Slayer

Decryptor – Imminent Ruin Review

Decryptor – Imminent Ruin Review

“Part of the enduring thrill of this here reviewing game, is dipping into the toxic gunk of the promo sump to pull out a freshly untapped talent or obscure underground gem that knocks your socks off and gives reason to share the love with anyone who will listen. Of course, shit can go pear-shaped pretty quickly in a densely populated modern metal scene, where carving an impression and standing out from the overcrowded pack offers a stern challenge. Hailing from British Colombia, Decryptor formed as recently as 2020, plying their trade through underground dedication and refining their skills via a few demo releases. Imminent Ruin signals the band’s first foray into full-length territory. With minimal profile or web presence, let us see if these young upstarts have the songwriting goods and talents to stoke deeper interest.” Ambition and ruin.

Sylosis – A Sign of Things To Come Review

Sylosis – A Sign of Things To Come Review

“The existence of Sylosis roughly tracks my own experience with non-mainstream metal, running from 2008’s Conclusion of an Age to 2020’s Cycle of Suffering. The band lost me somewhere in the middle as I was diving into the more extreme sub-genres of metal’s sewer, despite my favorable comments on 2015’s Dormant Heart, no doubt induced by a bout of regional favoritism given that they hail from the same bit of the UK as yours truly. Cycle of Suffering represented a roaring return, comfortably my favorite of their albums and comfortably my second favorite album from 2020. Sylosis are one of Britain’s most exciting and energetic bands but how can A Sign of Things to Come hope to match their prior incredible success?” Modern problems.

GraveRipper – Seasons Dreaming Death Review

GraveRipper – Seasons Dreaming Death Review

“When I saw the beautiful artwork for Seasons Dreaming Death, the debut album from Indianapolis thrashers GraveRipper, I had high hopes that it would inject some spice into my love affair with the riff, and when I discovered that GraveRipper’s members have been involved with projects sporting distinguished names like Partiac Arrest and Car Door Dick Smash, I figured that I was in store for a good time. Let’s see if these guys managed to leave me satisfied and smiling.” Grave developments.

Bloodletter – A Different Kind of Hell Review

Bloodletter – A Different Kind of Hell Review

“At first listen, Bloodletter sound pretty much the same in 2023 as they did in 2021 (or 2020, depending on when you believe the album was actually released). Combine the nasty thrash of a Slayer or a Dark Angel with the melodeath of The Black Dahlia Murder or At the Gates, sprinkle in some icy blackened tremolos, and you’re left with a 35-minute package of highly melodic brutality.” Hate mail!

Blackning – Awakening Rage Review

Blackning – Awakening Rage Review

“Brazil’s Blackning have been producing concise neo-thrash records for nearly a decade. After a six-year hiatus, this quartet is back with their third album, Awakening Rage. As with so many thrash greats, will this third offering be the band’s epic masterpiece? Or will it be forgotten like so many others before it?” Third time’s the harm.

Speedwhore – Visions of a Parallel World Review

Speedwhore – Visions of a Parallel World Review

“The band’s 2015 debut record, The Future Is Now, is a predictable platter of one-dimensional black/thrash riffs with gravelly vocals and the occasional Slayer pig squeal. That album flowed like one thirty-eight-minute track, barely allowing you to process a song before throwing you into the next. In general, the album is standard-fare black/thrash. Eight years later, the band returns with a new outing in the form of Visions of a Parallel World. But, this time, the production is far superior to its predecessor. The rawness is still there, the vocals are lower in the mix, the guitars rule the roost, and the dynamics are pleasing to the ear. The only thing that remains is the songwriting.” Speed kills ladies of the evening.

Enforced – War Remains Review

Enforced – War Remains Review

“It’s certainly not unusual for me to field accusations of improper scoring around these parts, but, while I usually stand by my assessment of a record long after the review has come and gone, I’m willing to admit that I do occasionally get things wrong. Case in point: Enforced’s 2021 album, Kill Grid. I was initially enamored by that record’s furious hardcore-tinged thrash, and, at the time, a 4.0/5.0 score was a no-brainer. But the intervening years and my countless returns to the album have revealed an inescapable truth: I should have scored it higher. Needless to say, follow-up War Remains approaches the battlefield facing a nearly invincible host of expectations.” Of war crimes and MOAR crimes.

Disminded – The Vision Review

Disminded – The Vision Review

“”Disinter” means to remove a corpse from the ground. “Disembowel” means to remove someone’s internal organs. And “dismember” means to remove someone’s limbs (which is, presumably, followed at some point by both a disemboweling and a disinterring). So what do we make of Disminded? I think we can accurately assume from the truly metal prefix that we’re dealing with another type of removal altogether. One that is less physical and more mental. And probably just as costly when the medical bill comes due. But far from being just another AMG word of the day, Disminded is also death metal quintet with thrash tendencies hailing from Germany. On their third album The Vision, we’re treated to a double beat down of thrashened intensity and deathened brutality. But does such an onslaught truly cost the listener their mind?” Mind over splatter.

Hellripper – Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags Review

Hellripper – Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags Review

“In a crowded market of goat suppliers in the metal scene, Scotland’s Hellripper stands above the mob. Their infectious blend of speed/thrash/black metal offered me a lifeline back into a thrash scene that was boring me in the 2010s. 2020’s The Affair of the Poisons was a typically rambunctious affair and very comfortably hit my year-end list. But I have most recently been experiencing the company of Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags which reaches even further north towards Orkney, an archipelago north of the Scottish mainland.” Put a goat in your moat.