“When it comes to metal with a message, there’s not many bands as violently ferocious as Invertia. The Boston duo has been attempting to tear down the system for a good while now; our very own Madam X even lauded their sophomore offering for its intense brutality. Now Invertia has returned with The Biddings of Tyrants. This third entry to the band’s discography is no less critical of societies various dilemmas, but does it live up to its predecessor?” Speak truth to power with metal.
“With Christmas just around the corner, it gives me wry amusement that Bethlehem are about to unleash their latest slab of blackened thrash on the unsuspecting masses. Tis the season and Bethlehem are in a very giving kind of mood!” Grim yule tidings.
“Makers of what they have referred to as “shadowy,” “blackened,” and “industrial” noise, T.O.M.B. ask in their own language of exploding synthesizers what would happen if, instead of making music haunted and cinematic, someone collected everything haunted and cinematic about metal and made it musical. Literally, this is a group that has crafted an entire album from samples recorded at famous insane asylums, and here on their newest release, Fury Nocturnus, they do their best to convince listeners they have found an even spookier space.” An experiment in terror?
“If there are any bands out there that I can safely claim to have a major allegiance to, it would certainly be England’s Anaal Nathrakh. Maybe it’s because their magic blend of black metal, industrialized noise, grindcore, and even some power metal elements strike a nerve like few other bands do. Or perhaps it’s because, whenever you hear people talk ill about really any type of metal (kill your mother, rape your dog, etc.), chances are the music that Anaal Nathrakh spawns are the exact sounds these people actively imagine in their heads.” Lock up your mothers, lock up your dogs.
“There are some albums that scream out for a review… Opeth’s Sorceress was certainly in no danger of being overlooked. We toyed with you a little, made you wait, but it was on the cards you’d get a review – eventually. The Black Scorpio Underground’s Necrochasm will never be one of those “sought-after” albums. In fact, it’s tough to even mention these two bands in the same review, purely because they’re complete opposites.” Scary has a sound.
“I’ve never quite got my head around open-plan office space and those waist-height cubicles. Yes, your hive of corporate activity looks wonderful photographed from seven different angles; prominently displayed on your enterprises website. Oh and let’s not forget about the collaboration! But what’s the cost? Stress-induced irritability, hostility towards creativity and productivity, anxiety and ongoing health issues. Oh wait, collaboration just flew out the window… Where am I going with this? Music. More specifically, metal. Pain have proved themselves inconsistent over the years and as with most things in life, with the good comes the bad.” Good pain, bad pain, you know we’ve had our share….
“Not to be confused with skindrone dot com (a website promoting “5 Proven Home Remedies for Seborrheic Dermatitis on the Scalp”), the Skin Drone of interest here turns out to be a tech-death group from Massachusetts/Arkansas. Formed by Bluntface Records founder Otto Kinzel, Skin Drone fuses traditional tech-death with blackish avante-garde—the latter flavorings being the most interesting.” Why isn’t there a band named Seborrheic?
“The reigning kings of techno/industrial/party death are back once again to pump up the volume and rock your boots n’ pants, boots n’ pants. On their 13th full length, Monument, Crematory sees some major line up changes but the kraut rockers pick right up where 2014s Antiserum left off. That means more poppy techno-death tailor-made for metallized strip clubs and sketchy back alley discos.” Boots n’ pants and boots n’ pants….
“I first came across the nightmarish raptures of Spektr in 2006 with Near Death Experience. That album was perhaps the most unsettling record in my music collection at the time, and served to worsen my already-horrific insomnia. Since then I’ve been captivated by every one of Spektr’s disturbing soundtracks.” To sleep, perchance to scream?
“As a burgeoning metalhead, I was stuck between three worlds: the moshability of hardcore, the relentless speed and savagery of death metal, and the morose, downtrodden danciness of goth music.” And then Demanufacture happened.
