“It’s winter again, and Ulver’s first three records express the beauty and wonder of the season that left us when we grew up and got annoyed at clearing a foot of snow off our cars so we can dutifully trudge to work. Horrific Demise’s debut record Excruciating Extermination conjures a world where Harambe comes back and decides to use your scrotum as a speedbag. That’s right, it’s one of these again.” Ouch.
Gorgasm
Gorod – Æthra Review
“Æthra, which is being released from the band’s new home at the French label Overpowered Records, is Gorod’s sixth slab of techy goodness. Through all of it, Gorod has yet to release a bad album. Therefore, the question I wanted the answer to when I finally got a chance to pop the album on was ‘will Æthra be good or, like, really good?'” Fanboy ahoy?
Devangelic – Phlegethon Review
“In what is sure to be a heart-stopping shock to readers, I’m embarking upon a mid-length review of a brutal death metal album from Italy that I’m not terribly fond of. Gasp and swoon though you may, if you survey recent examples of Italian brutal death metal reviewed in this august publication, the Kronos name is not too thick in the ground, and that’s intentional. I’m a devout opponent of the style of brutal death pioneered by Hour of Penance and copied by so many of their Mediterranean peers and do my best to avoid reviewing death bands who play in the style simply because it’s a lose-lose situation.” Death in Venice (or nearby).
Broken Hope – Mutilated and Assimilated Review
“Hailing from the windy city, Broken Hope are known for dealing in what could be referred to as second-tier Suffocation or Deicide-inspired death metal, with some healthy Napalm Death grindcore influence.” Hope is never lost, just a bit broken.