1.5

Gloryful – End of the Night Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on August 24, 2016 in 2016, German Metal, Heavy Metal, Massacre Records, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 38 comments

“Those looking for great prose don’t turn to a dictionary. Instead, a writer opens up the ol’ Merriam-Webster tome to get himself a clinical definition of whatever word he happens to be unsure about. With that step out of the way, our writer can hopefully make something great using the technical knowledge he gained. While he’ll remember the dictionary definition, it will never be inspiring to him; it will just be a reminder about what the word means and how to use it correctly in context. When listening to Gloryful’s third record, End of the Night, I kept coming back to dictionaries. It sounds like heavy metal and I suppose it technically is.” Glory is for winners.

Psalm Zero – Stranger to Violence Review

By Kronos on July 10, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Profound Lore Records, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Progressive Metal, 15 comments

“Given my track record on stripped-down and synth-heavy New York bands, I’ve been meaning to check out Psalm Zero for some time. Their 2014 effort, The Drain made it on to some year-end lists around the metal chaosblogosphere, but in the time between it and Stranger to Violence, I never quite followed up on the buzz.” The man doesn’t chase trends.

Neige et Noirceur – Les Tenebres Modernes Review

By Grymm on June 17, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, Canadian Metal, Reviews, Sepulchral Productions, Black Metal, 14 comments

“Beginning with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the atrocities brought forth from the first World War were heinous and grotesque. People getting killed in trenches (sometimes mistakenly by their own allies), the introduction of chemical warfare, and the starvation of both prisoners of war and civilians rounded up by the Central Powers would make for some fertile ground for metal bands to sow. One such band, Quebec’s Neige et Noirceur, decided to take one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the world and create a 40-minute tale of war, death, and various repressed emotions in the form of their fourth album, Les Ténèbres Modernes.” War metal from Canada? That just seems weird.

The Foreshadowing – Seven Heads Ten Horns Review

By Grymm on April 19, 2016 in 2016, Cyclone Empire, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Italian Metal, Reviews, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, 38 comments

“Imagine, if you will, a world torn asunder by racial and cultural intolerance. Entire countries are erased, and many religions are shunned, their followers persecuted or worse. Now picture, if you can, a united Europe acting as a new Babylon, a holy ground for those seeking shelter from the bitter storms of prejudice and hate, and bustling with diversity, all while impending doom is just looming over the amber horizon. Such a lofty world is given life on Seven Heads Ten Horns, the fourth album by Italian gothic doom sextet, The Foreshadowing.” A concept album about the 2016 American election cycle? That was fast!

Endless – The Truth, the Chaos, the Insanity Review

By El Cuervo on March 21, 2016 in 2016, Brazilian Metal, Power Metal, Power Prog, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Power Metal, 9 comments

“Latin American metal is cruelly under-represented on the world stage, lacking the major label support of their European and North American counterparts. The exception to this seems to be power metal, with figureheads such as Angra and Hibria having emerged from Brazil’s urban jungles. A compatriot to these names, Endless has been limited by a spotty output of only 2 albums in around 20 years but their third full-length is now due and calls itself The Truth, the Chaos, the Insanity. Power metal though it is, drawing on the Europower formula, the riffy rhythm guitars land it somewhere close to Symphony X’s prog-power.” Well, how could this be bad!?

Atlantis Chronicles – Barton’s Odyssey Review

By Kronos on March 18, 2016 in 2016, Apathia Records, Death Metal, Deathcore, French Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Releases, Reviews, Deathcore, Melodic Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 27 comments

“It’s bands like this that keep Pär Olafsson employed. While it appears that 2014’s lampooning of less-than ballsy artwork nearly shamed the sphere out of existence, bands are still very much in the market for both cities and the color purple, and nobody does them better. As you might expect, Atlantis Chronicles are a modern death metal band whose bio describes them as having “a strong ocean’s mysteries theme,” although the true mystery here is how that name wasn’t already taken by a series of young adult fantasy novels.” Yeah, well. That can’t be good.

Crimson Moonlight – Divine Darkness Review

By El Cuervo on February 19, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, Death Metal, Endtime Productions, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, 28 comments

“I was relatively surprised to find I wasn’t yet acquainted with Crimson Moonlight. Party to the ‘unblack’ metal scene emerging in the latter 90s in Scandinavia, their Swedish roots stretch back to the infertile earth of 1997, associated with the relative popularity of the likes of Extol and Antestor in their unorthodox fusion of black metal with Christianity. The 19 years since their first demo has only seen 2 studio albums and Divine Darkness is their first in 12. This leaves question marks over their contemporary relevance and lack of recent experience with the project: would they be able to harness the anachronistic spirit of their unblackened origins, wherein Christian black metal was almost as sacrilegious as black metal itself?” Can this much metallic irony be good?

Collision – Satanic Surgery Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on February 15, 2016 in 2016, Dutch Metal, Grind, Hammerheart Records, Hardcore, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Hardcore, 24 comments

“Sometimes I feel like a wine critic. Not because I spit booze into a bucket like a drunken ibex and pretend it’s a real job when I write about it, but because I’m describing what I hear and then telling you good folks about how my “palate” reacts to it. Although it would be substantially easier to just sniff, taste or write “a bold 90s flavour, Good/5.0” and call it a day, this metal gig actually lets me reference hamburgers, beer, and philosophy at a frankly ludicrous frequency so I can confidently say I made the right choice. With that in mind I’ve taken many sips from the boxed Merlot of Dutch thrashcore merchants Collision’s fifth full-length Satanic Surgery, and much like a baffled wine critic (Diabolus in Vino?) I had one Hell of a time figuring out why it tasted funny.” Time for speed tasting!

Hemelbestormer – Aether Review

By Grymm on February 13, 2016 in 2016, Belgian Metal, Debemur Morti, Instrumental Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Post-Metal, 4 comments

“A great and wise man once said, “Let the music do the talking.” Okay, that was Steven Tyler, but it’s still true. There are times when a lot can be said with just your instruments, without the need for a voice, especially when those bands with voices want said voice to just shut up. In recent years, we’ve been bombarded by a slew of instrumental acts with varying degrees of success and talent. Belgian quartet Hemelbestormer (loosely translated to “idealist” in Dutch), is the newest to join the InstruMetal ranks with their debut album, Aether.” Be like Steven Tyler.

Villainy – Villainy II: Dim Review

By Mark Z. on February 8, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, Crust Punk, Doom Metal, Dutch Metal, Listenable Records, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Progressive Metal, 26 comments

“Though I have no musical ability, back in high school I used to love plucking random strings on my friend’s Stratocaster knockoff and imagining I was composing an avant-garde interlude for some progressive screamo album.” You know, with an intro like that, I’m pretty sure you’ll end up not trusting this guy’s judgement anyway…