“Unearthly Rites are a new kid on the block in Finnish death metal, with only an EP to their name prior to the release of debut full-length, Ecdysis. Formed by scene vets with time spent in Sink, Hexhammer, and Fuck-Ushima, they bring plenty of experience to the party. What Unearthly Rites offer is a ghastly amalgamation of raw old school death, grind, and crust, curated and designed to cave in your face with the resulting unnatural sound profile.” Earth as mass grave.
“Crawl, to put it simply, sounds pissed off. Not one to fuck with, Crawl’s sound hearkens to those HM-2 legends we all know very well (Entombed, Dismember), but filtered through the punky swagger and unlimited ire of acts like Goregäng and Vomitheist. Knowing all three of those things—HM-2 pedals, Goregäng, and Vomitheist—found a warm bed in the death mansion that is the prolific Transcending Obscurity Records, most of our readership automatically know what to expect from Altars of Disgust.” HM-2 and YOU.
“As per usual with Darkthrone these days, a new record arrived without any notice and NO ONE got the promo until after its release. So, here I am trying to toss together a review at the last second for a band whose process is so annoying that I don’t even want to review them. But, I love Darkthrone.” When the smackins beckons…
“Ossilegium, “[o]ne of the best-kept secrets of Chicago’s metal scene,” are a duo hoping to come out of the crypt with panache, playing a brand of black(ened death) metal that hearkens back to decades past. No frills, all ferocity. Going for old-school means high expectations for catchiness and bite, if not intrigue.” Bring out your death.
“If you’ve been following the modern grindcore scene in any fashion over the past fifteen years, then you’ve at least heard of Maryland’s high-output, low-trend grindmongers Full of Hell. Collaborating or splitting space with everyone from tough punks Code Orange to Japanese static spinner Merzbow to pneumatic pulse demons The Body, Full of Hell scrapes ideas from every corner in the extreme music space to fuel the iterative process of the twenty to thirty-minute burners that are their “full-length” releases.” Hell is home.
“How I’ve never known about France’s ACOD is beyond me, and I heartily apologize to them because I’ve been having a hella good time with many of their releases. Beginning their career as a black/thrash outfit with metalcore tendencies, they began to explore Mephorash-meets-Septicflesh territories around the time of their 2018 release, The Divine Triumph. While there are thrashy moments, the songwriting is now predominantly massive string atmospheres, marching drumbeats, cranked-up bass work, and riff after motherfucking riff.” ACOD AOK.
“Couch Slut does not concern itself with the prettier things in life. While the noise rock tag may be a dead giveaway, the unconvinced need only to look at the cover of the Brooklyn five-piece’s 2014 debut My Life as a Woman (not at work) to understand. The monotone theme is a spirit likewise captured in fourth full-length You Could Do It Tonight, displaying a humanity succumbing to vice, filth, and weed.” Couched in debauchery.
“Little explanation is required for why I chose Beneath the Blazing Abyss for review. From artwork and title alone I was promised a fiery, hellish heavy metal experience, while Baron’s one sheet informed me this would be of the doom/death variety. I even initially thought that the art depicted an interpretation of the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. However, closer inspection reveals a decapitated head offered to demonic spirits; altogether too X-rated for the famously conservative Christian Tolkien. While these Finns have released a smattering of EPs and demos previously, this album offers their debut full-length. What type of evil resides within?” Nobility and brutality.
“Post-black isn’t a style I would normally associate with themes of viscera or ritualism. Stereotypes and caricatures exist as Deafheaven school of thought, quite cheery affairs with sanguine post-rock melodies atop a foundation of distant blastbeats and shrieks. Ecr.Linf offers no such grace.” Grace and the hammer.
“In terms of quality, if not international recognition, Dvne has undergone what one could describe as a meteoric rise. Debut Asheran barged onto my list that year on the heels of my glowing TYMHM article. Sophomore Etemen Ænka went bigger, more expansive, and did so successfully, showcasing an astonishing array of performances and songwriting prowess. All this praise from yours truly hasn’t gone unnoticed, either, as Dvne has quickly become a fan favorite in this corner of the internet, and the band’s hanging with the big boys over at Metal Blade. The hype for Voidkind has been understandably unreal, but is the third time still the charm when both prior times were full-blown knock-outs?” Void unkind?
