Sep22

Firtan – Marter Review

By Dear Hollow on October 23, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 0 comments

“Firtan got a middling review from the gone-but-unforgotten Akerblogger, praising its atmosphere and moments of clarity but cautious of its scattered songwriting and inconsistent passages. To their credit, the German quartet listened, tightening up their songwriting to enhance its more streamlined approach. While it clocks in at quite a bit longer than Okeanos, the third full-length Marter makes the most of it, creating a distinct flow and balancing its power and atmosphere with concise performances and a lethal multipronged attack.” Flirtan with disaster.

Behind your Fear – Anthropocene Review

By GardensTale on October 17, 2022 in Reviews, Dark Rock, Gothic Metal, 12 comments

“Stefanie Duchêne sang for gothic metal band Flowing Tears in the 90’s and early 00’s, making some small waves by bucking the trend of Nightwishcore sopranos, but when she left that band she did not return to the style for decades. Now, 20 years later, she fronts Behind your Fear, hoping to reclaim her seat. Does she still know her way into the hearts of metalheads or did she get lost along the way.” Exchanging tears for fears.

Cruz – Confines de la Cordura Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on October 16, 2022 in Reviews, Crust Punk, Death Metal, 22 comments

“Much like the original mission of a young Bloodbath—a self-proclaimed worship band whose first offering is now 20 years old—Cruz fuses the punky, death ‘n’ roll leanings of punchy Swedeath with the bottom-end brutality of the early Florida scene. And, as you might assume, bands like Autopsy and Entombed already wrote many of the chunky riffs, grimy tempo shifts, and wah-abused leads that define the flow of Confines. That’s not to say that Cruz exists entirely without merit or passion.” Cruz missle.

Cainan Dawn – Lagu Review

By Itchymenace on October 12, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, 27 comments

“I’m happy to report that I was able to field-test this record under optimal conditions. I pried it out of the sticky muck in the bottom of the promo bin just before embarking on a four-day solo canoe trip in Northern Minnesota. My first full playthrough of Lagu was while sheltering beneath a small cluster of jack pines on the shore of Sucker Lake. I had spent the first part of the morning canoeing in cold rain and decided it was time to stop for lunch. While the rain continued to drizzle down around me and the early stages of hypothermia crept into my feet, I popped in my ear buds. I was hoping Cainan Dawn would deliver a brutally majestic soundtrack to my harsh but beautiful surroundings and distract me from the damp 50 degree chill.” Nature-tested.

Autophagy – Bacteriophage Review

By Felagund on October 12, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 20 comments

“After unrelenting, fruitless sojourns reviewing doom, grind and epic metal, I have finally returned to my one true love: death metal of the old school variety, caked in grime and crusted over with unspeakable muck. Enter Bacteriophage, the first full-length release of Portland, Oregon-based death dealers Autophagy. Spotted gurgling during a late-night promo sump dive, this one appears to have it all: an indecipherable logo, predicable themes of rot and decay, buzzsaw guitars, crushing riffs, guttural vocals not even fit for the gutter, and plenty of muddy bombast to spare. After spinning and reviewing several recent releases outside of my usual musical hunting grounds, Autophagy’s latest felt like coming home.” Home sweat home.

Acausal Intrusion – Seeping Evocation Review

By Dear Hollow on October 10, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Experimental Metal, 12 comments

“Nulitas was one of the most promising debuts of 2021, its otherworldly atmosphere and outrageous replay value adding up to a lurching and lumbering beast with spines of searing dissonance cutting through the thick slogs of slimy riffs. While this soundscape is certainly not uncommon among the melody-hating hordes of masochists and self-flagellants, Acausal Intrusion injected a meditative quality that contrasted lethally with its hell-scraping gutturals and slam-esque pong snare. As such, upon its announcement, followup Seeping Evocation is easily one of my most anticipated releases of the year.” Seeping expectations.

Putrescine/Kosmogyr – Desolate Tides [Split] Review

By Eldritch Elitist on October 9, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 18 comments

“Desolate Tides should not make sense. The concept of the split record is one born of shared musical ideals, a joint undertaking made with inherent crossover appeal in mind. The pairing of the melting pot of OSDM worship that is California’s Putrescine, and the modern melodic black metal of international duo Kosmogyr, doesn’t exactly scream “crossover appeal” on paper. While the two acts don’t find a firm sonic middle ground within Desolate Tides, each uses this record to explore the boundaries of their respective sounds in a way that feels thematically aligned with the other. The resulting experience is one of the most intriguing split releases I’ve heard.” Tides bring strange flotsom.

Angmodnes – The Weight of Eternity Review

By Cherd on October 8, 2022 in Reviews, Death Doom, Doom Metal, Funeral Doom, 35 comments

“As one of the primary reviewers of doom metal ’round these parts, I find it challenging to continue finding different ways to say “this music is unhappy.” I can only use adjectives like mournful, miserable, wretched or despondent so many times before I’m tired of typing them and you’re tired of reading them. Before me is the prospect of reviewing not just doom, but death doom, and not just death doom, but funeral doom in the form of The Weight of Eternity by Dutch act Angmodnes, and friends, I just don’t have it in me to google more synonyms for “sad.” For this post I propose a change. In the pursuit of more robust ways to say “unhappy,” I’ll employ metaphor.” Weighing the feelz.

Soul Dissolution – Sora Review

By Twelve on October 6, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Post-Metal, 14 comments

“Post-metal and black metal are both styles of music I can enjoy mainly under the right circumstances. There are so many interesting ways to apply each one, but combining them together, I feel, has the greatest potential. The Agallochs of the world hold special places in my heart, and this is a big part of what initially attracted me to Belgium’s Soul Dissolution.” Post runners.

Internal Organs External – The Brutality of Tomorrow Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on October 6, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Groove Metal, Nu Metal, Slam, 41 comments

“Live free, slam hard—that’s the motto for much of what modern slam throws down. It’s a simple art born of specific roots that’s lived through inbred breakdown after inbred breakdown. But I come back to it, and you, potential reader, probably do too if you’ve made it beyond a cursory glance at the genre tags to this article. So, let’s be honest, if you’re really a slam-addicted fiend, it doesn’t matter what the score below says. Knowing this, Internal Organs External—the one-man machine of Arizona’s own Vince Otero—does their absolute worst to snap your neck and numb your senses, aiming to be a 35 minute injection of dopamine for whatever mind or body-crushing activity you have queued up.” Slam fisted.