Blackened Death Metal

Viande – L’abime dévore les âmes Review

By Carcharodon on April 19, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 16 comments

“Many of us know, I guess, that moment of extreme disappointment when you unwrap a prime steak you’ve been looking forward to, only to be greeted by the putrid smell of gone-off meat. “It makes no sense, I only bought the fucking thing yesterday,” you mutter darkly to yourself. That steak should have been good for another couple of days at least. “How could this have happened? Why did it have to happen to me and why today?” I can’t answer any of those questions—quite frankly, I have my own problems—but that foul whiff of putrefaction reminds of the rancid filth that emanates from the debut record of French four-piece Viande.” Meat tragedy and death woes.

Bloodgate – Solace in Mourning Review

By Eldritch Elitist on April 12, 2022 in Reviews, 17 comments

“Blood. Gate. BLOOD. GATE. BLOOD! GATE! If that isn’t a band name perfectly tuned for chanting at live shows, I don’t know what is. Yet in the online world, Cincinnati, Ohio’s Bloodgate, now two LPs into their career, is a virtually non-hyped entity. Perhaps a reformulation of their blackened thrash approach will help in that respect. While 2018’s Ambush and Destroy was a tantalizingly melodic slab of Skeletonwitch worship, Solace in Mourning, despite its more contemplative title, adds a heap of death metal to the mix and feels decidedly more aggressive and unhinged for it.” Open the gates!

Concilivm – A Monument in Darkness Review

By Ferox on April 7, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 36 comments

“I scoff at the idea of curses, but things have been dicey since I let Concilivm’s dark magicks into my life. My hated rival Grigori Ilanovich got the promotion I’ve been vying for, there’s a strange shadow on the bedroom wall that seems to be creeping closer each night, and my credit rating has been lowered to “Shoot on Sight.” Can A Monument in Darkness’s forty minutes of blackened death metal really be the source of all this bad mojo? Spin the debut offering of this duo from Chile, and you too might find yourself consumed by the encroaching blackness. It may well be too late to save me, so I’ll set down this record of my findings.” Dark deeds done dirt cheap.

Aeviterne – The Ailing Facade Review

By Dear Hollow on March 23, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Post-Metal, 54 comments

“It would be tempting to call The Ailing Facade the product of a supergroup. Formed with veteran blood from acts like Castevet, Gath Šmānê, Luminous Vault, and Artificial Brain, guitarist/vocalist Garett Bussanick uses Aeviterne as a vessel to resurrect New York dissodeath heavyweights Flourishing. However, this quartet feels like so much more than a supergroup.” Horrid rebirthing.

Hath – All that Was Promised Review

By Kenstrosity on March 2, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 77 comments

“Hath are a cool band. They fill that Slugdge-shaped hole in my thirsty sponge body quite snugly without being a carbon copy, and you can clearly hear how much the group’s sound and skill grew between debut EP Hive and debut LP Of Rot and Ruin. The same measure of growth in songwriting and style applies between Of Rot and Ruin and their latest opus, All that Was Promised.” Hell Hath more fury.

Nihility – Beyond Human Concepts Review

By Dear Hollow on January 10, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 25 comments

“Nihility may sound familiar for a death metal band, but that’s because there’s a lot of them. This particular Nihility is a blackened death metal quartet from Portugal.” New year, old nihilism.

Dessiderium – Aria Review

By Eldritch Elitist on December 10, 2021 in Reviews, Technical Death Metal, 32 comments

“December is an exceptionally bad time to release any album. Between all the list compiling and TYMHM-ing that comes with the territory, I like to try to squeeze in a review or two for the “good enough” albums that find themselves caught out in the cold amid list season celebrations. Mind you, I don’t let them inside to partake, but I at least open the door just a crack to grant them a fleeting breath of celebratory warmth. For an album like Aria, this is an exceptionally disappointing fate. Had this been released even a few months prior, I feel that I would have had the time to digest this immense record to its fullest by list season.” Scrooged.

Kanonenfieber – Menschenmühle [Things You Might Have Missed 2021]

By Carcharodon on December 8, 2021 in Things You Might Have Missed 2021, Black Metal, Doom Metal, 100 comments

“The sonic palette in which Kanonenfieber lays out its tale is rooted in atmospheric black metal, meeting in the middle ground between the howling melodies of Minenwerfer and the more bombastic power of Panzerfaust. There are, however, nods to the likes of Bolt Thrower, and the gravelly, rasping growl of the vocals owes as much to traditional death, as it does to black metal.” The art of war.

The Temple – The Temple Review

By Dear Hollow on November 20, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 43 comments

“I’d be willing to put down money that The Temple is or contains a piece of Ulcerate. This New Zealand duo consists of P.K. on guitar, bass, and vocals (Paul Kelland? Sure sounds like him) and J.W. on drums (former Ulcerate vocalist James Wallace?), and to make matters worse, the self-titled debut was mixed and produced by J. Saint Merat. But this feeling of limbo, that maybe it is or maybe it isn’t, is what The Temple dwells in.” Crouching temples, hidden tech-death.

W.E.B. – Colosseum Review

By Kenstrosity on November 15, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Symphonic Metal, 21 comments

“W.E.B. was not what I was led to believe them to be. The promo titling called them “Symphonic Metal,” which in my mind doesn’t extend to the extreme side of things. Upon sampling their new fifth installment, Colosseum, however, I came to realize I was misinformed. ,b>W.E.B. is perhaps one of the most extreme bands I’ve heard in the last two years that rightfully claim the symphonic metal tag.” False flags and sticky WEBS.