Leviathan

Throat – Blood Exaltation Review

Throat – Blood Exaltation Review

“I’m gonna sound like an absolute madman when I say this, but Blood Exaltation is what I wanted Ad Nauseam’s Imperative Imperceptible Impulse to be. Poland’s Throat is neither dissonant nor death metal, and their aesthetic resides in tired and trve approaches of blackened occultism and evil in the shadow of religious alienation. However, there is a distinct and tantalizing array of clattering and creaking, a dusty and organic quality that settles like hard night on an old church, the tension of ancient voices crackling through haunted halls.” Breath control.

Therion – Leviathan Review

Therion – Leviathan Review

“If forced to describe my relationship with Therion over the past 30 years, I would have to call it “complicated.” I was there at the start when they were a simplistic but enjoyable doom death band. I watched with interest as they slowly integrated opera and symphonic orchestration, making them one of the most unique extreme metal acts of the 90s. They had ups and downs over the decades that followed, with the lowest moment coming on 2018s 3-hour, triple album rock opera atrocity, Beloved Antichrist. Now Therion is back with their 17th album, Leviathan.” Opulence as pestilence.

Second to Sun – Leviathan Review

Second to Sun – Leviathan Review

“As I said in last year’s Legacy review, it’s always Christmas with the annual Second to Sun release. But unlike a yearly Vous Autres release, Second to Sun doesn’t send me spiraling down a black hole of despair. The Walk was the last one of their releases to come close to putting me over the edge. Since then, the band has ditched some of the mindfuckery to focus on heft and melody. Twenty-nineteen found Legacy to be the band’s heaviest creation. But, with a name like Leviathan, one can only expect something mammoth in this year’s release.” Big monster.

Halphas – The Infernal Path into Oblivion Review

Halphas – The Infernal Path into Oblivion Review

“The Germans dropped their debut in the heart of List Season ’17, a rowdy black metal romp that thrived in the darkness of a 4 pm sunset. Two years on and Halphas won’t flinch before the listicle onslaught. Good on them too, because The Infernal Path into Oblivion is a step-up from an already strong debut. Who needs validation when you’ve got riffs?” Riff money.

Gorycz – Piach Review

Gorycz – Piach Review

“There are certain things that will always warm a music reviewer’s cold, dead heart. Poland’s Gorycz, for example, made a good impression on me immediately, as I opened the promo to an actual lyric sheet. Granted, that wasn’t much help with reviewing their debut, Piach, as my knowledge of Polish goes only a little further than “kurwa,” but it’s the thought that counts. The band choosing to write in their mother tongue was, in fact, only another point in their favor for a multiculturalism-loving cuck like myself.” First impressions matter.

Wild Hunt – Afterdream of the Reveller Review

Wild Hunt – Afterdream of the Reveller Review

“Welcome to the wild hunt. We’ll be venturing deep into the twisted, intestinal forests of the Afterdream: a withered, multi-dimensional landscape suffused with snarling spirits that froth forth a vitriolic seed. If we survive, we’ll venture into the blackened bowels and through to the death-grip of the Afterdream’s thumping heart.” Tally ho!

Halphas – Dawn of a Crimson Empire Review

Halphas – Dawn of a Crimson Empire Review

“As Christmas approaches, so too does the easy gushing of TYMHM season. We are in the thick of it now, the best time of the year, the constant f5ing and frantic back-listening, the questions of how you completely and totally slept on that band you’d never heard of until just now. Every day heralds a batch of guaranteed winners determined to kick the certitude of yesterday’s Top Ten down a mine shaft. Halphas kindly reminds you not to ignore the humble review, because Dawn of a Crimson Empire is no less impressive than any of the December delights that have caught your eye.” Did you…overlook this, perhaps?

Entheogen – Without Veil, Nor Self Review

Entheogen – Without Veil, Nor Self Review

“New year, new me, so they say. In 2018 I’m going to root myself deeply into a black metal chasm. Too often black metal albums are left to rot in the pits of the promo bin. Things must change! On behalf of the forgotten, I’ve made a resolution to pick from the black metal bones in the hope of extracting a smidgen of excellency from these rotting vessels. Enter the long-form, cavernous, winding noise of Without Self, Nor Veil, the debut album by Entheogen.” Sworn to review the dark.