“Is there anything better than a horror-themed album? I think not. But, being the mentally unstable King Diamond fan that I am, I’m sure that’s no surprise to anyone. But you won’t find soaring falsettos and soloing as old as Steel on Black Cross Hotel’s debut record, Hex. Instead, you’ll discover Killing Joke-inspired industrial metal mingled with punky vocals and synths that you’d swear came from a John Carpenter movie.” The horror….
“Former Metal Church / Trans-Siberian Orchestra and current Vicious Rumors vocalist, Ronny Munroe makes his long-awaited return this month with the debut of his Munroe’s Thunder project. Nearly 6 years in the making, The Black Watch is a loose concept album dealing with Scottish and English history and Ronny’s ancestor’s roles in it. William Wallace, Mary, Queen of Scots, and the wars for Scottish independence are touched on as the backdrop for the project’s ambitious and interesting blend of metal and hard rock, marrying strong Rainbow and Deep Purple influences with the prog-trad idioms of Savatage.” Your watch has begun.
“On the grind spectrum of death metal to hardcore, Houkago Grind Time skews heavily toward the former, with knuckle-dragging riffs and pounding drum fills played at double speed. Lee’s vocals are so deep and guttural that even with the lyrics generously provided on Bandcamp, it’s impossible to match sound to syllable.” Death, grind, and anime.
“Malist’s previous album Karst Relict was a decent but not outstanding piece of atmospheric black metal. This latest outing, As I Become Darkness, mainly follows in its predecessor’s footsteps in terms of quality, though Malist has now largely dropped pretensions to atmosphere. As Twelve—who rescinded reviewing rights after a couple of listens—informed me, it is essentially “atmospheric black metal, without the atmosphere.”” Now 100% atmo-free.
“Well, this is certainly a unique release in many ways, and thanks to the bureaucracy of our PDS this one slipped by everyone and right down to me. Meet Vitskär Süden, a progressive/psychedelic/overall trippy band that hails not from some esoteric land as the umlauts in their name might suggest, but rather from Los Angeles, California. These guys have been playing together in some form or other for around twenty years now, but as Vitskär Süden this is their second release. The Faceless King follows up 2020’s well-regarded eponymous debut.” Dungeons and prog kings.
“I’m a Devin Townsend fan. I first encountered his music when I was a fledgling metalhead and Synchestra was released, and I quickly latched onto the man’s back catalog, of which I still consider Ocean Machine, Infinity and Terria stone cold classics. But that doesn’t mean I love everything Devin has done. Z2 left me cold, and despite the critical acclaim, I never could get into Transcendence or his Casualties of Cool project. On the other hand, I vehemently defended the swimming pool-sized kitchen sink that was Empath. Since the production process of that monstrosity was understandably nightmarish, Devin announced that Lightwork would be a light, simple and poppy affair. That did not necessarily worry me; he’s done poppy before.” Light pollution.
“You there! That’s right, you. Stop dwelling on Cthulhu or Satan or the uncaring expanse of deep space for a minute; it’s time for a thought exercise. Think of the worst thing you’ve ever done. No, really–the thing you don’t tell anyone about, the one that makes you stop whatever you’re doing and wince whenever it jumps unbidden into your mind. Got it? Well, guess what: Vacuous Depths know your secret, and they are here to beat you down for what you did. Here are ten tracks of primal, punishing death metal that are very much aware we all have it coming.” Punishment due.
“Three years ago, I covered Home, the debut full-length from Boston-based multi-genre masters The Offering. I loved Home at the time, but the intervening period has seen the record’s shadow grow even larger over me; it’s simply one of the most unique and mind-blowing albums I’ve ever heard. The album made my Top 5 of 2019 (and probably would move up at least one spot were I making that list today), so its follow-up comes with the highest of expectations.” You can’t go Home again.
“Martin Leth Andersen has been active on the Danish extreme metal for years. The Undergang—no, not that one, this one—bassist is in at least five active projects, with Strychnos, where he handles bass and vox, ticking along since 1998, without releasing an album. Until now. A four-piece combining death metal with a black’n’roll vibe, Strychnos seems to rear up every decade or so, putting out a demo and a single around the time of its inception, an EP and appearing on a compilation in 2011, and then going quiet again until 2021, when another demo dropped. Now, here we are with A Mother’s Curse. Inspired by the ending of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Tale of a Mother.” Mother’s murk.
