Mar20

Master Boot Record – Floppy Disk Overdrive Review

By sentynel on March 21, 2020 in 2020, Doom Metal, Electronica Metal, Italian Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Doom Metal, Electronic Metal, Synthwave, 34 comments

“Master Boot Record first came to my attention a few years ago as a novelty synth-metal nerd music act that made good coding music. After a hard disk full of releases in their first couple of years, Interrupt Request was released in 2017. At that point, I suddenly realized that MBR had privilege escalated from novelty act to serious music. Nothing had changed about the style or the presentation, but after iterative improvements, the quality of the songwriting demanded that they be taken seriously.” Disc blaster.

Caskets Open – Concrete Realms of Pain Review

By Cherd on March 20, 2020 in 2020, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, Hardcore, Nine Records, Punk, Reviews, Doom Metal, Hardcore, 21 comments

“Alright, stop me if you’ve heard this one. Strife, Saint Vitus and Glenn Danzig walk into a bar. Danzig orders an absinthe, Saint Vitus order beers and Strife order Shirley Temples. Bartender says, “You boys can stay, but the penguin has got to go.” Ahhh? Wait, did I mention the penguin in the setup? Let me start over. Strife, Saint V…or maybe it was Earth Crisis. Is it funnier if Earth Crisis, has a penguin?” These are the jokes, kids.

Hyborian – Vol. II Review

By Huck N Roll on March 20, 2020 in 2020, American Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, 28 comments

“Hyborian first bored into my consciousness with their single, “Head and the Sword,” an absolutely killer song that showcased a suave combination of sludge, stoner, and prog influences. To this day it remains one of my favorite songs, and it paved the way to their debut album, Vol. I, which took that single and pushed the style into heavier territory, most notably with the vocals. Comparisons are for the lazy amongst us, and that includes me, so let me put forth that there is definitely influence from early Baroness and Mastodon buried in these riffy songs, along with no small dose of High on Fire.” CROMulent.

The Medea Project – Sisyphus Review

By GardensTale on March 20, 2020 in 2020, British Metal, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Sludge, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Sludge, 24 comments

“You know, I’d never really considered it before, but it’s funny gothic and doom metal are not more frequently bedfellows. After all, the two genres have a lot in common: morose atmosphere, flair for the dramatic, favored color black (alright, that last one may go for everything more extreme than power metal). And sure, there’s some big names that have wed the styles at some point in their careers, like My Dying Bride or Tiamat. But it never became a household mixture the way death thrash or prog power did. Well, The Medea Project want to make their mark with just such a sound.” Drama club.

Medico Peste – ב :The Black Bile Review

By Dr. Wvrm on March 19, 2020 in 2020, Black Metal, Polish Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist Underground Activists, Black Metal, 17 comments

“Medico Peste and I are perfect foils. I haven’t reviewed anything in a while; they haven’t released any music in a while. Following 2012’s promising debut release of א: Tremendum et Fascinatio, one might have thought the Polish outfit was sure to be a tendril in the growing reach of their homeland’s brand of black metal. One would have been very fucking wrong. In fact, given Medico Peste’s lone full-length came out a solid eight years ago now and their only activity in the interim was a 2017 EP, one might feel justified in calling their progress ‘non-existent.'” Biled up.

Heaven Shall Burn – Of Truth & Sacrifice Review

By Grymm on March 19, 2020 in 2020, Century Media, German Metal, Metalcore, Reviews, Metalcore, 39 comments

“We’re currently living in some batshit crazy times, friends. Between the United States being heavily divided to the point where people within their own political wheelhouses are fighting with each other, political tensions throughout the world where another war could erupt practically any minute, and now COVID-19 wrecking havoc on our daily lives, it’s not an easy time for anybody. There’s enough anger to go around to power a small nation, and very few metalcore bands channel that anger as effectively as Heaven Shall Burn.” Double the anger.

Fool’s Ghost – Dark Woven Light Review

By Emya on March 19, 2020 in 2020, Alternative, Ambient, American Metal, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, 18 comments

“Dark, cinematic, and dreamy is not the typical combination of descriptors used for bands signed to heavy metal label Prosthetic Records. Nevertheless, there’s a first time for everything. Prosthetic Records released one of my favorite metal albums of 2019 (Paladin’s Ascension), and now they are releasing Dark Woven Light, the debut by Fool’s Ghost, a husband and wife duo from Louisville, Kentucky.” Haunting haunts.

Gaylord – Wings of the Joyful Review

By Doom_et_Al on March 18, 2020 in 2020, Black Metal, Blackened Death Records, English Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 90 comments

“At its core, metal has always been about rebellion. About sticking it to the man, and society at large. About thumbing expectations and demands and just banging your fukkin’ head. But metal is also, for most, an irrelevant beast. In an era of Coronavirus and global warming, singing about Satan and wizards seems quaint at best, and ridiculous at worst. On top of that, metal is generally white. And male. And often not particularly kind to people who aren’t male and straight and white. Into this breach steps the provocatively named Gaylord, with its second LP, Wings of the Joyful.” Big tent metal.

Soliloquium – Things We Leave Behind Review

By Steel Druhm on March 18, 2020 in 2020, Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Rain Without End records, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 38 comments

“Soliloquium’s sophomore album Contemplations was one of those releases I stumbled over in the promo sump and was really surprised by. This Swedish doomy melodeath act hit all the right melancholic sadboi buttons, reminding strongly of early Katatonia and Rapture without ever sounding derivative. It ended up making my Top Ten(ish) for the year and I return to it regularly. I wasn’t aware we were getting a new album this month and we didn’t get the promo until a few days before it released, thus the tardy review.” Gourmet leftovers.

Ani Lo. Projekt – A Time Called Forever Review

By Holdeneye on March 18, 2020 in 2020, Bulgarian Metal, Power Metal, Pride & Joy Music, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Symphonic Metal, 32 comments

“I have an irrational aversion to bands that name themselves after people. Perhaps it’s because I’ve always fantasized about being in a band, and choosing a righteous name for said band is always one of my favorite parts of the fantasy. Or perhaps it’s because, in my mind, a great band becomes something greater than the sum of its parts, a whole that transcends any one of its members. Or maybe it’s because I believe that the Dave Matthews Band is the very worst thing that humanity has ever produced.” What’s in a name?