Death Metal

Death Tribe – Beyond the Red Light District: A Canal Experiment Review

By Doom_et_Al on July 21, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Groove Metal, 17 comments

Occasionally, events come along that completely shatter the way we view the world. For the people of Beirut, Lebanon, one of those occurred on August 4th, 2020, when ammonium nitrate, stored at the port, exploded, killing 207 people, injuring 7,500, and leaving approximately 300,000 homeless. Those who were there initially thought a nuclear bomb had exploded, so powerful was the blast. This was a crippling blow for a nation already ravaged by civil war and endemic political corruption. This disaster serves as the nexus for progressive death metal band, Death Tribe’s, sophomore album, Beyond the Red Light District: A Canal Experiment (BRLD:CE).” From disaster comes art.

Vomit Ritual – Callous Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on July 14, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, 13 comments

“When I first read the name Vomit Ritual, three thoughts occurred to me. The first was that our tenured professor in all things vomit, Doktor Mark Z, should probably be reviewing this. The second was that Vomit Ritual is a rather funny band name in metal’s typical macabre and absurd sense of humor. What type of ritual involves vomit? Is the vomit procured beforehand, or do the participants need to vomit during the ritual? Who knows? Who cares? The third was reading Vomit Ritual in the phrasing of Death’s “Zombie Ritual,” which is rather amusing. Try it at home, the review will be here when you get back.” Ralph roundtables.

Crescent – Carving the Fires of Akhet Review

By Ferrous Beuller on July 13, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 49 comments

“I’ve said it before and, Ra be damned, I’ll say it again. I love eastern themes in metal. As a result, my interest is naturally piqued by any band utilizing those progressions or from that part of the world. I discussed this at length in my review of Crescent‘s 2018 album The Order of Amenti. These Egyptians definitely know how to implement dynamic scales amidst stone-cracking riffs. Now, ignited with a little new blood, Carving the Fires of Akhet prepares to descend on the masses in a flurry of smoke and ash.” Axe, wax or wane?

Qrixkuor – Poison Palinopsia

By TheKenWord on July 9, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, 54 comments

“I didn’t choose this. This album I had no intent to cover. But, thanks to a contract I signed under duress, swearing myself to temporary servitude under one green, be-grilled Kermit impersonator, I am here reviewing a random record of his choosing. Lo, here I be, with UK trio Qrixkuor (pronounced “Trix-are-for-kids,” I believe) and their debut opus Poison Palinopsia. Two tracks. Forty-eight minutes and change. This is going to be one weird, wild ride.” Death writ large.

Domination Campaign – Onward to Glory Review

By Twelve on July 8, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, 12 comments

“From the ashes of Australia’s Psycroptic rises a new band to take its place in the sun: Domination Campaign. Except that’s not a great metaphor for the situation, because Psycroptic is fine and still doing its usual musician thing, but I wanted to write a dramatic intro to pique your interest. You see, Domination Campaign and their debut full-length, Onward to Glory was originally a solo project by Jason Peppiatt, who is the lead vocalist in Psycroptic.” Death, taxes, and yellow journalism.

Stuck in the Filter – June’s Angry Misses

By TheKenWord on July 8, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, Melodic Metal, Metalcore, Progressive Metal, Rap Metal, Thrash Metal, 50 comments

“So here’s a segment you all likely are too young to remember/never thought you’d see again. And it comes from the most unlikely source to boot—me! I discovered this feature through one of our monthly staff review calls/execution ceremonies, and I thought it was a shame we don’t use it more often. This comes on the back of a month where many of us were swamped with life events, massive overtime at work, and other such stressors. Naturally, we missed a bunch of releases, both ones we received promo for and ones we didn’t.” No filter!

Polemicist – Return of the Sophist Review

By Grymm on July 6, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 29 comments

“Two years ago, due to the vulture-like voracity of my colleagues here towards the eternally decomposing corpse that is our promo bin, I discovered Zarathustrian Impressions, the debut album from Pennsylvanian blackened death scholars Polemicist solely on the fact that it was the last album not snatched up by my ravenous cohorts. It would be my colleagues’ loss, because despite being a back-heavy album with a questionable production, I was still impressed by what they had to offer musically, and even commented that they could very likely cast all eyes on them within a couple of albums.” The future is now, olde man!

Burning Darkness – Dödens Makt Review

By Carcharodon on July 6, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, Heavy Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 27 comments

“Swedish five-piece Burning Darkness has been kicking around since 1999, going through various periods of inactivity and releasing a number of demos. It was not until 2017, however, that a debut full-length record finally appeared, the self-released The Angel of Light. That raw chunk of melodic black metal sported heavy dollops of both death (“Demonic Bloodlines”) and heavy metal (“Crystallised Curse”), and was enough, it seems, to secure Burning Darkness a deal with Non Serviam Records. Now, the band returns with its sophomore effort, Dödens Makt.” Burning leather and rubber.

Alustrium – A Monument to Silence Review

By L. Saunders on July 5, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Technical Death Metal, 35 comments

“Philadelphia’s progressive tech death architects Alustrium smashed out an album for the ages with their 2015 opus A Tunnel to Eden. The sophomore LP presented a kaleidoscopic, grand in scale masterwork of progressive and technical death metal, featuring serious instrumental and compositional chops, while possessing tons of heart and style. Despite being a little too bloated and ambitious for its own good, the pros far outweighed the miniscule cons to deliver a knockout punch. Punctuated by 2020’s strong Insurmountable EP, it has been a long time between drinks on the full-length recording front. Curiously slipping under the radar, Alustrium‘s third album, A Monument to Silence is now upon us.” Unquiet monuments.

Anthropophagus Depravity – Apocalypto Review

By Dear Hollow on July 5, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, 13 comments

“Anthropophagus Depravity is a brutal death metal quintet from Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and 2021’s Apocalypto is their debut. While undoubtedly committed to bludgeoning listeners over the head with gore-splattered riffs, tar-thick grooves, and hell-scraping gutturals, Apocalypto is also dedicated to Mayan civilization and its emphasis of human sacrifice.” Sacrifices must be made.