Diabolus in Muzaka

If you're not into Live in Leipzig, you are not his friend.

Trillionaire – Romulus Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on January 26, 2021 in Reviews, Hard Rock, 18 comments

“Now my questions are more pointed, such as what specific right is protected by what’s often called the Lumley v Gye tort. When I was in my first year, I couldn’t envision asking such a question. Two and one-half academic years later, I’ve got more questions than answers. Adding to this litany of questions is one that has nothing to do with law, philosophy, hamburgers, Live in Leipzig, beer, or any of those things I frequently write about. This question is as follows: what would happen if The Haunted circa Unseen wanted to make something like newer Thrice and Saliva?” Socratic disaster.

Svartkonst – Black Waves [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

By Diabolus in Muzaka on January 1, 2021 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, Black Metal, Death Metal, 30 comments

“What do you get when you cross Watain circa Lawless Darkness with what’s commonly been referred to as Entombed-core? Svartkonst, and it rules. Black Waves is the solo project’s second record and has none of the hallmarks of a sophomore slump.” Rough seas.

Wanderer – Awakening Force [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

By Diabolus in Muzaka on December 10, 2020 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, 54 comments

“For the second year in a row, a metal band from Portugal floored me with something I had no idea that I wanted to hear until I heard it. Last year it was Midnight Priest, and this year it’s Wanderer with their debut record Awakening Force. It’s not that either band are doing something extremely novel, but it’s their execution and emphasis on specific parts of their influences that make them both special.” All that wander and not lame.

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

By Diabolus in Muzaka on December 7, 2020 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, Death Metal, 38 comments

“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.

Undergang – Aldrig i livet Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on December 3, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, 26 comments

“Back in 2011 when Indhentet Af Døden dropped, Undergang got onto my radar because they were described as a mix of Obituary and Demilich, which is obviously a winning combination. I couldn’t wait to get my grubby mitts on that record, and when I did, they got even grubbier because Undergang plays filthy, sewer-dwelling death metal exclusively.” Septic mesh.

Lie in Ruins – Floating in Timeless Streams Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on November 20, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, 7 comments

“Stylistically, Lie in Ruins plays what someone who likes dumb music puns could call “Finncantation” – basically that weighty, doomed style of death metal made famous by Incantation played with the strange but characteristic melodicism of Lie in Ruin’s home country of Finland.” Like an everflowing cavern stream.

Demonical – World Domination Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on October 29, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, 18 comments

“Demonical is a reliably good band from that everflowing stream of Swe-death. I got into them on the fun Death Infernal and kept with them ever since. I know when I want some cool modern Swe-death that merges Dismember, Entombed, and Amon Amarth pretty effectively, I can turn to Demonical.” Demonical inwasion!

Benediction – Scriptures Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on October 16, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, 47 comments

“When I first heard Benediction, it was on the indispensable Death…Is Just the Beginning II with “Dark is the Season.” I still get that opening riff stuck in my head from time to time. Many moons ago when I first discovered Anaal Nathrakh, I learned that vocalist Dave Hunt had performed on Benediction’s 2008 release Killing Music, I was rather ambivalent upon hearing it. Sometime around then I heard Bolt Thrower’s underrated Honour Valour Pride, which featured Benediction’s best-known vocalist Dave Ingram, and I loved his performance. Ingram’s stellar performance on the title track of Megascavenger’s At the Plateaus of Leng was a big factor in me picking it up. Scriptures, Benediction’s first release since Killing Music, sees Ingram return to the fold and my expectations measured.” Death… is beginning again.

Lik – Misanthropic Breed Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on October 6, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, 26 comments

“Critic-bait comes in two forms: pretension and novelty. Critics are often a special mixture of jaded and self-important, so something that appeals to an inflated sense of one’s own intelligence or to that jaded sensibility which dismisses the familiar reflexively, respectively, is what sets the critical heart aflutter. Lik is not critic-bait, but they’ve got this particular critic hook, line, and sinker.” Dismember tomorrow.

Kataklysm – Unconquered Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on October 1, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 50 comments

“I’ve stuck by Kataklysm for a long time. The Quebecois death metal institution has remained a personal favorite for ages, partly because I grew up with the stuff. I became a fan through great records like Shadows & Dust, Serenity in Fire, In the Arms of Devastation, and the underrated Prevail. One tends to associate the era of a band most formative to their tastes with the sound of that band, which makes sense; that’s what caused them to become a fan, after all. As time takes its toll, things change; we can’t stagnate forever. Sometimes, after an absence, we don’t recognize our friend for a moment. Such was my initial reaction to Unconquered.” Identity crisis.