Canadian Metal

Necroticgorebeast – Repugnant Review

Necroticgorebeast – Repugnant Review

“Well, here’s one filthy wallow–roll around in this shit and I promise the stench will linger. The brutal death mongers of Necroticgorebeast return with Repugnant, their third blitzkrieg of bletches, blearghs, and blurgles. On their self-titled debut and its followup Human Deviance Galore, these Québecois killers established themselves as the state of the “art” when it comes to IQ-obliterating slammy death metal. They “distinguish” themselves from their peers with a kind of lizard-brain instinct for making slam that sticks.” Pearls before slam.

Upir – Threads of Sei​ð​r – Seeing Under Starlight Review

Upir – Threads of Sei​ð​r – Seeing Under Starlight Review

“Calgary’s Upir dropped the absolutely and wonderfully noisemongering Effigy for the Fiercest Frost – Shadows Dance in the Fires of Yule, which achieved a meditative effect across two tracks in its blend of thick ambiance and raw black metal – landing as one of my biggest surprises of 2021. As another surprise, the enigmatic act dropped their first full-length proper out of nowhere.” Surprise bone call.

Augurium – Unearthly Will Review

Augurium – Unearthly Will Review

“Death metal, for all its vast influence, can be a chore. Walls of distortion, thick riffs, and roars all on the same plane of the low and gurgle assault the ears with reckless abandon, and I have long needed breathing room to fully appreciate it. While The Gorilla God Himself prefers it putrid and slimy and the gone-but-unforgotten Kronos prefers it layered and intricate, I prefer a death metal experience that takes me places. Saskatchewan five-piece Augurium is willing to throw their crusty platter of death metal into the ring.” Death on the road.

Cryptopsy – As Gomorrah Burns Review

Cryptopsy – As Gomorrah Burns Review

“Few death metal acts have a run of albums as divisive as Cryptopsy. Starting life as an uncompromisingly brutal tech-death act, they took the world by storm with 1994s Blasphemy Made Flesh and 1996s iconic None So Vile. Their hyperkinetic blend of speed, technicality, and heaviness set them apart from every other death outfit save Gorguts and Suffocation. Sadly, these epic albums proved hard to top and the subsequent years were not so kind to Cryptopsy.” Crypt skeptics reunion.

Pomegranate Tiger – All Input Is Error Review

Pomegranate Tiger – All Input Is Error Review

“After nearly a decade’s hiatus, Pomegranate Tiger resurface to bring their brand of heady instrumental prog to the cerebellums of the masses. Hailing from Ontario in the Great White North, Martin Andres’ passion project made a splash in 2013 with debut album Entities, and after 2015 follow-up Boundaries he chose to join forces as a touring musician with province-mates Oni. Emerging from an extended hibernation, All Input Is Error sees Andres returning to Pomegranate Tiger as a certified one-man band tackling humanity’s inevitable slide towards The Singularity.” Crouching tiger, hidden restraint.

Inhumed – Feasted Upon Like Carrion Review

Inhumed – Feasted Upon Like Carrion Review

“If there was an Ol’ Reliable of the musical world, it would be death metal. While the core sound has seen some evolution over the years, the timeless ideology remains unchanged: to inflict sonic blunt force trauma. Inhumed, a young trio-turned-quintet from Canada, aren’t interested in any fancy subgenre qualifiers that might dilute the pure death metal ideology; no, they’re here to hurt you.” Injured or hurt?

Widow’s Peak – Claustrophobe Review

Widow’s Peak – Claustrophobe Review

“I’m not a particularly skilled musician myself, and I won’t pretend for a second that I could play anything that Widow’s Peak does on this technical extravaganza of groovy and deathy leanings. Fitting for fret-melting of this caliber, this Canadian outfit has enlisted the engineering talents of Colin Marston (Krallice, Dysrhythmia, many technical credits).” Peak tech-freakouts.