Jun22

Truent – Through the Vale of Earthly Torment Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on June 26, 2022 in Reviews, Deathcore, Technical Death Metal, 33 comments

“Tech death is a tough game. In the skill-leading genre even more so does the crowd appear faceless, a mathy mob of scholarly guitar solos, flatulent bass, and trigger-happy kit-meisters. To stand out in the tech realm, contemporary fan favorites Archspire combine ridiculous speeds with memorable, rap-adjacent vocals and neoclassical sweeps aplenty. Meanwhile, bands in the Psycroptic school of thought attempt groove whiplash with 270 degree riff-corners that drift into stadium-size choruses. On their debut full-length outing, the young Canadian outfit Truent shows they are fans of these two styles of tech and try to paint an identity fusing them with a little modern core sentimentality.” Arms race.

Charlie Griffiths – Tiktaalika Review

By sentynel on June 25, 2022 in Reviews, Progressive Metal, 33 comments

“The Side Project Era is a common part of the evolution of many successful bands. They’ve been around for a while, they’re doing pretty well, and they know what they sound like. But naturally different members have different musical preferences and want to try different things. They could leave the band, but that’s pretty drastic. Enter the Side Project. Today’s example stars Charlie Griffiths, one of Haken’s guitarists, taking an opportunity to write for six-string guitar after years of playing eight-string with his main band.” Side pieces.

Khold – Svartsyn Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on June 24, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, 22 comments

“Khold combines Carpathian Forest-esque black ‘n’ roll, Satyricon accessibility, and Darkthrone-like sinisterness that molded Grier‘s tiny heart into a lump of coal for nearly a decade. Then, 2014 saw the end of the band. During this time, the crew resurrected their thrashy black metal counterpart, Tulus. Which felt like a somewhat natural progression following Khold’s odd 2014 swansong, Til ended. Also, the band’s founder/drummer found success with Darkthrone’s Nocturno Culto, releasing album after Sarke album. Fast forward to 2022, and the boys are back.” Ice Khold.

Werewolves – From the Cave to the Grave Review

By Kenstrosity on June 24, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 38 comments

“I’m surprised we never covered Werewolves before on this blog. Their debut record, The Dead are Screaming—picked up by Prosthetic Records one month into the pandemic in 2020—fucking rulez. To my surprise, I somehow missed the follow-up they dropped less than a year later. Thankfully, I had my eye trained closely enough on this band to catch third outing, From the Cave to the Grave, before Werewolves slipped by undetected once more.” Pack attack.

Minipony – Ajna Review

By Doom_et_Al on June 23, 2022 in Reviews, Djent, Technical Death Metal, 95 comments

I’ve listened to a lot of metal. I’ve listened to a lot of very average metal. I’ve listened to some pretty bad metal. Despite all this, I was simply unprepared for Ajna. You see, Ajna is on another level entirely. True story: “Because of Ajna, I could not complete the train journey to work this week. It was halfway through my 5th listen when something cracked. “Why would the Boss Ape force this upon me?” I mused. “Is this a test of my loyalty?” If so, it was a stern examination. The pointless sound effects; the bizarre vocals; the bite-sized, jittery riffs; these all congealed into a force that simply overwhelmed my brain. I could no longer compute, and the only response was to laugh. So, I did. I howled and cackled and coughed up my coffee.” Small horse, big confusion.

Saor – Origins Review

By El Cuervo on June 22, 2022 in Reviews, Folk Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 45 comments

“We’re now a decade into Andy Marshall’s uniquely Scottish take on metal, blending furious black metal with majestic melodies and Scottish folk instrumentation. Saor is an experiment which has demonstrated great results, with the likes of Aura and Guardians being some of the strongest folk/black metal albums of the 2010s. 2019’s Forgotten Paths was solid but easily my least favorite release, but with a new decade comes a new record called Origins. Is it a return to Saor’s roots, or does it represent a new beginning?” Roots, icy roots.

Axioma – Sepsis Review

By Grymm on June 22, 2022 in Reviews, Post-Metal, Sludge, 14 comments

“The one-sheet accompanying the promo described Sepsis as “dark metal,” a term usually thrown around with great ease by Century Media Records in the late 90s and early 2000s to describe practically all of their roster. However, Sepsis owns that adjective, because this shit is dark. The frantic fills and percussive abuse by Jon Vinson on, well, every song here punctuates the howling-from-the-abyss Eyehategod-like vocals of bassist Aaron Dallison, who seemingly channels his rage and disappointment in humanity from a neverending well.” Consult a physician.

Ianai – Sunir Review

By Dear Hollow on June 21, 2022 in Reviews, Ambient, Dark Neofolk, Folk, Neofolk, 30 comments

“Ianai is a “single-entity” project shrouded in mystery. Its secretive mastermind Trevenial offers twelve tracks influenced by folk music across the globe, equally evocative and primitive. With ties to England (mastered by Orgone Studios’ owner Jaime Gomez Arellano) and Finland (produced by Jaani Peuhu), and featuring a classical orchestra and world music artists, as well as a vast array of guests, from notable acts like HIM, Sisters of Mercy, Swallow the Sun, and The Rasmus, Sunir is a debut loaded with potential and questions in equal measure.” It takes a global village.

Exocrine – The Hybrid Suns Review

By Kenstrosity on June 20, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 41 comments

“Like so many other extreme metal acts, Exocrine crave evolution in their skills and sound. That being the case, it should come at no surprise that The Hybrid Suns abandons many of the stylistic choices that defined Maelstrom and Molten Giant while still respecting those albums’ imprint on the band’s career. Exocrine’s compositions retain a similar sense of grandeur despite the stripped down instrumentation. The Hybrid Suns is also a heavier and noticeably more br00tal record.”Evolution of the wicked.

Winds of Tragedy – As Life Drifts Away Review

By Twelve on June 19, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Doom Metal, 26 comments

“At this point, discussing the impressive release schedule for music written by Sergio Catalán feels redundant. In fewer than three years of activity, Rise to the Sky has released five full-length albums alongside two EPs, one of which came out fewer than six weeks ago. And yet, here he is again, the main man of the one-man (alongside drummer Emidio Alexandre of Dark Oath) project Winds of Tragedy, only this time, the name of the game is black metal, not doom, and As Life Drifts Away is not the latest in a long line of releases, but the debut.” New style, same feelz.