Apr21

Nordgeist – Frostwinter Review

By Twelve on April 23, 2021 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, 20 comments

“Black metal is a tricky beast to pin down. More, I believe, than many other sub-genres of metal, black metal is about feeling. Of course, they’re all about feeling, but black metal gets points for versatility – some black metal is designed to make you feel angry, some cold, some sad, some alone, some despairing, and the list goes on. Frostwinter, the debut full-length by Serbian single-person (known to us only as “T”) metal crew Nordgeist, is black metal that wants to make you feel something altogether more complicated.” Winter 4 eva.

Bongzilla – Weedsconsin Review

By Akerblogger on April 22, 2021 in Reviews, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, 17 comments

“It’s high noon. Sweet Mary Jane is at the wheel. Her best bud Bongzilla is in the passenger seat. Master of Reality is rattling through the truck’s rusty speakers. The sun is setting. They’ve hit the jackpot. After sixteen years in a distant haze, Bongzilla is back. Muleboy (bass/vocals), Spanky (guitar) and Magma (drums) have awoken from their dazed slumber. Sixteen years is like sixty years in stoner time and a lot has changed. For one, the recreational use of cannabis has been legalized in many more states. Bongzilla is still on a mission for fweedom, however.” Weed the children.

Neptunian Maximalism – Solar Drone Ceremony Review

By Dear Hollow on April 22, 2021 in Reviews, Ambient, Doom Metal, Punk, 17 comments

“Neptunian Maximalism took the metal world by storm last year. Éons was an absolute monument of an album, fusing drone, jazz, and psychedelia into one of the most evocative listens in recent memory. It spoke to something primal, something ancient that lived at the bottom of a listener’s subconscious, and snuck its way into my year-end list at number 2. Conjuring the likes of Sunn O))), Sun Ra, Swans, and Miles Davis, it was a concept album regarding the fate of Earth and its inhabitants, resulting in mass extinction and planetary destruction. Only nine months later, we’re treated with a new offering; can Solar Drone Ceremony continue where its predecessor left off?” Maximal effort.

Spectral Lore – Ετερόφωτος Review

By Doom_et_Al on April 21, 2021 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Drone, 44 comments

“It’s no secret that I was a huge admirer of the 2020 Spectral Lore / Mare Cognitum split, Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine. Like an elaborate dance, the ethereal material from Spectral Lore waltzed perfectly with the more grounded, riff-driven focus of Mare Cognitum. I was fascinated to see how each band would follow this with their respective solo albums. Mare Cognitum clearly incorporated the introspective, mournful influence of Spectral Lore to great effect on Solar Paroxysm. The question was how Spectral Lore mastermind, the Greek Ayloss, would approach his latest collection, Ετερόφωτος.” Tales from the basement (sub-floor lore).

My Refuge – The Anger Is Never Over Review

By El Cuervo on April 21, 2021 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 40 comments

“Following a distinctly cheese-less 2021, I decided to cherry pick something smelly. A promo surfaced, bearing both the words “Italian” and “power.” Perfect. However, and disappointingly, a deeper dive into the one sheet showed that this is only four eighteenths of the story; although the founder and main man is indeed Italian, the core band comprises a Spaniard and a German, with a further 15 contributors from across the globe, covering Czech Republic, Turkey, Canada and Venezuela, among others. My Refuge and their second full-length release entitled The Anger Is Never Over takes international to the next level but is it good? Is it cheesy?” No sanctuary from the anger.

Paysage d’Hiver – Geister Review

By Dear Hollow on April 20, 2021 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 46 comments

“Paysage d’Hiver is an act with no need for introduction, but I have a word count to meet, so here it is: Paysage d’Hiver is a black metal act from Schwarzenburg, Bern, Switzerland, consisting of sole member Wintherr (also of Darkspace). Technically, Geister is the act’s second full-length, but he’s been cranking out music for twenty-four years.” Right in the Geister!

Obsolete – Animate//Isolate Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on April 20, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 23 comments

“I’ve spent much of this year listening to Obituary and Mortician. Both are death metal, but death metal is a wide field and you can’t mistake either band’s sound for the other’s. To address this, we put bands into subgenres within a subgenre – Floridian death metal, for instance. This is nice because I don’t want to sift through a bunch of Entombed clones to find something like Monstrosity. What about when our subgenres within subgenres cease to be useful to describe a sound? Then we get stuff like slam, which is brutal death metal played a specific way – a subgenre of a subgenre within a subgenre. If you’re thinking that Obsolete’s debut Animate//Isolate will lead me down a sub-sub-sub-genre rabbit hole, go ahead and give yourself an executive producer credit.” Old tech.

Betrayal – Disorder Remains Review

By Twelve on April 19, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, 6 comments

“You might not necessarily think it based on how often I laud cheese-wielding power metal enthusiasts, but every once in a while, I enjoy diving into the catalogue of bands whose primary function seems to be inducing catastrophic rage into the listener, taking them down an inescapable path of unfathomable destruction. It was in hope of this particular catharsis that I began listening to Disorder Remains, the sophomore release from German death metal band Betrayal. Betray the remains.

Crypts of Despair – All Light Swallowed Review

By Kenstrosity on April 19, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 24 comments

“The album title, the artwork, the music—it all fits the image of a virulent black cloud looming over an entire world, extinguishing the sun and stars only to then extinguish the life of all that is flesh and bone. Catastrophic riffs swirl through murky depths spattered with trem-picked abrasions, retched guttural emanations gurgle alongside bloodcurdling shrieks, and the world around them disintegrates amongst the falling ash as is their will. Lithuania quartet Crypts of Despair deals in the kind of metal that is not to be survived.” Grave new world.

Endseeker – Mount Carcass Review

By Carcharodon on April 19, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, 29 comments

“When I pluck a festering slab of death metal from the fetid pit that is our promo sump – a rare enough occurrence for me – the last thing I expect to be presented with is a political message. No doubt those more learned in the ways of death, will point me in the direction of many a OSDM band that deals in heavy politics but my brain does not connect the genre with current affairs. Hamburg, Germany’s Endseeker, however, do just that on their third record, Mount Carcass.” Death in the news.