Behemoth

Hell:on – Scythian Stamm Review

Hell:on – Scythian Stamm Review

“I was initially unimpressed by the band’s name — specifically that tricksy colon — and subsequently passed over the promo during my perusal of the bin. But when I saw this simultaneously exciting and terrifying art while scoping out the competition at another blog, my interest was renewed. After conducting some research, I learned that Hell:on is a stylized — and search engine optimized — version of “Hellion,” and that Hell:on have been peddling their wares since 2005. Their base sound has always been a heavily thrash-infused style of death metal, but over time they’ve incorporated more and more traditional folk instruments, ritualistic textures, and symphonic arrangements to evolve into what feels like a different beast entirely.” Hell: on Earth.

Paradise in Flames – Devil’s Collection Review

Paradise in Flames – Devil’s Collection Review

Paradise in Flames is a Brazilian black metal quartet, having released two albums, two demos, and an EP since their 2003 formation. While their third full-length’s cover poses questions, a glance at their promo confuses further. They cite death metal countrymen Sepultura and Sarcófago as influences, while the Devil’s Collection was mastered by producer Tue Madsen of Meshuggah and Dark Tranquility fame. Such first impressions are baffling, but the looming question is: is Devil’s Collection any good?” Riffing is fundamental.

Proscription – Conduit Review

Proscription – Conduit Review

“Terry “Christbutcher” Clark sports an impressive discography through a number of Finnish groups of all creeds: brutal blackened death explorers Excommunion, deathmongers Dethroned, OSDM purveyors Cryptborn, and most notably to me, black/death teeth-kickers Maveth. His first release since Excommunion’s 2017 release Thronosis, he’s back in black under a new pharmaceutical-sounding project: Proscription.” Doctor’s command!

Theotoxin – Fragment: Erhabenheit Review

Theotoxin – Fragment: Erhabenheit Review

“There’s no question that the latest Cytotoxin absolutely destroys. Its powerful and vicious approach touches me right in my technical sweet spot, and as the year goes on, Nuklearth’s bleak, post-apocalyptic world begins to seem more and more familiar as the coronavirus continues its assault upon our very cells. It’s getting easier everyday to believe Freddy’s old maxim, “God is dead.” But what has led to our having to walk alone down the open road of this godless endeavor? The answer escaped me until, during one of my daily swims through the promo sump, I happened upon an empty prescription bottle. “Theotoxin 5mg” the label read, and the patient’s name upon it? “God.” Prescription proscription.

Aborted Fetus – Pyramids of Damnation Review

Aborted Fetus – Pyramids of Damnation Review

“A look at the tactless, tasteless, and obnoxious band name of Aborted Fetus should trigger in the reader a gut instinct that says “yep, this is death metal.” A look at the title of their latest full-length record – Pyramids of Damnation – reveals very little except that Aborted Fetus knows what a “pyramid of damnation” is, and that there’s more than one of said pyramid. Then again, titles that look cool and make no sense like Pyramids of Damnation are as much a staple of death metal as adding “-ectomy” or “-otomy” as a suffix to any given word is to brutal death metal. What’s not a staple of death metal, however, is a sixty-seven-minute record, which is what Aborted Fetus have presented us on Pyramids of Damnation.” Pyramid scheme.

Wills Dissolve – Echoes Review and Album Premiere

Wills Dissolve – Echoes Review and Album Premiere

“The single-song album is an art unto itself. I am not a musician, but I can imagine the entire flow of writing changes. How do you balance unity and variety? How often do you bring back certain motifs? Is it even possible to have something resembling a chorus? Questions that undoubtedly plagued Wills Dissolve during the writing and recording of their sophomore album Echoes, a cosmically-themed slab of progressive metal that doesn’t stop until it’s done.” Space madness.

Dkharmakhaoz – Proclamation ov the Black Suns Review

Dkharmakhaoz – Proclamation ov the Black Suns Review

“Industrial black metal has not boded well in 2020, with groups like American snoozers T.O.M.B. and Dutch painmongers Ulveblod earning some of the lowest ratings I’ve awarded during my tenure. Dkharmakhaoz’s Proclamation ov the Black Suns, blessedly, is extremely well-written and densely punishing second-wave foray into atmospherics that never neglects its highlights.” Black sunshine.

AthanaTheos – Prophetic Era (Or How Yahveh Became the One) Review

AthanaTheos – Prophetic Era (Or How Yahveh Became the One) Review

““French philosophy” is, in some circles, a punchline. It evokes the image of an edgy atheist, fedora on head, sipping his black espresso (symbolic, of course, of the darkness of his existence – the horror of reflecting on Sartre in a café surely cripples the best of men) and smoking a strange, thin cigarette in perpetuity – pretension personified. AthanaTheos, a French black doom atmospheric dissonant epic death metal band has tried their hand not just at an album but an epos – an epic poem set to music.” Profits of doom.

Hornwood Fell – Cursed Thoughts – I II Review

Hornwood Fell – Cursed Thoughts – I II Review

“Now, here’s an interesting concept. One that wouldn’t slip by ole Grier. Hornwood Fell’s eighty-minute epic, Cursed Thoughts – I II, happens to be a combination of two records released earlier this year. With the help of Third-I-Rex and Kadabra Music, the band was able to combine this independently-released two-parter into a single release. The first part inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal and the second by the poems of Edgar Allan Poe.” Deep thoughts.