Nile

Altars Ablaze – Life Desecration Review

Altars Ablaze – Life Desecration Review

“Metal fans are stupid, mindless idiots just looking for their next fix, demanding MOAR of the same exact shit they’ve heard a billion times over. That includes me, and that most certainly includes you. Especially you. With this powerful knowledge in hand, bands who tailor their music for themselves rather than for their fans are free to produce some of most unique and compelling metal around. On the other side of the same coin, some bands with this same knowledge often phone it in, delivering a fan-servicing slab of decent material without a lick of personality in the name of album sales. Czechia’s Altars Ablaze, a blackened death metal quintet formed from members of Heaving Earth, Supreme Conception, and others, explicitly refuse to cater to the unwashed masses.” Fan service or fan sacrifice?

Aronious – Irkalla Review

Aronious – Irkalla Review

“Well, this could have been awkward. In trying to research this week’s subject, I had become increasingly puzzled as to why I couldn’t find much on them. Nothing on AMG itself; nothing on Metal Archives, nothing on Facebook and so on. It turns out there had been a fluff up in the AMG Engine Room, meaning that the band’s name was misspelled in the promo sump. Once this snafu came to light, it also revealed that Aronious is not, in fact, new to AMG and it would seem I have unwittingly stolen reviewing rights from no lesser death metal scribe than Kronos.” Deathly strife.

Thūn – II Review

Thūn – II Review

“This is quite the rabbit hole I’ve gone down. It started with Monsterworks back in 2018 (and again in 2020). Then I hitched a ride on a Bull Elephant, in 2019 and 2020. Not one to rest on my laurels, I then enjoyed deeply of some Thūn, on their debut last year. What do these three bands have in common? Members, for one thing, and exuberant, over-the-top delivery of bizarre tales. Here on Thūn’s second album, aptly titled II.” Thūn(der) on the tundra.

Beyond Mortal Dreams – Abomination of the Flames Review

Beyond Mortal Dreams – Abomination of the Flames Review

“Two albums in thirty years does not a prolific act make. But that’s exactly how Beyond Mortal Dreams’ story begins. 1992 saw the youthful Australian death metallers spawn upon this mortal plane, under the moniker Suffering. After changing their name to Beyond Mortal Dreams in ’95, the band…. well, disbanded until 2003. Upon reforming, Beyond Mortal Dreams extracted enough evil and grotesquery from the depths of hell to concoct their debut record, From Hell, in 2008. Now, fourteen years later, these hellish imps prepare to unleash their second tome, entitled Abomination of the Flames, accompanied by this wonderfully infernal visage beside this introduction.” Olden demons, scarcely known.

Blindfolded and Led to the Woods – Nightmare Withdrawals [Things You Might Have Missed 2021]

Blindfolded and Led to the Woods – Nightmare Withdrawals [Things You Might Have Missed 2021]

Blindfolded and Led to the Woods, is a band from New Zealand with a bit of a storied past. Originally starting off as a humor-centric deathcore group with bizarrely titled offerings like Armed to the Teeth with Jellybeans or My Vaseline Diaries, the song “Atop the Wings of a Magpie” changed everything. Dissonant interplay, ominous tempos, speedy riffs, and even a guest spot from Nile’s Karl Sanders replace mindless breakdowns and Psyopus-inspired wankery. Nightmare Withdrawals may not be their debut, but it’s their breakout album, and for good fucking reason.” Deliverance to quality.

Lhaäd – Below Review

Lhaäd – Below Review

Below is the debut full-length from one-person ambient black metal project Lhaäd. This description is likely to conjure up worrisome images of self-indulgent hours-long snoozefests that use tepid atmospheres to mask lazy writing. But Belgian multi-instrumentalist Lykormas, Lhaäd’s prolific mastermind, is not so easy to pigeonhole.” Pigeons without homes.

Bizarre – Invocation Codex Review

Bizarre – Invocation Codex Review

“Another day, another metal album flaunting our cosmic insignificance in the face of unfathomable monstrosity. Lovecraft and death metal are like milk and honey, so Lord Cthulhu Almighty, take me to the promised land. Bands like Sulphur Aeon, Abyssal Ascendant, and Catacombs pluck my heartstrings with tentacled grace and eldritch care, taking my mind’s eye to the depths of R’lyeh – and it’s fucking Christmas in the abyss year-round, baby.” How Bizarre.

Crescent – Carving the Fires of Akhet Review

Crescent – Carving the Fires of Akhet Review

“I’ve said it before and, Ra be damned, I’ll say it again. I love eastern themes in metal. As a result, my interest is naturally piqued by any band utilizing those progressions or from that part of the world. I discussed this at length in my review of Crescent’s 2018 album The Order of Amenti. These Egyptians definitely know how to implement dynamic scales amidst stone-cracking riffs. Now, ignited with a little new blood, Carving the Fires of Akhet prepares to descend on the masses in a flurry of smoke and ash.” Axe, wax or wane?