“I love last year’s Ghost Bath release. I say this not to stir up yet another round of fruitless discussion debating the validity of the band, but rather to place this review in context. As much of a fan as I am of traditional black metal, I’m by no means a purist, and I see value in the genre’s post-rock inspired incarnation as a means of borrowing and remixing traditional blackened tropes in an unexpectedly serene context. Ewig.Endlich. displays an acute understanding of how this formula works; their debut LP, Auf Grund, runs the gamut from melancholic post-rock to traditional black metal and does so with a respectable level of competence.” Competence is its own reward.
WOOAAARGH
Repulsione – Desecrating Review
“It was to be the heist of the century, my crowning achievement: sneaking a suspiciously un-hyped release by original grinders Repulsion out from under everyone else’s grubby eyes and watchful mitts. And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for that pesky e. What a difference a letter makes. Enter Italian vets Repulsione. All the grind you wanted, now with twice the bass.” E-limination.
Human Cull – Stillborn Nation Review
“Band names are difficult to decide on, which is why so many of them are overwrought (Cryptopsy), ridiculous (Gorguts), deliberately self-effacing (literally any local hardcore band) or a combination of the aforementioned (The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza). No matter how terrible or fantastic a band is, their name can have a huge effect on what you think of them. Enter Eexeter’s Human Cull, a band whose sobriquet is so fantastically violent and straightforward that it could only signal one thing: really good grind.” Good grind is hard to find. Ask anybody.