3.5

Impureza – La Caída De Tonatiuh Review

Impureza – La Caída De Tonatiuh Review

By GardensTale on November 15, 2017 in 2017, Death Metal, French Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Death Metal, 139 comments

“Metal is like a sponge: capable of sucking up any foreign juices. Classical music? We’ve seen that thousands of times since before In The Nightside Eclipse. Country? Not too common, but there’s a number of stoner and folk metal bands that incorporate its imagery. But flamenco? Sure, Allegaeon has the odd interlude, but it’s hardly integral to their sound, feeling more like a wacky gimmick than a serious crossover. Impureza take offense to the absence of flamenco metal, due to their proud Spanish herita- wait, they’re French?!” No expects the French-Aztec Inquisition. Seriously, nobody does.

Throne of Heresy – Decameron Review

Throne of Heresy – Decameron Review

By Kronos on November 14, 2017 in 2017, Death Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, The Sign Records, Death Metal, 32 comments

“Antioch, the last album from Sweden’s Throne of Heresy, proved little more than its own existence. The “I riff therefore I am” approach to music did little to impress, and despite good pacing and a few fun songs, It was brought down by an uninteresting Swedeath sound and even more uninteresting boilerplate lyrics. Having thus consigned Throne of Heresy to the ignominy of the 2.5, I found myself not terribly interested in listening to their latest. Yet in my supreme magnanimity, I decided to give the band another chance with Decameron, and well I should have.” When Kronos plays a game of thrones, things get brvtal.

Blaze of Perdition – Conscious Darkness Review

Blaze of Perdition – Conscious Darkness Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on November 8, 2017 in 2017, Agonia Records, Black Metal, Polish Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 26 comments

“Blaze of Perdition is a Polish band, and Poland is a largely Catholic country. Conscious Darkness, their follow-up to the solid Near Death Revelations, is a black metal record, which in the vast majority of cases entails irreligious or fervently anti-religious content. This is black metal fused with death metal, but not blackened death; the Polish, along with the Germans, are particularly good at this!” Poles of blackened fury.

Ram – Rod Review

Ram – Rod Review

By Huck N Roll on November 8, 2017 in 2017, Heavy Metal, Metal Blade, NWOBHM, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, 39 comments

“Back into the depths of traditional, olde-school, cheesy metal we delve, my friends, and what do we encounter but more Swedish goodness in the form of Ram, and their latest album, Rod. The band haven’t let the fact that their logo is perennially in the running for Worst in All of Metal slow them down: Rod is their fifth album over the last fifteen years, making these guys almost as old as the music they love to play.” If the rod don’t fit, Ram it!

Gutslit – Amputheatre Review

Gutslit – Amputheatre Review

By Saunders on October 20, 2017 in 2017, Death Metal, Grind, Indian Metal, Reviews, Transcending Obscurity, Death Metal, 52 comments

“You don’t have to be a metal genius to make an accurate assumption about the genre affiliation of India’s Gutslit. Although it would make a nice surprise, Gutslit isn’t a group of prog metal hipsters or power metal warrior nerds. No folks, Gutslit, as expected, play brutal death bolstered by a smattering of grind. But unlike many run-of-the-mill bands that favor guttural extremity over actual craftsmanship and decent songwriting, Gutslit rise above the pack with their impressively written and refined second LP, Amputheatre.” Sometimes guts are enough.

Nazghor – Infernal Aphorism Review

Nazghor – Infernal Aphorism Review

By Dr. Wvrm on October 18, 2017 in 2017, Melodic Black Metal, Non Serviam Records, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 37 comments

“Though initially operating in a callous, misanthropic style, Nazghor embraced a full-blown melodic bent with 2016’s Death’s Withered Chants. This turn of events, coupled with increased attention to production standards, resulted in their strongest material to date. Infernal Aphorism is the logical next step in Nazghor’s evolution: an exploration of their newfound abilities and a test of their endurance.” Black metal marathon.

The Great Discord – The Rabbit Hole Review

The Great Discord – The Rabbit Hole Review

By GardensTale on October 5, 2017 in 2017, Hard Rock, Progressive Metal, Reviews, The Sign Records, Progressive Metal, 64 comments

“A few weeks ago, I described the latest Arch Enemy album as the bad kind of pop metal: too slick, too loud, too focused on choruses and too conscious about image. But there’s a different, less negative definition possible of pop metal: not afraid of loading the songs with easily digestible hooks, catchy melodies, EDM influences, simplistic structure and a focus on vocals. It’s daring, because it seems to aim at a gap between fandoms: too slick and not challenging enough for metalheads, but too heavy for the mainstream.” Pop goes the minstrel.