Australian Metal

Vahrzaw – Husk Review

Vahrzaw – Husk Review

“Being jaded sucks. What once brought you joy now feels like eating soggy bread, and life itself begins to feel like one big 2.5/5.0. Australian trio Vahrzaw seem well aware of this feeling. In their promo blurb for third full-length Husk, the group claims they ‘have really had enough of the bullshit associated with producing albums, and even EPs. Thus, Husk will likely be the band’s final recording.’ Having never made an album myself, I don’t know of what ‘bullshit’ they speak, but I do know it’s probably easy to be frustrated when you’ve been playing blasty, blackened death metal since 1992 and still barely have over a thousand likes on Facebook.” Blasty blackened death wins few popularity contests.

Vomitor – Pestilent Death Review

Vomitor – Pestilent Death Review

“What’s that? You’re tired of the progressive melodoom or whatever foofoo bullshit we’re giving Record o’ the Month to these days? Of course, you are. You want something heavier. Faster. Rawer. Something that feels like eating stale Chinese food out of a back alley garbage can while a stray cat gives birth in the background. We’ve all been there, and the solution is simple: Vomitor.” Vomitor, repeat as needed.

Grave Upheaval – Untitled Review

Grave Upheaval – Untitled Review

“Much like their countrymen countrypeople fellow Austral beings in Portal, the only thing Grave Upheaval cherish more than cavernous production is their own obscurity — though this could be because Portal, Impetuous Ritual, and Grave Upheaval are the cast of a half-dozen or so shadowy musicians. Call them kvlt, call them private; the result is the second Grave Upheaval album once again untitled and once again filled with indecipherable moaning, squealing terrors, and suffocating doom-death.” In a cavern, no one can hear you spelunk.

Mournful Congregation – The Incubus of Karma Review

Mournful Congregation – The Incubus of Karma Review

“Let’s get the rotting pink elephant carcass out of the way right now; funeral doom is not for the faint of heart nor the shortest of attention spans. That last part needs to be addressed by yours truly, as there has been both some healthy debate and misconception about my dislike of long songs. That couldn’t be further from the truth, as it’s not the length of the tune that drives me into a fit of boredom, but whether or not the song truly goes somewhere of note, or if the journey to that destination is worth it in the end. Australia’s Mournful Congregation are the litmus test by which I judge that criteria by, with songs teeming with morose melodies, densely-layered guitar harmonies, and Yngwie-esque sweep arpeggios, the band… whoa up, sweep arpeggios? IN FUNERAL DOOM?!” How can more be mournful??

Arkheth – 12 Winter Moons Comes the Witches’ Brew Review

Arkheth – 12 Winter Moons Comes the Witches’ Brew Review

“Time to turn over another rock for yet another black metal garage project! Yet another slice on the Australian Metal Genre Roulette Wheel, Arkheth is a self-described experimental black metal project coming off an eight-year hiatus. “Experimental” as a subgenre label can be vague even at the best of times (that is, when it’s not an outright lie by marketing), but it’s still a head-turner for fans of strange music.” Strange brew.

Rise of Avernus – Eigengrau Review

Rise of Avernus – Eigengrau Review

“Labeled as “Orchestral Doom Death” in AMG’s top-secret promo vault, I figured this Australian act would at the very least make for an interesting listening experience regardless of quality, and with Eigengrau being their second LP, it’s more likely that they’d have their ambitious sound already dialed in. Indeed, Eigengrau is far from boring, and even quite good at times, but Rise of Avernus’ identity crisis makes it a regularly frustrating listen.” Symphony of frustration.

Portal – Ion Review

Portal – Ion Review

“Since their inception, Portal’s outre take on death metal has been something of a curiosity; a malformed fetus suspended in sepia alcohol behind so many dusty artifacts. Few other artists have encroached on their sound, and even fewer can pretend to challenge their simultaneously dour and frenzied Victorian aesthetic. Theirs is horror music, to be sure, but the horror stems from a sort of noir psychedelia, an all-encompassing fractal unrest where the creak of the floorboards and the crack of colliding planets are indistinguishable in scope.” The cake is a lie.