Metal Blade Records

Wake – Thought Form Descent Review

By Cherd on July 22, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 57 comments

“I’ll let you in on a little secret. Sometimes, before I write a review, I read the ones already out there for the album in question. This is after I’ve heard the album a few times, and I do it for a few reasons, curiosity being one. Now, there are writers who solemnly proclaim, pearls fully clutched, that they would never taint their process with such unprofessionalism. I get that. But I also get that you inconstant, two-timing jilts will also read those other reviews, and I don’t like being redundant with mine. So, having read a couple reviews for Wake’s fifth full-length Thought Form Descent, I’ve decided NOT to write an intro paragraph along the lines of “Boy howdy, these Wake bois sure do keep evolving, man alive.”” Thought form pieces.

Mantar – Pain is Forever and This is the End Review

By Saunders on July 13, 2022 in Reviews, Sludge, 28 comments

“After smashing out three albums and gathering loads of momentum over a five-year period, Mantar have remained quiet on the recording front, aside from a collection of cover songs. Pleasingly, Mantar return with their anticipated fourth offering, boasting a cool album title and minimalistic cover art. Can Erinc (drums) and Hanno (guitars, vocals) muster the creative energy and belly fire to deliver a knockout punch?” Moretar!

Kardashev – Liminal Rite Review

By Carcharodon on June 8, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Doom, Death Metal, Post-Metal, 175 comments

“In the year that was 2020—you know, that year—I stumbled across an EP by an unsigned band from Arizona. That EP was The Baring of Shadows by Kardashev, an absolutely devastating record about harrowing heartache and managing mourning. Combining elements of black and post-metal with progressive death, Kardashev’s self-styled deathgaze casually sauntered to #5 on my 2020 List despite only comprising four tracks, one of which (“Snow-Sleep”) also took my Song o’ the Year spot. It seems I wasn’t the only one Kardashev impressed. It was announced in January 2021 that the quartet had signed to Metal Blade. To say I was pumped for the sophomore full-length would be something of an understatement.” Fanboy summer.

Syberia – Statement on Death Review

By Carcharodon on May 5, 2022 in Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Post-Metal, 12 comments

“Is it possible to make a political statement—or indeed any nuanced statement—through the medium of instrumental metal? Today’s subject, Spanish post-metallers Syberia, believe so. On its fourth full-length, Statement on Death, I am informed that the band tackles “a very worrying issue in the United States of America: police violence against people of color, and each song narrates a specific case.” This is a contentious and highly politicized subject, on which many people have wildly divergent views of varying validity. In all honesty, I am not sure how one sets out to tackle such a subject with no lyrics at all.” Silent protest.

Satan – Earth Infernal Review

By Steel Druhm on March 29, 2022 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, 83 comments

“Satan is the original Benjamin Button band. By this I mean the older they get, the better and more youthful sounding their output becomes. Part of the original NWoBHM phenomenon, their 1983 debut Court in the Act made the rounds at Casa Druhm back in the days of denim and high tops, but I was never especially taken with their sound, which felt like a less catchy version of Diamond Head or Angel Witch. I didn’t bother with their 1987 follow-up, Suspended Sentence, and I all but forgot about them as I got deeper into thrash and more extreme styles. Fast-forward 26 years to 2013 and they made a comeback with Life Sentence, and virtually nothing about them sounded the same.” Satan is real.

Sanhedrin – Lights On Review

By Holdeneye on March 16, 2022 in Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, 86 comments

“I am wholly unfamiliar with Sanhedrin the band aside from remembering that I almost reviewed their 2019 album The Poisoner but ended up not doing so for some reason I can no longer remember. Apparently, the album impressed many, earning Sanhedrin a place on Metal Blade’s roster. This time around, I was bound and determined to not let these New Yorkers slip through my fingers again, so now you get to watch as Judge Holdy hands out his verdict on the band’s third full-length, Lights On. All rise!” Judge not, lest you be judged.

Midnight – Let There Be Witchery Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on March 4, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, 67 comments

“Yes, I’m alive. Why haven’t I written much lately? Because I’ve been busy with work and hunting down Nazis. But, mostly, it’s because I hate you all. Surprised, are you? I can’t imagine why. Unlucky for you, Midnight is here to fuel my hatred.” Witch hammered.

Allegaeon – Damnum Review

By Cherd on February 24, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 85 comments

“Today, dear reader, I take over review duties for the tech death band Allegaeon from all around swell guy GardensTale. You see, Mr. Tale has twice reviewed these Coloradans, once for 2016’s Proponent of Sentience, and again for 2019’s Apoptosis, awarding both middling to poor scores. Apparently, this upset the powerful Allegaeon lobbyists in metal congress, because those comment sections got savage. GardensTale, this site, his mom, other writers, OUR moms; no one was safe from the blistering ire of the Allegaeonites.” A letter to Damnum.

Cult of Luna – The Long Road North Review

By Carcharodon on February 7, 2022 in Reviews, Post-Hardcore, Post-Metal, Sludge Metal, 124 comments

“Since AMG Industries Inc. resolutely refuses to pay me market value anything at all for my Indispensable Thoughts on Music™, I am forced to hold down a day job. In that day job, I am a lawyer. And lawyers love disclosures and disclaimers. So here’s one for you: I am an avowed Cult of Luna fanboy. My relationship with these Swedes goes all the way back to the moment I heard “The Watchtower” (from 2003’s The Beyond) on a sampler CD that came free with a magazine. I was blown away by the long-form, post-hardcore bombast.” Fanboy roadshow.

Whitechapel – Kin [Things You Might Have Missed 2021]

By Dear Hollow on December 23, 2021 in Things You Might Have Missed 2021, Deathcore, Progressive Metal, 27 comments

“Kin, as its name perhaps suggests, is a distillation of the themes expressed in The Valley: family. Bozeman laments his family’s disintegration and his own loss of innocence throughout, represented through a breed of deathcore even more mature than its predecessor. The heavy hits heavier, the bleeding heart hemorrhages thicker, and the songwriting accomplishes a storytelling flow to relate it all.” Deathcore in the family.