2.5

High on Fire — Cometh the Storm Review

By Ferox on April 22, 2024 in Reviews, Sludge, Stoner Metal, 93 comments

“This site suffers from a High on Fire appreciation deficit. Staffers from the prog-and-scones salon brush them away like so much dandruff from the shoulder of their tweed blazers. The caveman contingent, meanwhile, sends no love to this sludge institution. We’ve only reviewed them one time! The oversight heaps discredit on snobs and slobs alike. With the release of their ninth slab Cometh the Storm, I, Ferox, pounced on the opportunity to acknowledge these facts and correct the record. Cometh the Storm just needs to deliver the groceries one more time so I can cram it in the face of my fellow staffers.” High on fanboying.

Tomorrow’s Rain – Ovdan Review

By Twelve on April 19, 2024 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, 23 comments

“Tomorrow’s Rain is an interesting beast. The Israeli six-piece treads between doom and gothic metal, and made a splash with their debut Hollow in part because of the sheer number of guest musicians who participated in the album. Now, four years later, the band returns with their sophomore full-length, Ovdan (“Loss”), an album with a deeply personal backstory. This was recorded after vocalist and founding member Yishai Swartz suffered a heart attack severe enough to warrant open heart surgery.” Rain and recovery.

Balance of Power – Fresh from the Abyss Review

By Steel Druhm on April 18, 2024 in Reviews, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, 18 comments

“It’s strange when a band you like goes into an extended period of inactivity. You miss them for the first few years and get impatient for new material. After 4-5 years though, you move on and eventually give up on hearing more from them. Stranger still is when a band that put you through all that abruptly returns some 20 years later with a very different sound. This is the experience I’ve had with the U.K.s Balance of Power.” Out of balance.

Kólga – Black Tides Review

By Iceberg on April 5, 2024 in Reviews, Black Metal, 33 comments

“Texas-based Kólga bill themselves as a “blackened surf rock collective.” With a descriptor like that, and an album cover like THAT, there’s no way I could pass up on seeing what lurked beneath the Lizard People pool. Boasting members from a boatload of bands from across the spectrum (Dead to a Dying World, Cleric, Tyrannosorceress, Sabbath Assembly, to name a few) this is Kólga’s first stab at a full-length: and barely at that, running at a lithe 27 minutes. But if the band calls it an LP, then an LP it is, and a review it receives.” Surf’s up, Smurfs up.

O Zorn! – Vermillion Haze Review

By GardensTale on April 3, 2024 in Reviews, Post-Metal, Stoner Metal, 35 comments

“O Zorn! plays a fairly straightforward style with elements of stoner and post-metal. Texturally the band has some similarities with a simplified Mastodon, not in the least due to the somewhat nasal drawl of the vocals. The big differences are the structure and pacing. Shying away from progressive leanings, the music is staunch in its adherence to verse-chorus constructions.” Stone the crow (and rabbit).

Ivory Tower – Heavy Rain Review

By Steel Druhm on March 29, 2024 in Reviews, Progressive Metal, 30 comments

“Ivory Tower have been a minor force in the Germanic prog-metal scene since 1998. I didn’t pay them much heed over the years, but that all changed when I took a flyer on their 2019 album Stronger. Expecting little, I walked into a buzzsaw and was quickly carved up by a highly catchy and memorable platter of vibrant prog metal led by the powerhouse vocals of one Dirk Meyer. It ended up on my Top Ten(ish) of 2019 and became one of my all-time favorite prog-metal releases. Naturally, I wanted a lot MOAR of the same from Ivory Tower.” Foundational instability.

Leaves’ Eyes – Myths of Fate Review

By Twelve on March 21, 2024 in Reviews, Power Metal, Symphonic Metal, 27 comments

“Symphonic metal is a tricky genre to review; it is, at this point, so steeped in clichés that critiquing it for leaning on clichés is itself starting to feel like a cliché. Ever since Nightwish lobbed Once at the masses, it’s been easy to feel like everyone else is trying to do the same thing. Sometimes it’s effective, and sometimes you’re damaging your fist on a completely intact and rather thick layer of ice. For Leaves’ Eyes, who have been around for over twenty years now, I get the sense that the goal is consistency.” Do the Eyes have it?

Lionheart – The Grace of a Dragonfly Review

By El Cuervo on March 17, 2024 in Reviews, Hard Rock, 18 comments

“Anyone already familiar with the most popular, debatably metal bands of the 80s (Def Leppard, Whitesnake) will understand what’s going on with Lionheart. Big power chords in the verses, big vocals in the choruses, crunchy but accessible riffs, and an overly of keyboards that sometimes take the form of a piano and sometimes something synthier. Dragonfly largely makes for an upbeat, easy-going sort of listen.” Lions and bugs and Brits, oh my!

Skuggor – Whispers of Ancient Spells Review

By Dear Hollow on March 9, 2024 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 13 comments

“Skuggor is exactly what you expect it will sound like. Gothic font and grainy nature photo with themes of darkness, mist, and myth? You betcher ass it’s atmospheric black metal. “But I’m sure there’s something unique here, Hollow,” I can hear you say. Have you heard atmospheric black metal? You don’t listen to this shit for the neatest thing since Deftones. You listen cuz you want to be sucked into arcane and forlorn woods of ancient magic and nature untouched by human hands. I mean, duh.” Idiots.

Isenordal – Requiem for Eirênê Review

By El Cuervo on March 7, 2024 in Reviews, Black Metal, 15 comments

“There’s one music quality I treasure above all else: dynamism. Without conscious thought I find myself drifting towards music in the promo pool promising varied or creative music. In the case of Washington’s Isenordal, the one sheet for their third full-length release, entitled Requiem for Eirênê, described music fusing funeral doom, black metal and neofolk. Few albums pledge such dynamism so I was eager to hear their take on this blend, and discover whether it would be as exciting as the description.” Dynamism or death.