Atmospheric Death Metal

Kvadrat – The Horrible Dissonance of Oblivion Review

By Thus Spoke on April 2, 2024 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 34 comments

“Back in June 2021, when my Instagram page was fresh-faced and non-AMG-affiliated, I reviewed Kvadrat’s EP Ψυχική Αποσύνθεση. Struck by its mesmerizing blend of atmospheric, dissonant death and black metal, I bemoaned its truncated length as I was sucked in by what I then described as “a gripping black hole of sound.” With the vividness of this experience having faded into a memory of “that really great Greek EP,” everything came flooding back upon receipt of a DM from the (sole) individual behind Kvadrat, Ivan Agakechagias, asking if I wanted to review his upcoming debut.” Greek tragedy.

Civerous – Maze Envy Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on March 28, 2024 in Reviews, Death Doom, Death Metal, 65 comments

“As I gazed upon the purple-toned maze—which, does not appear to be a very well-designed maze in its hissing sculpture—and heard the early, shimmering notes of what Civerous brought to the table for this sophomore release, Maze Envy, my mind raced. This Los Angeles-based act’s 2021 full-length debut, Decrepit Flesh Felic, filled a snarling, buzzing diSEMBOWELMENT-shaped niche of pounding, shifting death metal that supplies ample kicks to the seat. Though Civerous never turned quite as doom-laden and tortured as that Australian novelty, they pushed into the bounds of long-form tumble in their cavernous lane with a proud stomp.” Maze stunners.

Knoll – As Spoken Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on February 1, 2024 in Reviews, 39 comments

“I got a chance to see Knoll live in 2022 shortly after the manic Metempiric dropped. All in all, only twenty people scattered about my favorite hometown venue—a homely bar with a solid stage attached to a bowling alley. This ragtag group of kids who looked to be no older than high school graduates gave the performance of a lifetime—gut-churning rhythms, sudden breakaways from ripping guitar phrases to crying trumpet blares, a vocalist whose life depended on the successful bleeding of the audience’s ears. Knoll represents the ideal of youthful ambition. As Spoken is the result.” Young horrors.

Aphotic – Abyssgazer [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Dolphin Whisperer on January 28, 2024 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Black Metal, Death Metal, 11 comments

“Abyssgazer presents as the kind of echoing incantation that must ring through ears from first to last note. No mere synthesis of the acts who fed Aphotic into existence, this sometimes blackened, sometimes funeral doom-weighted, always death metal assembly expresses itself in a peerless manner.” Abyss from a dead rose.

Drowned – Procul His Review

By Dear Hollow on January 24, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, 17 comments

“Whether they like it or not, Sulphur Aeon left its mark on the death metal world. While it’s easy to focus on their lyrical themes and reverence for the Great Old Ones as a lyrical monument, their straightforward approach tinged with blackened precision and colossal atmosphere extends to more than the Cthulhu worshipers out there. Take their fellow Germans, the longstanding death metal act Drowned. While the lyrics of Procul His revolve around things like the occult, darkness, and abstract themes, you’ll find that the sound feels straight outta the Antisphere.” Tentacles in the void.

Wells Valley – Achamoth [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Thus Spoke on January 8, 2024 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, 27 comments

“When was the last time something supposedly dissonant and avant-garde really gripped you? Maybe it was one of this year’s releases from Blut Aus Nord, Thantifaxath, or Rorcal. Or perhaps you’ve been bored since Obscura. Whichever the case, Achamoth, from Portugal’s Wells Valley has got to rank highly as one of the more arresting examples of extreme metal in recent times.” In the valley of the dark things.

Vertebra Atlantis – A Dialogue with the Eeriest Sublime Review

By Dear Hollow on October 26, 2023 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, 40 comments

“A Dialogue with the Eeriest Sublime is pure unadulterated Vertebra Atlantis at its finest. Blending blackened death punishment with the grandiosity of a crashing castle, the doom-laden contemplation of the awe its destruction invokes, the blackened attack that battles ice with fire, and the atmospheric ice that coats every surface, the Italian trio has stepped up everything that gave its predecessor, the great Lustral Purge in Cerulean Bliss, its signature blend of punishing and atmospheric.” Sublime mass destruction.

Thorn – Evergloom Review

By Dear Hollow on September 27, 2023 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 19 comments

“Phoenix, Arizona’s Thorn, in spite of having a ridiculously generic name, has its trademark sound down to a science. Featuring a blasting and impenetrable wall of death metal, as cavernous as Cruciamentum and as sticky as Chthe’ilist, the sound has transferred neatly across the act’s three full-lengths – the only issue is just how fast to play it.” Thorn in the ears.

Serpent of Old – Ensemble Under the Dark Sun Review

By Thus Spoke on June 28, 2023 in Reviews, 53 comments

“There’s something about atmospheric death metal that just gets me. Something about the deep urgency of the guitar tones, the echoing, sinister riffing, the cavernous vocals, the restless dance of the drums, and the metallic chime of the cymbals. It elevates an already hostile and confrontational musical style to a kind of arresting profundity, when done well. Seeing Ulcerate, Gorguts, and Devenial Verdict—among others—name-dropped in the promo material for Ensemble Under the Dark Sun had me yanking it out of the bin faster than you can say “disso-death.” This was no clickbait. Turkey’s Serpent of Old play the kind of dark, ferocious haunting blackened death emblematic of these bands, and their shared conceptual genre, at their most intense.” Snakes in the pain.

Verberis – Adumbration of the Veiled Logos [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]

By Thus Spoke on December 31, 2022 in Things You Might Have Missed 2022, 48 comments

“I’ve probably banged on before about how much I love Ulcerate. Luckily for me, mastermind Jamie Saint-Merat has his fingers in quite a few other death metal pies. Verberis is one of them. The wordily titled Adumbration of the Veiled Logos takes the twisting disso-death that was the band’s staple, and ramps the atmosphere up to 11.” That’s a lot of ulcers.