2019

Mo’ynoq – Dreaming in a Dead Language Review

By Lokasenna on January 10, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Black Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Black Metal, 75 comments

“Mo’ynoq, Uzbekistan is a former fishing capital and trade hub now lain low. Once a place of bounty, the decline and poisoning of the Aral Sea by the agricultural practices of the Soviet Union have left it dying husk, its few remaining inhabitants stricken with cancer and illness even as they scratch out a living from their drying, dusty coastline. It is from this place that North Carolina’s Mo’ynoq borrow their nom de guerre. However, such an evocative (if obscure in the United States of 2019) moniker all but mandates high standards.” Dead seas.

Saqra’s Cult – The 9th King Review

By Dr. Wvrm on January 9, 2019 in 2019, Amor Fati Productions, Belgian Metal, Black Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 70 comments

“The saqra of South American lore pesters, pranks, and provokes the lovely people residing in the former domain of the Inca Empire. Though unclear whether that tradition begat their codpiece affinity, Saqra’s Cult’s 2017 debut Forgotten Rites embraced that legacy surprisingly well for a bunch of Belgian black metallers glomming onto a different continent’s folk tales. Tribal black metal works about as well as [Insert Anything You Can Imagine, Really Here] black metal ever works—pretty damn well (if you can riff). But with The 9th King losing a lot of their overt South American influence, can Saqra’s Cult still put the can in Incan?” That pun stands alone.

A Swarm of the Sun – The Woods Review

By Steel Druhm on January 9, 2019 in 2019, Doom Metal, Drone, Post-metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Version Studio Records, Doom Metal, 83 comments

Isolation, misery and despair. These are the grey building blocks A Swarm of the Sun use to craft their unique soundscapes of depression and suffering. The work of Erik Nilsson and Jakob Berglund, this project has explored the human experience in harrowing ways, most notably on 2015s masterpiece of pain, The Rifts. That album cut a hole in my soul like no other album ever did, even though I was in a good place in life at the time with no particular reason to bask in the suffocating despair the band so effortlessly conjures. Their sparse brand of post-rock/metal and quasi-doom is unlike anything else out there, possessed of a grim power that drains all the light and joy from the world, consigning you to endless cancer wards and funeral parlors to witness the grace and desperation that comes at the end of life. The Woods sees the dour duo return with another dose of downer post-rock, and it’s predictably bleak and unsettling.” The hearts of darkness.

Lost in Grey – The Waste Land Review

By GardensTale on January 9, 2019 in 2019, Finnish Metal, Reaper Entertainment, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, Folk Metal, Power Metal, Symphonic Metal, 61 comments

“Another year, another Nightwishcore, one is tempted to think at the sight of Lost in Grey. At this point, I’d be mighty tempted to make a template review and merely swap names and album titles out for the most homogeneous sound in the business. Efficient reviewing for 2019! Or it would be, if Lost in Grey had not unleashed the first major musical upset in my worldview of the year with their sophomore album The Waste Land: it attempts something different with the style!” Bombast in the borderlands.

The Mound Builders – The Mound Builders Review

By Cherd on January 8, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Doom Metal, Failure Records, Hardcore, Sludge, Stoner Metal, Hardcore, Sludge, 57 comments

“The break room at my real life place of employment has one of those old glass globe candy dispensers. It’s full of candy and only costs a nickel, but it goes largely unused by employees. No, not because millennials have never seen a nickel and the machine doesn’t take Venmo. It’s avoided because some sociopathic agent of chaos filled the thing with a mix of M&Ms and Skittles that are almost visually indistinguishable. Sure, both are independently enjoyable, but something about the idea of accidentally tasting them in combination, or getting one when you expect the other makes people dubious. The new eponymous album by Lafayette, Indiana’s The Mound Builders is the musical equivalent of this conundrum of expectations.” Sketchy candy.

Nailed to Obscurity – Black Frost Review

By Steel Druhm on January 8, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, German Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Nuclear Blast, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 99 comments

“One of the happy surprises from out of left field during 2017 was a little album called King Delusion by then unsung German act Nailed to Obscurity. It took the base elements of Opeth, Katatonia and Ghost Brigade and skillfully forged them into a humdinger of a prog-death platter brimming with heaviness and dark atmospheres. It garnered a place in my Top Ten for that year and I still play it quite regularly. 2019 sees the band return to greatly elevated expectations with their third album, Black Frost, and I was particularly eager to get my paws on this one.” Tales of frost and fire.

Bloody Times – On a Mission Review

By Holdeneye on January 8, 2019 in 2019, German Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Rock'N'Growl Records, Heavy Metal, 104 comments

“Saying that I love Night of the Stormrider might be an understatement. In fact, it would be one of the few albums I would rate a perfect 5.0. For those poor souls not in the know, John Greely was the singer on that classic album, and I’ve always thought that his place in metal history is quite fascinating. While he fronted what is arguably Iced Earth’s finest moment, he’s primarily known as the guy that Matt Barlow replaced. Thinking that Greely had disappeared from the dark saga of heavy metal forever, I was delighted to get the chance to check out a new album featuring his voice. On a Mission is the sophomore album from nominally German band Bloody Times.” Blood on the Ice(d Earth).

Deathchant – Deathchant Review

By Huck N Roll on January 7, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, King Volume Records, Proto-Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, Stoner Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Rock, 27 comments

“Let’s ease into 2019, shall we? After a climactic December that saw about a million Things You Might have Missed posts, nearly two dozen Top Ten(ish) lists, and a few more outstanding releases, it’s time to let our collective breath out, sit back, and strap in for what we all hope will be a stellar year for metal. And while early January might not be blessing us with any albums that will stick around until list season, there are a few that are worth digging into. Is this shorty (a mere seven songs and 30 minutes) from Los Angeles’ Deathchant one of those? If you’re into psychedelic proto-rock, with all sorts of other spices added in, then this eponymous debut just might kick-start your year.” Death the halls.

Yatra – Death Ritual Review

By GardensTale on January 4, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Doom Metal, Grimoire Records, Reviews, Stoner Metal, Doom Metal, Stoner Metal, 45 comments

“The size of the role vocals play in genre categorization is a funny thing. At least superficially, harsh screams may be enough to earn a ‘blackened’ tag, and there’s more than one melodic death metal album that would be labelled power metal if it weren’t for the harsh vocals. This can cause a conundrum when a band wants to shake up the status quo with an unusual vocal approach. Enter Yatra, a new band formed after the dissolution of Blood Raven. This fuzzy stoner doom might not draw a second glance if it weren’t for its oddball application of harsh snarls. Is it gonna be enough to set themselves apart from the usual stoner-doom hullabaloo?” Voices carry.

Meathook – Crypts, Coffins, Corpses Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on January 3, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Unmatched Brutality Records, Death Metal, 36 comments

“Why brutal death metal and slam appeal to me hit me upon visiting a weird occult shop in Covington. Dead things in jars, all manner of non-human skulls, bloodied animals – these people were serious about this stuff. It’s not fun anymore when it hits that point. Writing gross-out lyrics is essentially writing fart and toilet jokes for people into horror films. It’s lowbrow, but it’s fun because of it.” Hooks in you.