Feb21

Lake of Tears – Ominous Review

By Steel Druhm on February 16, 2021 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Progressive Metal, 61 comments

“Sweden’s Lake of Tears may be one of the most chameleon-like bands in metal history. Over their 27 year career they’ve morphed from Gothic doom to prog, stoner space rock, and onto dark prog with blackened edges. Somehow they always did justice to the disparate styles they tinkered with, and like those many flavored jelly beans in Harry Potter, you never knew what you would get from album to album. It’s been almost ten years since 2011s Illwill and I’d started to think of Lake of Tears in the past tense. Then along came ninth album Ominous.” Buying tears in bulk.

Caedes Cruenta – Of Ritual Necrophagia and Mysterious Ghoul Cults Review

By Dear Hollow on February 16, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 15 comments

“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure where the line between black metal and blackened death lies. There’re folks who are entirely justified for crying “DEATH” when you add some bass to the mix, but others will be completely in the right to scold them for hopping a little too hard. Since groups like Belphegor and Marduk have blurred the lines with their bottom-heavy yet grim AF aesthetics, it’s a horde of near or far-sighted folks blurring everything.” Ghouls night ovt.

The Lylat Continuum – Ephemeral Review

By El Cuervo on February 15, 2021 in Reviews, Psychedelic Rock, Technical Death Metal, 11 comments

“This review is testament to the power of the pre-release single. I was immediately intrigued by the description “blending proggy death metal with psychedelic ambient breaks” and its atypical approach to death metal fulfilled this description. I specifically sought out the release in the promo swamp, dredging it up from between the smelly stoner doom and fetid black metal ordinarily infesting it. Denver’s The Lylat Continuum have brewed their potion for a number of years before releasing Ephemeral, their debut album, and it’s nothing if not inventive.” Hype and regret.

Swampbeast – Seven Evils Spawned of Seven Heads Review

By Akerblogger on February 15, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, 17 comments

“Tranquility is having one’s swamp to one’s self. Nothing beats the sultry shimmer of swamp silence. But silence is fleeting. Evil lurks in the hazy depths of the swamp. Upward through ancient mud rises Swampbeast, a mangled, tangled death metal creature. The beast is here to stay. Seven Evils Spawned of Seven Heads, Swampbeast’s debut full-length, drags a listener through a 36-minute mire of grinding putridity.” Running bog wild.

Pestis Cultus – Pestis Cultus Review

By Carcharodon on February 15, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, 19 comments

“Raw black metal is not typically my thing. I like my black atmospheric or symphonic, as a rule. Normally, if you’re after the lo-fi stuff, you’d wanna talk to Messrs of Doom and in Muzaka. But, that said, I rather enjoyed my time with Funeral Fullmoon, so here I am, back in the dark, icy depths of … well, this time, Western Australia.” Lo-fi down under.

Dead Exaltation – Despondent Review

By Holdeneye on February 14, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Technical Death Metal, 49 comments

“Technical death metal is one of those “hit or miss” genres for me. While I find the intricate rhythms and minigun note delivery intoxicating at times, I still require the style’s purveyors to provide that thing for which I look in all of my metal endeavors: the almighty riff. Genre legends Cryptopsy shred like no other, but they undergird their sound with a buttload of groove, and modern technical titans Archspire and Cytotoxin make sure to riff just as hard as they noodle. While I generally don’t love overly gore-themed releases due to the nature of my work, the pickings were fairly slim for this week. So I took a chance and picked up Despondent, the debut release from India’s Dead Exaltation, nasty artwork and all.” Technical butchery.

Shotgun Revolution – IV Review

By Kenstrosity on February 13, 2021 in Reviews, Hard Rock, Post-Grunge, 13 comments

“I was so confused when I picked up Shotgun Revolution for review a few weeks ago. I thought for sure someone here reviewed them already on this site, but a cursory search returned zero results. Then, I suddenly remembered I was thinking of Shotgun Rodeo, and all was right with the world again. So, I downloaded my totally up-for-grabs promo and smashed that heckin’ play button. Instantly I teleported to 2005, when post-grunge and hard rock saturated every radio station on the East Coast. I thought this kind of thing was pretty much dead in the water, but I guess I was wrong.” Gun up or stand down.

Alkerdeel – Slonk Review

By Dear Hollow on February 12, 2021 in Reviews, 9 comments

“As you’re reading this, I’m sure you’re thinking, “Alkerdeel. Why does that sound so familiar?” You ask yourself if it’s a similarity to the British Akercocke – maybe? Well, perhaps a similarity to the illustrious Akerblogger, and you question if in fact the good lad was named thusly – nah, that’s not it either. You give a brief overview of their discography, noting that 2012 album Morinde features a somewhat abstract but violent portrayal of, what, a wolf beating a rabbit to death? That seems excessive for a predator with, y’know, teeth. Oh look, they were involved with Hypertension Records’ The Abyss Stares Back split series that’s fucking impossible to find.” Rabbit don’t come sleazy.

Narakah – Blast Haven Review

By Grymm on February 12, 2021 in Reviews, Grind, 16 comments

“My deal is that, unless it hooks, grooves, and absolutely obliterates with both heft and speed, it’s not gonna do a damn thing for me. Maybe it’s because I was spoiled at a relatively young age by the likes of Napalm Death, Nasum, Brutal Truth, and the like, but it’s not often that I’m floored by grind these days. But a change of pace can do wonders, and it just so happens that Pittsburgh’s Narakah dropped their second EP, Blast Haven, on us. Nine songs at twelve minutes. Sure, it’s cheating to grab an EP when it’s not EP Season, but if it’s good enough, I can shine some light on it.” Blast heaven.

Buried – Oculus Rot Review

By Steel Druhm on February 12, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, 12 comments

“As New York remains encased in snow and ice, I’ve increasingly relied on death metal to keep my brain active and semi-functional. This is why I grabbed the debut by Dutch death act Buried from the corrupted effluvium of the promo sump. Formed from the wreckage of Pyaemia and featuring 3 members of that defunct death unit, Buried bill themselves as ‘progressive death’ and ‘old school death with a modern touch,’ but what I hear is a bullying blend of brutal, slam and tech death crafted to crush your skull like a spiked baseball bat.” Eye of the trigger.