Morbid Angel

Acausal Intrusion – Seeping Evocation Review

By Dear Hollow on October 10, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Experimental Metal, 12 comments

“Nulitas was one of the most promising debuts of 2021, its otherworldly atmosphere and outrageous replay value adding up to a lurching and lumbering beast with spines of searing dissonance cutting through the thick slogs of slimy riffs. While this soundscape is certainly not uncommon among the melody-hating hordes of masochists and self-flagellants, Acausal Intrusion injected a meditative quality that contrasted lethally with its hell-scraping gutturals and slam-esque pong snare. As such, upon its announcement, followup Seeping Evocation is easily one of my most anticipated releases of the year.” Seeping expectations.

Putrescine/Kosmogyr – Desolate Tides [Split] Review

By Eldritch Elitist on October 9, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 17 comments

“Desolate Tides should not make sense. The concept of the split record is one born of shared musical ideals, a joint undertaking made with inherent crossover appeal in mind. The pairing of the melting pot of OSDM worship that is California’s Putrescine, and the modern melodic black metal of international duo Kosmogyr, doesn’t exactly scream “crossover appeal” on paper. While the two acts don’t find a firm sonic middle ground within Desolate Tides, each uses this record to explore the boundaries of their respective sounds in a way that feels thematically aligned with the other. The resulting experience is one of the most intriguing split releases I’ve heard.” Tides bring strange flotsom.

Nordjevel – Gnavhòl Review

By Carcharodon on October 5, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, 11 comments

“All the way back in March 2019, Norwegian black metal quartet Nordjevel impressed Grymm with sophomore effort Necrogensis. Snagging a 3.5 from the Grymmster, Nordjevel brought icy riffs and Norwegian fury to his Floridian home but it was not a record completely free from issues and had a notably stronger second half, suffering also from a little bit of bloat and/or lack of self-editing. With a line-up that has held steady since Necrogenesis and features former members of Dark Funeral, 1349 (drummer, Dominator), Morbid Angel and Zyklon (guitarist Destructhor), can Nordjevel now up their consistency, tighten their songwriting and take things to the next level on third album Gnavhòl?” Beyond the Grymm horizon.

Vrenth – Succumb to Chaos Review

By Holdeneye on September 16, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 37 comments

“Over the years, I’ve come to realize that death metal is more about the visceral reaction that your body and mind have to a barbaric aural bludgeoning than it is about memorability, and I’ve thus come to enjoy entire albums full of quality metal of the dead variety. But every once in a while, a death metal band comes along with the apparent intent of providing that same visceral journey while simultaneously providing riff after memorable riff, a host of unforgettable solos, and enough stylistic changeups to keep the listener on their toes. California’s Vrenth is just such a band.” Death with life.

Wayward Dawn – All-Consuming Void Review

By Holdeneye on September 14, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 45 comments

“Danish death metallers Wayward Dawn entered my life right when I needed a swift and relentless jackhammering to the nuts. Their sophomore album Haven of Lies was my first exposure to the band, landing right when lockdowns were setting in around the world as Covid began its malevolent quest to disrupt the world as we knew it.” Death at dawn.

Ensanguinate – Eldritch Anatomy Review

By Steel Druhm on September 1, 2022 in Reviews, 32 comments

“I’ve listened to a goodly amount of death metal this year, and seem to be at a place mentally where I just want more and more of it. When I saw the name Ensanguinate in the promo sump, it spoke to me of wet, gruesome things and horrid death sounds most unappetizing. Naturally, I took it home to pet and cuddle.” Draining blood!

Battlegrave – Cavernous Depths Review

By Holdeneye on July 27, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Hardcore, Thrash Metal, 60 comments

“Perhaps the most awesome thing about Battlegrave is the way that they combine their genre influences together. Many bands blend genres in such a way as to make it difficult to pinpoint where one ends and another begins. Not so with Battlegrave. Cavernous Depths sounds like Morbid Saint, Demolition Hammer, and Oxygen Destroyer were each run across a table saw and had their constituent parts randomly and brutally sewn together.” Snitches and death thrash fans get stitches.

Castrator – Defiled in Oblivion Review

By Steel Druhm on July 22, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 34 comments

“It’s been a slow rollout for the sharp knives behind New York-based death metal act Castrator. The rare all-female death crew, they’ve been lurking since 2014, honing their cutting techniques. 2022 finally sees them drop a full-length platter of testicularly challenging material, and Defiled in Oblivion certainly demonstrates the chops you look for in a fledgling death upstart. Trafficking in the OSDM style of Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel, Castrator aren’t looking to rewrite the book of death or take things to strange new places. Instead, they’re content to play with establish sounds and put their own grisly stamp on well-traveled styles.” Throw a pair.

Yatra – Born into Chaos Review

By Maddog on June 14, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge, Sludge Metal, 10 comments

“Some bands insist on pushing envelopes, demanding listeners’ attention by challenging genre norms and breaking new ground. Yatra is not one of those bands. These Maryland natives had a prolific first few years, releasing a stoner doom debut in 2019 and following it up with two sludgy riff-fests in 2020. Their last album All Is Lost earned praise from our very own GardensTale, establishing Yatra as a lean mean sludge machine without reinventing any wheels. Its follow-up Born into Chaos promises a shift in sound, from the band’s stoner origins to no-frills death metal. As an avowed death metal lover, I couldn’t help but be intrigued.” Yatra, Yatra, Yatra…

Heaving Earth – Darkness of God Review

By Maddog on May 30, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 31 comments

“While I usually avoid harming animals, I had to chase a certain Abbathian cat up a tree to get my hands on this promo. My feline colleague gushed about Czechia’s Heaving Earth in 2015, calling Denouncing the Holy Throne a shamelessly uncreative but satisfying slab of vintage death metal. The band is back with its third record Darkness of God, but the seven intervening years have seen its sound evolve. Much like the latest Golgothan Remains, Heaving Earth’s newest offering adorns old-school death metal with speckles of dissonance and malice, and influences from across the death metal universe.” Darkness before divinity.