Death Metal

The Crown – Death Is Not Dead

The Crown – Death Is Not Dead

“Honestly, I haven’t been excited for a new release from The Crown in a long time. For one, the quality of their releases has slowly declined since their epic Hell Is Here debut back in 1999.” These cats have an uneven history with more than their share of lineup issues, but they’re back and we have opinions (and some of them are silly).

Ghoulgotha – The Deathmass Cloak Review

Ghoulgotha – The Deathmass Cloak Review

“As someone who writes music reviews, I take pride in being able to craft together a 450-550 word essay on why you should pick up an album, or why you should avoid it entirely. Keeping the reader on their tippy-toes while painting a vivid picture for your eyes and ears to digest is a great joy of mine. However, as the world aged by a year this week, I too have added another year to my existence. In doing so, I’ve realized that there comes a time where you have to dispense with the hyperbolic bullshit and just call it as it is.” Such a comment is rarely the prelude to something positive.

Things You May Have Missed 2014: Entrapment – Lamentations of the Flesh

Things You May Have Missed 2014: Entrapment – Lamentations of the Flesh

“The Dutch death squad known as Entrapment named their sophomore release Lamentations of the Flesh presumably because a) that’s the title of a song on the record, and b) Swe-death Riff-fest 2014 is an incredibly unwieldy album title.” Some say this is the best swede-death album of 2014. We hope it isn’t because then this miss is really embarrassing.

Yer Metal Is (Five Years) Olde! Fleshgod Apocalypse – Oracles

Yer Metal Is (Five Years) Olde! Fleshgod Apocalypse – Oracles

“Yer Metal Is Olde was started to honor records that we’re 10, 20, or 30 years old. Kronos noticed, however, that we’ve never reviewed Fleshgod Apocalypse’s magnum opus and, not only that, but that Oracles has turned five in 2014! So in honor of one of the best brutal/technical death metal records ever made, here’s a Yer Metal Is (Not Particularly) Olde for this brilliant work of art.”

Things You Might Have Missed 2014: Black Anvil – Hail Death

Things You Might Have Missed 2014: Black Anvil – Hail Death

“Three years ago at a Krallice show in New York, a band named Black Anvil took stage, struck an immense wall-shaking chord, and immediately captivated my unsuspecting ears with their hefty, head-crushing riffs. Unlike the post-progressive-neo-sludge-blueberry muffin-whatever I expected to accompany Krallice, Black Anvil was firmly grounded in the primal forms of extreme metal, somehow combining black, death, thrash, and doom without sounding like they’d spent the last decade huffing rubber cement and playing Celtic Frost records backwards.” Holidays go better with rubber cement huffing.

Dimesland – Psychogenic Atrophy Review

Dimesland – Psychogenic Atrophy Review

“Yep, this is one of those albums. There’s not a sphere to be had on that cover, much less a corpse, but it remains one of the more striking and subtly unnerving pieces of album art around. It’s not like other covers, and Dimesland is not like other bands. Psychogenic Atrophy is the Oakland, California quartet’s first LP, hoping to ride on the coattails of bizarre death metal bands like Gorguts and Pyrrhon that we all love so dearly. Yet Psychogenic Atrophy provides us with a plastic disc filled with a music that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike technical death metal.” No sphere to be had, but this is far from bad.

Things You Might Have Missed: Slugdge – Gastronomicon

Things You Might Have Missed: Slugdge – Gastronomicon

“I admire bands with the guts to take creative risks and incorporate different styles and influences into their sound. However, meshing different genres is often fraught with danger. Bold experimentation and genre splicing often results in bands going off the deep end, with the finished output dissolving into a stewy mess of incoherence and forced songwriting.” Ready for some slug themed extremity? Look at that escargot!