Treble Yell

Disparager – Existential Dread Review

Disparager – Existential Dread Review

“Wisdom is a recluse, shunning most who seek it and often ignored when it crawls from out from its shade. Few of us possess it and those that claim so are the least likely to present proof of its mantel. I’m neither a sage nor an oracle like the priestesses of Delphi: the words of the divine do not flow past my lips, at least as far as I’m aware. If I was the Pythia, however, and my wisdom was sought by a band then you can be sure that I would stress in no uncertain terms to never name yourself or your music in such a way to invite jibes and self-satisfied one-liners from critics looking for an easy zinger.” Mistakes were made.

Wendigo – Wasteland Stories Review

Wendigo – Wasteland Stories Review

“I don’t know when it happened but at some point I become Cardinal Treble Yell, Debut Album Inquisitor to the twisted church of AMG. Once tallied it was a surprise to discover that debut albums made up a sizable portion of my body of work, so much so you could say I wasn’t expecting it. No one expects it. The chief reason for this is a desire to discover unknown bands…and expose myself to unfamiliar sounds…unknown bands and unfamiliar sounds… My two reasons are unknown bands and unfamiliar sounds…and also because I’m late when it comes to claiming promos… My three reasons are unknown bands, unfamiliar sounds and late promo picking.” Cardinal of the Wasteland.

Hellnite – Midnight Terrors Review

Hellnite – Midnight Terrors Review

“During their halcyon years Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax loomed large over the thrash landscape, basking in success and spawning a fanbase so large it defied a horizon. But there existed a tier below the A and B-listers, bands like Allegiance, Heathen and Xentrix who eked out a modest existence built on solid albums supported by a coterie of eager followers. This is not a vein you’d expect a modern thrash band to mine for inspiration, yet that is exactly where Hellnite have chosen to strike their pickaxe with their debut album, Midnight Terrors.” Mine the medium.

Imha Tarikat – Kara Ihlas Review

Imha Tarikat – Kara Ihlas Review

“The dichotomy of black metal is that despite pockets of cell-division spawning mutations of various strains, the genre prefers to spurn innovation and maintain its core of anti-religious suppurations. For every Solefald, Patria, or Ihsahn out there pushing black metal out from its comfort zone, there are legions of corpse paint-bedecked bands stoking the fires of tradition with coals of unimaginative blast-beats and stale iconoclasm. I love black metal, but that love tends to seek out bands who demonstrate innovation rather than those who peddle another tired take on Under a Funeral Moon. I crave something different and that thirst has lead me to Kara Ihlas.” Different god, same blackness.

Virgin Black – Requiem – Pianissimo Review

Virgin Black – Requiem – Pianissimo Review

“There was a time when The End Records could do no wrong. Agalloch, Green Carnation, Antimatter, the label churned out a stream of genre-defining albums by metal bands large and small. So confident was I in their curation that I set upon buying practically every release The End Records put out, at least until the wheels fell off and the label debased itself by churning out mainstream dreck. But it was fantastic while it lasted, and Sombre Romantic, the 2001 debut record of Adelaide-based Virgin Black, was one of the early successes that left an indelible impression with its contrasting cries of doom and operatic embellishments.” A night at the opera.

Dark Sarah – The Golden Moth Review

Dark Sarah – The Golden Moth Review

“Hope is a curious thing. It is sustenance where nourishment is absent; light where darkness broods; a rope thrown into a pit where escape is unfathomable. When I was saddled with Dark Sarah’s previous album, The Puzzle, back in 2016, I was little more than a whelp on this venerable site. I was tasked with making hay from a record hewn from gaudy symphonic metal, a genre I had little appetite for and went about my assignment with scant enthusiasm. Hope is what I clung to, the hope that The Puzzle would be the exception to the rule. The end result was an album of middling quality that held potential for much more. So here we are with Dark Sarah’s new release, The Golden Moth, and again I find myself turning to hope.” Make the climb.

Descent – Towers of Grandiosity Review

Descent – Towers of Grandiosity Review

“Though buried deep underground, the metal scene has been a constant fixture in Australia for decades. While no genre is shirked, death metal seems to be the one that spawns in numbers comparable to the infinite variety of Tim-Tams that clog our biscuit aisles. And it’s not the couth, be-speckled type of tech-death either. No, it’s the putrid, knuckle-dragging variety – foul, angry music that is violence committed in red and black. This hostile predilection is a curious thing, it seemingly runs counter to our laidback, “she’ll be right” attitude.” No Serenity now!

Halcyon Way – Bloody But Unbowed Review

Halcyon Way – Bloody But Unbowed Review

“Just because you wore yourself down to the stubs doesn’t mean you produced anything worth a damn. It’s about what you achieve, not how much of it. Halcyon Way would seem to disagree. Having built their reputation on grit and gumption, they stand proud of their latest album, Bloody But Unbowed, a declaration to dogged persistence if there ever was one. But, does effort guarantee success?” Prog-thrash is a dangerous game.

Khanus – Flammarion Review

Khanus – Flammarion Review

“Deep within a pock-marked chapel with cracked and occluded windowpanes / Withered ivy breaches the façade like consuming, pestilent varicose veins / Corpulent roots tear mottled floorboards and entangle with glee decaying pews / As spluttering light in copper braziers illuminate bodies in sallow hues / The congregation moan and shuffle, clutching their hands against their chest / While acrid smoke from burning censers coils in pools at the priest’s behest / An eerie thrum begins to vibrate, its violence smothering the crowd’s sharp cries / As shadowy figures approach the pulpit with fanaticism burning in their eyes / Khanus are here, robed and feverous, a rictus grin creases their face…” Death smiles at all of us.