Oct19

Coffin Rot – A Monument to the Dead Review

By Holdeneye on October 18, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Blood Harvest Records, Death Metal, Reviews, Rotted Life Records, Death Metal, 43 comments

“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.

Messora – The Door Review

By Dear Hollow on October 17, 2019 in 2019, Canadian Metal, Groove Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Technical Death Metal, Groove Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Progressive Rock, 24 comments

“I don’t know what makes something “avant-garde.” I remember going to an avant-garde art museum in Santa Fe, NM, where there was a movie exhibit of a haircut. Literally, two men and one woman get an identical buzzed haircut in the shade of a gazebo in the mountains of China. There’s new age music plucking around back there, walls are lined with identical shots of their new haircuts, and shadow boxes of locks of hair covered the floor. It was weird and challenging and difficult to understand, but I think about it a lot. So, if that’s what’s avant-garde, Messora ain’t it.” Hammer, don’t hurt ’em.

Negator – Vnitas Pvritas Existentia Review

By Doom_et_Al on October 17, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, German Metal, Massacre Records, Reviews, Black Metal, 16 comments

“You know that feeling when you’ve entrusted someone you don’t know to do a job, and you realize early on that they are capable and competent and that, for this particular task at least, you don’t have to worry? Listening to Negator’s latest effort, Vnitas Pvritas Existensia, is a lot like that. Within the first 5 minutes, you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into: furious, no-nonsense Germanic, occult black metal (with a distinct paucity of U’s in the song titles).” Goats til Sunday!

Kal-El – Witches of Mars Review

By GardensTale on October 17, 2019 in 2019, Argonauta Records, Doom Metal, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Stoner Metal, Doom Metal, Stoner Metal, 21 comments

“With the amount of duplicate band names out there, it’s a small miracle Kal-El are the only ones naming themselves after the Man of Steel’s Kryptonian name. Perhaps others fear being smacked with the lawbook by a team of lawyers from DC (the comic book publisher, not the city). However, if you were hoping for a Superman-themed metal album, I’ll have to disappoint you. If you couldn’t guess from the collage disaster of a cover or the title, Kal-El prefer their sci-fi themes to be of the retro schlock variety, and they bring it in stoner doom form with mountains of fuzz and Hammond keyboards.” Mars needs stoners.

Juggernaut – Neuroteque Review

By Dear Hollow on October 16, 2019 in 2019, Ambient Metal, Avante Garde, Drone, Folk, Italian Metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Space Metal, Subsound Records, Drone, Folk, Sludge Metal, 14 comments

“When you hear about certain genres, do you have an image that pops into your head? It’s not always fair, but the most obvious one is black metal. You just got an image of a corpsepainted weeboo hanging out in a dark forest. Boom. I’m a fucking magician. What about sludge? Did you see a backwoods redneck with a twelve-gauge and a six-pack? Sporting beards, greasy locks, and enough flannel to challenge Saskatchewan?” Not your hick uncle’s sludge.

Sammath – Across the Rhine Is Only Death Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on October 16, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Dutch Metal, Hammerheart Records, Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 44 comments

“We see a lot expressed in a painting of shoes. Another artist could paint the shoes and using the same subject express a wholly different outlook. Metal has this habit with war⁠—myriad bands contemplate it and find wildly different elements to paint their sonic portrait, their own vision of the peasant shoes. Sammath sees war in an unforgiving light. Their death-tinged black metal sees war⁠—specifically World War II⁠—as human folly writ large, a senseless mess of faceless killing, death, and destruction with no real resolution.” The true face of war.

Arx Atrata – The Path Untravelled Review

By Emya on October 16, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, British Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Atmospheric Black Metal, 18 comments

“The sound of birds chirping is, for me, both calming and therapeutic. My response to birdsong is not an unpopular one. Sound experts claim that ‘people find birdsong relaxing and reassuring because over thousands of years they have learnt when the birds sing they are safe, [and] it’s when the birds stop singing that people need to worry.’ Thus, I truly felt relaxed and at peace listening to the chirping birds, soft synths, and gentle acoustic guitar in the opening moments of Arx Atrata’s new album The Path Untravelled.” When the road forks, take it.

Dysrhythmia – Terminal Threshold Review

By Huck N Roll on October 15, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Instrumental Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Translation Loss, Instrumental Metal, Progressive Metal, 13 comments

“It’s been almost three years to the day since I reviewed Dysrhythmia’s last album, The Veil of Control. Of course that one appealed to me: it was loaded with virile, complex songs that at times borrowed heavily from King Crimson⁠—specifically, that band’s The ConstruKction of Light era. Dark, heavy, and discordant, it all added up to an enjoyable romp through instrumental prog-metal fields. By not overstaying its welcome (6 songs in 36 minutes), the album managed to hold my attention longer than many other instrumental prog albums.” Prog with a punch.

1349 – The Infernal Pathway Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on October 15, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Black Metal, 35 comments

“Though 2014’s Massive Cauldron of Chaos backed off the nightmare of Demonoir and Revelations of the Black Flame to have a little more fun, this Norwegian quartet still has Demonoir on its mind. Already seven levels deep into ‘The Tunnel of Set,’ how much deeper will The Infernal Pathway go?” The road to Hell is paved with stuff.

Maeskyyrn – Interlude Review

By Carcharodon on October 14, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Canadian Metal, Hypnotic Dirge Records, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 63 comments

“I normally dislike interludes intensely – the recent, very good Tool album, for example, I recreated as a playlist minus the four interludes because they annoyed the crap out of me. So an album called Interlude, with three tracks actually titled “Interlude,” plus an “Introduction” and final track “The End,” put me somewhat on edge. Despite having really liked the advance tracks for Maeskyyrn’s Interlude, I was expecting to have to report that here is yet another really promising album ruined by bloat and plinky … well, interludes.” Interludes, man.