Blackened Death Metal

Hecatoncheir – Nightmare Utopia Review

By Dear Hollow on March 15, 2024 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, 42 comments

“The journey begins by following a dark silhouette, each installment describes surreal and dreamlike landscapes, strange characters, and objects—with monolithic importance attached in the strange way that dreams do. In the latter tracks, ever-vigilant eyes watch from the stars and assume a more horrific face as they emerge from the darkness as the cruel pelagic and empyrean deities and monsters among Lovecraft’s multitudes. Hecatoncheir’s uniquely dreamlike take on chthonic horror, balanced by its ambitions in liminal spaces, set one hell of a precedent for the music contained herein.” Fear and loathing in Slovakia.

Vltimas – EPIC Review

By Kenstrosity on March 15, 2024 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Groove Metal, 59 comments

“International supergroup Vltimas crashed upon the Earth early in 2015, dropping their well-received debut roughly four years later. Comprised of Morbid Angel’s very own David Vincent at the mic, Cryptopsy’s Flo Mounier manning the kit, and Aura Noir’s Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen slinging axe, the project deals in grooving, swaggering blackened death metal singing Satan’s praises and glorifying the destruction of all the world. You know, the usual.” Super epic?

Keres – Homo Homini Lupus Review

By Thus Spoke on February 23, 2024 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 43 comments

“Homo Homini Lupus (est) — “Man is wolf to man.” The greatest danger to every one of us is from each other. People are selfish and cruel. This proverb, dating back thousands of years, was chosen by Keres to epitomise their view, that, in the words of vocalist Ares, “humanity is the biggest plague on earth.” Misanthropy is nothing new in the world of metal, and as it happens, neither are the members of Keres, despite this being their debut LP. The band formed after the break-up of black metal group The Crying of Angels, honing a death-influenced, brutal black metal sound” Man unkind.

Pestilength – Solar Clorex Review

By Dear Hollow on February 12, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, 23 comments

“Last we met the secretive Basque duo Pestilength, they had released their second full-length Basom Gryphos, an album that was appropriately slimy and punishing but fell by the wayside due to its scattershot compositions and unashamed Portal worship. Its potential was there, lurking beneath the surface like eldritch grandiosity yet to be awoken, but the right combination of incantations and blasphemies were needed to truly wreak havoc on mankind. In many ways, what Pestilength does is braver than dissodeath acts of similar ilk, refusing to shroud its riffs in murk or atmosphere and letting the chord progressions do the talking – putting added pressure on the string attack.” Clorexing the murk.

Stuck in the Filter – November/December’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity on February 2, 2024 in Stuck in the Filter, Black Metal, Death Metal, Grind, Melodic Black Metal, Symphonic Metal, 52 comments

2023’s cleaning protocols are finally complete, and here comes the Filter scrappings from November and December. Taste them all, then consult a funeral director.

Necrowretch – Swords of Dajjal Review

By Carcharodon on February 1, 2024 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 82 comments

“It’s almost four years since I reviewed French blackened death outfit Necrowretch’s fourth record, The Ones from Hell, a record I enjoyed quite a bit. Harsh, claustrophobic death metal with a nasty blackened edge, it was almost sludgy in its sound at times. I had a few minor quibbles about the songwriting and pacing of the record, and a bigger gripe with the production, but it remained a very good record. The band regrouped and began working on the follow-up, Swords of Dajjal, which was three years in the making. Having swept up a new drummer and bassist along the way, was it time well spent?” Burning swords of religion and rage.

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.

Vitriol – Suffer & Become Review

By Holdeneye on January 23, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 102 comments

“When our resident death metal professor, Ferrous Beuller, covered To Bathe from the Throat of Cowardice, the debut full-length from Portland’s Vitriol, he was struck by the sheer heaviness that dominated the record. And while he noted the enormous potential displayed by the band, he bemoaned the lack of balancing contrast, a lack that prevented the monstrous material from making the intended impact.” Impact is imminent.