Apr20

Funeralopolis – …of Deceit and Utter Madness Review

By Steel Druhm on May 2, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, 15 comments

“Though I used to be a die hard death metal junkie, the past few years have found me sampling of it only sparingly, and mostly limited to the melodeath variant. I’m not sure if it’s current events or the need to stay in prolonged lockdown these past few months, but I’ve been on a major death kick of late, spinning heaps of old Suffocation, Incantation and Immolation albums at odd hours. This in turn led me to fish for noxious promos suited to my current listening predilection, and that’s where Switzerland’s Funeralopolis come in.” Forgotten pass.

Shitfucker – Sex with Dead Body Review

By Mark Z. on April 30, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, Punk, Thrash Metal, 34 comments

“With the members also playing in Nuke, Acid Witch, and Perversion, it seems Shitfucker is intended as their outlet to revel in nastiness while writing snotty little songs that don’t quite fit with their other bands.” The dead never say no.

Blasphamagoatachrist – Bastardizing the Purity Review

By Mark Z. on April 29, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 36 comments

“It’s funny how time works. One day you’re 16 and listening to HIM’s Razorblade Romance, the next you’re in your 30s and reviewing a band called Blasphamagoatachrist. I suspect my own journey into the Extreme was similar to many others. From the day distorted guitars first graced my ears, I felt a gentle pull towards what I now know of as the Black Hole of Extremity, that invisible eternal force that constantly beckons us to seek out MORE.” Blasphemy goats and goals.

Malist – To Mantle the Rising Sun Review

By Master of Muppets on April 28, 2020 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 70 comments

“The difference between what one might expect from something labeled as atmospheric black metal versus what to expect from Malist was something I stressed when reviewing their debut, In the Catacombs of Time, and I really can’t stress it enough this time around.” AtmoMantle.

Sölicitör – Spectral Devastation Review

By Holdeneye on April 27, 2020 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, 93 comments

“2019 was a dream for me when it came to reviews: nearly 20% of the albums I covered were released by bands within 150 miles of my house, and of those several can be found in my own Puget Sound area of Western Washington. Quayde LaHüe and Mortiferum impressed me, and the now infamous “Skelator Incident” induced heretofore unseen levels of arousal and nearly resulted in my actual firing from this site. Naturally, I couldn’t resist the temptation to grab the debut of Seattle’s Sölicitör.” Criminal sölicitatiön.

Abysmal Dawn – Phylogenesis Review

By Kronos on April 27, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, 35 comments

“Abysmal Dawn play a lunch pail, nine-to-five style of death metal that gets the job done on time and within the budget. You can’t expect miracles out of them, but the band are nothing if not dependable, barely changing their style over six albums with Phylogenesis. And hey, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Good riffs, confident solos, and an attention to presentation have been a winning formula for the band for about a decade and a half and have served the genre well since 1985.” Unfoolish consistencies.

Bezwering – Aan De Wormen Overgeleverd Review

By GardensTale on April 27, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, 29 comments

“Bezwering are traditional in more than one sense of the word. Musically they’re simple straight-up black metal, their wave-quotient roughly 1.7 (mostly second wave with some hints of first wave). There’s some decent riffs and good energy in these tracks, featuring a pretty nasty screech and frantic blastbeats atop swirling tremolos. That describes 98% of all black metal, so to stand out from the crowd, Bezwering brought three weapons.” Wormen problems.

Venomous Skeleton – Drowning in Circles Review

By Dear Hollow on April 26, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Technical Death Metal, 11 comments

“Having been raised in church, I found my religious experience carried over into my vast expeditions into metal’s colorful multiverse: I find myself reaching more and more for the stuff that incorporates a unique tone of reverence, a sound of standing beneath the colossal or infinite. For bands like Batushka, Ancient Moon, and Behemoth, this liturgical and hieratic atmosphere is proposed through its ritualistic songwriting and uses of common religious musical elements (Gregorian chants, choirs, etc.) contrasting with blasphemy’s twisted dagger in an aural representation of madness. Sonne Adam’s death/doom solo LP Transformation did this for me.” Worship music.

The Ditch and the Delta – The Ditch and the Delta Review

By Huck N Roll on April 26, 2020 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, 11 comments

“The furious, enraged opening salvo of “Maimed,” the lead track on The Ditch and the Delta’s eponymous second album, is probably an accurate representation of exactly how nearly all of us feel right now – especially up here in bunghole Alberta, where it simply won’t stop snowing (not that we’re allowed to do fun things outside anyhow), which only adds insult to injury.” Sludge therapy.

Black Curse – Endless Wound Review

By Eldritch Elitist on April 25, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, 88 comments

“Endless Wound is so singular in its focus, so confident in its ability to do one thing extremely fucking well, that any convoluted preamble would be far too indulgent. So, convoluted, indulgent preamble aside, I will simply say this: Endless Wound feels like a future death metal classic.” Black curse, bold words.