“With this year’s Defectum Omnium, it’s clear Exhorder aren’t finished proving their relevance and reinventing themselves in the eyes of their dedicated fanbase. But, with such a strong outing five years ago, will Defectum Omnium be a step forward for the band or will it be, well… a defectum?” Omnium Blatherum.
“Just like a sommelier can (allegedly) sense and describe the minutest differences between wines that may seem identical to the less learned, so can the seasoned metalhead identify regional differences and genre influences that laypersons may question with the tried and true adage: “It’s all just noise, isn’t it?” Melodic death metal has many offshoots and flavors, but the Finnish variety tends to be instantly recognizable anyway, often thanks to a melodic core that draws from neoclassical- and power metal. Northern Genocide wears this hat with pride but then proceeds to layer a bunch of other hats on top until defenestrated by the owner of the hatshop.” Hats and mass murder.
“As you may guess by its minimalist cover art, Fall of Leviathan takes inspiration from the ocean. Its placid surface, an unassuming miles-wide smile at the sun, and its brutal depth, a guttural roar and a gnashing of magnificent teeth, quietly collide to create a face that looks down upon man as he stands atop it, his hubris an engorgement of sails and a swelling of his chest. When faced with its might, the relentless apathy and his insignificance in the face of mountainous waves and the abyss at our rocky borders, man crumbles – sand castles deserted by distracted children. Fall of Leviathan embodies this dichotomy: sunbathed beauty and sunless brutality.” Deep waters flow DEEP.
“On a day when a NASCAR-themed album hits the mean streets, why shouldn’t we cover a kinda-sorta Mortal Kombat-themed throwback metal opus by members of Slough Feg, Spirit Adrift, and Angel Witch. Hands of Goro is a project playing a style that the members refer to as the “Third Wave of British Heavy Metal.” That’s a fancy-pantsy name for what is essentially the classic NWoBHM sound being unearthed anew in 2024, and that basic NWoBHM template composes the core of what the band delivers on Hands of Goro.” Test your might!
“Many music genres (metal, in particular) do love a good concept album. Be it a horror story, Star Trek and Lords of the Rings smut, or the tribulations of Spawn, metal bands (and their fans) can’t seem to get enough. You think you’ve heard and seen it all until you delve into the one-off absurdity of I Am the Intimidator. Never in my life did I expect to be reviewing a self-titled release whose concept has coined the term ‘NASCAR Metal’ in the festering halls of AMG.” Speed kills.
“Way back in early 2020, Suldusk played the last show I attended before fun was canceled. I was introduced by the non-suspiciously departed Emya‘s excellent TYMHM piece on one-woman debut Lunar Falls. This sort of black metal-inflected atmospheric folk is incredibly My Thing, as you can tell from where Helga landed on my list last year. So Suldusk were a pretty important fixture for me, particularly in the tough early pandemic months. The whole thing has that slight air of unreality you get with memories from around then. Now they’re back—finally—with a full band and signed to Napalm, so the stakes are high for Anthesis.” Dusk throne.
“When I pulled reviewing duty for Firewind’s self-titled release way back during the bizarre spring of 2020, I wasn’t prepared for how hard the record was going to hit me. Aside from the band’s debut and a handful of tracks throughout Firewind’s discography, I’d never really been grabbed by their sound, so when Firewind arrived on-scene with the gnarly vocals of front man Herbie Langhans alongside some of Gus G’s tightest songwriting ever, it managed to land a sucker punch right in my sweet spot.” Hot winds blow warmly.
“Formed in 1984, their first two albums—1985’s Hymn to Abramelin and 1986’s Extreme Cold Weather—have been cited as classics of the proto-death/thrash era, before they split up in 1995. Messiah then stepped through time to their reformation in 2018 into a far more convoluted world of metal, thanks to the ever-increasing emphasis on sub-genres, trends, and streaming. Messiah’s response was to ignore all that hubbub, holding fast to their aggression of yore as they released the well-received comeback album Fracmont in 2020. 2022 unfortunately saw the untimely passing of Messiah’s original vocalist Andy Kaina, but an undeterred Messiah pressed on and are now set to dish out another beating in the form of Christus Hypercubus.” New age Messiah.
