Spanish Metal

Distance – I Review

Distance – I Review

“Here’s a free top tip for all you kids looking to break into the music business: name your band something easily googleable. Distance have been kicking around for almost ten years now – forming in 2005, releasing a demo in 2006 and several singles at the end of the last decade – but presumably escaped any significant interest because no-one could bloody find them.” Marketing is for the market wonks, but you have to give them a little help.

Autumnal – The End of the Third Day Review

Autumnal – The End of the Third Day Review

“Kindly overlook the album cover you see to the left. Not only does it lack the good grace to include some kind of cool spherical object, but it also resembles something from a Christian new age rock group (the kind they play at inoffensive volumes in Christian, new age-y coffee joints). Worse still, it doesn’t give the slightest indication that Autumnal is a winningly morose, melodic doom act from Spain, or that The End of the Third Day is destined to be one of the sleeper hits of 2014.” Are you ready to feel those gloriously sad feels?

As Light Dies – The Love Album – Volume I Review

As Light Dies – The Love Album – Volume I Review

“I’m gonna cut the crap: The Love Album – Volume I will rip off all your skin and plunge everything else you’ve got into a vacuous void of nothingness. And you’re gonna like it. Madrid’s As Light Dies successfully takes the atmosphere of gothic metal bands and the ferocity of black metal, only to add a controlled, yet savage and intelligent portioning of avant-garde, resulting in something entirely unique and all their own.” Love songs in the medium of black metal, eh? Well, that’s probably not getting anyone laid.

Noctem – Exilium Review

Noctem – Exilium Review

“I’ve been listening to a LOT of Blackened Death Metal lately and I have to say the whole “symphonic black/death” style is really sinking its teeth into the genre. I’m not condemning it, but sometimes these symphonic elements can easily be overdone. Septicflesh is a good example of the sort of over-the-top delivery to be had with their dark, symphonic landscapes. Though I’ve become quite a fan of theirs, their shit is literally dripping with orchestration. As expected, a clear line was been drawn between those that dig these metal movie soundtracks and those that don’t.” Is Noctem the new Septicflesh? Is Septicflesh the new black? All things will be revealed after you listen to your free U2 album.

Teitanblood – Death Review

Teitanblood – Death Review

“It’s hard to know exactly what to say about a record when the band itself provides a more succinct – and honest – characterization of it in their own promo language than I ever could have: “The second Teitanblood album corrects the misconception about death metal being music. Mortui vivos docent.” Well, there you have it. Clearly, intellectualization is completely redundant when writing about a band like the Spanish death/black duo Teitanblood. You either get it, or you don’t.” There you have it indeed.