Scar Symmetry

Orbit Culture – Descent Review

Orbit Culture – Descent Review

“Sweden’s Orbit Culture became a poster child for extreme metal with their 2020 full-length, the formidable Nija. While undeniably heavy in neck-snapping thrash grooves, ferocious roars, and an unforgiving edge of industrial atmospherics, the band showed its roots in the lush forests of melodic death metal. Soaring clean choruses and earworm melodies assemble in the darkness with an often unmatched colossal quality, creating a sound both catchy and devastating. Orbit Culture became the “it” band, not forsaking any of their uniqueness. After 2021’s solid EP Shaman, we are met with 2023’s Descent.” Culture rot.

Scar Symmetry – The Singularity (Phase II: Xenotaph) Review

Scar Symmetry – The Singularity (Phase II: Xenotaph) Review

“It’s been a hot minute since this blog has beheld Scar Symmetry. Once the golden standard by which all melodic death should be measured alongside acts like Soilwork and Mors Principium Est that dominated the 2000s, Scar Symmetry has largely settled in the rearview in favor of young blood – always there, just rarely making it known.” Scars are forever.

Miseration – Black Miracles and Dark Wonders Review

Miseration – Black Miracles and Dark Wonders Review

“When it comes to versatile metal vocalists, few people pop into my head faster than Christian Älvestam. I loved his work with Scar Symmetry, and I followed his career after his departure. I was overjoyed when he joined Jani Stefanović (Renascent and DivineFire) in both Solution .45 and Miseration, and I especially enjoyed the latter’s output. Miseration’s 2006 debut Your Demons – Their Angels didn’t stray too far from Älvestam’s work in Scar Symmetry, opting for a highly melodic death metal sound and utilizing both death vocals and clean singing. I lost track of these guys after that, and I was utterly shocked—and delighted—to find that they were going to be releasing their fourth record here in 2022.” Misery love melodeath.

The Design Abstract – Metemtechnosis Review

The Design Abstract – Metemtechnosis Review

“Science fiction in heavy metal has absolutely no business being as cool as it somehow is. What is it about thick, heavy synths and thicker, heavier guitars that feels like such a strong match? I don’t really like science fiction in general, but as a musical concept? It works. I don’t know what to tell you, it just does. The Design Abstract hail from the Canadian province of Ontario, and seem to understand the game, as Metemtechnosis is their third full-length release under this moniker—and their second this year. The group plays melodic death metal to tell their futuristic stories.” Designing the future.

Drops of Heart – Stargazers Review

Drops of Heart – Stargazers Review

“Although “melodeath/metalcore” is rarely a good thing around here, the greatest strength of Stargazers is how very well Drops of Heart are able to merge these styles together. Stargazers boasts a unified, cohesive sound in the rough style of Soilwork (whose vocalist guests on “Starlight,” so that’s probably not a coincidence), preferring their metalcore influences over their melodeath ones.” Stargazing into the past.

Buried Realm – Embodiment of the Divine Review

Buried Realm – Embodiment of the Divine Review

Buried Realm play an eager, galloping sort of melodeath, with lots of speedy leads, upbeat riffs, synthesizers, and solos everywhere. It’s almost as if Blind Guardian enthusiasm and subject matter met up with Scar Symmetry’s love of ambience and melodic-yet-death-y riffs, while the vocalists from the latter act offered helpful hints here and there.” Melodeath potluck.

Fractal Gates – The Light That Shines Review

Fractal Gates – The Light That Shines Review

Fractal Gates have been on my radar since a certain simian scribe o’ Steel introduced me to Enshine, one of several solid acts featuring Fractal Gates’ Sébastien Pierre. While Enshine sees Sébastien’s screams set to some sweetly soaring and seriously expressive string work, the dudes we’re discussing deal in dirtier, deathier depths of metal. Space-death, as it were, or something to that effect.” Good gates make good neighbors.

Dautha – Brethren of the Black Soil Review

Dautha – Brethren of the Black Soil Review

“”The meaning of life is that it stops.” – Franz Kafka, doom metal luminary. If there’s one genre of our beloved tumult that, above all others, wants nothing more than to ponder death in all of its final implication, it’s, ironically, not death metal. Doom be thy name and death be Dautha’s, a Swedish band plying the same Candlemasstery that incites many a metalhead to rage against the Dying of the Bride.” Doomed to death.

70000 Tons of Metal: One Man’s Journey

70000 Tons of Metal: One Man’s Journey

“My friends ask me what happened, but my ability to verbally communicate has been reduced to moaning and a weeping noise that sounds something like a baby panda crying for milk. I wonder how I’m going to make it through the final day of this floating festival. I wonder when the aching will subside. I wonder where my life went so wrong. How did I end up here, on the 7th annual 70000 Tons of Metal cruise, weak with exhaustion and feeling like my body has been bludgeoned with a sledgehammer? My mind drifts back…” Tales from a 70000 ton heavy thing.