1.5

Rigor Sardonicous – Praeparet Bellum Review

By Thus Spoke on January 26, 2023 in Reviews, Death Doom, 18 comments

“What have the Romans ever done for us? Apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health? According to Rigor Sardonicous, a language to use as an idiosyncratic gimmick. Their name, and the majority of their song and album titles are in Latin, Praeparet Bellum—roughly, Prepare for War—being no exception. It marks their return after an eleven-year hiatus but seems to more or less pick up from where Ego Diligio Vos left off. Low-fi, grimy death-doom so low it’s barely within the range of human hearing, and so gritty and slow it feels like drowning in a vast quantity of sand.” Rigor mortis.

Dismal – Via Entis Review

By El Cuervo on January 24, 2023 in Reviews, Classical, Gothic Metal, 84 comments

“Gothic and symphonic metal, as with all metal, are sub-genres beset with mediocrity. Nowhere more so than Italy, a country known for painfully-earnest musical excess and silliness. A few years ago, Italy’s Dismal unveiled a record which was, kindly, shit. Quinta Essentia tried to pull together classical and metal sounds into a moody gothic atmosphere but it roundly failed to do so, principally due to jarring songwriting and half-baked production. Now in 2023 Via Entis is their next effort.” Truth in advertising.

A Cherdmas Carol: Brojob – A Very Deathcore Christmas, Archeopteryx – A Very Blackened Christmas, and One Hell of a Christmas – Horrific Holiday Music for the Jaded Masses, Vol 1 Reviews

By Cherd on December 24, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Deathcore, Heavy Metal, 47 comments

“That night in my bedchambers, I had just changed into my dressing gown and settled before the fireplace when a song began playing, faintly, but growing louder until, alarmed, I recognized it as “The Hammer” by Skelator. “How?!” I cried. “Such drivel in my house?!” Just then, a ghostly apparition burst into the room and strut about like a pro wrestler winding up the crowd. I shuddered, for I knew its face.” Right in the Dickens!

Imperial Execration – Commanding Satan’s Crusades Review

By Saunders on December 13, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Slam, 16 comments

In the midst of a so-so year for brutal death, Imperial Execration is signed with expert purveyors of sewage-caked brutality Comatose Music and armed with a compact debut LP, entitled Commanding Satan’s Crusades. Will this be the brutal death metal album that wakes Saunders from his 2022-induced brutal death stupor?

Bunsenburner – Poise Review

By Dear Hollow on December 11, 2022 in Reviews, Ambient Metal, 13 comments

“My students all suspect I spent some time with the “ganja.” They say, “Wow, Mr. Hollow, you’re so chill. I bet you were a stoner in high school. I was way too stuck up to do anything besides the daily Red Bull and Bible study jig, but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating some good stoner doom well into adulthood. While my strain of choice falls closer to sludge on the swampy spectrum, I can appreciate acts like Sergeant Thunderhoof and Weedeater for reverb- and fuzz-soaked riffs with killer groove. What does tickle me pickle is jazz and ambient, which are what Bunsenburner says they fuse with stoner doom.” All that stoner jazz (and science).

Stabbing – Extirpated Mortal Process Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on December 8, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Slam, 66 comments

“December falls upon us, each day the sump pumping less, but to my surprise, out flumped Extirpated Mortal Process, a glut of death metal excess. Alas, spit-roasted and splattered, tired and tattered, I no longer urge for any of this expired mess. You see, I tried Stabbing on a plane and Stabbing in a car. I tried Stabbing in my office and Stabbing while afar.” Better to shiv than receive.

Cassius King – Dread the Dawn Review

By Carcharodon on October 25, 2022 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Stoner Metal, 23 comments

“A four-piece out of New Jersey, Cassius King is led by guitarist Dan Lorenzo (Hades, Non-Fiction) and features former Overkill drummer Ron Lipnicki, Vessel of Light bassist Jimmy Schulman and on vox we have Jason McMaster (Watchtower, Spastic Ink, Dangerous Toys). Make of that what you will. Cassius King’s 2021 debut, Field Trip, was a straightforward piece of stoner-influenced heavy metal, with hints of classic doom.” Jersey royalty.

Hadopelagyal – Nereidean Seismic End Review

By Dear Hollow on October 3, 2022 in Reviews, Ambient Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, 8 comments

“There’s something about tackling a fresh new band with baby-face energy hoping to make their mark. Fresh out of demos and splits, you can only hope that they’ve learned their lessons from their years of obscurity, but too many have paths of pain ahead as they struggle to find their footing. Black metal is an even more interesting style for this, as kvlt mimicry is expected, even encouraged, while a new band struggles with its two left feet. Enter Hadopelagyal, a twist on the name referring to the deepest part of the ocean.” Crush depths.

Blood of Indigo – Dawn of the Shaded World Review

By Grymm on August 24, 2022 in Reviews, Gothic Metal, 20 comments

“Here’s an interesting factoid for you: in my formative metal years, one of my all-time favorite “guilty pleasure” genres of metal was of the Gothic variety. Back in the 90s, groups like Moonspell, Tiamat, and Samael ruled my heart and eardrums with their combined ferocity, ingenuity, and dark energy to the point where I searched out many a band bedecked in frilly shirts and side-laced leather pants. So when Toronto upstarts Blood of Indigo look to welcome back a treasured sound which, combined with their love of gaming(!!!), I thought that this should be a no-brainer, win-win scenario, especially when you consider they spent five years working on their debut, Dawn of the Shaded World.” Goth is the new purple.

Daidalos – The Expedition Review

By Felagund on August 21, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Epic Metal, 18 comments

“The Expedition is a concept album that tells the story of the doomed 1845 voyage of Captain John Franklin and his crew of 129 men and their frost-filled journey through undiscovered portions of the northwest passage. Grizzled sea captains? Ice pirates? Adventure? Excitement? A Jedi may not crave such things, but I sure do. Daidalos have certainly plucked a worthy story from the annals of history on which to base their album. And as is their right, the band has chosen the soothing sounds of symphonic, epic black metal to tale this tale.” Voyage of the damned.