Of Anathema” hits those Amorphis Tales From The Thousand Lakes vibes, while also throwing in a good helping of Paradise Lost as well, circa Draconian Times, especially in the chorus. It only elevates Children of Eve to taller heights, adding more depth to the mayhem swirling around.

With a running time of 43:22 Children of Eve doesn’t overstay its welcome. Nightfall is a force of nature, and they play like they are. “With Outlandish Desire to Disobey” is yet another melodic and insanely fun track. For a record that is about suffering and how we process grief, this is an exciting album. It’s rounded out with “The Makhaira of the Deceiver” and “Christian Svengali” the former track strides on pulsing double bass, picking up an impressive galloping rhythm and some critical strike blasting. The chorus is absolutely hypnotic, and the 3:13 point gets atmospheric as hell, and it’s intertwined with some more tasty riffs. The latter track has these bombastic choral bits in the midsection, and those moments are fist in the sky ones. Large and in charge riffs make Children of Eve Nightfall’s eleventh full-length a revelation to experience. Crystal clear production adds to this circle pit inducing Melodic Death Metal beast.

So if you like any of the bands I mentioned above, you’ll love Nightfall’s latest achievement Children of Eve. Go get it!

Throughout the album, you have your Speed (not that kind) songs and your Christian (not that type) songs. I’ll start with my favorite songs from Christian, as they were the first to stand out. The one that hooked me is quite a bit into the album, which is “Jaws of the Abyss.” The symphonics/ keys build an atmosphere, and Christian’s scream shatters it. His death growls are in top shape, but the syrupy clean/growl tradeoffs in the pre-chorus took me back to the first time I heard Pitch Black Progress, and damn is the actual chorus absurdly catchy. At over 6 minutes, it’s one of the longer songs, but worth every moment. There’s a reason it took two guys to replace him in Scar Symmetry.

“Bloodline Artifice” is another Christian song, which begins the album. It’s a scorcher. I’m confident those higher registered death screeches are Josh, which are very well done. Something very subtle in a lot of tracks is the symphonic background, although I did previously mention it. If you’ve not heard Buried Realm previously, the guitar solos are excellent and prevalent, along with the riffs in general. The chorus, with a minute and a half left, is beautiful and gives way to another short, but excellent guitar lead.

Moving into the Speed songs, of which there are two, the best of those is “Where the Armless Phantoms Glide Pt.II.” The gallop is perfect for his vocals as it sounds out of the Natural Born Chaos era, matching its ferocity. The trade-off from what I presume is Josh and Bjorn works well. Surprisingly, there are no clean vocals from Bjorn on this one.

However, the first of his tracks (I pulled some Quentin Tarantino shit), “Human Code,” also doesn’t have any. Well, kind of. They’re of that shouting variety, where it’s almost singing since it’s tuneful but more aggressive. You’ll know when you hear it. The chorus is catchy regardless, and makes me think Mr. Dummer’s influence is from the previously mentioned Soilwork era. Of course, that’s the preference of most. Without the clean vocals, I’m certain you could already tell this is another banger with a heavy, fast, driving riff meant for the stage.

The new Buried Realm album is so full of bangers that it could compete with the boss’s native cuisine. If you don’t find this album enjoyable, I’ll just assume you don’t like or listen to metal. That’s fine, but you’re in the wrong place. Josh Dummer, along with his special guests, has crafted a truly special melodic death metal album that everyone should have on their playlist.

Well, there are a couple of changes in the Aversed camp. First, the jump up a league to the Century Media records offshoot label, M-Theory audio (Scardust, Warbringer, The Abscence, Hecate Enthroned, Into Eternity), And Second, the switch in vocalists from Irizarry to Sarah Hartman (Metanoia).

Now, casual listeners might not notice (heck, I initially didn’t notice), as Hartmann has a similar growl/clean singing approach, but after going back and listening to Impermanent, Irizarry had more operatic/classical /Gothic metal range in her clean vocals, while Hartmann has a little more Adrien Cowan (Seven Spires) in her delivery of growls/ screams and clean singing, and she has a little more variety in her screams and growls.

Songwriting-wise, the band seems to also have added a little variety. While certainly still melodic death metal, they are a little less radio friendly and Arch Enemy sounding then the debut, as it appears drummer Jeff Saltzman has taken some cues from his other band Allegaeon, and gotten a little more complex and a little more brutal, though Hartman still has a more expansive appeal with her clean choruses.

Just listen to the standout single “Cross to Bear”, where everything new comes together perfectly with a blistering yet emotive chorus that highlights Saltzman’s blast beats and Hartmann’s excellent singing. The same can be said for “Inexorable” and “Erasure of Color”, where everything is a little more aggressive than the debut but still balanced.

At times I get a Jinjer vibe as heard on the skronky “Lucid Decapitation” and “Burn”, then they calm things down a bit with “Solitary”, which also reminded me of some of Jinjer and Tatiana  Shmayluk’s more restrained moments. The album ends with a short acoustic number “Yearning”, and the moody semi-ballad”Departures”, ending the album on a perfect emotional endnote, as Hartmann spread her wings.

Erasure of Color does exactly what a second album and a jump from unsigned to signed should do; improve on the debut, add a little development, and still retain the core sound, and Erasure of Color does that perfectly. Let’s see what they do with the all-important, often watershed third album, as with bands like Jinjer, Spiritbox, and Face Yourself, deservedly blowing up and giving much-needed attention to female metal singers, the time is right for another band to blow up.

This self-titled 4-song ep has Nick Temoshok – Guitars, Drum programming and Cassiopeia on Vocals to provide us with the brutality.  I kind of dig the pen and ink album cover, It conjured up supernatural lyrical elements and the music honestly surprised me a lot.

“Sunbeat” begins with a terrific guitar tone.  The production for this debut independent release is excellent.  After the opening guitar and drums (which are programmed) moment ,the song gallops with a variety of dual vocal tones, ranging from screaming to gutturals and some killer guitar sweep action.  The song gets into a blast beat equipped with nice guitar harmonies over some of these moments.  The killer deep gutturals at around the three-minute mark, when the song slows, is quite brutal.  There are some guitar solos, and the dual back and forth of the highs and low really sound as if the band has separate singers.

“Hekatomb of Malevolence” starts a bit similar to the EP opener with the guitar and drums and the way the instrumentation is set up.  The song picks up at the 36-second mark with an outstanding guitar riff.  It’s really heavy, and the stop-and-start stylized blasting comes forward.  The song slows, and those raspy vocals take center stage.  Nice guitar work with the melodies and then the blast returns, but this time it’s the bellowing deep gutturals which take center stage.  It punctuates the brutality greatly, as if Ivan “The Polish Hammer” Putski just slammed your chest apart with his double arm bash.  The drum machine programming is quite good; you kind of don’t really notice it’s a machine, especially how many live drums are programmed, to some degree, on recordings, in today’s music scene.

“A Song for Ghosts” was the single initially released for this EP, and it starts with an isolated riff before the double pounding section erupts.  Nice guitar harmonies on the slow down then those gutturals come in with the dizzying jazzy guitar picking and dual vocal action.  There is an awesome guttural growl, soon thereafter!

Alright, Chiaroscuro, I see you!!!  This is a strong EP of melodic death metal that pummels as much as it showcases some of the talent within.  I think the band needs a live drummer and also continue to write so that a full-length album is ready to go soon.