2022

Sentient Horror – Rites of Gore Review

By Steel Druhm on April 23, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 27 comments

“New Jersey is known for many things, few of them good. What doesn’t come to mind when one thinks of the “Garden State” is good olde fashioned Swedeath. The sketchy ne’er-do-wells in Sentient Horror are doing their very best to change that, and third album Rites of Gore is a rowdy celebration of all things Entombed-core. Along with their buzzy HM-2 fetishism, the band integrates plenty of nods to the old-school death metal sound practiced by the likes of Cannibal Corpse as well as some truly beef-brained, meatheaded grooves that would make Jungle Rot proud.” Jersey reeks of death (and landfills).

Miseration – Black Miracles and Dark Wonders Review

By Holdeneye on April 22, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 36 comments

“When it comes to versatile metal vocalists, few people pop into my head faster than Christian Älvestam. I loved his work with Scar Symmetry, and I followed his career after his departure. I was overjoyed when he joined Jani Stefanović (Renascent and DivineFire) in both Solution .45 and Miseration, and I especially enjoyed the latter’s output. Miseration’s 2006 debut Your Demons – Their Angels didn’t stray too far from Älvestam’s work in Scar Symmetry, opting for a highly melodic death metal sound and utilizing both death vocals and clean singing. I lost track of these guys after that, and I was utterly shocked—and delighted—to find that they were going to be releasing their fourth record here in 2022.” Misery love melodeath.

Corpsessed – Succumb to Rot Review

By Kenstrosity on April 22, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 45 comments

“As one of the more underrated bands in the current cornucopia of cadaveric cavern curators, Corpsessed concoct some of the coolest, catchiest riffs in the business. Succumb to Rot is saturated with such riffs, and makes use of a tried and trve sonic palette to complement them. Thick guitar tones reminiscent of Incantation and Phrenelith; chunky bass guitar; even chunkier drums not dissimilar to those of Tomb Mold; titanic caveman roars; the formula is simple, but it bloody works.” We all have a cadaver in the cavern.

Feral Light – Psychic Contortions Review

By Cherd on April 22, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Crust Punk, Post-Metal, 28 comments

“There are, of course, other styles of metal practiced here, but few Minnesota bands outside of black metal have enjoyed the critical acclaim that acts like False or Obsequiae or Minnesota-by-way-of-Kentucky transplant Panopticon have. Those who have been watching the local scene closely will tell you that Feral Light have turned some heads over the last few years around Minneapolis, not to mention abroad. Enough so, apparently, that their fourth full-length has secured the attentions of heavyweight Italian avant-black label I, Voidhanger.” Minnesota wild.

Undeath – It’s Time… to Rise from the Grave Review

By Eldritch Elitist on April 21, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 182 comments

“I want to make one thing immediately clear: It’s Time… to Rise from the Grave fucking rocks. For several spins, however, it left me severely confused. I realized that Undeath was certain to evolve. While a retread of Lesions of a Different Kind would have been completely enjoyable, the band’s knack for effortlessly folding together countless influences of classic death metal, while also crafting an unmistakably distinct sound, meant that a retread would be disappointing by default. Indeed, Undeath’s slick, slimy grime continues to coat every riff and permeate the band’s compositional bedrock.” Slaves to the grave.

Audrey Horne – Devil’s Bell Review

By Steel Druhm on April 20, 2022 in Reviews, Hard Rock, 55 comments

“Since 2005 Audrey Horne have been showing the world that some of the best American-style rock n’ roll comes from Norway courtesy of black metal and stoner doom musicians. Yeah, I know, go figure, but damn if that’s not how things played out. On the strength of albums like Youngblood and Pure Heavy the band carved out a sizeable niche of hard-rocking good times music with a strong NWoBHM flavor and they’ve been in heavy rotation in my neck of the woods for many a year. They’ve been quiet since 2018’s Blackout, but 2022 sees them return with seventh album, Devil’s Bell.” Bell’s end.

Viande – L’abime dévore les âmes Review

By Carcharodon on April 19, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 16 comments

“Many of us know, I guess, that moment of extreme disappointment when you unwrap a prime steak you’ve been looking forward to, only to be greeted by the putrid smell of gone-off meat. “It makes no sense, I only bought the fucking thing yesterday,” you mutter darkly to yourself. That steak should have been good for another couple of days at least. “How could this have happened? Why did it have to happen to me and why today?” I can’t answer any of those questions—quite frankly, I have my own problems—but that foul whiff of putrefaction reminds of the rancid filth that emanates from the debut record of French four-piece Viande.” Meat tragedy and death woes.

Disembody – Reigniting Hellfire Review

By Saunders on April 19, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Thrash Metal, 13 comments

“Ah, who doesn’t like a hellish blast of blackened thrash mayhem? While it may not top my list of metal drugs of choice, nor do I claim the expertise or passionate dedication to the style as our resident Z-man, it regularly delivers a refreshingly crude, ragged, riff-ready charm that goes down easily. Best served raw and unpolished, Finland’s Disembody, um…. embodies, the retro characteristics often found in the subgenre, pulling influences from the darker corners of ’80s thrash and imbuing these fast, fiery traits with ample doses of vitriolic blackened mayhem and grim first wave crudeness.” Disnuance.

Stuck in the Filter – March’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity on April 18, 2022 in Blog Posts, Stuck in the Filter, 53 comments

“The middle of April (or the beginning of May, depending on the amount of superfluous bureaucracy this segment must trudge through before its inevitable publication) is upon us, and with that comes yet another opportunity to get our hands, feet, and other appendages dirty in the service of our overburdened filtration system. Newly rebuilt after last month’s demolition, the Filter has already taken significant abuse, such is the muck and mess that oozes from every gangrenous orifice of our “esteemed” crew.” This is why we can’t have nicely filtered things.

Monuments – In Stasis Review

By Dear Hollow on April 18, 2022 in Reviews, Djent, Metalcore, 52 comments

“To my credit, I was prepared. For those who enter the prog trailer park via that sketchy patch of woods at the back called “djent,” the polyrhythm abusers can be easier to spot. Futuristic-looking album covers, scientific names, and vaguely mathematic monikers like Structures, Tesseract, Volumes, and Intervals greet the eyes – or Monuments, in this case.” Escape from 2003.