“Metal addresses death regularly, running the gamut from cartoonish violence to sobering reflection, but ultimately we do our best to avoid reflecting on the most pressing death in our lives: our own. The fragility of life and our ever-present drift toward death is sometimes thrust into one’s immediate vision, forcing them to confront the terrifying final frontier for every human being. Such was the case for Polish black metal band Blaze of Perdition, who were involved in a terrible road accident in 2013 which tragically took the life of bassist Ikaroz and left vocalist S. and drummer Vizun seriously injured, with the former temporarily in a coma. Near Death Revelations, the band’s third studio album, sees men who witnessed the death of a friend and faced their own put this harrowing experience to music.” Music from the tunnel of light sounds pretty interesting.
Polish Metal
Outre – Ghost Chants Review
“2015 has been the Year of Black Metal, hasn’t it? Coincidentally, it’s also the Year of the Goat in the Chinese Zodiac, so it would make sense.” A high tide raises all goats.
Infernal War – Axiom Review
“Infernal War are a pissed-off bunch. Formed in 1997, the Polish blackened-death quintet’s sole two full-lengths – 2005’s Terrorfront and 2007’s Redesekration – are essentially blastbeat-fueled blitzkriegs against Judeo-Christianity, and are probably the two angriest and most hate-filled albums ever recorded.” Hate is a negative emotion. Prepare to enter the Negative Zone!
Ketha – #!%16.7 Review
“Earlier this year, a band hailing somehow not from Japan, but from Kraków, released an appropriately enigmatically-named EP that by all rights should have shat all over Angra’s RoTM position, had anybody on the planet told us about it. But they didn’t. And for that you’ll burn.” We are aggrieved.
Neolith – Izi.Im.Kurnu-Ki Review
“Neolith is a great name for a death/doom band. The word refers to a stone tool used in the latter period of the Stone Age, conjuring up the image of something being forged through weight, brute strength, and barbaric force.” Kinda like this here blog.
Deivos – Theodicy Review
“Theodicy bustles with riffs, brutal growls, blastbeats and all of the traditional trappings of brutal death. True, there are moments of mechanical-sounding electronics to split up the songs and provide a quantum of atmosphere, but deep down, Deivos haven’t made Theodicy in an attempt to challenge or revolutionize the genre.” Brootal death that something…but what?
Hate – Crusade: Zero Review
“Polish band Hate are adding to their already dense blackened death catalogue. Crusade: Zero makes its presence known two years after the release of Solarflesh, and while I’m excited Hate are making a speedy return, I’ve felt some apprehension that they’ll suffer the same criticisms they’ve been labelled with in the past…” Mini-Behemoth is back and filled with hateful respect…for Behemoth.
Things You Might Have Missed 2014: Ass to Mouth – Degenerate
“Here at AMG, despite being metalheads and craving the extremest of the extreme and longing for the shock factor, at heart we’re still a puritanical bunch of wussies. Case in point, when faced with a band that chooses a name that’s unconventional to the point of being offensive, the band gets branded with a big scarlet letter, Twitter feeds blow up, public shunning takes place and no review is forthcoming.” While the rest of AMG ran for the hills, Madam X fearlessly tackled Ass to Mouth.
Vesania – Deus Ex Machina Review
“American Horror Story: Freak Show puts faces to the monsters that walk among us, case in point Twisty the Clown! Lords of chaos and insanity, Orion (Behemoth), Daray (Dimmu Borgir, ex-Vader) and Heinrich (ex-Decapitated) of Vesania, give these monsters a soundtrack.” I hate clowns. All of them.
Calm Hatchery – Fading Reliefs Review
“Ah, Polish death metal. The riffing quivers with imperial might, the drumming carpet-bombs soundscapes like F-22s over Syrian ISIS outposts, the band names evoke titanic sacrilegious deities or bear primal aggression with their blunt simplicity: Behemoth, Hate, Azarath, Decapitated, and – Calm Hatchery. Uh – the fuck? Yes, forming in 2002 with a moniker that calls to mind cuddly newborn dinosaurs instead of ragged bleeding neck stumps, Calm Hatchery already stacked the cards against themselves….” Worst band name ever? We report, you decide.