Dear Hollow

2 coo 4 schoo, 2 dear 5 hollow
Trance of the Undead – Chalice of Disease Review

Trance of the Undead – Chalice of Disease Review

“Sometimes you just need an audio beating, to crank that funky brutal music to 11 and let your ears bleed. The issue with a lot of beatdown music is that there’s simply too much of it and not enough contrast, which is why bands like Isis or Opeth were applauded in their heyday, while Tetragammacide and Deiphago are chastised like a class clown. Having your skull beaten in is fine and dandy, but you need some sophistication. A baseball bat made of maple instead of ash, perhaps, or a titanium crowbar instead of iron. Maybe a fist with some pretty rings or maybe even a bedazzled tire iron? Brazil’s Trance of the Undead utilizes predictable beatdown techniques in its blackened death attack.” Discount diseases.

Pa Vesh En – Maniac Manifest Review

Pa Vesh En – Maniac Manifest Review

“Another day, another raw black metal act. I was gonna go into the obligatory rant about how it’s the aural form of licorice, but suffice it to say: you either hate it or you love tolerate it. If you’re a masochist who likes to have your ears bleeding on the reg, dive in. If you prefer your music tasteful and somewhat reasonable, stay away. Unless it’s Pa Vesh En, who, along with acts like Black Cilice or Lamp of Murmuur, regularly provide tasteful interpretations of barbed wire tones.” Angry cargo.

Antediluvian – The Divine Punishment Review

Antediluvian – The Divine Punishment Review

Antediluvian has always been a strange beast. Although undoubtedly akin to the aforementioned hordes of black/death density-meisters, these Oilers have always been slickly produced and solidly written. While acts like Grave Upheaval and Altarage are lost at murk in swaths of ambiance and distortion, Antediluvian prioritizes a strong tether of percussion to guide it.” You can’t punish the willing.

Sermon of Flames – I Have Seen the Light, and It Was Repulsive Review

Sermon of Flames – I Have Seen the Light, and It Was Repulsive Review

“I was more than ready to write off Sermon of Flames as just another dissodeath album. It meets all the criteria: lurching riffs, wormy dissonance, bellowing insanity, and above all, violent disregard for its listeners. Its black/death breed recalls the mighty Mitochondrion or Abyssal with its hellish intensity and atmosphere – like many albums of its ilk. Just like every person, Sermon of Flames’ debut I Have Seen the Light, and It Was Repulsive is full of flaws and inconsistencies, highlights and strengths.” Things that cannot be unseen.

Gloop – Crayon Sun Review

Gloop – Crayon Sun Review

Gloop is a trio from West Virginia but currently based in Baltimore, having released two full-lengths since 2017. A truly disconcerting brew of noise rock by way of no-wave with a healthy dose of bluesy rock and upbeat punk, Crayon Sun takes Gloop to darker depths with in-your-face dissonance, angular riffs, and a defiant punk attitude. A shapeshifting beast both apathetic, frenetic, and abrasive.” The Glooper.

Devoid of Thought – Outer World Graves Review

Devoid of Thought – Outer World Graves Review

“Do you remember when Blood Incantation was the poster-boy of radical and boundary-pushing death metal? Pepperidge Farm remembers. Since then, however, it’s become cool to hate on the hype, and your favorite ancient alien-loving Denverites have become the flavor of “ugh, those pretentious bastards?” in spite of Hidden History of the Human Race earning a roaring 4.0 from the illustrious L. Saunders and earning acclaim from across the metalverse. Their use of OSDM with cosmic themes and enough psychedelic flourishes to get you to start smelling space colors was ambitious and thoughtful, and I believe, undeserving of the hate. I hope you like Blood Incantation, because Devoid of Thought does.”” Stare into devoid.

Bohemyst – Čerň A Smrt Review

Bohemyst – Čerň A Smrt Review

“C’mon, plague doctors are fucking rad. Who else can look like that much of a bird and still come across as badass? Throw in a sickle, a full moon, and an aura of divine punishment, ignoring that the graphics look straight outta some 2008 Assassin’s Creed DLC, and you’ve got yourself a pretty neat lil’ cover there. So, fancy cover? Check. Black metal? Check. Band from Eastern Europe? Czech. All my rambling to say, my interest is piqued. Bohemyst better get my motor running or else I’ll verbally smite it into the next dimension.” Motivational plagues.

Nothing Noble – Modern Dismay Review

Nothing Noble – Modern Dismay Review

“I’m not sure how everyone got their start with metal, but there had to be a bit of a transition to the more extreme stuff, unless you eat nails for breakfast while listening to Cryptopsy’s None So Vile. Unlike you sausage or oatmeal or vegemite shippers who are descended from the yesteryears of heavy, thrash, or doom, I enjoy my eggs with my bacon: my origins of Christian metalcore a la Demon Hunter, Haste the Day, and Oh Sleeper stick with me. While metalcore has not been the kindest to me thus far in 2021, I’m always rooting for any that may wander across my lap like a feral kitten. Is Nothing Noble available for adoption?” Dismay Day.

Groza – The Redemptive End Review

Groza – The Redemptive End Review

“I was tentative about taking this album. I was familiar with Groza’s debut Unified in Void from 2018, granting it a casual listen and making that “not bad” Obama Rage Comic face from 2012. If one peruses the Metallum profile of these Germans, you’ll be graced with the shocking sight of a whopping 0% average review score from three reviews. Why, you ask? Probably because — and maybe this is obvious given the act’s name and a certain Polish full-length debut — Groza sounds a hell of a lot like Mgła. That’s unfair, awarding no merit to an album simply because it imitates another. I mean, if fans cancelled every act that sounded like Transilvanian Hunger, we’d have no black metal left.” The end of influence?

Moon Reaper – Descent Review

Moon Reaper – Descent Review

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m a genre stickler at heart. I find a lot of comfort knowing where to fit every release that comes across my doorstep, so when acts swoop in to challenge that, I’m simultaneously uneasy and intrigued. There are plenty of folks that fall into this category but perhaps the most intriguing has been the UK act Conjurer. I’ve seen these lads described as everything from Swallow the Sun-esque death/doom, Cult of Luna-worshiping post-metal/sludge, to the blackened doom of Thou. 2018’s Mire is a landmark in its own right, and as we anxiously await its followup, we find newcomers Moon Reaper, definitely fans of Conjurer.” Genre reaping.