Dark Descent Records

Craven Idol – The Shackles of Mammon Review

Craven Idol – The Shackles of Mammon Review

“When I’m not knee-deep in moonlight and grave-soil, espousing the charnel delights of death metal’s immortal old-school, I can be found belligerently vibrating in the eye of a thrash storm, armed with only the most hostile and confrontational of riffs. S. Vrath is a man that well knows my plight. Guitarist, vocalist, and sometimes bassist of Scythian and Craven Idolhere is an individual that understands the importance of a well-forged riff and the immediate implications for my beleaguered vertebrae.” If thine neck offends thee, thrash it out!

Lantern – II: Morphosis Review

Lantern – II: Morphosis Review

“There are a few bands, of late, grasping abundances of classic death metal in one hand and, with a fistful of innovation in the other, slamming the two together like some kind of malignant Large Hadron Collider®, letting that resulting abomination billow into our collective unsuspecting consciousness. Finland’s Lantern are such augurs of unrest, mixing a witches brew of black and death metal to trouble the mind and fray the nerves.” Were you thinking of LeBron James instead of Hadron Collider? It’s okay.

Gorephilia – Severed Monolith Review

Gorephilia – Severed Monolith Review

“Gorephilia. Just the word, let alone the cover, should clue you in as to what genre this release belongs to. Like most people, it’s not a term that often finds itself in my daily vocabulary, heard only by local restaurant staff when instructing them as to how to cook my fucking cow. Turns out in Finland it means grim, Morbid Angel worshiping death metal.” Gore is hell. [Gorephilia. What else can we really add to that one? Rich man, gore man, Incantation man, die!]

Concert Review: Ulcerate, Zhrine, Phobocosm, and Vukari at Reggie’s, Chicago, Illinois – November 27th, 2016

Concert Review: Ulcerate, Zhrine, Phobocosm, and Vukari at Reggie’s, Chicago, Illinois – November 27th, 2016

“So it was with great portent that night fell upon Reginald’s Emporium of the Fine Arts, cloaking Chicago in a sickly sodium glow. Just on the edge of Chinatown, next to a bombed-out taco joint under the Green Line, brutality was brewing, summoned in darkness from the ragged edges of the Earth. And as the sun set, than the venue was assailed by… no one at all.” The abyss is a lonely place.

Ruinous – Graves of Ceaseless Death Review

Ruinous – Graves of Ceaseless Death Review

“With the relative ease in which bands are able to record and self-release, on top of the multitude of established artists and independent labels on the scene, I’m pretty much constantly playing catch up and trying to absorb as much quality metal as I can get my grubby hands on. All the while trying in vain to siphon out the bullshit that inevitably pops up in the endless flood of artists emerging.” That siphon’s not gonna clean itself.

Krypts – Remnants of Expansion Review

Krypts – Remnants of Expansion Review

“For reasons I can’t quite pinpoint, the band’s solid debut didn’t wow me like it did others, leaving me a touch underwhelmed after diving headlong into the thick as a brick stew of churning riffs and unsettling atmosphere. Repeat listens after an extended break have been kind and my opinion of the album is a little more positive. So being a persistent trooper I jumped on Krypts follow-up platter, Remnants of Expansion, hopeful they could capitalize on their considerable potential.” Talk to the monster hand.

Blood Incantation – Starspawn Review

Blood Incantation – Starspawn Review

“The endless darkness, desolation, intriguing mystery and suffocating atmosphere of space pairs well with metal. Science fiction themes, dystopian futures and extra terrestrial shenanigans are all familiar sources of inspiration in the metal scene, however Colorado up and comers Blood Incantation do a particularly excellent job of nailing down the dense reality, claustrophobic atmosphere and otherworldly vibe of our mysterious universe on their hugely impressive full-length debut, Starspawn.” Space in your face.

Vanhelgd – Temple of Phobos Review

Vanhelgd – Temple of Phobos Review

“Let’s cut right to the chase, peeps; we live in a time where there’s very little innovation to be had within our blessed little circle of extreme music. Sure, you have bands that throw humongous curveballs at you from the far left, or those bands where they don’t innovate, but they sure as hell deliver with incredible conviction and sincerity. But more often than not, we are caught amidst the never-ending waves of retro-insert trend here.” Why do people always expect new stuff? You’re lucky to get olde stuff! Ingrates….

Sheidim – Shrines of the Void Review

Sheidim – Shrines of the Void Review

“One of the little rituals this modern world has created around music is the five-second Google “research” for whatever relevant info we can find on a new or unknown act. Doing this for Spanish black/death metallers Sheidim pointed me to a wiki-page about the shedim, demons from Jewish tradition that follow death and fly around graves. It also gave me a bunch of names that were as unknown to me as this young group. But there were two repeatedly referenced names that I knew. The first was Watain.” That’s funny, I never knew Watain was Jewish.