New Zealand Metal

Ulcerate – Shrines of Paralysis Review

Ulcerate – Shrines of Paralysis Review

“God is dead, but what can be done once the corpse is buried? Just to the left of nihilism, HP Lovecraft staked out a territory where divinity was absent and mankind insignificant, battered by forces beyond time and comprehension. Anti-christian, nihilistic, and cosmicist themes have all long been staples of metal, both lyrically and musically – but after decades the fear is gone; the well dry and the water stagnant. To reach ever greater extremes, these tropes must be transcended. Ulcerate did so.” Look busy, the abyss is watching.

Bloodnut – Blues from the Red Sons Review

Bloodnut – Blues from the Red Sons Review

“I’m a big supporter of not taking yourself too seriously. From bands like Gloryhammer to movies like Tucker and Dale vs Evil, a little tongue in cheek, self deprecating humor can get you a lot of sympathy. Case in point: Bloodnut is Australian slang for redhead and the whole band pride themselves on being gingers all around. They don’t take themselves too seriously either.” Red is the new black.

Beastwars – The Death of All Things Review

Beastwars – The Death of All Things Review

“New Zealand’s Beastwars popped up on my radar with their excellent Blood Becomes Fire album in 2013. They impressed me with their bruising style of doomy sludge metal, combining the heft of Leviathan-era Mastodon and molten riffage of High on Fire before injecting subtle doses of ’90s grunge, prog and classic rock influences into the mix.” Feast on this beast.

Dawn of Azazel – The Tides of Damocles Review

Dawn of Azazel – The Tides of Damocles Review

“Readers already familiar with my preferences will recall that on multiple occasions I have referenced Ulcerate as both pioneers of the growing experimental and dissonant death metal trend and the most creative band since Meshuggah. Bold words indeed, (pun intended), but in truth, Ulcerate’s last three albums have been so excellent that I had to update the seal of approval I placed on them to a walrus.” Can Dawn of Azazel win such a prodigious stamp or do they earn the dreaded Frowny Face of Kronos.

Ulcerate – Vermis Review

Ulcerate – Vermis Review

Ulcerate’s emergence was rather inauspicious. Their first work, The Coming of Genocide, didn’t hold much promise. It was pretty standard for mid-aughts uber-blast brutality, assaultive to the point of redundancy. But there were some gnarly guitar squalls nestled in their amateurish blastfuckery, and on their first true album, Of Fracture and Failure, things started to get wild. Then, Everything is Fire happened, and things got real.” First Carcass and now this? It’s all big releases, all the time and and Jordan Campbell is on the job with his always insightful musings.