Gorguts

Heaving Earth – Darkness of God Review

Heaving Earth – Darkness of God Review

“While I usually avoid harming animals, I had to chase a certain Abbathian cat up a tree to get my hands on this promo. My feline colleague gushed about Czechia’s Heaving Earth in 2015, calling Denouncing the Holy Throne a shamelessly uncreative but satisfying slab of vintage death metal. The band is back with its third record Darkness of God, but the seven intervening years have seen its sound evolve. Much like the latest Golgothan Remains, Heaving Earth’s newest offering adorns old-school death metal with speckles of dissonance and malice, and influences from across the death metal universe.” Darkness before divinity.

Dischordia – Triptych Review

Dischordia – Triptych Review

“A crucial aspect of my death metal enjoyment comes from the mood it invokes. I feel plain cold with OSDM stuff, but the oft-maligned dissonant death offers a spectrum of atmospheres and environs: Portal’s gates of madness, Ulcerate’s apocalyptic meditativeness, and Ad Nauseam’s croaking caverns, for example. Sinister intent and apathies to our suffering are a given in the dissonant stylings, but what if we could make it fun?” Devil-may-care and discord.

Norse – Ascetic Review

Norse – Ascetic Review

“A month ago in the low coast range hills, I found Hellinsia homodactylus folded beneath the lamplight – the modestly named plain plume moth. Mute white in the shape of a Beksiński cross, the insect appears impossible when still, betraying the feathery wings that gasp in the still pockets between oak leaves and wisp in the pupil of the ash-yellowed moon. Theirs is a gaunt beauty, beauty which Norse have both embodied and spurned in their last seven years of stark and intimate black metal.” Nature vs science.

Replicant – Malignant Reality Review

Replicant – Malignant Reality Review

“Three years have passed since their Negative Life debut, and by the sound of it, Replicant spent not a moment of them fucking around. With a sound newly honed to scalpel precision, the New Jersey trio radiate a septic valor, the fearsome pride of the canny skid row pugilist whose sweat-slicked wounds repel as many challengers as their calloused knuckles. They dominate each bout and dedicate the win to those who taught them: Steve Hurdle and John Gallagher.” Replicating nasty realities.

Estuarine – Nyarlathotep Review

Estuarine – Nyarlathotep Review

“I’m not sure why we have a general rule against EP’s, but I imagine that it has something to do with the brevity of the content. We don’t get a good representation of the artist if we’re only given a few songs to work with, while full-lengths are intended as cohesive works and can showcase the effectiveness of an artist to create them. Grind, however, throws a big ol’ middle finger at this in favor of beatdown explosions that sneer in the face of subtlety with the dumbest grin possible. A grind full-length can be anywhere between fifteen and thirty minutes, and even then, Estuarine’s ten minutes is challenging brevity.” One-man grind to kick some behind.

Akurion – Come Forth to Me [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

Akurion – Come Forth to Me [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

“I’ll spare you the introductory remarks: Akurion continues in earnest what was started on Cryptopsy’s Whisper Supremacy by expanding smartly upon that foundation. It’s not that it directly lifts ideas, but there’s a certain energy, an essence, a je ne sais quois to None So Vile’s successor that I’ve just never again heard until I heard Come Forth to Me.” One for the Vile files.

Bedsore – Hypnagogic Hallucinations Review

Bedsore – Hypnagogic Hallucinations Review

“What’s in a name? Everything and nothing. Death metal has always flirted with the ridiculous in an effort to conjure distasteful imagery. However, Rome’s Bedsore seem to be walking a fine line between punishment and parody. But at a glance, the legendary Gorguts hardly suggests unnatural excellence. Now, their name simply reminds us of humble beginnings. Similarly, if you glanced at Bedsore’s moniker, rolled your eyes and moved on, then, to quote the immortal Ronnie James Dio: fool, fool.” Don’t fear the seeper.

Goden – Beyond Darkness Review

Goden – Beyond Darkness Review

“We’ve discussed revivals before, and tributes aplenty. Just look at Sweven’s Morbus Chron tribute–kind of a bit of both, and to mixed reactions. The list goes on: Black Sabbath and Heaven and Hell; Immortal and Abbath. Musicians looking to revive an old project under a new name must tread lightly, as we don’t want Morbus Chron 2.0, for example, but something that acknowledges the past while taking a fresh step forward. Today’s topic of discussion, New York’s Winter, a relatively quiet 90’s death metal act that nevertheless influenced the development of the death/doom niche with its murky and sprawling tunes.” Winter is coming back.