Bolt Thrower

Autophagy – Bacteriophage Review

By Felagund on October 12, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 20 comments

“After unrelenting, fruitless sojourns reviewing doom, grind and epic metal, I have finally returned to my one true love: death metal of the old school variety, caked in grime and crusted over with unspeakable muck. Enter Bacteriophage, the first full-length release of Portland, Oregon-based death dealers Autophagy. Spotted gurgling during a late-night promo sump dive, this one appears to have it all: an indecipherable logo, predicable themes of rot and decay, buzzsaw guitars, crushing riffs, guttural vocals not even fit for the gutter, and plenty of muddy bombast to spare. After spinning and reviewing several recent releases outside of my usual musical hunting grounds, Autophagy’s latest felt like coming home.” Home sweat home.

Graceless – Chants from Purgatory Review

By Holdeneye on October 3, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 49 comments

Earlier this year, I talked about the void left behind in Bolt Thrower’s absence. I mentioned a few bands who are successfully filling a bit of said void by name and alluded to a few more. The Netherlands’ Graceless is one of the latter. Back in 2020, they stormed my gates, dropping one of my favorite death metal platters of that year and earning a spot on my Honorable Mention roster with Where Vultures Know Your Name. They did so not by innovating the genre or adding some new twist to an already tried-and-true formula. Nope. They did it by faithfully executing the type of meathead death metal that adds pounds (or kilos) to the barbell and hair to the chest.” Grace and disgrace.

Wayward Dawn – All-Consuming Void Review

By Holdeneye on September 14, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 45 comments

“Danish death metallers Wayward Dawn entered my life right when I needed a swift and relentless jackhammering to the nuts. Their sophomore album Haven of Lies was my first exposure to the band, landing right when lockdowns were setting in around the world as Covid began its malevolent quest to disrupt the world as we knew it.” Death at dawn.

Conjurer – Páthos Review

By Dear Hollow on July 5, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Post-Metal, Sludge Metal, 36 comments

“Conjurer purports to simply be “riff music,” but they’ve perhaps unintentionally made some of the most atmospheric music right alongside. Riffs, just as in the case of Mire, feel somewhere between Bolt Thrower and Isis, while passages of doom heft and post-rock clarity grace the negative spaces.” Genre hoarders.

Paganizer – Beyond the Macabre Review

By Holdeneye on June 30, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 49 comments

“If you’re a fan of Swedish death metal, or death metal in general, you probably know who Rogga Johannsson is. The omnipresent Swede is in a host of bands, and his output frequency is beyond belief. Paganizer happens to be one Rogga’s longest running projects and, unsurprisingly, pays homage to just about everything that’s awesome about Swedish death metal. Previous album The Tower of the Morbid saw the band combining the buzzsaw sound of Dismember with a touch of melodic death metal a la Amon Amarth, and Beyond the Macabre finds the band dialing the latter up considerably.” Rogga party.

Into the Obscure: Sacriphyx – The Western Front

By Saunders on June 10, 2022 in Into the Obscure, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 22 comments

“We all have our dirty metal secrets that we selfishly keep to ourselves, only sharing with a select few close to us. Or alternatively, we incessantly talk up underground gems and spread the gospel to anyone that will listen, as we cherish our slice of underground cred. Into the Obscure aims to right the wrongs and unearth the artists/albums that for whatever unjust reason didn’t get the exposure, appreciation or credit they sorely deserved the first time round.” War is Hell.

Darkened – The Black Winter Review

By Holdeneye on May 25, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 27 comments

“Everybody misses Bolt Thrower. Ask any death metal fan what band they’d want to resurrect for one last platter of greatness, and I bet the British bruisers would be near the top of the list, alongside Death itself. There’s just something about Bolt Thrower’s trance-inducing grooves that speaks to the violent beast hidden within each and every one of us, and the band name’s is still sprayed across death metal reviews like so much machine-gun fire whenever a burly tremolo rears its head—and this is nearly two decades after their last album saw the light of day. No one has been able to completely fill the void left in Bolt Thrower’s absence.” Tanks for the memories.

Nightfell – Never Comes the Storm Review

By Holdeneye on April 9, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 47 comments

“In a recent review, I described the death/doom sound of Grand Harvest using a variety of band comparisons. One of our lovely readers soon brought up one I meant to include but somehow left out: Portland’s Nightfell. Mere days later, Nightfell’s Instagram account became active after an extended hiatus, teasing some artwork and the date “4.1.22.” Then lo and behold, they sneakily self-released their fourth full-length album on that very date. Nightfell’s Bolt Thrower-gone-atmospheric sound crushed me on 2019’s A Sanity Deranged, and if I’d known a follow-up was coming, it would have been one of my most-anticipated releases of this year. Alas, the dudes in Nightfell robbed me of that sweet, sweet anticipation with their surprise album. Well, two can play that game. Behold! Here’s my surprise review!” Owning the night.

Grand Harvest – Consummatum Est Review

By Holdeneye on March 25, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 74 comments

“Ostensibly labeled as “death-doom,” Grand Harvest plays a powerful mixture of styles that includes but transcends such a label. Each of the record’s eight proper tracks displays its own unique personality while still fitting nicely within the band’s core sound. Combining the rhythmic barbarism of Bolt Thrower or Asphyx with the introspective atmospheric black metal of a band like Eneferens, Grand Harvest is able to convey their esoteric message while covering a wide swath of emotional territory.” Harvesting of sorrows

As the World Dies – Agonist Review

By Saunders on March 24, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 22 comments

“Hailing from the UK, As the World Dies come with solid pedigree attached, featuring members of Memoriam and Pemphigoid. Eager to blast their own path of dominance, the band enlisted the services of several notable guest vocalists to add some beef and retro death metal charm to the bludgeoning proceedings.” The agonist and ecstasy of death.