Asphyx

Coffin Mulch – Spectral Intercession Review

Coffin Mulch – Spectral Intercession Review

“How can you go wrong with a band named Coffin Mulch? While I’ve used these introductory paragraphs time and time again to restate my love for OSDM, it doesn’t hurt that this band’s morbid moniker really tickles my fancy. While “Coffin” isn’t a particularly inventive inclusion, “mulch” adds an entirely new, evocative flavor to this putrescent pile. Is the mulch intended, perhaps, to entice the seeping coffin below to sprout zombified greenery? Or, better yet, is the mulch itself made from that nitrogen-rich churn composed of damp soil and viscous coffin offal? The band themselves don’t offer an explanation, and that’s just fine.” Savage gardening.

Ascended Dead – Evenfall of the Apocalypse Review

Ascended Dead – Evenfall of the Apocalypse Review

Ascended Dead hail from the San Diego area and despite the region’s nearly perfect climate with endless sunny days, they’re fucking furious and verging on a total nervous breakdown. This results in some of the most over-the-top and feral death metal I’ve heard in a while, and their sophomore outing Evenfall of the Apocalypse is a proper soundtrack for even the most hellish of end times. With Jon Reider and C. Koryn, both formerly of VoidCeremony leading the charge, Ascended Dead take a sturdy OSDM foundation and slather it with dangerously twisted and jagged progressive ideas.” Brace for body trauma.

Siege of Power – This is Tomorrow Review

Siege of Power – This is Tomorrow Review

“A death metal supergroup featuring members of Autopsy, Asphyx, and Hail of Bullets floating in the promo bin unguarded? I best grab that one for safekeeping! And so Steel didith claim the sophomore outing by Siege of Power. While their debut was a very uneven affair without truly memorable moments, what these super fiends opted to do on This is Tomorrow is much more interesting. There’s still a punky crossover vibe to some of the material, but there’s also a greater willingness to cross-pollinate genres and explore different soundscapes, making for a surprisingly diverse set of tunes.” Siege perilous.

Atomwinter – Sakrileg Review

Atomwinter – Sakrileg Review

“Walking the line between old school death metal and blackened speed-thrash, Atomwinter are barely fucking around. I say ‘barely’, rather than ‘not’, because there is the obligatory one-minute instrumental opener to skip on Sakrileg. The album would’ve opened far stronger had the band just ripped straight into “Ov Blood and Flesh,” which tells us immediately that these guys have listened to a lot of early Incantation and taken that as their creative starting point.” Up and Atom.

Sacrilegion – From Which Nightmares Crawl Review

Sacrilegion – From Which Nightmares Crawl Review

“As November slips into Mariah Carey’s proprietary month of December, the overall quality of the promos oozing into the AMG storage sump drops precipitously. Only the desperate or foolhardy aim to drop albums in December and much of what is released should never have seen the light of day. That makes any sort of seasonal gambling with unknown acts especially treacherous. Because I’m an ape who likes to live dangerously, I took a high-risk flyer and grabbed the debut album by Salt Lake City’s Sacrilegion.” Sacrilicious.

Strigoi – Viscera Review

Strigoi – Viscera Review

“As much of a doom metal cat as I am, I’ll woefully admit when I miss the boat on a band.Vallenfyre, the death/doom side-project that Paradise Lost axeman Gregor Mackintosh created to process the loss of his father, released three albums of 90s throwback Asphyxiation before Mackintosh put the band to rest in 2018, stating that he felt the band had run its course thematically. However, he still wanted to continue in that murky, grotesque vein, so with the help of live ‘Fyre bassist Chris Casket, Mackintosh unearthed Strigoi, a grindier, filthier proposition.” Death as paradise.

In Grief – An Eternity of Misery Review

In Grief – An Eternity of Misery Review

“I have a complicated history with doom metal. While there are groups like Electric Wizard or High on Fire that I tend to turn to for my fuzzy, morose fix, I have more trouble with the deathened doom variety. Sure, you can’t shake a stick at the likes of Asphyx (and why would you? They’re old men and so very brittle), but executed poorly, you mix doom’s plodding passages with DMs unrelenting barrage, resulting in a bloated, brickwalled concoction that leaves your eardrums ringing and your watch over-checked. Be that as it may, I’ve been proven wrong before (except for our split review of Temple of Void’s latest) and there’s always something new to discover.” Good grief?

Reeking Aura – Blood and Bonemeal Review

Reeking Aura – Blood and Bonemeal Review

As a hippie vegan with a houseplant obsession, I know all too much about blood and bone meal. If you’ve ever bought organic fertilizer, it likely contained these horrifying but nutrient-rich byproducts of slaughterhouses. While much less objectionable, Reeking Aura’s debut Blood and Bonemeal is no less vile than its namesake. Boasting band members from Grey Skies Fallen, Artificial Brain, and Buckshot Facelift, Blood and Bonemeal harks back to the halcyon days of Autopsy and Asphyx, dishing out grimy death metal riffs across the tempo spectrum.” What’s that smell?

Rotheads – Slither in Slime Review

Rotheads – Slither in Slime Review

“The Rotheads formula may have been tweaked, but this fetid draught retains its signature nose. Here are seven songs spanning forty-three minutes, each one chock-a-block with death riffs played at a tempo often verging on thrash. The band still has songwriting talent in spades, and a penchant for stretching that talent to the breaking point.” Slime to kill.

Heaving Earth – Darkness of God Review

Heaving Earth – Darkness of God Review

“While I usually avoid harming animals, I had to chase a certain Abbathian cat up a tree to get my hands on this promo. My feline colleague gushed about Czechia’s Heaving Earth in 2015, calling Denouncing the Holy Throne a shamelessly uncreative but satisfying slab of vintage death metal. The band is back with its third record Darkness of God, but the seven intervening years have seen its sound evolve. Much like the latest Golgothan Remains, Heaving Earth’s newest offering adorns old-school death metal with speckles of dissonance and malice, and influences from across the death metal universe.” Darkness before divinity.