“When it comes to sheer force, nothing compares to Impiety. Formed in 1990, this Singaporean quartet originally played fairly traditional black metal before transforming into a blakkened fukkin death monstrosity with 1999’s iconic Skullfucking Armageddon. Amidst a salvo of blast beats, staccato riffing, and livid vocals, that album began a musical warpath which has now continued for over two decades.” God fight!
“So when I pulled my head from the murk of the most grimy, gritty, and distorted music metal has to offer to review the clean, keyboard-laden progressive metal of Thoughts Factory, my initial reaction was that of a belligerent child forced to take a shower after playing in the mud: I don’t like it this clean! Make it more filthy! But does that knee-jerk reaction hold on repeat listens?” Clean thoughts.
“Before mastering the steel, you must first master yourself. Yet mastering oneself requires the mastery of epic metal. This is the riddle of trveness, and why your journey has brought you here to this Ironsword review. Portugal’s most trve of metal bands have long toiled to forge the perfect sword with which to lay waste to posers and the defenders of false metal. In their quest for metal supremacy they traveled the Manilla Road to the ends of the world.” Steel away the night.
“Few bands paint a picture quite as Midnight does. But, in this case, it’s no ordinary picture. It’s Hell. Even more than the ancient works of Venom, Midnight paints a blood-red scene of violence on a black canvas. I not only can feel it but I can smell it. The flickering reds and oranges burn to the touch and the air is stifling and uncomfortable. The fragrance is a mix of unwashed crotch and dogshit burning in a paper bag. When you pass through the large, creaking door to the back of this stinking asylum, your sweat solidifies to your face. From red hot to freezing cold, Hell’s non-smoking area in the rear is black and brown, with the stench of wet earth and decomposition. Yet, no matter where you are in this underground venue, the walls reverberate with the black rasps, fiery guitars, rumbling bass, and pounding drums of the lone devil, Athenar.” Welcome home.
“I am a big post-metal fan. I have admitted to this before without shame, despite the unkind words that are thrown around about the genre, including in the skull pit by my fellow word slaves scribes. And, as a fan of the genre, I firmly believe that The Ocean, Cult of Luna and others have shown it can be so much more than ten-minute, riff-less songs that feature sudden eruptions of heaviness. Despite this categorical proof, a number of ‘post-metal’ bands appear not to have got the message.” Post-memo.
“And he now works with Leprous as a dedicated cellist, while he also participates in neo-folk troupe Musk Ox and classical duo Kamancello. Across these projects, he has exhibited a flair for flexible use of his instrument, the cello, and I was therefore excited to observe a release called Worlds Within under his own name, solely composed by himself. How does his music fare when divested from the creative control of others’ grubby hands?” Cello again.
“Metal, particularly death metal, has generally had a particularly Western bent. Originating as it did from rock and heavy blues, this is to be expected. But music never exists in a vacuum, so when artists with a different cultural background bring their experience to traditionally western cannon, the results are often quirky and interesting. Japanese death metal veterans Defiled are a case in point: while the style exists in the unmistakable sandpit of death metal, there are enough different toys that the music feels fresh and unorthodox.” Just like sand through the horror glass.
“As a big fan of Tuomas Saukkonen’s Before the Dawn and Black Sun Aeon projects (R.I.P. to both), I was the natural demographic for his melancholy melodeath vehicle, Dawn of Solace as well. 2006s The Darkness was a beautiful and haunting dose of Finnish gloom that made an impression, and I always wondered why he never released another album under that name. Now in 2020 he finally delivers the followup outing titled Waves.” Surfing blues.
“I would kill for a good atmospheric album. Just ask Kronos about that time that we discussed the atmospheric sludge/doom beauty of The Osedax around the water cooler when Gardenstale mentioned he was gonna give it, AT BEST, a 2.5. Have you seen any Gardenstale reviews lately? Didn’t think so.” Thin lines between love and hate.
“Surgical Strike had its beginnings in 1993 and put out a couple of demos before going on hiatus for nearly twenty years. Reforming in 2014 with vocalist Jens Albert as the lone link to its past, the band released an EP in 2016 and now present their first official entry into the German thrash canon. And a solid entry it is.” Speed sickens.
