Posts Tagged ‘Review’

Obscene – The Inhabitable Dark

I’m not really sure how I missed the release of The Inhabitable Dark, the debut full-length album from Obscene, Indiana’s purveyors of acidic old-school death metal, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t do just that. In fact, it was actually my recent review of the 4 Doors to Death II split that made me […]

Ars Magna Umbrae – Apotheosis

Ars Magna Umbrae’s previous album, Lunar Ascension, was a good, but not great representation of post black metal. One standout is that the cover looked like a duck-billed platypus. If you take one piece of information from this review, let that be it. You can’t unsee it. Once you’ve stopped laughing, you need to wipe […]

Ordinance – In Purge There Is No Remission

I thoroughly enjoyed the debut LP, Relinquishment, from Finland’s Ordinance, and it made my year-end for 2014. However, I never heard anything this else for the next 6 years- no splits, no EPs, no news, nothing. Then out of the blue, I get a promo from The Sinister Flame for a brand new album. And […]

Incantation – Sect of Vile Divinities

Incantation return with their 11th full length album, yes other than track order, Mortal Throne of Nazarene and Upon the Throne of Apocalypse is the same album except for the changed track order and different album cover.  I do digress for a moment – Relapse put out a stunning remaster of Throne… with a bonus […]

Frostvore – Drowned In Blood

So already this year I’ve talked about how HM2 pedals have surfaced in the unlikeliest of places like Indiana (Psychomancer), Chile (Soulrot), and even Ireland (Fleshwolf). Well, here is yet another surfacing in an unexpected place; Tokyo Japan. My experience with Japanese metal, let alone old school Swedish death metal from Japan is virtually zero, […]

Buried Realm – Embodiment of the Divine

What would you get if you placed Hypocrisy, Soilwork, and Children of Bodom in a blender? Well, two things: Several murder charges and a smoothie of which Jeffrey Dahmer would be envious. If you just wanted to mix their musical styles instead of all the people, you may have something similar to Buried Realm. For […]

Purtenance – Buried Incarnation

Member of Immortal Damnation, the 1992 debut from Finnish death metal band Purtenance is one of the best albums of the 90’s.  After disbanding, after the album was released, the band came back in 2012 to release the excellent Sacrifice the King ep. They followed that up the following year with the    Awaken from Slumber […]

Unleash The Archers – Abyss

This all could have all been so easy. Unleash the Archers has made a habit out of taking big leaps with every one of their releases throughout their young career. Yes – ideally, every band should get better with every record – but the exponential growth these guys have shown as musicians on every new […]

Blazon Rites – Dulce Bellum Inexpertis EP

I swear to Christ. I don’t know what it is, but I just cannot seem to get enough of this whole NWOTHM thing going on right now (that’s New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal, for those of you who don’t know or just hate inane acronyms). I guess it’s just the overall tongue-in-cheek, no-fucks-given attitude […]

Hath – Hive EP (Reissue)

If you didn’t enjoy 2019’s Of Rot and Ruin by Hath, I don’t know what to tell you. Despite the fact that I don’t much care for “Star Wars” and I thought the band was called “Hoth” in an homage, I still gave it a listen. When I realized my mistake, I was glad to […]

Insatanity – Hymns of the Gods Before

Well for God’s sake…no that doesn’t seem right. For Satan’s sake? No, that just sounds stupid. For fuck’s sake? Yeah…that sums it up pretty good. Oh for fuck’s sake! After twenty-four years since the release of the band’s debut album, Divine Decomposition, Insatanity have returned with a “sort of” new full-length album of blackened brutal […]

Aversion’s Crown – Hell Will Come For Us All

Fuck, I really overlooked this, the fourth album from Australia’s Aversion’s Crown. So, sorry for the belated review. I’ve enjoyed the last 2 efforts (2017s Xenocide and 2014s Tyrant), but can’t say I’ve revisited them much since their release. But holy shit am I glad I revisited this on a whim after hearing the closing […]

Gorgatron – Pathogenic Automation

I have been a fan of Fargo, North Dakota’s Gorgatron for quite some time.  Back in the day Anal Blast used to play shows with them and I have gotten to see and play on many shows with them since then.  Well fast forward to summer 2020 and we have their Third full length record […]

Sojourner – Premonitions

Sojourner hail from a lot of various countries, such as Sweden and New Zealand.  I admit to being a recent fan of their music and they have been around since 2015.  Their debut in 2016, Empires of Ash and follow-up in 2018 The Shadowed Road are both excellent.  The band blending atmospheric black metal with […]

Ingested – Where Only Gods May Tread

I own the Ingested albums, and I kinda liked 2018s Level Above Human, 2015s The Architect of Extinction, and 2009s Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering. But I have never really loved the Brits output, preferring countrymates Infant Annihilator  or Dyscarnate when it comes to British slams and breakdowns and always reaching for the likes […]

He Who Binds Himself – He Who Binds Himself

He Who Binds Himself is a death metal band from Arizona, and they are of interest to me and might be of interest to you as they feature members of Vehemence, the US death metal band who released the fantastic God Was Created back in 2002, a classic album from the 00s. When Vehemence went […]

Kurnugia – Forlorn and Forsaken

Cleveland Ohio’s Kurnugia have been around for several years, kicking up the dust and putting out a few ep’s.  Forlorn and Forsaken is their debut album and just like the ep’s harken back to the 90’s death metal scene and we get 10 songs in 37” and from the beginning the intro has a very […]

Ulthar – Providence

Well isn’t this a nice surprise. Just a mere year and a half since I reviewed Ulthar‘s debut album, Cosmovore, and the band already fires back with their sophomore release Providence. The album takes everything impressive and done right from the debut and continues to expand upon its formula and deliver, in aces, a formidable […]

Disavowed – Revocation of The Fallen

Well, Well, Well! What do we have here?  The return of these fine sickos from Amsterdam Disavowed. Having been a fan of the band since their classic debut Perceptive Deception I was intrigued by what their third full length album has to offer and it does not disappoint at all. Revocation of the Fallen is […]

Night – High Tides – Distant Skies

It seems inevitable that by the end of every year, we’re all grateful to be moving on… uh, wait, this seems awfully familiar… Now is a good time to cozy up to the familiar sounds of yesteryear… man, why do I feel like I’ve already done this? Why is a band called Night boasting a […]

Judicator – Let There Be Nothing

Power metal. I don’t think there’s a single metalhead I have met who doesn’t have a soft spot for it. When speaking with other metalheads, there are many favorites who come to mind; Helloween, Blind Guardian, Sabaton, Manowar, Iced Earth, and, hell, even Judas Priest. One’s favorite or favorites sometimes has to do with when […]

Woodscream – Варево

OK, this is an odd, but intriguing one. ( and for clarification its Wood-Scream, not Woods-Cream) Hailing from Russia, with a few releases under their belt and playing folk metal and being female-fronted, I was hoping for some sort of epic eastern European folk romps akin to Dalriada or Grai. But instead, I got a […]

Cordyceps – Betrayal

Based out of Las Vegas Nevada comes Cordyceps with their debut brutal death metal album, Betrayal.  3 years ago they released a nifty 5 song ep Black Blood Butchery or B to the third power and it was a nice display of brutal beatdown death metal.  Basically the band is a 2-piece with Rafael Gonzalez […]

Oncology – Omniversal Antigenesis

Northern Ireland’s brutal death metal bastards, Oncology return with their sophomore album- Omniversal Antigenesis.  I really enjoyed their 2016 debut Infinite Regress and really loved that album cover.  Oncology play a no frills, no holds barred, Hulk Hogan, type of atomic leg drop brutal death metal, more blast beats than holes in your underwear.  No […]

Mystras – Castles Conquered and Reclaimed

One of my best and oldest friends is a former metal and rock producer as well as FOH for a prominent metal band. He once told me: “With how cheap and easy it is to make a clear recording now, why would anyone settle for less?” That’s verbatim, of course. He’s not a fan of […]