Apr19

The Machinist – Confidimus in Morte Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on April 11, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Deathcore, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Deathcore, 62 comments

“Those who liked deathcore in its mid-2000s heyday tend to go through three phases in the following order: 1) earnestly liking deathcore, 2) loudly decrying deathcore to demonstrate one’s extreme metal fides, and 3) earnestly liking deathcore again with the added fun of nostalgia. This nostalgia doesn’t make bad music good, but rather recalls times, places, experiences, and memories where deathcore served as the soundtrack. Those times made us happy, and the soundtrack is what it is because that’s the soundtrack we chose. It follows that deathcore made us happy at one point. The vicarious thrill of great memories scored by it bolsters the appeal of the sounds which drew us in to begin with. You may not be able to go home again, but sometimes spinning the old records left in the dusty crates is wonderful.” The first step is admitting you have a problem.

Corrosive – Nourished by Blood Review

By Saunders on April 10, 2019 in 2019, Black Sunset Records, Death Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, 62 comments

“The wider death metal scene has been on a roll, particularly with 2018’s remarkably chockablock selection of superb albums. With the stakes raised and the scene heavily crowded, jostling for attention from the often time poor but insatiably hungry hordes of death metal fans, is no doubt going to prove increasingly difficult. Corrosive aren’t in the least bit interested in reinventing the wheel.” Drowning in death.

Final Coil – The World We Left Behind for Others Review

By Steel Druhm on April 10, 2019 in 2019, Alt-Metal, British Metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, WormHoleDeath Records, Alt-Metal, 59 comments

“I’ve never been much of a post and/or alt-rock guy, but the expertly crafted promo blurb for unsung U.K. act Final Coil captured my interest enough to review their 2017 debut, Persistence of Memory. It was an engaging little album too, mixing post-rock, restrained prog and grunge for a fairly unique sound. The album had its flaws, but I sensed a band that could go on to bigger things. Now a mere year and a half later, their sophomore effort The World We Left Behind for Others arrives with little fanfare, but that same sense of potential and promise.” What we leave and what we keep.

Latitudes – Part Island Review

By Kenstrosity on April 9, 2019 in 2019, Ambient Metal, Black Metal, British Metal, Debemur Morti, Doom Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Ambient Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Post-Metal, 49 comments

“I have historically shown more than a little apprehension towards the post-metal tag. At first, I felt it screamed pretension, a trait that tends to break my enjoyment of music if not kept in check. Lately, though, I’ve reassessed my opinion after finding deep enjoyment of bands often placed within the post-metal spectrum—Astronoid, Downfall of Gaia, and more recently, Latitudes.” No man is Part Island.

Inter Arma – Sulphur English Review

By Cherd on April 9, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Post-metal, Progressive Metal, Relapse, Reviews, Sludge, Death Doom, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Post-Metal, Progressive Metal, Sludge, 95 comments

“Inter Arma will not be pigeonholed. They’ve repeated this statement with each subsequent release, evolving subtly across a range of styles, but always sounding unmistakably like themselves. When a new album was announced for 2019, I quickly contacted resident man cat Grymm, who glowingly reviewed 2016’s Paradise Gallows, and pathetically begged confidently informed him that I would be handling this one. He pitied me respected my assertiveness and relinquished review duties.” Burning expectations.

Vous Autres – Champ du Sang Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on April 8, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, French Metal, Reviews, Sleeping Church Records, Sludgelord Records, Black Metal, 126 comments

“‘Dark’ is my thing. Dark dreams, dark thoughts, and dark music make me who I am. For most that know me, this comes as no surprise. For those that think you know me: surprise! But, as of late, my dark place has become a living hell. I could always escape there when things got tough and it was a place I could go to avoid judgment from this pathetic, untrusting world. But, four months ago, things turned real dark. Too dark. And the little room in my head wasn’t dark enough to handle it.” Dark music for dark minds.

Wormwitch – Heaven That Dwells Within Review

By Eldritch Elitist on April 6, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Canadian Metal, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Black Metal, Crust Punk, 91 comments

“I’m trying to be stricter with my scores so far this year, and in the process I’ve done a lot of thinking about what makes a great record… well, great. I could boil it down to some nebulous combination of songwriting, riffs, and melodic personality, but solid fundamentals aren’t enough. Those qualities alone would only result in an AMG 3.5 without that all important je ne sais quoi; the kind of elusive talent which enables moments that explode with vibrancy, reminding us why we are alive. And Wormwitch? Man alive, they’ve got it.” The early Wormwitch gets the Elitist.

Eluveitie – Ategnatos Review

By Dr. Wvrm on April 5, 2019 in 2019, Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Swiss Metal, Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 149 comments

“Taking in Eluveitie’s closing performance on 70K Tons with sentynel, I recognized something: Eluveitie is popular. Not like entry-level popular, not poser popular (well, maybe), but actually popular. The boat’s Mosh Pit Residentia showed up in spades for that set, but with the floor so choked with the trve and weeb alike, group activities like conga lines and dance parties sprung up instead. Everyone knew the songs—hell, I knew the songs. The nonet put on too great a show to discount, far better than other bias-confirming trainwrecks I witnessed that weekend. Maybe, just maybe, I’ve written Eluveitie and Ategnatos off too soon.” Then again…

Cultic – High Command Review

By Mark Z. on April 4, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Eleventh Key Records, Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 77 comments

“Celtic Frost’s music was simple yet influential. But there’s a problem with simple yet influential music: it’s easy to play, and thus you’re going to have a lot of bad bands try to play it. Still, for the longest time I couldn’t really think of a particularly awful group that sounded like early Celtic Frost. Well, you know what they say: if you spend long enough poking around, you never know what you’ll dig up. Here, amidst the remains of half-baked riffs and ideas long ago discarded by young groups who knew they could do better, I’ve uncovered a true stinker of an album, a record that I question how it ever came into being: High Command, the debut full-length by Pennsylvania’s Cultic.” Celtic Lost.

Exumer – Hostile Defiance Review

By Steel Druhm on April 3, 2019 in 2019, German Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 63 comments

“Germany’s Exumer has been around since the 80s themselves, and they have a pretty good grasp on what it takes to craft a successful slab o’ thrash. I still enjoy their Possessed By Fire debut all these years later, and 2016s The Raging Tides had it share of sweet aggression despite some shortcomings. Now they’ve come back to bludgeon with their fifth album, Hostile Defiance, and lo and behold, all the essentials rules are followed and their mosh ducks are in a neat row.” Hostile work environment.