Nightfell

Graceless – Chants from Purgatory Review

Graceless – Chants from Purgatory Review

Earlier this year, I talked about the void left behind in Bolt Thrower’s absence. I mentioned a few bands who are successfully filling a bit of said void by name and alluded to a few more. The Netherlands’ Graceless is one of the latter. Back in 2020, they stormed my gates, dropping one of my favorite death metal platters of that year and earning a spot on my Honorable Mention roster with Where Vultures Know Your Name. They did so not by innovating the genre or adding some new twist to an already tried-and-true formula. Nope. They did it by faithfully executing the type of meathead death metal that adds pounds (or kilos) to the barbell and hair to the chest.” Grace and disgrace.

Record(s) o’ the Month – April 2022

Record(s) o’ the Month – April 2022

“There appears to be some lingering confusion relating to the March installment of Record(s) o’ the Month. It was intended as a semi-subtle April Fools gag while also allowing AMG Himself to opine on a few albums he felt strongly about. Now we must focus on the recent past (i.e. April).” Long game, short board.

Nightfell – Never Comes the Storm Review

Nightfell – Never Comes the Storm Review

“In a recent review, I described the death/doom sound of Grand Harvest using a variety of band comparisons. One of our lovely readers soon brought up one I meant to include but somehow left out: Portland’s Nightfell. Mere days later, Nightfell’s Instagram account became active after an extended hiatus, teasing some artwork and the date “4.1.22.” Then lo and behold, they sneakily self-released their fourth full-length album on that very date. Nightfell’s Bolt Thrower-gone-atmospheric sound crushed me on 2019’s A Sanity Deranged, and if I’d known a follow-up was coming, it would have been one of my most-anticipated releases of this year. Alas, the dudes in Nightfell robbed me of that sweet, sweet anticipation with their surprise album. Well, two can play that game. Behold! Here’s my surprise review!” Owning the night.

Rothadás – Kopár hant…az alvilág felé Review

Rothadás – Kopár hant…az alvilág felé Review

“The past week has been magical. Days of heavy rain mixed with days of clear, chilly weather have done wonders to my mood. Cue the magical days of doom and gloom! Death/doom and gloom, that is. My fall of 2019 was filled with releases from quality death/doom acts like Nightfell, Sempiternal Dusk, and Mortiferum, and with the latter poised to release their sophomore platter in November—not to mention 1914’s imminent invasion—I’m hoping that this debut from Hungary’s Rothadás can kick off another season of pulverizing horror.” Chilled spirits.

Coffin Rot – A Monument to the Dead Review

Coffin Rot – A Monument to the Dead Review

“This is death metal from Portland, Oregon. I could probably stop there and you would still know whether or not you’ll love this album. That city is absolutely dominating the genre this year, and we should probably just add a “Portland Metal” tag to Wordpress as that domination extends beyond the bounds of death metal. You’re probably getting tired of me blabbing about how great the Weird City’s output has been this year, but I could comfortably fill half of my year end list if forced to choose only from records released by Portland bands. And so, I will continue to drink from the fountain until it runs dry.” The weird travel on.

Mortiferum – Disgorged from Psychotic Depths Review

Mortiferum – Disgorged from Psychotic Depths Review

“I’m writing this down to memorialize the truths that I’ve recently uncovered, but let it also serve as a warning. A foul conspiracy is afoot in the Pacific Northwest, and I’m afraid that the knowledge I possess has already set in motion forces that will ultimately bring about my death doom. Read back through my journal entries and the evidence will be plain as day.” Watch the skies.

Sempiternal Dusk – Cenotaph of Defectuous Creation Review

Sempiternal Dusk – Cenotaph of Defectuous Creation Review

“Two weeks ago, I drooled words all over Nightfell’s latest release and hinted in a footnote that drummer Tim Call might soon be making another appearance. Well, I’m not a liar (how do you know that I’m not lying when I say that I’m not a liar, hmm?) so today we’ll be dealing with another of Call’s Portland based projects, Sempiternal Dusk.” Lies, death and videotape.

Nightfell – A Sanity Deranged Review

Nightfell – A Sanity Deranged Review

“Synergy is such an interesting concept. Take two things, add them together, and occasionally the resulting whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. This effect is rendered even more powerful when the constituent ingredients are seemingly at odds. In the same way that peanut butter slathered all over a bacon cheeseburger elevates it to another level of awesomeness, the curious mixture of hardcore/crust journeyman Todd Burdette (Tragedy, His Hero is Gone, Warcry, and many more) with jack of all metals Tim Call (Aldebaran, Mournful Congregation, The Howling Wind, and many more) has produced Portland, Oregon’s dark metal monstrosity, Nightfell.” Frankenstein lives!