May23

Ascended Dead – Evenfall of the Apocalypse Review

By Steel Druhm on May 12, 2023 in Reviews, Death Metal, 39 comments

“Ascended Dead hail from the San Diego area and despite the region’s nearly perfect climate with endless sunny days, they’re fucking furious and verging on a total nervous breakdown. This results in some of the most over-the-top and feral death metal I’ve heard in a while, and their sophomore outing Evenfall of the Apocalypse is a proper soundtrack for even the most hellish of end times. With Jon Reider and C. Koryn, both formerly of VoidCeremony leading the charge, Ascended Dead take a sturdy OSDM foundation and slather it with dangerously twisted and jagged progressive ideas.” Brace for body trauma.

Non Est Deus – Legacy Review

By Carcharodon on May 11, 2023 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 60 comments

“The last record from Non Est Deus, Impious, impressed me. I’ll admit, not to quite the same degree as Leiþa or Kanonenfieber, the other two projects from Germany’s black metal maestro, Noise. Still, it scored a highly respectable 3.5 and, really, my complaints were minor quibbles. When I recently sat down to interview Noise, he explained to me the concept for the fourth Non Est Deus platter. He took stories from the Old Testament and, essentially, imagined what would happen if you took God or the Holy Spirit, or whatever you want to call it, out of the equation. Answer? Everything goes to shit.” God’s away on business.

Cattle Decapitation – Terrasite Review

By Felagund on May 11, 2023 in Reviews, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 144 comments

“What can be said about Cattle Decapitation that hasn’t already been said about your local ax murderer? They’re disgusting, blood-soaked, and pungent, yet oddly endearing once you get to know them. Following a uniquely Carcassian career trajectory, ,b>Cattle Decapitation first plopped on the abattoir floor as a vegan-powered grindcore outfit with their first full-length in 1999. 20+ years and nine albums later, they’ve evolved into a celebrated death metal band with more melodic (yet no less bloody) sensibilities.” Meat is back off the menu, boys!

Hasard – Malivore Review

By El Cuervo on May 10, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, 38 comments

“AMG.com has had mixed feelings about the musical work of ‘Hazard,’ the enigmatic songwriter behind Les Chants du Hasard. Claiming fatigue from this project following its most recent album, Hazard returns in 2023 with something that’s just as experimental but much heavier. Hasard principally extracts the black metal and secondarily extracts the orchestrations from its progenitor’s sound, carefully examining what remains in uncomfortable detail and manipulating it into deformed shapes.” At all Hasards.

Vintersea – Woven into Ashes Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on May 10, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 68 comments

“In the past 20 years that bands like Wolves in the Throne Room and Agalloch have been pioneering a shade of the American black metal sound, a few interesting things have happened: black metal got cool and, as such, has continued to add new notches into its total allowable expressions. Youthful bands, who likely grew up finding out about these bigger names alongside other 00s music trends, have erupted with melodic and even fairly accessible atmospheres defining their modern vision of what black metal can be. These visions can feel a little kitchen sink at times, but that doesn’t stop acts like Vintersea from continuing to try and find that special melodic thread that binds their wide-ranging influences together.” New blood, old blackness.

Speedwhore – Visions of a Parallel World Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on May 9, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, Thrash Metal, 31 comments

“The band’s 2015 debut record, The Future Is Now, is a predictable platter of one-dimensional black/thrash riffs with gravelly vocals and the occasional Slayer pig squeal. That album flowed like one thirty-eight-minute track, barely allowing you to process a song before throwing you into the next. In general, the album is standard-fare black/thrash. Eight years later, the band returns with a new outing in the form of Visions of a Parallel World. But, this time, the production is far superior to its predecessor. The rawness is still there, the vocals are lower in the mix, the guitars rule the roost, and the dynamics are pleasing to the ear. The only thing that remains is the songwriting.” Speed kills ladies of the evening.

The Modern Age Slavery – 1901 | The First Mother Review

By Dear Hollow on May 9, 2023 in Reviews, Death Metal, Deathcore, 25 comments

“Remember when deathcore was exciting and fun? Pepperidge Farm remembers. Even the dead horse I beat to make that joke remembers. Back when you gals could do the side part and we all wore Etnies without a second thought, folks like Whitechapel, Suicide Silence, and Carnifex dominated the iPod playlists of Warped Tour patrons who were too edgy for Chiodos or AFI. While the death metal bastards had been eviscerating and slicing and dicing for years at that point, putting them to breakdowns just hit the youths different, y’know? Well, Italian deathcore veteran act The Modern Age Slavery is here to make you aware of social issues and do so by channeling what it feels like to be trampled in the mosh pit.” Slave rages.

Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean – Obsession Destruction Review

By Carcharodon on May 8, 2023 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Sludge, Sludge Metal, 64 comments

“Massachusetts quartet Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean (who, I assume, take their name from the 2007 song “Fucking Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean” by Louisiana sludge legends, Thou) have made a bit of a name for themselves on the sludge scene, despite having only one (short) LP to their name, 2017’s Decay and Other Hopes Against Progress.” Chained by an anchor?

Interview with: Noise of Kanonenfieber, Leiþa and Non Est Deus

By Carcharodon on May 7, 2023 in Interviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 34 comments

“One gloomy evening in early April, I sat down for a Zoom call with German black metal machine, Noise, the mysterious creative mind behind Kanonenfieber, Leiþa and Non Est Deus. As something of a fanboy—Kanonenfieber’s outstanding Menschenmühle was my 2021 Album of the Year and this year’s Leiþa scored ROTM for January—it would be fair to say I was excited.” Noise exposure.

Savage Grace – Sign of the Cross Review

By Steel Druhm on May 6, 2023 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, 37 comments

“Savage Grace are a band now relegated pretty deeply into the dustbin of history, with only a small cadre of elder metal aficionados remembering their brief but entertaining forays into speed/traditional/NWoBHM from 1983 to 1987. They appeared on Metal Massacre II in 1982, but unlike other acts on that compilation like Warlord, Armored Saint, and Overkill, they never got to that next stage of their career, though they should be famous for some of the worst album art in metal history.” Grace in your face.