Unique Leader

Obliterate – Impending Death Review

Obliterate – Impending Death Review

By Master of Muppets on May 30, 2018 in 2018, Canadian Metal, Deathcore, Reviews, Slam, Unique Leader, Deathcore, 95 comments

“Though the list of bizarre shit to be experienced and eventually incorporated into the norm only continues to grow, there are still some things that you just don’t expect to actually encounter for yourself. Cheese-stuffed fried chicken, lapdogs that aren’t insufferable yippy shits, an album brutal enough for Kronos… each of these wonderful oddities exists, but they’re hard at work being hard to find and proving my point. Among this list of wonderment and rarity is deathcore that I can tolerate beyond 15 seconds.” Buried treasurecore.

Ingested – The Level Above Human Review

Ingested – The Level Above Human Review

By Kronos on April 26, 2018 in British Metal, Death Metal, Deathcore, Reviews, Unique Leader, Deathcore, Slam, 46 comments

“Slow year for death metal though it has been, things are speeding up — metaphorically, that is. Manchester’s finest slamongers are back with their fourth full-length insult, The Level Above Human, and as always they’re peddling their trademark combination of deathcore and brutal slam. It’s an influential mix and one that plenty of today’s slam-purveyors like Vulvodynia and Abominable Putridity owe their success to. Yet as fun, as the beatdown combo can be, quality control has never been a hallmark of either genre. Ingested navigate the bloodied, goopy waters of brutal deathcore as well as any crew of veteran slam sailors, and though The Level Above Human won’t change your world, it will change the position of your head in relation to that world with great regularity.” Level up or die.

Krosis – Solem Vatem Review

Krosis – Solem Vatem Review

By Kronos on March 13, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Deathcore, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Unique Leader, Deathcore, 58 comments

“It seems as if the late-2000s progressive deathcore scene is still strong, with stalwarts like Born of Osiris still putting out albums while newcomers like Shadow of Intent drop new and exciting explorations of the style. Perhaps it’s the years lost to the flash-in-the-pan djent experiments or the people playing the music simply growing older, but the oft-maligned microgenre seems to have become a bit more self-aware in the decade since its inception. And while gauged earlobes and squeaky-clean production die hard, good songwriting lasts forever. Do Krosis have what it takes to keep it moving forward?” Death and songcraft.

Alterbeast – Feast Review

Alterbeast – Feast Review

By Kronos on February 22, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Unique Leader, Death Metal, 2 comments

“Ah, Unique Leader records, what would we do without you? I’d certainly be out an unpaid reviewing job, and I’m sure Par Olafsson and Zack Ohren would see a lot less business. Tirades and drinking games notwithstanding, I’m always game to snatch up Unique Leader Records next release, and in this case it’s the sophomore effort from Sacramento-based Alterbeast.” Tech-death pong.

Oblivion – The Path Towards… Review

Oblivion – The Path Towards… Review

By Ferrous Beuller on November 28, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Technical Death Metal, Unique Leader, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 48 comments

“Having generated quite the buzz with their debut album thanks, in no small part, to the reputation of frontman, Dr. Nick Vasallo, whose legacy as musical professor, composer extraordinaire and deathcore wizard continues to precede him, expectations were set justifiably high.” The path to tech-wank.

Afterbirth – The Time Traveler’s Dilemma

Afterbirth – The Time Traveler’s Dilemma

By Kronos on July 26, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Slam, Unique Leader, Death Metal, Slam, 21 comments

“Ever since zombies killed his dog in 2007, Will Smith has been dealing with his grief in the healthy way: by gurgling, screaming, and howling his way across New York’s underground metal scene. Many will be familiar with his work in Buckshot Facelift and Artificial Brain, and his talents are just as well displayed in Afterbirth.” Rage therapy.

Cytotoxin -Gammageddon Review

Cytotoxin -Gammageddon Review

By Kronos on July 19, 2017 in 2017, Death Metal, German Metal, Releases, Technical Death Metal, Unique Leader, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 40 comments

“Cytotoxin, back five years after 2012’s Radiophobia and thankfully not much altered. The same slammy riffing, the same unsparing vocals, the same troubling nuclear disaster fetishism, and the same hyper-fast sweep picked leads – but this time there’s more of them.” Kronos is back, and so is Cytotoxin. What a day!

Hideous Divinity – Adveniens Review

Hideous Divinity – Adveniens Review

By Ferrous Beuller on May 1, 2017 in 2017, Death Metal, Italian Metal, Reviews, Technical Death Metal, Unique Leader, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 126 comments

“Few could argue that the current Italian extreme metal scene is in poor health. Synthesizing a mixture of brutality and technicality to topple all manner of Renaissance genius, a cornucopia of bands have thundered from the woodwork in the last decade or so to propagate their brand of air-tight demolition. That said, as much as I love a good aural beating, I also require a pinch of musicality to help differentiate from the faceless hordes. Hideous Divinity, a band whose lineup includes current and former members of Aborted and Hour of Penance, have occasionally toed a fine line for me.” Tech-death from the old country.