When 2 months of Filter crud collects, things get sticky. We got our hands dirty in July and August so you could have nice, fancy fingernails.
Thrash Metal
Bekor Qilish – The Flesh of a New God Review
“Last time we met Bekor Qilish, the one-man show was the thrashened epitome of what we like to call “Voidhanger-core:” black metal with a penchant for riffs, wonky rhythms, and a healthy slathering of dissonance. Honing in on a completely alien sound tossed with reckless abandon and a healthy amount of lighthearted fun, Throes of Death from the Dreamed Nihilism nonetheless suffered from a lack of surefire direction, just kinda bouncing around wonky dissonance and neat riffs for the hell of it. Over a year later, we are greeted with its follow-up, The Flesh of a New God.” Flesh is a gift.
Nervosa – Jailbreak Review
“For all the hype, Nervosa has never blown me away. With each release, I hope for that breakout record that’ll drop me to my knees, but instead, they’ve established a catalog of solid releases with a handful of stellar pieces. For a minute, I was intrigued by the release of 2021’s Perpetual Chaos because the band picked up a new vocalist. In doing so, I hoped that it would be that great album, but it never panned out. This time around, founding guitarist Prika Amaral takes to the stage and lends her growls and barks to Jailbreak.” Jailbait.
Tyranex – Reasons for the Slaughter Review
“What is a successful retro-thrash record? Why would anyone even attempt one? If you lean too much on the old masters, you’re just gonna come off as tired and derivative. Try and diversify, and you lose what makes it retro-thrash. I like the occasional thrash just fine, but when I saw fate had bestowed upon me Tyranex, I breathed a weary sigh and rolled my eyes. Rarely does a promo sheet take this much pride in being retro-thrash, stuffing the short blurb with old school and 80’s speed metal to the point where it felt like managing expectations rather than hyping up the album. But I stuffed my bias in my back pocket and opened my mind to the best of my abilities. Does Reasons for the Slaughter give me reason for a slaughter?” Bring your daughter.
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.
Bulletbelt – Burn It Up Review
“When the inscrutable beings who rule over the promo sump shackled me to New Zealand’s Bulletbelt, I approached with caution. Formed in 2009, Bulletbelt has operated on a (mostly) biennial release schedule of bog-standard black/thrash albums a la Skeletonwitch. Their line-up has been in a constant state of flux, regularly churning through both vocalists and guitarists, a fact that didn’t exactly inspire much hope for my latest ball and chain.” Bulletbelts to spare.
Ice Giant – Ghost of Humanity Review
“You gotta love a good genre-bending record. Morphing between two, three, or even more distinct metallic styles is not easy, but it’s even more difficult to attempt while still putting out a great record. Boston, Massachusetts progressive symphonic metal act Ice Giant aim to join these ranks of successful shape-shifters with their sophomore LP, Ghost of Humanity.” Kitchensinkcore.
Colony Drop – Brace for Impact Review
“According to Colony Drop’s Bandcamp page, the band’s motto is “High Speed, Twin Lead.” This isn’t just a promise that gets my heart all aflutter; it’s also an honest declaration. Time and time again, you’ll hear this maxim take mighty musical form on Brace for Impact, often to crushing effect.” Space must be colonized!
Stuck in the Filter – June’s Angry Misses
The boys of Summer were stuck ungunking the Filter for months. Salute them with pumpkin spice things as they emerge into a chilly Fall.
Demoniac – Nube Negra Review
“When Demoniac released So It Goes back in 2020/2021, they wowed a lot of metal folks with their unique take on classic thrash. That record attacked the genre in so many interesting ways, using progressive song structures to create a thrash journey that had to be heard to be believed. But the thing that really pushed these Chileans into the spotlight was their use of interesting instrumentation, including some piano and, most notably, the clarinet.” So it went.
