Aug19

Excuse – Prophets from the Occultic Cosmos Review

By Mark Z. on August 7, 2019 in 2019, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Shadow Kingdom Records, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 32 comments

“You’re here for a reason. You’re on a quest. A quest for music to bang your fukkin head to. Sometimes you find the music, sometimes the music finds you. There, buried in a particularly large online order a couple years ago, was a free copy of Excuse’s 2016 EP Goddess Injustice. I slid the vinyl from its sleeve and a spectral form descended from the heavens. “YOU!” It boomed. “Me?” I said. “YOU. You are the chosen one. Drop the needle. Turn up the stereo. And BANG. YOUR. FUKKIN. HEAD.”” Always obey the disembodied voice!

Total Hate – Throne Behind a Black Veil Review

By Carcharodon on August 7, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Eisenwald Records, German Metal, Industrial Metal, Punk, Reviews, Black Metal, Industrial Metal, Punk, 38 comments

“Metal, punk, alcohol, sex, & Satan. These are the band Interests listed by German metallers Total Hate on their Facebook page. Three of these are featured in the music put out by this Nuremburg five-piece, the other two may, or may not, have been instrumental in its creation. I make no promises.” Essential ingredients.

Phobia – Generation Coward Review

By Kenstrosity on August 6, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Grind, Reviews, Willowtip, Grind, 25 comments

“This time around we have long-time grindsters Phobia (est. 1990), hailing from the OC, and their newest release, Generation Coward. Thirty years is a long time to put noses to the grindstone. Let’s see if this latest LP (or EP, depending on where you get your info) shows that the hard work paid off.” Grind is for the brave.

Lord Gore – Scalpels for Blind Surgeons Review

By Mark Z. on August 6, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Death Metal, Everlasting Spew Records, Reviews, Death Metal, 25 comments

“Scalpels for Blind Surgeons is only the band’s third album and follows their lengthy hiatus from 2006 to 2017. Their 2002 debut The Autophagous Orgy and 2004’s Resickened were burly deathgrind heavily informed by Impetigo, complete with plenty of horror movie samples and thick meaty riffs. Scalpels is a different beast and in some ways even better. Support the differently abled.

Swarn – Black Flame Order Review

By GardensTale on August 6, 2019 in 2019, Crust Punk, Death Metal, Estonian Metal, Raw Skull Records, Reviews, Death Metal, 13 comments

“Old school death metal holds few surprises. Much like Nightwishcore or stoner metal, its sound is so well established that any deviations from the tried and true standard swiftly take it out of the OSDM sphere into modern death, melodic death, or other variations on the theme. If you want to retain that old school buzzsaw to the cranium feel, yet add a different element, you need something that supports the dirty, grimy nastiness with something of a similar murk.” Young murks.

Humanity’s Last Breath – Abyssal Review

By Holdeneye on August 5, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, Deathcore, Djent, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Unique Leader, Death Metal, Deathcore, Djent, 66 comments

“What is the heaviest album of all time? While you’re running off to the comments to tell me, I’m going to stay here and admit that I have no clue. I don’t even know what the heaviest album ever would sound like. It could be blazingly fast or crushingly slow, or some combination of the two. Or it could simply carry an intense emotional weight from its subject matter, but the point is, heaviness is a hard concept to define when it comes to music.” Heavy as a two-ton thing.

Horseburner – The Thief Review

By Doom_et_Al on August 5, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Doom Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Ripple Music, Sludge Metal, Doom Metal, Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, 34 comments

“For music that should appeal to stoners, the thought of burning horses sounds like a very bad trip indeed, but that isn’t the case here and the incongruent imagery is the first of many surprises offered up by these West Virginians. Despite The Thief only being their second album, after 2016’s Dead Seeds, Barren Soil, these guys are no n00bs.” Horse play and cat fancying.

Damn Your Eyes – Kill the Outside Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on August 5, 2019 in 2019, Adrenaline PR, American Metal, Groove Metal, Hard Rock, Reviews, Groove Metal, Hard Rock, 11 comments

“Though absurd on so many levels, let’s imagine what it would be like to combine the aggressiveness of Down’s ‘Lifer’ and the catchiness of ‘On March the Saints’ with the comeback power of Machine Head’s ‘Imperium’ and the apocalyptic ‘Halo,’ all wrapped up in VH1’s second favorite grunge band, Alice in Chains. That must mean Damn Your Eyes’ debut record, Kill the Outside, sounds like ‘Aesthetics of Hate’-meets-‘Down in a Hole’-meets-‘Bury Me in Smoke,’ right? Wrong.” Damn you ears.

Grima – Will of the Primordial Review

By Cherd on August 3, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Naturmacht Productions, Reviews, Russian Metal, Siberian Metal, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 42 comments

“Being in forests for extended periods makes me uneasy, because 50 feet of visibility feels claustrophobic when you’re used to seeing the point where the Earth curves away. Russian atmo-black duo Grima have no such qualms. Hailing from Siberia and that same boreal forest, ‘taiga’ to them, they make music to ‘worship the elder forest…where the Grima is a supreme god…who protects only those who live in a forest, and punishes everyone who does not respect nature.’ To which I say, backing away slowly, ‘Whoa fellas, we’re all nature lovers here. Forests, amirite?'” Tree mugger.

Eradikator – Obscura Review

By Huck N Roll on August 2, 2019 in 2019, British Metal, Divebomb Records, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 25 comments

“I grabbed this album for one reason, and one reason only: the band name. Here in Canada, at least, one can’t help see the word Eradikator and think of this timeless skit from national treasures Kids in the Hall. I’d never heard of these swaggering Brits prior to seeing their name pop up in my promo feed, so I didn’t know that Obscura is their third album this decade and that they fancy themselves a pure heavy metal band whose music will ‘make even the most hardened ears hemorrhage liquid steel.'” Feel the steel.