2023

Yer Metal Is Olde: Illwill – Evilution

Yer Metal Is Olde: Illwill – Evilution

Evilution is the sole LP from quasi-supergroup Illwill. This odd band consisted of King Diamond and Mercyful Fate greats Andy LaRocque, Sharlee D’Angelo, and Snowy Shaw. While it’s common for these lads to form, join, or guest in many projects over the years, this might be one of the strangest collaborations in their storied careers.” Licensed to ill.

Frostbite Orckings – The Orcish Eclipse Review

Frostbite Orckings – The Orcish Eclipse Review

Frostbite Orckings may have claim to the most interesting premise in metal, at least in 2023. Based on recordings from hired session musicians, the project is a work of purely AI-generated power metal. The Orcish Eclipse is the project’s debut full-length release, and heralds itself as “the world’s first AI-generated heavy metal album.”” Orc in the machine.

Secret Rule – Uninverse Review

Secret Rule – Uninverse Review

“Well folks, it’s been a good run. This is without a doubt the longest I have gone without landing myself an awful corset-core album. I cherry-picked from the promo bin a little more, I got lucky with a few random rolls. But the dice always turn against you sometime, as any D&D player will attest. I knew I was in trouble when I saw the genre and the worst band name since Significant Point. Then I saw the cover and my fears were confirmed because LOOK AT IT! Gaze upon this absolute debacle and weep for laughter.” Fear and secret rulers.

Neurectomy – Overwrought Review

Neurectomy – Overwrought Review

“I just couldn’t turn down an album by a band called Neurectomy. I’ve heard of a lot of medical procedures in my day, but I wasn’t as familiar with the process by which a nerve is severed or removed to reduce pain, never to grow back again. With a new “ectomy” added to my growing surgical lexicon, I was still apprehensive. But while tech death can certainly be hit or miss (with the misses often being tedious, forgettable affairs), I was far too interested in the band name and the album art to let something as silly as past experience impact my decision-making.” Nerves of steel.

Spider God – The Killing Room Review

Spider God – The Killing Room Review

“Some metal bands are, by their nature, divisive. This divisiveness can take many forms (a gross name, misanthropic actions, controversial statements) and may be intentional (as a way of garnering attention) or just part of who the band are. Spider God, a UK-based black metal outfit, fall into the latter category. They exploded on the scene in 2022 with Black Renditions, which took classic pop tracks, blackened ‘em up, and released them on an unsuspecting metal scene. It was audacious, it was confrontational, it was antithetical to what many consider one of the sacred tenets of black metal: namely that this is not saccharine music for the masses in general, and teenage girls in particular.” Harlot’s web.

Aphotic – Abyssgazer [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

Aphotic – Abyssgazer [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

Abyssgazer presents as the kind of echoing incantation that must ring through ears from first to last note. No mere synthesis of the acts who fed Aphotic into existence, this sometimes blackened, sometimes funeral doom-weighted, always death metal assembly expresses itself in a peerless manner.” Abyss from a dead rose.