Distortion Music Group

Man Must Die – The Pain Behind it All Review

Man Must Die – The Pain Behind it All Review

“Bursting onto the extreme metal scene in the mid ’00s with a strong trio of albums, underrated Scottish band Man Must Die has long been a reliable death metal act, despite a decade-plus of sporadic output and questions over whether the band would remain active. 2019’s Gagging Order EP showed much-needed signs of life in the band’s revamped ranks, leading to their first LP in a decade, fifth album, The Pain Behind it All.” Man unkind.

Seven Kingdoms – Zenith Review

Seven Kingdoms – Zenith Review

“I first stumbled upon Seven Kingdoms with their third album, 2012s The Fire is Mine. It happened at a point where my tolerance for power metal was at a low ebb and I had mostly moved on to other styles. So good was the album that after one spin my appreciation for power was reignited and the fire was mine once again. There was so much energy and vibrancy to their sound and so many slick hooks, that it became a favorite platter I still return to. The sky seemed the limit for the band with such a mammoth release fresh on the shelves. Then they gave us a free clinic on how not to succeed by failing to follow up the album for five long years.” Of Kingdoms forsaken.

Bastard – Rotten Blood Review

Bastard – Rotten Blood Review

“What we have here is the devil’s own bar band. After a seven-year layoff and a slew of lineup changes, Bastard swaggers back onstage with sophomore full-length Rotten Blood. These four likely parolees mine a vein of blackened speed metal and thrash that will be familiar to fans of Nifelheim, Goatwhore, or, more recently, any of your finer bands ending in the suffix “-er” (Bütcher, Bewitcher, Hellripper, Demiser, etc.). The album is all Motörhead riffs played at 78 rpm and mad-lib lyrics that pay homage to Satan or whatever–mostly, it seems, because cozying up to Old Man Splitfoot is the fastest way to get your hands on the good whiskey.” Bastards, bourbon, Battlestar Galactica.