Industrial Metal

Orbit Culture – Descent Review

Orbit Culture – Descent Review

By Dear Hollow on August 16, 2023 in Reviews, Groove Metal, Industrial Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 53 comments

“Sweden’s Orbit Culture became a poster child for extreme metal with their 2020 full-length, the formidable Nija. While undeniably heavy in neck-snapping thrash grooves, ferocious roars, and an unforgiving edge of industrial atmospherics, the band showed its roots in the lush forests of melodic death metal. Soaring clean choruses and earworm melodies assemble in the darkness with an often unmatched colossal quality, creating a sound both catchy and devastating. Orbit Culture became the “it” band, not forsaking any of their uniqueness. After 2021’s solid EP Shaman, we are met with 2023’s Descent.” Culture rot.

Nuclear Winter – Seagrave Review

Nuclear Winter – Seagrave Review

By Itchymenace on August 15, 2023 in Reviews, Industrial Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal, Symphonic Metal, 14 comments

“The first thing that interested me about Nuclear Winter is that they’re from Zimbabwe. I don’t know much about Zimbabwe, and I’ve never reviewed or even listened to a record from Zimbabwe, but I thought that maybe metal produced there would have some unique sounds and textures. I quickly found that not to be the case. Seagrave sounds like a thousand other European symphonic power metal-type records.” Uranium graves and winter burials.

Godflesh – Purge Review

Godflesh – Purge Review

By Grymm on June 15, 2023 in Reviews, Industrial Metal, 35 comments

“Tons of things have been said about industrial pioneers Godflesh. Unrelentingly brutal. Hypnotically trance-inducing. Pairs alarmingly well with Destiny’s Child. Whatever your stance or point of reference, there’s no denying the long-standing Birmingham duo have carved their way into the minds and hearts of the industrial scene since their arrival in the late 80s, and have bludgeoned and captivated over the course of eight highly-influential albums.” Streetcleaning or street cluttering?

Nightmarer – Deformity Adrift Review

Nightmarer – Deformity Adrift Review

By Dear Hollow on May 3, 2023 in Reviews, Death Metal, Industrial Metal, 58 comments

“I didn’t know what to expect with Deformity Adrift. Although I knew it’s rooted in the inherently unfriendly style of dissonant death metal, I wasn’t sure which breed: perhaps the scathing apathy of Mithridatum, the sun-bleached Altars, the occult mumblings of Mitochondrion, or the twisted technicality of Asystole, to name a few. I shrugged and thought, “I’ve seen it all” and pushed play on Nightmarer. What tormented me about the Berlin/Portland quartet is that, despite my best efforts to describe it with bands of similar ilk, I cannot put words to its latest foray. It rides the line neatly between the haunting devastation of its influences and a tantalizingly listenable quality that defies the need for abstraction. Nightmarer has created a unique dilemma.” DilemmaER!

T.O.M.B. – Terror Winds Review

T.O.M.B. – Terror Winds Review

By Dear Hollow on December 9, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Industrial Metal, Noise, 14 comments

“I picked up Terror Winds for shock – I’ll admit that fully. When we last met T.O.M.B. readily dealt my very first 1.0 roundhouse kick. 2020’s Thin the Veil was, by all accounts, a disgrace. Offering a revolving door of guest musicians without a thread of consistency while flaunting painfully directionless songwriting in the name of kvlt kred, it consisted of forty-five minutes of noisy industrial black metal that felt about forty-three minutes too long. Straddling the fence between a bargain bin Psyclon Nine “beats ‘n shred” approach and the Tetragrammacide ascetic aesthetic with the grace of a toddler, it was something else. I just didn’t expect to see T.O.M.B. back ’round these parts so soon.” T.O.M.B. soon?

Black Cross Hotel – Hex Review

Black Cross Hotel – Hex Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on November 12, 2022 in Reviews, Industrial Metal, Punk, 25 comments

“Is there anything better than a horror-themed album? I think not. But, being the mentally unstable King Diamond fan that I am, I’m sure that’s no surprise to anyone. But you won’t find soaring falsettos and soloing as old as Steel on Black Cross Hotel’s debut record, Hex. Instead, you’ll discover Killing Joke-inspired industrial metal mingled with punky vocals and synths that you’d swear came from a John Carpenter movie.” The horror….

Black Magnet – Body Prophesy Review

Black Magnet – Body Prophesy Review

By Kenstrosity on July 28, 2022 in Reviews, Electronic Metal, Industrial Metal, 7 comments

“Industrial metal is an extremely difficult genre in which to stand out. Part of this challenge lies in the relatively limiting set of attributes that defines the style. A lot of industrial music relies on robotic, crushing synth tones, backed by throbbing beats with gritty distortion slathered over almost everything from drums to vocals. The specific niche that industrial music fills in turn creates an incredibly crowded and competitive field for new artists intending to make their mark. To stand out, you have to deliver something that breaks new ground in either sound or songwriting quality. Oklahoma City-based one-man-band Black Magnet aim to do just that with their new album, Body Prophesy.” Body hammer.

American Anymen – Cities Changing Names Review

American Anymen – Cities Changing Names Review

By Felagund on June 18, 2022 in Reviews, Industrial Metal, Punk, 25 comments

“We’re no stranger to bands who claim more sub-genres than they have members (or fans). You’ll routinely see tags for things like “symphonic doom” and “blackened death” and “hardcore Viking sludge.” It’s also not surprising when musicians change course from one album to the next. We’ve all perused reviews about a band with an established sound veering off into wildly new directions. Really, adding new sub-genres seems to come with the territory. But what happens when a non-metal band takes a running leap into the dark side? Such is the case with New York-based act American Anymen, a group that, up until very recently, played a vitriolic form of anti-folk on a slew of singles, EPs, splits and one full-length. Now, it appears they’ve leapt headlong into the metal game with Cities Changing Names.” Duct tape-core.