“Angerot ventures deep into the Valley of Ov on The Profound Recreant, leaning hard into the strain of theatrical Satanism that ran through their first two albums. We’re defiling daughters here, swallowing other people’s mucous, and slaking the lust of the recently widowed. Choirs chime in to document the various blasphemies, with horns and keys dropping by to add occasional symphonic flourishes.” Devil by the tail.
“I like the Swedeath subset of death metal, but I don’t like it enough to delve into it on a regular basis. Perhaps this is due to its lack of character; or, more accurately, its abundance of character, one which has largely remained unchanged since Entombed ventured down the Left Hand Path. As such, while countless notable Swedeath releases have come and gone, the only ones that truly stick with me are those that inject a fun little twist while staying true to the tenets of the style. The melodic grotesqueries of Lik and the horror soundtrack stylings of Heads for the Dead are a few recent examples, and with their sophomore record, Carnal Heresy, Wretched Fate aims for similar prestige.” Swedetails.
“U.K. death metal strikes early in 2023 with a debut full-length from Seven Doors, the one-man OSDM project by Ryan Wills. With a horror-inspired theme and a firm grounding in the classics like early Death, Massacre, and Cannibal Corpse, Feast of the Repulsive Dead’s formula is riffy, relentless meat n’ tatters death designed to keep one foot on your neck and the other up your strata-chocolata.” Knock knock.
“Death metal was my first love. It began with a steamy night with Morbid Angel’s Domination during my freshman year of high school. Lust blossomed into torrid love, as I violently consumed everything the first decade of death metal had to offer. In recent years, something changed. The fire of my passion flickered as I watched the wrinkles form on old-school death metal’s face.” Death and rebirth of the fanboy.
“Not much has changed for Detherous on the style front. Last time I referenced the early thrash of Kreator and the early death of…Death, but the most fitting returning comparison belongs to Demolition Hammer. As if the increased groove profile of Unrelenting Malevolence wasn’t enough to convince you that Detherous worships Demoliton Hammer’s Epidemic of Violence, the band has even included a cover of that album’s incredible opener.” Unrelenting hammer smashed facing.
“2022 may just go down as a banner year for grind, peppered with quality releases. Although it can be overlooked, grind can also be deceptively diverse, illustrated by the shifting styles of some of the genre’s big hitters in 2022. The debut album from Kill Division tackles grind from an old school perspective, delivered by a seasoned group of musicians, including members of Gruesome, Inhuman Condition, those who have logged time in Malevolent Creation, and former Soilwork and current Megadeth drummer, Dirk Verbeuren. Quite a pedigree of well-established and respected metal musicians.” Grindfire of the vanities.
“Swedeath is one of the most stylistically stagnant and overfull genre sumps in metal, with countless bands trying to distinguish themselves by playing olde Entombed or Dismember riffs faster or meaner than their HM-2 wielding brethren. It’s hard to reach for the stars when your feet are so firmly planted in genre foundations, but every year a cadre of new acts test their might. Sweden’s own Katokomba are one of the latest to throw their hat into the everflowing stream that runs alongside the left hand path.” Kombaya.
“There are few things in life that get me salivating like Pavlov’s puppy whenever someone rings anything that makes a bell-like noise. Asian horror flicks, RPGs with great stories, and immersive Metroidvania games all effortlessly grasp my attention. In terms of metal, the words “doom” and “British” do the trick just fine, and The Land That Brought Us the Peaceville Three has yet another band to lay claim to the crestfallen throne. Norwich’s Consecration have been around the death/doom block since 2010, but Cinis is only their third full-length.” Doom of the Isles.
“New Jersey is known for many things, few of them good. What doesn’t come to mind when one thinks of the “Garden State” is good olde fashioned Swedeath. The sketchy ne’er-do-wells in Sentient Horror are doing their very best to change that, and third album Rites of Gore is a rowdy celebration of all things Entombed-core. Along with their buzzy HM-2 fetishism, the band integrates plenty of nods to the old-school death metal sound practiced by the likes of Cannibal Corpse as well as some truly beef-brained, meatheaded grooves that would make Jungle Rot proud.” Jersey reeks of death (and landfills).
“”There is nothing new to be discovered here.” So reads the promo copy for Disfuneral’s debut full-length, which… look, Promo Copy Sir or Madam, we’ve all struggled with writer’s block, but let’s strive to keep things professional. Your job is to claim this album improves on both Left Hand Path and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony; ours is to throw cold water on such claims so Steel will toss a few scraps of Mystery Meat our way come mealtime.” Tentacle Elmo.
