“I’d be a fool for not giving Almost Dead some credit for not giving two fucks what anyone thinks of their straightforward and sometimes strange style. That said, Destruction Is All We Know is the oddest album of them all—no doubt with some help from dial and toggle man Zac “Friend o’ the Blog” Orhen.” Odd Fellows warchest.
“One of the only true perks in this gig, besides the callous hazing of my fellow writers and the mindless braying of the commentariat, is getting highly anticipated releases weeks in advance. When that happens, a swarm of reviewers pilfer the promo pit, greedily clutching the release like so many Gollums with the One Ring. If you’re the lucky reviewer actually covering said album (we hates them), it’s a boon, as you get peer reactions in real time. But for everyone else, it means it becomes that much harder to focus on the album you’ve actually chosen that week. This is especially unfair to the band you’re reviewing when the Big Release is the same genre. This week, Archspire’s follow up to tech death masterpiece Relentless Mutation ran through the writers’ room like rancid chili. My own official assignment was Indianapolis, IN tech death newcomers Fleshbore’s debut Embers Gathering. ” Flesh and golden arches.
“There’s nothing wrong with modern death metal, and The Modern Age Slavery make no attempt to rebel against the status quo. Formed in 2007, this Italian quintet released debut Damned to Blindness in 2008 but didn’t catch my attention until follow-up Requiem for Us All received some surprisingly enthusiastic praise upon its release in 2013. While I didn’t share the same excitement as other critics, overall Requiem fit nicely alongside the Hour of Penances and Man Must Dies of the world as a sharp, loud, and fast half-hour of socially-conscious death metal.” Sounds preachy.
“Sunlight’s Bane describe their sound as ‘grinding death and audio terror,’ and they draw their influences from far and wide. Try your best to imagine what Anaal Nathrakh, Black Breath, and Nails would sound like if they were mashed up into one band and you ought to get a pretty good idea of what these guys are all about. The band’s stated aim, simply put, is to return the quality of aggression to heavy music, and listening to The Blackest Volume is like being hit square in the face with the flat side of a shovel; it is loud, unrelenting and violent.” Sunlight can be bad for you.
