Blood Harvest Records

Valdrin – Throne of the Lunar Soul Review

Valdrin – Throne of the Lunar Soul Review

“Back in 2020, I heaped an enormous amount of praise upon Effigy of Nightmares, the third full-length album from Ohio’s Valdrin, and while that record constitutes the exceedingly rare occurrence where time tempers my initial enthusiasm (I’d probably bring it down to a 4.0 at this point), I still hold it in high regard. I was caught up not only by Valdrin’s melodic black metal songwriting ability but also by the band’s incredible brand of storytelling.” Lords of stories.

Universally Estranged – Dimension of Deviant Clusters Review

Universally Estranged – Dimension of Deviant Clusters Review

“Did you catch Reared Up in Spectral Predation last year? If not, you missed Universally Estrangedߵs startling debut, a cosmically competent slab of OSDM fury that dissolved slowly amongst the whirring of scattershot synth swooshes, robotic bleeps, and washed-out guitar heroism. Though it had its dips in quality and pacing, its unique presence and soundscape cemented a spot on my watchlist—a burst of potential that freed many from the inertia that OSDM often inspires. Drawing on sounds equally as earthy as extraterrestrial, this Texas-incepted act has brought forth its sophomore outing, Dimension of Deviant Clusters.” Estranged bedfellows.

Vacuous Depths – Corporal Humiliation Review

Vacuous Depths – Corporal Humiliation Review

“You there! That’s right, you. Stop dwelling on Cthulhu or Satan or the uncaring expanse of deep space for a minute; it’s time for a thought exercise. Think of the worst thing you’ve ever done. No, really–the thing you don’t tell anyone about, the one that makes you stop whatever you’re doing and wince whenever it jumps unbidden into your mind. Got it? Well, guess what: Vacuous Depths know your secret, and they are here to beat you down for what you did. Here are ten tracks of primal, punishing death metal that are very much aware we all have it coming.” Punishment due.

Gutvoid – Durance of Lightless Horizons Review

Gutvoid – Durance of Lightless Horizons Review

“A young act’s debut full-length can be exciting on many levels. You are there at the birth of something, the leaping off point for a career of unknown fortunes. Sometimes you can smell greatness even on the earliest works, and other times humble beginnings offer no hint of the great things to come. The promo material for Toronto’s Gutvoid aren’t shy about promising big things for this upstart death metal outfit. Words like “titanic” and “stellar” are dropped and much hype is created for Durance of Lightless Horizons. And there is some truth in the PR puffery (for once).” Durance of elevated expectations.

Obscene – From Dead Horizon to Dead Horizon Review

Obscene – From Dead Horizon to Dead Horizon Review

Obscene’s debut The Inhabitable Dark hit in the midst of a grand revival of old school death worship at the House of Steel. It packed a big, ugly punch and mined the rarefied territory of Obituary, Hail of Bullets and Asphyx for all they were worth. It had just the right amount of nastiness and extremity and the songs were short and sweet too. The WAY over-the-top vocals by Kyle Shaw were a win for me, but some of my AMG colleagues thought they were too WAY over-the-top. That was nonsense of course, and I spent a lot of time with The Inhabitable Dark. This month we got the followup, From Dead Horizon to Dead Horizon and I found myself giddy to hear what kind of vile charms they had in store.” Bring me the Dead Horizons.

Astral Tomb – Soulgazer Review

Astral Tomb – Soulgazer Review

“Good brutal death albums ruin your day. You swing your fists and frown, letting the caveman slams and moist leads saturate your eardrums in a coat of red mist as the mosh-pit hysteria results in a few too many lost brain cells. Astral Tomb does just that, featuring all the hallmarks of a good slam/goregrind/brutal death album: opener “Transcendental Visions” fitting this to a tee, the thirteen-minute opener reeks of Carcass-meets-Devourment-meets-Blood Incantation gore in its brutal emphasis on excess.” Star tombs, raw wounds.

Charnel Altar – Abatement of the Sun Review

Charnel Altar – Abatement of the Sun Review

“Aussie trio Charnel Altar faces the dual challenges of releasing a debut album in mid-December and standing out among a crowded field of label-mates, joining Blood Harvest’s packed December offering with their unique toxic sludge of blackened death-doom. While not always to the album’s benefit, black metal instincts pervade Abatement of the Sun, propelling their filth and gore-covered Holden hatchback through the deepest doom-filled muck.” Destroying the Sun.

Cadaveric Fumes – Echoing Chambers of Soul Review

Cadaveric Fumes – Echoing Chambers of Soul Review

“Five eventful years after EP Dimensions Obscure enticed Grymm with its fusion of old school death metal, occult rock, and Gallic idiosyncrasy, these Frenchmen have released their first full-length Echoing Chambers of Soul. This debut is also a swan song, as the band is now calling it quits. Is Cadaveric Fumes leaving the stage with the grand statement hinted at by their early work, or has their creative engine sputtered to a stop?” It feels like a “or does it smell like a corpse” joke was the obvious thing to do here, doesn’t it?

Sněť – Mokvání V Okovech Review

Sněť – Mokvání V Okovech Review

Sněť is a concise little moniker for a death metal band, and their Mokvání V Okovech debut, clocking in at just over 28 minutes, is also concise. Name dropping Autopsy, Carcass, and Undergang as prime influences, this upstart Czech Republic act had me dreaming of septic tank quality old school death reeking of foul, repugnant things, and to an extent these things are delivered with additional nods to Incantation and Morbid Angel. With such a list of greats functioning as Hellish muses, you would hope for something as toxic as a Super Fund site on double secret probation.” Short stack death.

Infesticide – Envenoming Wounds Review

Infesticide – Envenoming Wounds Review

“Reviews of death metal bands from Mexico normally start with a phrase which says, literally or in effect, “when you think of death metal hotbeds, you don’t think of Mexico!” This is a trite observation, but much like discussing the weather it gets the conversational ball rolling. That Mexican death metal hasn’t developed a readily definable sound can be an advantage, as there’s no expectation evoked when the phrase “Mexican death metal” is used as there is with “Swedish death metal” or “Finnish death-doom.”” Don’t drink the wounds.