Jun18

Zeal and Ardor – Stranger Fruit Review

By Kronos on June 11, 2018 in 2018, Avante Garde, Black Metal, MVKA, Reviews, Swiss Metal, Black Metal, Blues, 165 comments

“It takes a lot to excite and intrigue jaded metalheads like me. As our recent expose demonstrated, we here at Angry Metal Guy Hype-Deflating Industries LTD. have become harder and harder to impress over the years, to the point where we keep our superlatives locked in a gun safe which requires written permission to be opened. Nevertheless, Zeal and Ardor’s debut, Devil is Fine piqued quite a few of us with its bizarre split personality and penchant for hooks. The follow-up to that Bandcamp smash-hit, Stranger Fruit has been anxiously anticipated here, where in our best hopes we imagined an album just as catchy and eclectic but more focused and complex.” Fruits and regrets.

Burial in the Sky – Creatio et Hominus Review

By Kronos on June 8, 2018 in 2018, Death Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Releases, Reviews, Self-released, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 99 comments

“Of all places, Pennsylvania has seen a strange upwelling of prog-death bands in recent years. It started with the much-maligned Rivers of Nihil, gained momentum with Black Crown Initiate, and finally got going with Alustrium. Burial in the Sky jumped aboard with their 2016 LP Persistence of Thought, an album very much in the progressive vein of those groups, tying in bits of classic prog-death a la Atheist and Cynic with the tropes of core-polluted modern death metal.” Penn-death.

The Konsortium – Rogaland Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on June 5, 2018 in 2018, Agonia Records, Black Metal, Folk Metal, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Black Metal, Folk Metal, Thrash Metal, 60 comments

“If you’re into the Norwegian black metal scene, you may know bassist/guitarist/songwriter Teloch. For those that don’t know, he’s the man behind Nidingr and responsible for guitars and songwriting on Mayhem’s Esoteric Warfare. If you do know the man, you already knew that and also know he’s a member of the once mysterious—but now not-so-mysterious—black/thrash outfit The Konsortium, where he writes and plays bass alongside the legendary black metal drummer Dirge Rep, and, together, they rip, shred, and tear shit apart.” At the Roga, Roga Cabana.

Kataklysm – Meditations Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on June 4, 2018 in 2018, Canadian Metal, Death Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 92 comments

“There was a time some years ago where I never read anything about metal on the internet. My knowledge of the genre came from the music itself and books like Ian Christe’s indispensable Sound of the Beast. My barometer of taste was my group of friends; a record that we’d spin endlessly and enjoy together was a great one. Kataklysm’s Prevail was one such record, and it’s remained a favorite throughout the years. Entering into the digital wilds of the internet age, I was shocked to find that there existed people who didn’t think the Maurizio Iacono fronted version of Kataklysm was great. All the pedantic arguments in the world never dimmed my enthusiasm for the band, and every new release of theirs is met with great anticipation from me.” Meditative destruction.

YOB – Our Raw Heart Review

By Saunders on June 4, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Doom Metal, Relapse, Reviews, Sludge, Doom Metal, Sludge, 89 comments

“YOB, Oregon’s modern purveyors of epic, cathartic doom, have crafted a unique and powerful body of work across a long career, solidifying their status as one of the genre’s great artistic forces. Long form doom songs with gradual builds and subtle shifts is generally not my cup of tea when seeking my doom fix, but there’s something profoundly special and intriguing about YOB’s crushingly intense yet beautiful music.” Yob’s yer uncle.

Soliloquium – Contemplations Review

By Steel Druhm on June 2, 2018 in 2018, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Transcending Records, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 79 comments

“This one almost slipped through the cracks into the murky, forbidding depths of the AMG promo sump, never to be seen or heard again. Yet salvaged it was, by me, and I deserve accolades and adoration for rescuing this platter from the cold fate of eternal obscurity. Soliloquium have an awkward name to spell and pronounce, but their music is anything but. They play a sadboy style of progressive doom death that borrows heavily from the likes of Katatonia, Rapture and Anathema, and boy do they know how to bring the depressive thunder.” Contemplate this on the Tree of Woe.

Gruesome – Twisted Prayers Review

By Mark Z. on June 1, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Death Metal, Relapse, Reviews, Death Metal, 81 comments

“From Dio holograms to reunion albums to retro-fucking-everything, the last decade or so has been all about pandering to nostalgia, and Gruesome are a prime example. A few years ago, the ‘Death to All’ tours were begun to bring live renditions of the late Chuck Schuldiner’s music to a generation that never got to experience it the first time around. Following this time spent touring with former Death members, Exhumed’s Matt Harvey and Malevolent Creation’s Gus Rios took things a step further, forming Gruesome with the intent of creating new music in the vein of classic Death.” I am become Death.

Mist – Free Me of the Sun Review

By Steel Druhm on June 1, 2018 in 2018, Doom Metal, Reviews, Slovenian Metal, Soulseller Records, Doom Metal, 85 comments

“Mist is an upstart new act hailing from tiny Slovenia and featuring a lineup consisting of 4 women and one man. Together they tread the well-worn path of traditional doom metal while incorporating touches of 60s psychedelia and what has come to be known as occult doom. Free Me of the Sun is their debut outing and in preparation they’ve plumed the usual depths of Black Sabbath, Pentagram and Trouble to bring you the downcast goods.” Mist or missed?