Jan19

Deathchant – Deathchant Review

Deathchant – Deathchant Review

“Let’s ease into 2019, shall we? After a climactic December that saw about a million Things You Might have Missed posts, nearly two dozen Top Ten(ish) lists, and a few more outstanding releases, it’s time to let our collective breath out, sit back, and strap in for what we all hope will be a stellar year for metal. And while early January might not be blessing us with any albums that will stick around until list season, there are a few that are worth digging into. Is this shorty (a mere seven songs and 30 minutes) from Los Angeles’ Deathchant one of those? If you’re into psychedelic proto-rock, with all sorts of other spices added in, then this eponymous debut just might kick-start your year.” Death the halls.

Yatra – Death Ritual Review

Yatra – Death Ritual Review

“The size of the role vocals play in genre categorization is a funny thing. At least superficially, harsh screams may be enough to earn a ‘blackened’ tag, and there’s more than one melodic death metal album that would be labelled power metal if it weren’t for the harsh vocals. This can cause a conundrum when a band wants to shake up the status quo with an unusual vocal approach. Enter Yatra, a new band formed after the dissolution of Blood Raven. This fuzzy stoner doom might not draw a second glance if it weren’t for its oddball application of harsh snarls. Is it gonna be enough to set themselves apart from the usual stoner-doom hullabaloo?” Voices carry.

Meathook – Crypts, Coffins, Corpses Review

Meathook – Crypts, Coffins, Corpses Review

“Why brutal death metal and slam appeal to me hit me upon visiting a weird occult shop in Covington. Dead things in jars, all manner of non-human skulls, bloodied animals – these people were serious about this stuff. It’s not fun anymore when it hits that point. Writing gross-out lyrics is essentially writing fart and toilet jokes for people into horror films. It’s lowbrow, but it’s fun because of it.” Hooks in you.