Melodic Death Metal

Predatoria – Casting Shadows Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on March 26, 2019 in 2019, Belgian Metal, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 65 comments

“Predatoria’s debut EP, Unmarked Graves…Tell No Tales is one of the best death metal EPs I’ve ever heard. It’s crushing and catchy, merging the best aspects of Bolt Thrower and Amon Amarth with a vocal performance that reminds of Chris Barnes on Torture Killer’s Swarm. Given that I’m fond of all those things, the skillful mixture of them into twenty-odd minutes of death metal glory was an offer I couldn’t refuse. Three years later, Predatoria has evolved and diversified their sound a bit.” Warfare evolved.

Aephanemer – Prokopton Review

By Dr. Wvrm on March 20, 2019 in 2019, French Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Primeval Records, Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, 189 comments

“The vaunted sophomore album. The dreaded sophomore album. It’s a metal rite of passage nowadays, fully reflective of our hyper-streamlined society, for the raw and promising to go from who-the-fucks to our favorite bands in an insanely compressed period of time. This tends to be especially true for AMG favorites—see Wilderun, Æther Realm, Khemmis, Cân Bardd, Altars of Grief, Hamferð, etc., etc. Since the opening bars of their 2016 debut Momento Mori, I prayed that someday Aephanemer would assume their rightful place in that most hallowed legion.” One giant step.

Black Therapy – Echoes of Dying Memories Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on March 19, 2019 in 2019, Black Lion Records, Italian Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Death Doom, Melodic Death Metal, 137 comments

“Nobody sane wishes to be sad, but at some points in our lives we all have been, and it’s beyond dispute that emotional pain will be a part of our future. This begs the question of why we metalheads tend to seek out and enjoy music that evokes feelings of sorrow and listen for our own enjoyment. I’ve always found melancholy set to music a beautiful thing but have never considered why I’ve found it so. Perhaps it’s because to mourn a loss, a man must care deeply about that which has departed. Perhaps it’s the ubiquity of sorrow, and the sad song’s reminder that we’re not alone in our perils. Perhaps it’s the confronting of melancholy through music which gives us courage and makes us feel like we’ve faced down that which we feared. Perhaps it’s none or all these things, or perhaps more.” Therapeutic suffering.

Meadows End – The Grand Antiquation Review

By El Cuervo on March 12, 2019 in 2019, Black Lion Records, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Symphonic Metal, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Symphonic Metal, 82 comments

Sweden’s Meadows End has been pushing their symphonic metal wares on the world for over 20 years and across 3 full-length albums yet had surprisingly avoided coverage at this website thus far. Album four goes by the name of The Grand Antiquation (TGA) and features album artwork about which I am undecided: is it delightfully tacky or just tacky? Light / dark theme? Check. Angel / devil imagery? Check. Heaven / Hell setting? Check? Shotgun wielded in one hand Terminator-style? Check. It’s certainly eye-catching and perhaps an indicator of the unsubtle amalgamation of metal and classical housed within. But does it fall closer to Heaven or Hell?” Worse or better angels?

Children of Bodom – Hexed Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on March 8, 2019 in 2019, Finnish Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Nuclear Blast, Power Metal, Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal, 120 comments

“I’m a little more broken, a lot less trusting, and a touch more cynical than before. Such is life. So, it’s only fitting my return would be alongside Finland’s Children of Bodom; a band that’s been giving the finger for years. Comebacks are never perfect and never as hyped as we all want them to be but, in an imperfect way, CoB and Doc are back. Yup, fuck you, world.” Hexed and vexed.

Dying Embers – Where Shadeless Dwell Frozen Review

By GardensTale on March 5, 2019 in 2019, Austrian Metal, Black Sunset Records, Gothic Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Gothic Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal, 35 comments

“In the mid-00’s, I was just starting to dip my toes into the realms of metal. Maybe it was just the entry point I had with Children of Bodom, but there were a slew of bands that were called melodic death metal, but like a Scooby Doo villain, turned out to be power metal with some harsh vocals, some of them adding some cues from Gothic metal to seem a little darker. Bands like Eternal Tears of Sorrow or Before the Dawn went over well with pubescent me, with their straightforward, Maidenesque guitar harmonies and gloomy veneer. Dying Embers fall in this category as well, being tagged melodic death metal, and instead molding bits of Gothic and growls onto a mid-paced power metal album with the unwieldy title Where Shadeless Dwell Frozen. Time to feel like a teenager again.” Drama Club metal.

Vanir – Allfather Review

By Dr. Wvrm on February 19, 2019 in 2019, Danish Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Mighty Music, Reviews, Viking Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Viking Metal, 31 comments

“What got you here won’t be what gets you there. Vanir know a bit about that. After three doots on the folk metal flute, the Danes bulked up with 2016’s Aldar Rök, adding another axe to the ever-growing Viking metal hordes. I always applaud a pivot; if you’re not improving, you’re dying. But with Vanir’s first attempt not exactly summoning my Bifrost, my expectations for Allfather are tempered.” Northern haze.

Carnal Forge – Gun to Mouth Salvation Review

By Ferrous Beuller on February 11, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Thrash Metal, ViciSolum Productions, Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 79 comments

“Carnal Forge managed to carve something of an identity by qualifying their ubiquitous melodeath with Germanic thrash rhythms. After a twelve year hiatus, these melodeath thrashers have returned with some new blood intent on riffs aplenty.” Gun control.

Deserted Fear – Drowned by Humanity Review

By Kronos on February 11, 2019 in 2019, Century Media, German Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, 74 comments

“When I think “German death metal,” I usually think of names like Muhammed Suiçmez, Lille Gruber, and Christian Münzner. Innovators in technicality and brutality, all three of them have left their mark on metal despite the drowsy German death metal scene. Every so often though, the sleeping snore, and the cause of the rumble today is a different trio with a different take on death metal. Deserted Fear pay homage to their boreal neighbors via a chunky synthesis of Björriffs and Viking simplicity, and even if their fourth album, Drowned by Humanity¸ won’t awaken Teutonic death metal, it stirs the body enough to delay a death pronouncement.” Oh, the Humanity.

Rifftera – Across the Acheron Review

By Doom_et_Al on February 10, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, Finnish Metal, Inverse Records, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 37 comments

“From a metal perspective, 2019 has been decidedly underwhelming so far. When the promo bin threw me a melo-death album by a band whose name sounds like an adolescent parody of iconic metal giants, I had little hope that things would improve. This sophomore effort by Finnish band Rifftera follows 2015’s Pitch Black; a self-produced smorgasbord of melodic death metal, thrash, power and prog, smashed together with the grace of a junkyard compactor, and then played with the dial at 11. It was fun, but it was a mess.” Have these Finnish melodeath-thrashers gotten their shit together?