Swedish Metal

Rexoria – Ice Breaker Review

By GardensTale on October 29, 2019 in 2019, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 12 comments

“What makes something interesting is a whole different ballgame. Until the Sky Dies has 146 comments to this day and remains a staple of the website, so for all the ways in which it is an abomination (and there are many), it is one of the most interesting records we’ve seen so far. But who among you remember, to grab a random example, The Living? Same autumn as Until the Sky Dies, a very nice 3.5, but I’d mostly forgotten about them myself before going back through my own reviews. Fact is, the memories of most of the albums we write about are fleeting, despite the musicians pouring their hearts and souls into what they do. A fate, I fear, may befall Swedish heavy/power outfit Rexoria as well.” Ice breaks, attention fades.

Rimfrost – Expedition: Darkness Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on October 19, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Ferocious Records, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Black Metal, 110 comments

“Though every one of the band’s records is a pleasure to listen to, Rimfrost is the result of years of honing one’s sound to achieve near-perfection. It is, without a doubt, the high-water mark of the band’s career. It’s I, it’s Bathory, and it’s Immortal at their best. It’s big, it’s full, and it’s goddamn epic. There’re incredible riffs, blazing solos, melodic passages, and so many memorable moments. Which spells doom for Expedition: Darkness. How can one ever top their pinnacle release? The answer is: most can’t. But Rimfrost did.” Here be the gushing.

Screamer – Highway of Heroes Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on October 11, 2019 in 2019, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, The Sign Records, Heavy Metal, 9 comments

“The tides of progress in metal will never erode the bedrock of the genre, that special thing we call heavy metal. The mix of power, strength, hope, and joy inherent in this little slice of the metal pie will always appeal to many metalheads so long as the genre continues to exist. Fortunately for Screamer, there will always be a place for records like Highway of Heroes. Fortunately for us, this means bands like Screamer will continue to make them.” Your mom’s a… nah, too easy.

Dödfödd – Stigma Review

By Twelve on October 9, 2019 in 2019, Annapurna, Black Metal, Clavis Secretorvm, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Black Metal, 8 comments

“As a genre, metal leaves a lot of room for interpretation and experimentation. I don’t just mean in the sense of avant-garde metal, but rather in the sense of applying that heavy metal feeling to not-quite-metal music. An easy example that comes to mind is Celestite, the drone-heavy, trance-like fifth album from Wolves in the Throne Room, a band that otherwise spends its time making heavy-hitting, folk-infused black metal. Predictably, Celestite is a rather love-it-or-hate-it album, as is wont to happen when black metal musicians conjure up the nerve to create music that isn’t black metal.” Stigmatic.

Monolord – No Comfort Review

By Huck N Roll on October 2, 2019 in 2019, Doom Metal, Relapse, Reviews, Stoner Metal, Swedish Metal, Doom Metal, Stoner Metal, 26 comments

“No Comfort is an interesting name for a Monolord album, because every time I’ve played their records I’ve felt a great sense of comfort. I know what I’m in for, and each time the band delivers. Kind of like a lot of the fuzzy stoner metal bands out there. They will bestow upon us massive riffs that are fuzzier than a giant peach, drenching their Black Sabbath worship with Electric Wizard sauce. It is a recipe for short-lived success; while I enjoy drinking at this particular well, I can only do so for a short time before moving on.” Quick comfort.

Netherbird – Into the Vast Uncharted Review

By Dr. Wvrm on October 2, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Eisenwald Records, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 15 comments

“Netherbird too evolved up quite a bit since the rocky, raw days of their youth. They’ve gone from garish gothic to contemplative pseudo-meloblack and the maturity required to handle that respectfully. Into the Vast Uncharted, then, is apropos, as despite that growth, Netherbird is a band searching for more.” Free (Nether)bird.

In Mourning – Garden of Storms Review

By Kenstrosity on October 1, 2019 in 2019, Agonia Records, Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 66 comments

“I’ve heard it said many a time that In Mourning carry the torch that Opeth “abandoned” with the release of Heritage. I don’t happen to agree with that statement. Sure, superficially the Swedish prog-melo-death-doom quintet share something in common with Blackwater Park-era Opeth, but it was clear to me from the first minute of the indelible Monolith that In Mourning were an entirely different collective, a point that each subsequent release reinforced.” Mourning frost on the Great Pumpkin.

One Hour Hell – Voidwalker Review

By Doom_et_Al on September 29, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, ViciSolum Productions, Death Metal, 5 comments

“It doesn’t build or tweak—it just mimics. This is a pretty good metaphor for One Hour Hell, a death metal band hailing from frosty Sweden. There isn’t a whole lot of originality going on here, just some aping of cool ideas. Originality is not essential for a good album, however. So is there anything else these guys have brought to the table?” Death in the wind.

Opeth – In Cauda Venenum Review

By Angry Metal Guy on September 27, 2019 in 2019, Moderbolaget, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Progressive Rock, 213 comments

Thirteen albums in, I’m still excited about new Opeth records. While I am, indeed, an Angry Metal Guy, I appear to have taken the band’s merger into progressive rock better than other metalheads having loved Pale Communion and enjoyed Sorceress. And being Angry Metal Guy, the responsibility for (and privilege of covering) such a huge event like a new Opeth album falls to me. The problem, of course, with being the guy who has to review the new Opeth record is simple; I am the guy who has to review the new Opeth record. And reviewing In Cauda Venenum is a major endeavor. As the next step in Opeth’s journey, In Cauda Venenum is a fascinating, complicated album. And In Cauda Venenum is not a journey that everyone is going to love taking.” More-peth!

Goatess – Blood and Wine Review

By Saunders on September 27, 2019 in 2019, Doom Metal, Reviews, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, Svart Records, Swedish Metal, Doom Metal, Stoner Rock, 11 comments

“With tones as murky as three week old bong water and riffs as thick as oak tree trunks, Goatess nail the sonic aesthetics that stoner doom enthusiasts crave. At a whopping 65 minutes in length, Goatess don’t hold back in vomiting their ideas into one marathon package. There’s decent variety within their chosen style and thankfully the more upbeat vibes and stoner cadence generally avoids plodding monotony.” Blood and wine for the Blood and Wine God.