Australian Metal

Aver – Orbis Majora Review

By GardensTale on January 17, 2019 in 2019, Australian Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Ripple Music, Stoner Metal, Progressive Rock, Stoner Rock, 128 comments

“There’s something special in the water, air, or spider-venom in Australia. More and more, the Land Down Under is becoming a hotbed for top class progressive metal, and I’m getting to a point where I’ll blindly leap onto anything labeled Aussie prog, even if it has a cover as baffling as Aver’s Orbis Majora. Who thought ‘now all these naked space ladies need is having their arms melted together, getting them stuck to a giant bile-green orb, and replacing their heads with purple planets?'” Orbs of reckoning.

The EP, Demo, and Oddity Post [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

By El Cuervo on January 2, 2019 in 2018, American Metal, Australian Metal, Black Metal, Canadian Metal, Death Metal, Dutch Metal, Hardcore, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Speed Metal, Swedish Metal, Technical Death Metal, Things You Might Have Missed 2018, Ukrainian Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Electronic Metal, Hardcore, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Rock, Speed Metal, Technical Death Metal, 146 comments

“As a younger man I had no concept of the “EP,” nor the “demo,” nor the “split.” When was the last time Iron Maiden had to curb their excesses by squashing ideas into half an hour? When were Judas Priest not able to afford a professional recording studio and production job? And when’s that Metallica/Megadeth split due again? Such formats are reserved for the underdogs of the metal world, those bubbling beneath the surface of popularity who write music for the sheer creative expression and who will never see monetary reward for their time and effort.” Short is sweet.

The Ridiculous Year o’ Death Metal Round-up, Part 2 [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

By Ferrous Beuller on December 28, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Austrian Metal, British Metal, Canadian Metal, Danish Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Italian Metal, Portuguese Metal, Reviews, Swiss Metal, Symphonic Metal, Technical Death Metal, Things You Might Have Missed 2018, 128 comments

“2018 has been undeniably kind to death metal. So kind that it became impossible to pay the necessary attention to every release worthy of note. So, possessed of tyrannical temperament and iron resolve, Kronos and I have enlisted the help of the staff to cover those bands that went so unjustly overlooked.” – Even MORE death metal we missed!? Wow, we’re bad at this job.

Convulsing – Grievous [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

By Ferrous Beuller on December 19, 2018 in 2018, Australian Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Things You Might Have Missed 2018, Black Metal, Death Metal, 90 comments

“Convulsing might just command one of the best combinations of atmospheric black and death metal I’ve ever heard. Sloan has a rare ability to fuse dense death metal riffing with a suffocating black metal fluidity. Grievous somehow manages to bludgeon yet persuasively menace in one fell blow.” Death spasms.

Virgin Black – Requiem – Pianissimo Review

By Treble Yell on December 13, 2018 in 2018, Australian Metal, Classical, Not Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Non-metal Metal Things, 62 comments

“There was a time when The End Records could do no wrong. Agalloch, Green Carnation, Antimatter, the label churned out a stream of genre-defining albums by metal bands large and small. So confident was I in their curation that I set upon buying practically every release The End Records put out, at least until the wheels fell off and the label debased itself by churning out mainstream dreck. But it was fantastic while it lasted, and Sombre Romantic, the 2001 debut record of Adelaide-based Virgin Black, was one of the early successes that left an indelible impression with its contrasting cries of doom and operatic embellishments.” A night at the opera.

Divine Ascension – The Uncovering Review

By Carcharodon on November 16, 2018 in 2018, Australian Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, ViciSolum Productions, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, 53 comments

“Australian progressive metallers Divine Ascension are back with their third album, The Uncovering. Apparently. To be honest, I was blissfully unaware they were here in the first place or that they’d gone anywhere. But this appears to be a failing on my part. Their previous outing, Liberator, saw them touring in support of genre stalwarts Stratovarius, as well as getting on the road with the inimitable Blind Guardian. Whilst I have something of a soft spot for both these bands, it is undeniable that their (extensive) back catalogs are patchy—although I won’t hear a word said against Blind Guardian’s Nightfall in Middle Earth—and I can’t help but query how much space there really is in what might be termed progressive-power metal.” Cover up, Buttercup.

Psycroptic – As the Kingdom Drowns

By Kronos on October 30, 2018 in 2018, Australian Metal, Death Metal, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Technical Death Metal, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 120 comments

“In retrospect, Psycroptic’s self-titled album looks bland; safe, dependable, unexciting, the 9-to-5 desk job or upscale barista gig that kills time and pays bills until your creative career takes off again, you know? The danger in complacence loomed, and it became all too reasonable to predict that Psycroptic had donned their monkey suits and aprons, never to take them off again. Before we knew it, the band would have a fucking crossover SUV and a mortgage. And who could blame them if As the Kingdom Drowns turned out to be phoned-in?” Growing up technical.

Road Warrior – Power Review

By Huck N Roll on October 9, 2018 in 2018, Australian Metal, Gates of Hell Records, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Heavy Metal, Retro Metal, 48 comments

“Don’t judge a book by its cover, they say. Well, when I signed on to write about Power, the debut album from Australia’s Road Warrior, I didn’t know what the cover looked like. I figured Road Warrior, Australia, traditional metal, what could go wrong?” Humongous stuff.

Black Majesty – Children of the Abyss Review

By Steel Druhm on September 23, 2018 in 2018, Australian Metal, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Pride & Joy Music, Reviews, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 44 comments

“My first exposure to Australian power metallers Black Majesty came when I snagged their Sands of Time debut on a whim while visiting the immortal and greatly missed Slipped Disc Records in Valley Stream, New York. As impulse buys go, it was a big win and fast became one of my favorite power metal albums, and it still gets steady spins 15 years later. Despite such a powerful beginning, Black Majesty has struggled over the years to equal their debut’s magic.” When you yawn into the abyss….

Circles – The Last One Review

By Kronos on September 9, 2018 in 2018, Australian Metal, Djent, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Season of Mist, Djent, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, 91 comments

“Circles’ textured approach to prog metal recalls the moodiness and energy of Fates Warning within the context of a post-djent landscape where six-string guitars and straight rhythms are seen as passé. Yet success stirs in their artful and sensitive exploration of space, whether they’re marching through angular hardcore, tip-toeing across delicate electronics, or bobbing in subtle waves. Like many modern, progressive-leaning rock/metal bands, they bring elements of Periphery-worship on their journey but deploy them so intelligently that at times The Last One becomes greater than its individual components.” Always sphere for you.