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Weekly rundown April 12 – 2024
This week sees a mighty clash of death metal and classic doom, each bringing both expected and surprising qualities to bear.
Attacker – The God Particle
Genre: Speed/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Adequately entertaining speed metal with a retro mindset but a full, modern production.
Benighted – Ekbom
Genre: Death metal/grindcore
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Call it brutal, call it tech, call it grind – what it sounds like is precision machinery puppeteering your worst nightmare, on fast forward. To me, it utilizes all the best aspects of the aforementioned extreme metal subgenres, and combines it into something that brings to mind a mechanical horror with the brain of a ravenous, rabid beast. Everything is insanely precise, and at the same time devastatingly savage. And somehow it’s still impressively varied.
Highlights: “Metastasis” and “Scars”.
Castle Rat – Into The Realm
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5Just when you thought that classic doom had gone completely stale, Castle Rat comes charging out from somewhere in the deep woods, swords drawn, with tales of a mysterious realm that only exists beyond the veil of our reality. This is a highly engaging album that steps hard on the retro pedal, but also runs freely in its own direction. While certainly on theme, the vocals and instrumental tone radiate with character, and the balance between atmosphere and attack is just where you want it.
Highlights: “Dagger Dragger” and “Fresh Fur”.
Exist – Hijacking The Zeitgeist
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Progressive extreme metal that sounds like it’s taking more than a few cues from the work of Ihsahn. This is less sharp and cold, more pummeling in the style of death metal, although still highly melodic. It suffers a bit from the ever-restless rhythm problem that is very prevalent within modern prog, but all the different progressions it keeps twisting into are arresting in their own way.
Griefgod – Deterioration
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A delicious serving of ripping, groove-oriented death metal. It’s nice to get these projects that are neither trying to be old-school, nor overly relying on modern trends. It feels a bit like Blood Red Throne meets Gojira, which I’ll take any day of the week. To some, it might sound a bit “clean” for all-out death metal, but it retains the same relentless energy and aggression all the way through, and doesn’t get comfortable with any repetitive approaches.
Highlight: “Spite Merchant”
Heavy Temple – Garden Of Heathens
Genre: Doom/psychedelic metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5A playful old school doom record that doesn’t mind getting a bit weird. The psychedelic side to the style is pronounced in the way that the band seems uncomfortable staying in any sort of steady groove for too long – always searching for an opportunity to delve into the next trippy solo or alternative rhythm approach. It’s highly creative within the bounds of the subgenre, and has some seriously hard hitting riff sections.
Highlight: “Extreme Indifference to Life”.
Hypersonic – Kaosmogonia
Genre: Symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5A theatrical symphonic metal album that tries to mix in heavy riffs and a bit of harshness, but lacks the low-end punch to make it land, and the ability to make it flow together organically. Otherwise, it’s fairly playful and fun.
Imminence – The Black
Genre: Metalcore/alternative metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Big and dramatic modern metalcore that exudes emotion. Everything feels designed to be massive, with a dark edge. Melodically it works very well, although it may be a bit too smooth for some, with several clean interludes. My main issue is the narrowness of the scope in each song.
Karst – Eclipsed Beneath the Umbral Divide
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A fairly chaotic, dark and highly aggressive death metal offering that leans into the old school Swedish sound, with crunchy riffs and a hint of Scandinavian black metal.
Mòr – Hear The Hour Nearing
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Rapidly advancing black metal with a thundering low end, alternating between massive blast beats and more primitive riff grooves. There’s a good bit of detail lost in the slightly wooly mix, but it makes for a distinct sound.
Mother of All – Global Parasitic Leviathan
Genre: Progressive death/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Fairly down-to-earth progressive metal based around melodic death metal partly utilizing thrash riffs. The band clearly has a message they want deliver, and although the music could hit a lot harder, it’s an attempt at something that’s not instantly label-friendly.
Necrot – Lifeless Birth
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5On this album, Necrot is not content to simply play great-sounding old school death metal. Sure, the tone and feel is very much in line with what you expect, but like a captive beast ripping apart its chains, it is not happy being shackled to conventions. It knows how to go slow and menacing, but also set off into a rampage of badass riffage. To be expected from this band, the album sounds evil through and through, and they’ve managed the feat of balancing dark grandeur with more grounded, naked instrumental work.
Highlights: “Drill the Skull” and “Superior”.
Replicant – Infinite Mortality
Genre: Experimental/technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5This is the grimiest technical death metal you’ll have heard in a good while, perhaps ever. The band has fully embraced alarming dissonance and an overwhelming, mechanical rhythm approach, and then allowed a thick coating of raw, bile-spitting aggression and threatening atmosphere to grow all over it, until the result is an utter abomination.
Highlight: “Pain Enduring”
Sarcasm – Morninghoul
Genre: Death/black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A black/death combo that doesn’t quite work as blackened death, if that makes sense, but sort of alternates between different personalities as it goes. There’s a lot of cool playing on here, it just doesn’t really go anywhere in particular.
Spit On Your Grave – Arkanum
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Modern death metal that’s all rhythm and slightly blackened aggression. The production robs it of some vocal- and riff definition, and it’s not the most organic of experiences, but it has some cool conceptual details throughout.
Tårfödd – Mörker
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is bitter black metal based around epic, lamenting melodies, that work so well that they have a near sing-along quality to them. The clean backing vocals don’t always mix perfectly with the tone of the harsher side of the music, but each face of the band’s personality deliver forceful and memorable sections aplenty.
Týr – Battle Ballads
Genre: Folk/power metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5This album feels like a celebration. It’s big, positive, and at its best a lot of fun. The chant-friendly arena-viking-spirit is definitely in place, although some of the band’s usual character seems to be missing on this one.
Unborn Generation – …and All We Forget
Genre: Grindcore/punk
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5A mix of grindcore all-out aggression and crust punk rowdiness that makes for a more complete experience than your typical violent outburst. There’s even a bit of melody snuck in here and there,
Veriteras – The Dark Horizon
Genre: Melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Speedy melodeath prioritizing solo-led melodies. It’s got a fairly thin sound, which robs it of some impact, which it partly makes up for with explorative instrumental work.
The Vision Bleak – Weird Tales
Genre: Gothic metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Mildly theatrical gothic metal that tells spooky tales to doom-laden tones and mildly industrial riffs. Every now and then you get a snarl and a black metal-lean-in which is a fitting variation.
Vulture – Sentinels
Genre: Speed/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5When bands are as enthusiastically retro as Vulture, you can mostly expect the output to be equally engaging. This has the 80s plastered all over it, but with the benefits of a modern production. It’s crisp and well defined, prioritizing tasteful reverb and edge over heaviness. The melodies are playfully epic, and usually short-lived, so that we can get on with the next riff section. The dominant sensation you get is that of restlessness, which suits the style perfectly.
Highlights: “Oathbreaker” and “Realm of the Impaler”.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
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Weekly rundown April 05 – 2024
Fun versus rage, rough versus polished, dark versus dreamy. Pick you side or embrace it all.
Acid Mammoth – Supersonic Megafauna Collision
Genre: Doom/stoner metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5This feels like a record for heavy psych purists. Everything about it is in tune with the hallmarks the subgenre, from the fuzz to the vocals to the pacing.
Alpha Wolf – Half Living Things
Genre: Metalcore/nu metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5While this is definitely the kind of modern metalcore where most of the instruments are used in a percussive capacity, that goes pretty well with the hip-hop/nu-metal second personality that exists on here. It’s aggressive and tight, with some great grooves in there if you pay attention.
Attic – Return of the Witchfinder
Genre: Heavy/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3/5A band that is doing its best to invoke early Mercyful Fate, certainly as far as King Diamond’s vocal style is concerned. For me, it’s terribly distracting and sounds periodically off-key, others might find it well in tune with the musical style, which is solid classic metal with a gothic feel and some sparse black metal instrumentation,
Austere – Beneath The Threshold
Genre: Black/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5This might fall under what some would call depressive black metal, although, while the themes and tone certainly come from a very morose space, there are other aspects that dare look up and out of the gloom. The melodies have a dreamy, although darkly contemplative quality to them, and the rhythms allow you to dwell on them in a way that feels cathartic. There is also force and aggression on here, moving the experience far away from that of a passive state of gloomy introspection.
Highlights: “The Sunset of Life” and “Of Severance”.
Bilwis – Hameln
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Ever so slightly low-fi black metal with a wispy quality to it, feeling slow even when the blast beats kick in, and with far-reaching, folk inspired melodies.
Diabolic Oath – Oracular Hexations
Genre: Death/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5An untamed, malicious beast of a blackened death metal album. The abyssal low-end comes crashing over you like an earthquake, and a lot of the time it feels just that cataclysmic, with a dark veil of nihilism hanging overhead and blotting out the sunlight. Still, you get a surprising variety in rhythm, and the band knows how to reign in the beast for momentary reprieves from the rampage.
Drungi – Hamfarir Hugans
Genre: Doom/black n’ roll
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Purposefully primitive, blackened doom metal with a rock n’ roll kind of straightforward progression, and some punky attitude to top it off.
Erra – Cure
Genre: Progressive metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 4/5If you’re into Spiritbox, then this hits in a fairly similar way. It’s melodically charged, modern metalcore with a mix of djent and groove in its riff style, a playful attitude to rhythm shifts, and a good bit of electronica-infused atmosphere. The clean choruses are kind of typical of the subgenre, but the lyrics are well written and for the absolute most part this feels vibrant and creative.
Highlight: “Cure”
Filth – Southern Hostility
Genre: Deathcore
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Deathcore with a strong influx of hip-hop, both in terms of rhythm and lyrics, that’s all about percussive technicality and pummeling aggression.
Friends Of Hell – God Damned You To Hell
Genre: Heavy/doom metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Low-key doom metal with an occult thematic and more light-hearted drum and vocal output.
Furze – Caw Entrance
Genre: Black/psychedelic metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3/5Fairly unhinged low-fi, traditional black metal with an Arthur Brown-esque workover of psychedelic nuttiness.
Horndal – Head Hammer Man
Genre: Sludge metal/hard rock
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Horndal’s 2021 album “Lake Drinker” was a bullseye for me, so I’ve been looking forward to their next release ever since. I’m delighted to find that, although the band’s rough “Scandi-punk” sludge style is instantly recognizable, they’re trying something slightly different on this one. They’ve clearly made an effort to up the spooky-factor, and as a whole this feels like a cohesive concept album. It doesn’t hit quite as hard this time, but certainly makes a statement as to the band’s ability to meld their musical style with strong storytelling.
Ingested – The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams
Genre: Deathcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Ingested are back with their signature blend of technical and melodic deathcore. Fans will absolutely not be disappointed. Even though there’s a lot of details and different influences on here, it still feels like a no-nonsense affair, and all the core deathcore elements are thoroughly represented, just not overly relied upon. Guest appearances by Sylosis and Chimaira make for a big plus in my book, and the band openly flirts with several subgenres of death metal, like progressive, brutal, technical, and even a little blackened. It makes for a thrill ride of a vital, furious, and carefully conducted experience.
Highlights: “Expect to Fail” and “Pantheon”.
Iron Monkey – Spleen & Goad
Genre: Sludge metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Sludge doesn’t get much more dirty than this. This has the energy of a punk band out of their mind with indignation, fueling lead-heavy, ground-dragging riffs with a pinch of stoner groove, and an outright rabid vocal performance. It’s music with purpose, not something you put on in the background.
Ischemic – Condemned To The Breaking Wheel
Genre: Doom/death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Death doom that is at its strongest when leaning into its grindcore-level savagery or slowig it down into a somber melodic trudge, not quite as much when going for atmospheric black metal.
Korpiklaani – Rankarumpu
Genre: Folk metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5There hasn’t been a ton of folk metal releases so far this year, so this feels like it was needed, to re-establish an equilibrium of sorts. No doom or gloom to be found on here, but also not the complete silliness that tends to ensue when the Finns go full-on folk. Korpiklaani has thoroughly justified its use of so many different instruments on here, by writing sections that highlights the strengths of each. It doesn’t write an entirely new chapter in the book of the genre, but satisfies in just the right way.
Locrian – End Terrain
Genre: Experimental metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5How much ambience is too much ambience on an experimental project? In my book, Locrian has crossed that line on here, but the ethereal soundscape they move in, in between rushes of more intense, noise-infused sections, is calming and mentally stimulating.
Shred Rogers – The Circle
Genre: Heavy metal/shred
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5A project that presents itself as “family friendly metal”, although it feels much more like an ordinary shred (hence the name, I suppose) project built around what used to be child-oriented tunes. The innocent fun kind of drowns in the effort to exhibit technicality. The idea is nice, though.
Temple Of The Fuzz Witch – Apotheosis
Genre: Doom/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This blackened doom project is just cool. They clearly want to retain a sinister edge, as long as it doesn’t come at the expense of their love for towering, fuzzy groove. It’s at its best when they just give into the riffs and stoner vibe, cause they’ve got plenty of snarly heaviness to go with it. It would be really exciting to hear them lean more into a Witchery-style blackened thrash kind of style.
Trocar – Extremities
Genre: Grindcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Highly disturbing, brutal, and at times industrial grindcore. The oppressive tone and vicious quality to the vocals should be enough to unsettle the faint of heart, but if you’ve got the stomach to hold on and take it in, you’ll be rewarded with a surprising depth hidden beneath the layers.
Witch Vomit – Funeral Sanctum
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5This is one of those death metal sounds that so selectively incorporates other genre traits that the result feels like a completely natural evolution of the core style. You get just enough melodic black- and death metal to subtly expand an otherwise fairly traditional OSDM sound into something more darkly sinister, like out of a classic horror story. And it’s not just in the atmosphere – it’s ingrained in the technical approaches of the instrumentation, as well as the vocals. Maybe this is what an early offshoot into melodeath might sound like if it originated in the US?
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
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Weekly rundown March 29 – 2024
A slightly toned-down week that offers a little bit of everything, with an emphasis on aggression in both pent-up and all-out forms.
Above Aurora – Myriad Woes
Genre: Black/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Disconcerting, bleak black metal playing out of a deep, doom-saturated chasm. The purely black metal instrumental part is not particularly innovative, but the long-stretched melodies work very well to instill a feeling of gloom and tragedy.
The Absence – The Absence
Genre: Melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5An album that does its best to transport you back to the early days of Swedish melodic death metal, and the vibe is certainly pretty spot on. While the melodic lead work has its ups and downs, it scores points for trying for a sound of its own. The rhythm work is excellent, with riffs and vocals instantly getting you in the right head space.
Alkhemia – Abraxas
Genre: Melodic black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Semi-melodic black metal with a beautifully full sound, permeated by winding, longing melodies. There is a distinct lack of variation throughout, but the essence of it is very well realized.
Boundaries – Death Is Little More
Genre: Metalcore/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Chug, chug, chug. This is metalcore that goes ultra-heavy and rough for the most part, then typically tones it down for its melodic chorus sections. The technicality is on point, and effort top notch.
Cantique Lépreux – Le bannissement
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Melancholy, yet energetic black metal that’s saturated with a darkly epic atmosphere. You can very clearly picture the vast, mist-shrouded forest from which this feels like it’s emanating.
Carrion Vael – Cannibals Anonymous
Genre: Melodic/technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Carrion Veal has a very promising release with their 2022 “Abhorrent Obsessions” and follows it up on good form with this. It’s dark-toned and sinister, with lots of technical melody, although doesn’t quite succeed in leaving a lasting impression.
Child – Shitegeist
Genre: Grindcore/death metal/punk
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A riot of a punky deathgrind album out of Sweden, that’s more than just heavy, crusty riffs and raspy vocals. There’s room for some actual thought and story, making this collection of short songs far more dynamic and varied than a first glance would suggest.
Coffins – Sinister Oath
Genre: Death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Tomb-born, old-school death metal slowly shaking off the bone dust as it gets moving into crushing, doom-laden grooves. You’re in for a warm and muted, yet still rich and well-defined sound that creates the perfect ambience. The drum work is on the lively side, which prevents the progression from ever feeling overly sluggish. and when the heaviest riffs come charging, it feels like rolling thunder through your body.
Highlight: “Things Infestation”
Coffin Storm – Arcana Rising
Genre: Doom/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A Norwegian sort-of-supergroup doom/thrash band going all in on the retro factor. Production, instrumental- and vocal approach are all in the style of yesteryear, and are well done in this regard, but might feel a bit theatrical and try-hard for some.
Darkestrah – Nomad
Genre: Black/folk metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Cold, atmospheric black metal with a taste of Eastern folk. They should receive props for not making this tie-in gimmicky, but it could still be more pronounced.
Givre – Le cloître
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is atmospheric black metal conceptually centered around historical figures. Each track takes on a life of its own, with varying nuances giving them distinct features. Although they’re all very, very bleak.
Glyph – Honor
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5The purest power metal you’ve heard so far this year. It’s gleefully bombastic and thoroughly invested in its fantasy theme.
Kólga – Black Tides
Genre: Avant-garde black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Have you heard the talk about black metal just being surf rock with distortion? Well, this album sort of both proves and disproves this by combining the two genres. While I can imagine a better realized result than this, it’s still a good bit of fun.
Malphas – Portal
Genre: Symphonic death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A darkly symphonic death metal album that goes big on drama, with a highly dynamic intensity range, and some slightly uneven melodic sections.
Mutilation Barbecue – Amalgamations Of Gore
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5An absolute gore-fest of ping-y drums, squealy guitars and hoarse vocals. Not a whole lot you won’t have heard before, but a couple of right bangers.
Rage – Afterlifelines
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5A massive, 21-track double album to mark 40 years of Rage. The first half is fairly aggressive and riff-heavy, the other distinctly more symphonic. Both highly anthemic.
Ren Marabou and The Berserkers – Helgafjell
Genre: Folk metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Very thinly produced Irish folk metal with a hardcore-like approach to their rhythms.
Septage – Septic Worship
Genre: Grindcore/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Gross, depraved deathgrind that delights in sub-guttural snarls and quick-n’-chaotic instrumental work.
Suffer – Grand Canvas Of The Aesthete
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is crisp and semi-technical, yet still brutally heavy death metal, that sounds up to date in all the right ways, while still drawing inspiration from the old school. There’s a Carcass-like edge to the sound, which works very well as an offset to the meaty bass-end and busy drums. The flow suffers a bit in the name of innovative rhythm work, but it still makes for a distinct experience which I want to hear further developed.
Verwoed – The Mother
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Unusually warm-toned atmospheric black metal, conjuring a soundscape that feels alive, in both benevolent, uncaring and more sinister ways. Familiar black metal instrumental work is the driving force of the album, but it is suitably toned down in favor of mild-but-somber melodies and a tastefully droning bass end, that gives several sections a doom-like feel. Although there’s a good deal of ambience, it’s not overwhelming, and overall the album feels thoroughly complete.
Highlights: “The Child” and “Death in a Rosary”.
Vorga – Beyond the Palest Star
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Vorga are back with more spacefaring black metal. It’s still technically very tight, and well-produced, with a rich and dynamic output that punches low as well as stabs high. It feels like a slightly more traditional genre album this time, stripping away some of the melody, perhaps intending for it to be more subtle, for a more mature feel. The result is still very compelling, although not quite as hard hitting as before.
Wristmeetrazor – Degeneration
Genre: Metalcore/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Incorporating a few hints to the classic metalcore sound of the early 2000, as well as modern rhythmic technicality and a harsh, impatient hardcore workover, this is a real striker of an album.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
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Weekly rundown March 22 – 2024
Death metal moves in from all fronts to dominate the week, going both high and low, and filling in the vanguard as well as the core of the advance.
Aberration – Refracture
Genre: Death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Dissonant, bleak and hostile death doom that feels like the inevitable advance of the collected darkness of the world.
Altar of Betelgeuze – Echoes
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Some Finnish doom with brutal vocals, and leaning into wooly heaviness rather than epic melody. It seems to pick up a bit as it goes along, as if it lacks the patience to stick with the traditional, sluggish approach. You get a bit of clean vocals as well, which is nice for variety, but is as of yet not among the band’s foremost strengths.
Apparition – Disgraced Emanations From A Tranquil State
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Here’s your weekly dose of cavernous, old-school-leaning, doom-infused death metal. To me it’s a bit too similar to others of its ilk, of which you’re not exactly spoiled for choice these days. But they’re clearly invested in their sound, and there are traces of exploration on here, suggesting that there’s still parts of this murky cave system to be revealed.
Atrexial – The Serpent Abomination
Genre: Black/death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A black metal album in all but force, this rolls over you like an all-enveloping storm cloud. Once you’re in, the experience feels more or less the same throughout, with a few glimmers of light piercing through in the form of acoustic, longing melody.
Avralize – Freaks
Genre: Metalcore/industrial metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A distinctly modern metalcore album doing a good job of balancing harsh, djent-y brutality with am industrial-electronica feel and melodic clean choruses. It’s a bit too pop-oriented and lacking intensity in the middle chunk of the album for my taste, but it does have some outstanding highlights.
Brodequin – Harbinger Of Woe
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Ignoring the fact that the first few seconds of drum-n’-riff pummeling on each song on here sound close to interchangeable, this is a beast of a non-stop-force, riff-centric death metal album. It’s extremely rhythmic, almost industrial in this regard, but still flows well, partially thanks to a solid bass end. The vocals are distinctly deep-guttural, which I personally more monotonous than anything else, but objectively it’s an interesting offset to the instrumental ferociousness.
Highlights: “Theresiana” and “Suffocation In Ash”.
Civerous – Maze Envy
Genre: Progressive death metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5This is one that I didn’t see coming. At first it feels like you’re in for a rather typical death-doom sound with some atmospheric elements, but the band gradually tears apart your expectations by way of repeated sledgehammer blows. The unnerving backing melody transports you to a place of terrifying revelations, and the progressive rhythm approach keeps you guessing for what’s about to happen next. It doesn’t have the strongest first third, but it’s still massively impressive how the experience only keeps building in excellence the further in you get. It’s thunderous, contemplative, classic and unpredictable all at once.
Highlights: “Geryon (The Plummet)” and “Labyrinth Charm”.
Critical Defiance – The Search Won’t Fall…
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Dirty, primitively produced thrash with loads of aggression and some classic heavy metal swagger.
Deception – Daenacteh
Genre: Symphonic death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Deception has come a long way as a band, and leaning into the symphonic end of the death metal spectrum clearly suits them very well. While not exactly complicated, the technicality on “Daenacteh” is absolutely pronounced, and expertly executed. There’s purpose radiating from both vocal and instrumental delivery, and they’ve clearly strived to craft something that’s not instantly label-friendly. A vibrant and varied experience with a forceful impact.
Highlights: “Iblis’ Mistress” and “Be Headed On Your Way”.
Fall Of Serenity – Open Wide, O Hell
Genre: Melodic death/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5A darkened melodic death metal album out of Germany. They’ve got an experienced, crisp sound going on, with easy-to-follow riff paths and strong melodic elements. The rhythm transitions aren’t the most organic, but they make up for it with tasteful amounts of groove.
Furor Gallico – Future To Come
Genre: Folk metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Setting aside thoughts on the slightly odd concept of an Italian band doing Celtic folk, this delivers pretty much what you’d expect, mixing lots of traditional instrumental work with a clean/harsh approach that feels very familiar.
Hamferð – Men Guðs hond er sterk
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5This is doom metal that rolls like a temperamental weather system over land and sea alike. Where a lot of funeral-leaning doom bands push the melody into the fringes of their sound, on this one it very much feels like the driving force. As it should be, because it’s clearly very well considered and mature, like an aged spirit. While you get strong elements of black- and death metal on here to up the drama, the clean vocals get to be star of the show, without the result feeling any less heavy or dark. Most impressively, even as it mostly embraces the slow burn tempo of doom, overall it feels like a collection of individually realized experiences, rather than a single long one all blended together.
Highlights: “Ábær” and “Marrusorg”.
Hammer King – König und Kaiser
Genre: Heavy/power metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Hammer King is one of those bands that does the into-glorious-battle, anthemic metal approach really quite well. There’s just enough aggression in the riffs and playfulness in the melody to keep it engaging, song after song, even as there’s no big surprises on the way.
Hashtronaut – No Return
Genre: Stoner/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A surprisingly atmospheric stoner album, with a dark twist to the tone, and enough fuzz to make weed plants start growing from your ears.
Hideous Divinity – Unextinct
Genre: Technical death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5What’s this, tech death with some actual room for atmosphere? In fact, parts of this album slows so much down you could even consider it doom. And yet, when the drums get going, there’s no mercy to be had. There’s a part of me that wishes the slower, more conceptually focused parts meshed better with the all-out instrumental assaults, but there’s no denying that this mixed approach makes the album feel a lot more dynamic, and the ominous, horror-themed tone ties it all together.
Highlights: “Mysterium Tremendum” and “The Numinous One”.
Inner Whiteout – Bottom Seeker
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5It’s not often you find a metalcore record where your biggest note is more melody, please. I feel like this one bridges the gap between classic and modern metalcore quite well, and they’re on the cusp of something really engaging.
Keygen Church – Nel Nome Del Codice
Genre: Electronic/symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is one of those sounds that is clearly metal, even as the instrumental approach suggests otherwise. The “riffs” are of the synthetic “8-bit”-kind, the drums feel just about as artificial, and the only vocals are those of a backing choir. And yet the tone and musical intent is straight out of a dark, classic doom project, with a symphonic, “church of less-than-holy-saints” cloak thrown on top. It’s quite fun.
Khold – Du Dømmes Til Død
Genre: Black metal/black n’ roll
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Is it really time for another Khold record already? Feels like only a few months ago that we got “Svartsyn”, which I enjoyed a great deal. If you know the band’s style, then you won’t skip a beat heading into this one, although the black n’ roll approach is particularly pronounced on here, to the point where the black metal seems content to have seeped into the cracks of the framework.
Leaves’ Eyes – Myths Of Fate
Genre: Symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Epic, Norse mythology-themed melody draped across simple rhythms and inflated by a symphonic production.
Mastiff – Deprecipice
Genre: Sludge metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Massively heavy sludge with a death metal-like tone to to the riffs, and hardcore rhythms. It’s dark, sometimes quite noisy stuff, that just wants to crush your spirits.
Omnivide – A Tale Of Fire
Genre: Progressive/technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A proggy new tech death outfit that lands on the slightly milder and melodic end of the extreme metal spectrum. It’s clear they have a bunch of ideas for incorporating playful instrumentality, and lots of it works well, but the overall cohesion leaves a bit to be desired.
Perpetua – Resurgence
Genre: Melodic death/groove metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A slightly metalcore-leaning, groove-oriented young melodeath band, very much in the same vein as their fellow countrymen in Bleed From Within. There are traces of Gojira and Sylosis as well, although a bit more maturing remains before they have a clear identity of their own.
Take & Take – Disillusion
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2/5An unfortunately highly uneven prog release showcasing a laudable appetite for variety and a fun approach to technicality, but also bringing to light some shortcomings as far as vocals and songwriting go.
Thornbridge – Daydream Illusion
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Fairly by-the-numbers power metal, but every now and then some real genre joy shines through and the band delivers some seriously feelgood melody.
Unshine – Karn Of Burnings
Genre: Folk metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5A Finnish doom-like folk metal band with a great sounding production and a mild psychedelic tinge to their sound that works very well, although the whole thing is brought low by simplistic rhythm work and stagnant melodies.
The Wizards – The Exit Garden
Genre: Heavy/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is one of those albums that manage the feat of combining the comfort of familiarity with the fun of creativity. You get cheeky, traditional metal instrumental work padded down by a seriously wooly doom-toned finish, and melodies that dream of the next great adventure, even as they strive to finish the one that they’re currently on.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
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Weekly rundown March 15 – 2024
A week of trying different approaches – the straightforward, the off-kilter, the innovative and the reinventive. You decide which suits you best.
Aardvark – Tough Love
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Classic, scuffed-knuckle heavy metal that’s got a bit of punk, and a bit of darkness to it, but mostly a pretty faithful retro piece.
Aborted – Vault Of Horrors
Genre: Deathcore/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5With the instrumental intensity, penchant for breakdowns and grandiose production all being dominant factors on Aborted’s latest effort, you could almost consider them a pure deathcore band at this point. In any case, they do not let off on the gas on this one. It’s massive chugs, roaring vocals and apocalyptic drums all the way. For those wishing a significant conceptual, or at least tonal lean into horror, you might be slightly disappointed, unless your idea of horror is a sentient, mobile, building-sized meatgrinder unleashed on a busy city street.
Armagh – Exclamation Point
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5This feels, at least tonally, like a black/heavy metal mashup, yet with a fairly pronounced psychedelic side as well. But with clean vocals and a prog rock-y melodic tendency, this is something a bit out of the ordinary,
Armagh – Exclamation Point
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Sharp and aggressive thrash metal that sounds like it’s trying to spook you. Its rhythm transitions are not the smoothest, but it’s got a wicked tone and delivers when it’s on the attack.
Brat – Social Grace
Genre: Grindcore/hardcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5A high-energy, yet surprisingly controlled, groove-oriented grindcore debut record. With a sub-21 minute runtime, it’s over before you know it, and, like a well-measured hit of chili spice, leaves you going “Whoa, that stings! Can I have some more of that?”. Apart from its obvious heaviness it plays a lot like hardcore, and the visceral quality of the production almost makes you feel like you’re in a small room with the band performing the music live.
Highlights: “Hesitation wound” and “Human Offense”.
Defect Designer – Chitin
Genre: Experimental death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Steering into the experimental end of your subgenre can result in breaking new musical ground and creating something truly unique. The question you still gotta ask is what kind of listening experience you want to leave at the end. When it’s as bonkers as this, very much in the vein of experimental jazz, the reception is obviously going to be divisive, but the dedication is still admirable. And that album art is just awesome.
DragonForce – Warp Speed Warriors
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Dragonforce offers up some real feelgood-toned power metal that feels conceptual, but doesn’t really feel obviously so. The playing is, as usual, insanely fast and very fun, although the mid-part of the album leaves a bit of a gap in the intensity that slightly deflates the experience overall.
Hadit – Metaphysical Engines Approaching The Event Horizon
Genre: Death/black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A very bleak, yet still punishingly heavy death doom record, that seems to abhor melody. The result is a distinctly monotone sound, that still manages to produce a bleak, enveloping atmosphere.
Leather Lung – Graveside Grin
Genre: Stoner/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Is there such a thing as too much groove? Leather Lung certainly dares to test the limits, cooking up a heavy, syrupy soundscape made up of fuzzy riffs, raspy, coarse vocals and bad habits.
Lords Of Black – Mechanics Of Predacity
Genre: Power/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Classic power metal backed up by more traditional “leather metal”, slightly rougher style guitar work. It sounds epic in scope, although tonally it doesn’t quite stay on target throughout.
Lutharo – Chasing Euphoria
Genre: Symphonic/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Melodic, symphonic heavy metal jazzed up with harsh vocals and energetic instrumental work. There are lots of tasty parts sprinkled throughout as goodies, although the melodic parts that tie it all together could have used some more work.
Malsten – The Haunting of Silvåkra Mill
Genre: Atmospheric doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Doom metal that paints a subtly nuanced, abstract picture of misty mystery. Not quite enough happens on the album to call it truly engaging, but it has some very solid sections.
Nastergal – The Untold War
Genre: Melodic black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Pedal-to-the-metal black metal that hits you like a hailstorm of pins and needles, to the point where the sharpness of the production can be a tad distracting. Virtuosic playing has clearly been a priority, and it brings some moments of maliciously toned melody that suits the overalls style quite well. Not quite outstanding, but strong for a debut full-length.
Necrophobic – In The Twilight Grey
Genre: Black/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Necrophobic is one of those bands that has such an in-your-face style that it’s almost hard to get it wrong for those who know what they’re expecting. Still, the band has clearly made an effort with this one, as is evident in the vigorous onslaught of violent darkness that awaits the listener. As is customary, you get that classic metal-style penchant for a bit of melodic guitar work, but the tone is as sinister as always – maybe even a tad colder than usual – and the vocals and drums sound like they’re trying to attack you from a multitude of different angles.
Highlight: “”Clavis Inferni”.
Prisoner – Putrid | Obsolete
Genre: Industrial/doom metal/grindcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5How about an album that combines the darkest sides of industrial- and doom metal, gives it a brain-scratching noise workover and fuels its attack with the inconsistent fury of a deathgrind/punk combo? While not the most varied or conceptually satisfying, it’s heavy as fuck and deeply unsettling in just the right way.
Shock Withdrawal – The Dismal Advance
Genre: Death metal/grindcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5A band that very effectively layers an insanely aggressive grindcore assault with death metal heft. You get some meaty riffs, hyperactive drums, and non-stop energy for about 21 minutes of runtime.
Stress Angel – Punished by Nemesis
Genre: Death/black metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Echo-y, thrash-paced death metal with a distinctly first-wave-of-black-metal chaotic and “ugly” sound. Apart from the style, it’s not the most distinct thing you’ll hear, but satisfying in its own right.
Throne of Exile – The Endless Sky
Genre: Avant-garde/progressive extreme metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5How heavily can you offset a highly aggressive and brutally heavy, technically progressive metal base with tonally opposing, avant-garde tangents, before your stylistic concept simply breaks apart? For many listeners, this album will be well past that point. But the insanely precise instrumentality is impressive.
UdÅd – UdÅd
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5It’s an interesting thought, taking the concept of black metal back to a point beyond the subgenre’s birth, and imagining what that’d sound like. In some alternate universe, this might be it, although there are unmistakable elements in here tying it to that established proto-sound of the early 90s. The album feels almost naïve in its raw simplicity, with a distinctly “damaged” production, but is so strongly grounded in haunting, folk-derived melody and thematically on-point songwriting that there’s no reason not to take it seriously.
Highlight: “Bakenfor Urskogens Utkant”.
Vltimas – EPIC
Genre: Black/death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Leaving behind some of the complexity of their 2019 debut “Something Wicked Marches In”, Vltimas returns with the same core sound, blending black, death and a bit of thrash metal into a potent concoction of “best of”- like sounds. The output is effortlessly grandiose on this one, almost operatic in scope, and more melodic than I had expected. This is not the blackened death metal you go to for the most “evil” sound, but it also in no way feels overblown or flippant, delivering solid variety, plenty of punch and a highly convincing delivery.
Highlights: “Scorcher” and “Exercitus Irae”.
Weston Super Maim – See You Tomorrow Baby
Genre: Mathcore/deathcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A band that perhaps imagines itself as a bit more off-kilter than it practically is, what it gives us is fairly complex and deathcore-level heaviness with a bit of daydream-y melodic atmosphere. It works best when you can tell the band is trying to be conceptually nuts, rather than technically so.
Whom Gods Destroy – Insanium
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5A new prog supergroup that clearly tries a conceptually slightly darker approach, which in itself is refreshing, but it’s still so filled to the brim with prog instrumental show-off-y abandon that everyone but diehard fans should tire rather quickly.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
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Weekly rundown March 08 – 2024
Prepare for some knockout punches this week, both from the ragged vanguard, the well-entrenched core and the devious shadows.
4BanneD – Sanatorium
Genre: Thrash/death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Irate and murky death thrash with a straightforward, hardcore-like thematic and rhythm approach.
Alterium – Of War And Flames
Genre: Power/symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Power metal with an epic thematic scope, although slightly let down by a lack of drama and force in both performances and production.
Apogean – Cyberstrictive
Genre: Technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Some beefy-riffed, spacey-toned tech death for you. And while it’s certainly no slouch, it’s not the type that tries to beat instrumental speed records. The rhythms shift tempo and character quite regularly, but are fairly easy to follow. and lets you get into short-lived grooves. Melodically it’s more about creating a mood than actually going somewhere, but the overall sound feels big, like it’s trying to reach up into the atmosphere and beyond.
Arthouse Fatso – Sycophantic Seizures: A Double Feature
Genre: Experimental grindcore/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5A bonkers thrash/death-riffed, conceptual grindcore affair that, even with 16 tracks, clocks in at less than 25 minutes. You get the feeling that the band’s messing with you from start to finish. Like, giving a 3-second track a 20+ word title, kind of messing with you.
Cell Press – Cages
Genre: Sludge metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A sludge record that’s shaken all the feelgood out of a smooth stoner metal sensibility, and kept only the shell, infusing it with a chaotic, slightly nihilistic and punk-like approach.
Domain – Life’s Cold Grasp
Genre: Hardcore/groove metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Coarse and forceful metallic hardcore that sets out to shake the earth with its punishing, rhythmic riff-and-drums assault.
Early Moods – A Sinner’s Past
Genre: Doom/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5More slightly pepped-up old-school doom from Early Moods. While not quite reaching the same groove-fueled highs of their self-titled 2022-effort, it offers a slower, more sinister overall mood, and a very convincing nostalgic trip.
Ecclesia – Ecclesia Militans
Genre: Heavy/power/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Time for a monastic, slow-burn party! This is grandiose, medium-to-slow, power-esque heavy metal with some hard-hitting riffs and a doom-like mood. Liberally employing chants and church organs, they fully embrace a holy-order thematic. While a bit heavy-handed, it’s certainly a good time, with some great vocals and lots of catchy grooves.
Exhorder – Defectum Omnium
Genre: Thrash/groove metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5On their latest release, thrash/groove veterans Exhorder feel solidly in sync as a band, mixing speedy thrash with early Pantera-style grooves for a very consistent and confident sound. The production works very well, and both vocals and instrumental output are engaging. Overall there could be more highlights, but there are also very few, if any, weak moments.
Grayscale Season – Feel Something New
Genre: Metalcore/deathcore
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Slamming with the power of deathcore and balancing it with its softer, melodic side quite proficiently, this album feels sincere and coherent.
Grey Skies Fallen – Molded By Broken Hands
Genre: Heavy/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Working with an interesting blend of heavy, death, gothic and doom metal, the result is predictably dark and fairly eclectic, feeling coarse and aggressive, yet still fairly light on its feet.
Houwitser – Sentinel Beast
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Speedy death metal with a dampened sound and an emphasis on clever rhythm shenanigans.
Isenordal – Requiem For Eirene
Genre: Doom/folk metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Combining abyssal funeral doom with folk melodies and traditional instruments, this isn’t a thoroughly mire-treading experience, lifting the atmosphere out of the depths.
Judas Priest – Invincible Shield
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5Be it anthems, groove-fueled chug-alongs, power ballads or cheeky speedsters, it feels downright invigorating to be able to say, hand on heart, that no-one does classic metal quite like Judas Priest. When a band as defining as this can continue to push the envelope 50 years on, it’s a massive, radiant stamp of health for the whole genre. Rob’s voice sounds beyond belief good on here, and the instrumental performances somehow manage to be both tight, playful, stylistically faithful and just the right level of unpredictable, all at once. The production has been tweaked to perfection, and while I personally could have wished for some more high-tempo tracks, not once does this sound complacent.
Highlights: “The Serpent and the King” and “Trial by Fire”.
Kelevra – Onieric
Genre: Groove/progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Rage-fueled, slightly odd-rhythmed groove metal. Sometimes the tempo shifts feel a bit stumble-y, but the riffs hit hard.
Kill The Lights – Death Melodies
Genre: Thrash metal/metalcore
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3/5Groove-filled, energetic thrash riffs offset with jarringly unoriginal, soft melodic choruses.
Merrimack – Of Grace And Gravity
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Thoroughly bitter and bitingly cold black metal that alternates between spitting curses at you and sweeping off on doomy atmospheric tangents. The sound is clean and forceful, allowing the musicianship to the fore.
Midnight – Hellish Expectations
Genre: Heavy/black metal/punk
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Expectations are indeed hellishly …low? for Midnight’s latest release, and as for delivering on the promise of a no-nonsense, stylistically rock solid scamper of a blackened heavy metal record, no one should be disappointed. It does feel like you have to wait a bit for the party to get started nice and proper, with the rhythmic approach getting a bit monotonous throughout the first half of the record, but you still can’t help but grin at the glorious abandon of the vocal delivery and naughty, naughty guitar work.
Mutilated by Zombies – Scenes from the Afterlife
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5This is death metal that can’t quite decide if it wants to writhe around in the freshly unearthed grave or design an intricate layout for the entire cemetery. It has some moments, but neither side gets to properly shine.
Myrath – Karma
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Bombastic power metal with a middle eastern flair and some very mild progressive tendencies. They show off some excellent instrumental skills through a great production, but there’s very little originality or joy to be found in the songwriting.
Skeletal Remains – Fragments Of The Ageless
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Don’t take this the wrong way, but a part of me wonders why we even need tech death when “regular” death metal can be as tight, fast and relentless as this. Skeletal Remains are back in excellent form on this one, and, as you might expect, constantly on the attack. The riffs are ripping, the drum work punishing, and the bass like a pulsing tremor below it all. Not much in the way of surprises, but who even cares when it’s this solid.
Highlights: “Void of Despair” and “Cybernetic Harvest”.
Slimelord – Chytridiomycosis Relinquished
Genre: Death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5I don’t imagine there’s many people out there who won’t find this album sonically repulsive. Not in a straighforward, “this is in bad taste”, disgusting kind of repulsive, but in the way that the cacophony of unpleasant sounds that swirl around your eardrums clearly aren’t meant to be enjoyed, in the strictest sense of the word. And yet, if you’re the right type of listener, you’ll feel the hooks of this beast’s many tendrils finding purchase in recesses of your mind that you hardly knew existed. And suddenly, you just get it. It is thundering, chaotic, multidimensional, and yet there’s a solid core in there, somewhere, for you to grab onto if you just dive deep enough into the madness.
Highlights: “Gut-Brain Axis” and “Tidal Slaughtermarsh”.
Sonata Arctica – Clear Cold Beyond
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Sonata Arctica are back doing what they do best, which is dazzle you with shiny guitar work like a generous sprinkling of crystals borne aloft on winds of mystical and ever so slightly whimsical Finnish-style epic melody.
Speedkiller – Inferno
Genre: Black/speed metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Thoroughly blackened speed metal that nails the tone and tempo you expect from it. Aside from some tasty solos and eventually getting over how impressive that picking speed is, it does get a tad monotonous.
Vicinity – VIII
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A vibrant prog metal album that dazzles with impressive vocal delivery and adventurous guitar work. The rhythm transitions are not perfect, and the melodies, while beautifully harmonious, don’t really travel. But it’s expansive and pleasing to the ears.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
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Weekly rundown March 01 – 2024
This is a fun and colorful week, where thrash, industrial, power, psychedelic doom, and melodic extreme metal are just a few of the flavors on offer.
Azell – Death Control
Genre: Sludge/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Oppressive, aggressive sludge rolling over you with the sedate tempo of patient doom. It’s stylistically strong and consistent, but probably won’t surprise you at any point.
Clarion Void – Failure In Repetition
Genre: Progressive sludge/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5A conceptual album that takes the misanthropy of black metal and layers it delicately over the rough edges of sludge. It’s dark, but not relentless or immovable. It feels alive, almost curious, as it cautiously explored a shifting landscape at varying levels of boldness.
Clouds Taste Satanic – 79 A.E.
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Clouds Taste Satanic are already back with more long-form, mildly psychedelic, instrumental doom for you to sink your consciousness into. Like with last year’s “Tales of Demonic Possession”, this feels like passively taking part on a multidimensional journey, experiencing the wonders of passing objects and phenomena from the safety of a stable, sheltered platform. A bit of patience is required, but you’ll be rewarded with an experience that’s soothing and stimulating at the same time.
Highlight: “Collision”.
Defocus – There Is A Place For Me On Earth
Genre: Metalcore/industrial metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Serious and technically sharpened djent-based metalcore that takes on a detached, industrial mood. Melodically it’s a bit soulless, but the whole thing feels like the successful product of a very purposeful overall composition.
Devastator – Conjurers Of Cruelty
Genre: Black/speed metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Blackened speed/thrash metal led by forceful and commanding vocals and a tight rhythm section. It’s very much on theme, although doesn’t stand out particularly well among its peers.
Bruce Dickinson – The Mandrake Project
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 4/5As long as you accept that the instrumental part of “The Mandrake Project” is in essence an atmosphere-generating, toned-down vehicle for the vocalized storytelling, you can start to appreciate what it’s really all about. Dickinson shows off the full and ever impressive range of his vocals, matching the overall mood perfectly, which actually shifts quite a lot throughout, making for a surprisingly eclectic experience.
Highlight: “Mistress of Mercy”
Fathomless Ritual – Hymns For The Lesser Gods
Genre: Progressive death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is one of those “wait, what?” kind of experiences where, just as you think you have the band’s style nailed down, you discover a different side to the music buried beneath layers of murk, Thickly blanketed with gutter-style vocals and an edge-dampening production you get some surprisingly groove-centric rhythms, and a restless and adventurous progression.
Firewind – Stand United
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Time for some old-school, shreddy power metal built around pure riff happiness. This is like a goodie bag of strong and entertaining performances crafted into a solid selection of individually outstanding tracks.
Hands Of Goro – Hands Of Goro
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5An intentionally messy and structurally inconsistent, rebellious traditional metal elements that, in a way, brings together the bitter rivals of NWOBHM and punk, without the result being just Motörhead. It’s instrumentally playful, with some rock n’ roll grooves, but in an impulsive way that all but eliminates predictability.
Messiah – Christus Hypercubus
Genre: Death/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5If you like your metal raw and crispy at the same time, get yourself a generous helping of this. Messiah serve up tonally and thematically blackened death thrash that prioritizes speed and ferocity over heaviness, resulting in a dressed-down and direct approach that really suits the band’s style. It’s not the album with the most individual standout moments, but while clearly having a very established idea of how they should sound, the band dares to attach from a multitude of angles, keeping it interesting throughout.
Highlights: “Soul Observatory” and “Christus Hypercubus”
Ministry – Hopiumforthemasses
Genre: Industrial metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Ministry’s latest is a driving album that utilizes a relatively uniform, carefully cultivated sound, free from too many bells and whistles. Most importantly, it’s very clearly still protest music, with each track standing proudly up for or against something. The stylistic confidence of the music very successfully bolsters th
at of the projected attitude, and there’s a strength and urgency behind the compositions and delivery that grabs a hold of you and pulls you in.
Highlights: “Aryan Embarrassment” and “New Religion”
Negative Prayer – Self // Wound
Genre: Death metal/punk
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Busy, dark and heavy death metal with the haphazard energy and disregard of punk strongly infused into its rhythm section.
Northern Genocide – The Point of No Return
Genre: Melodic death/symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Perhaps a bit heavy handed, fans of melodic Finnish death- and symphonic metal should not disregard the entertainment factor of the massive pile-up of playful musical and electronic contributions on this album.
Saturnalia Temple – Revel In Dissidence
Genre: Doom/sludge metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Heavy, raspy fuzz spelling doom and darkness as it rolls in over the land like ponderous storm clouds.
Suicidal Angels – Profane Prayer
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5The guys in Suicidal Angels speak thrash with such a fluency that you’d think they did a degree in it. It’s a pure. old-school-leaning experience that feels both practiced and natural. It’s not the wild speed and enthusiasm of a fresh band, nor the conceptual or slightly experimental approach of veterans looking to shake up their sound. But it’s aggressive, tonally on point, and energetic. Most of all, it’s satisfying.
Suldusk – Anthesis
Genre: Folk/blackgaze
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5The majority of the album is dreamy, serene melody wrapped in folk atmosphere, with the bitter bite of melancholic black metal elegantly woven in to lend an edge to the dramatic highs.
Surgical Strike – 24/7 Hate
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Thrash metal that’s all speedy riffs and solos, and quite proficiently so, but lacking a bit in substance, which adds to the risk of feeling slightly repetitive.
Volcandra – The Way Of Ancients
Genre: Melodic black/death metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Volcandra first got my attention with their 2022 EP “Border World”, partially because of its Half-Life reference, but certainly also because of the quality of the music. This time they’re back with a full-length themed around another one of my all-time favorite video game franchises, namely Diablo. The band does the melodic/aggressive balance in a way that brings to mind Black Dahlia Murder, although with a clear shift towards epic black metal. It’s technically sharp, refreshingly free from symphonic elements, and does the fantasy concept without needing to resort to whimsy.
Highlights: “Fouled Sanctity” and “Seven Tombs”.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
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Weekly rundown February 23 – 2024
After several weeks dominated by brutal and bleak releases, the sun starts to shine through in the form of some more playful and epic stuff.
Amaranthe – The Catalyst
Genre: Pop/electronic metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5If you know Amaranthe, you know what you’re getting. Eurovision beats, catchy riffs, bright, electronica-infused sci-fi melodies and a dazzling mix of clean and harsh vocals.
Atoll – Inhuman Implants
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Atoll’s new offering is the kind that bridges the gap between the barbed-wire-baseball-bat blunt trauma of brutal death metal and the circular-saw-axe-blade cut of the more visceral and technical end of the subgenre spectrum. And how can you go wrong with titles like “Gay For God” and “Missionary Opposition”?
Autumnblaze – Auf zerfetzten Schwingen
Genre: Gothic metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Like a lamenting sigh in the form of a cold gust of wind over the graveyard, this is gothic metal finding purpose in a sad state of affairs, with a distinct black metal tone to its riffs.
Borknagar – Fall
Genre: Progressive/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5While being sweeping, melody-centric and austere progressive metal in the vein of Katatonia at its core, Borknagar also doesn’t shy from allowing the obsidian blade of black metal cut through the veil. Fans of slow-paced, slightly doom-styled epic extreme metal will be able to fully embrace this one, while others might find its progression a bit too sedate. But the confidence that shines through the songwriting is reassuring, and every now and then you are simply taken aback by the sheer power of its melodic passages.
Highlights: “Northward” and “Unraveling”.
Vincent Crowley – Anthology Of Horror
Genre: Thrash/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Horror-themed, riff-happy, dark-toned heavy metal that’s still light on its feet.
Darkest Hour – Perpetual | Terminal
Genre: Metalcore/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Every now and then I just need a shot of that classic early 2000s metalcore sound, and this one hits the spot strong and good. The style pendulums between the band’s melodeath and hardcore influences, without ever swinging out of balance. The result feels invigorated and purposeful, and will certainly scratch a deep seated itch for fans.
Decrowned – Persona Non Grata
Genre: Melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Catchy-riffed and solo-happy Finnish melodeath, with a slightly overproduced finish.
Desolate Tomb – Scorned By Misery
Genre: Blackened deathcore
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Highly aggressive, stark deathcore utilizing quite a lot of the subgenre’s technical tropes. It hits hard, but struggles a bit to create any sort of distinct mood.
Dust Bolt – Sound & Fury
Genre: Thrash/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Peppy, anthemic thrash pulsing from a more conventional hard rock and heavy metal core. It’s groovy as heck, although, ultimately, a bit toothless.
Ektomorf – Vivid Black
Genre: Groove/nu metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5You some times wish Slipknot would pick up where they left off with Iowa? This isn’t far from what that might be. The vocal style, rhythms and guitar tone are certainly more than a bit inspired. Where it all departs a little is the introduction of Kataklysm-style dark grooves, which contributes to modernizing the sound a tad.
Gonemage – Spell Piercings
Genre: Experimental nu metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A real mind spinner of a noisy, unhinged, blackened nu metal album, with a light sprinkling of 8-bit sound effects, because why the hell not?
Gore Machine – Macerated & Liquified
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Fans of filthy, gurgly death metal with buzzsaw riffs get exactly what they deserve on this one.
Hand Of Kalliach – Corryvreckan
Genre: Melodic death/folk metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5An atmosphere-rich and technical melodeath record balancing ethereal melody with rapid, focused aggression. Most of the time these two faces speak in harmony and elevate each other, although a few times you wish that one would step back to let the other fully shine. But overall it’s a rich, varied and immersive experience full of stellar performances.
Highlights: “Fell Reigns” and “Unbroken You Remain”
Inferious – Salt Your Earth
Genre: Deathcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Straight-cut deathcore with a kind of barebones, hardcore-like style and a hint of dark groove. It’s aggressive and precise, and doesn’t have to go over the top to exude brutality.
Iron Curtain – Savage Dawn
Genre: Speed metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5This feels like an album distilled from everything that was good about early thrash, heavy metal and hard rock. You can practically smell the burning rubber and gasoline, and see the sparks of grinding metal glinting off swinging chains. It’s piles of attitude atop tight and inspired performances, and a production that allows for every detail to shine. Savage indeed!
Highlights: “Gypsy Rocker” and “Rattlesnake”.
Job For A Cowboy – Moon Healer
Genre: Progressive/technical death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5Experiencing Job For A Cowboy’s latest feels a bit like attending a masterclass. The way each musical contribution corresponds with the next seems utterly intuitive, and never trite. It’s a perfectly attuned whole, and the parts that make it up manage to shine without needing to strike out all on their own. It’s not exactly what I’d call an organic flow, but the intensity waxes and wanes in a way that grabs a hold of your attention at any moment it might wander off. Not too complex, not too flashy, just very well composed.
Highlights: “The Agony Seeping Storm” and “The Forever Rot”.
Karkosa – Estoterrorcult
Genre: Black/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5A hard-hitting blackened death album with a distinctly melodic black metal lean, seemingly trying to overwhelm you with the all-out force of its hurricane drums, hissing vocals and slamming riffs.
Morta Skuld – Creation Undone
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Morta Skuld delivers more lethal, riff-driven death metal to please fans of Cannibal Corpse-style aggressive and precise brutality. It’s a well practiced style at this point, so perhaps a tad stale, but still delivering the goods.
Nebularis – Exodus
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5A short prog metal album that knows how to do spacey atmosphere, but technically it doesn’t quite hold up.
Rifforia – Axeorcism
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5You probably can’t get more on the nose than this. Riffs galore, at mid-tempo, thrash style with high pitched vocals straight out of the NWOBHM era.
Smorrah – Welcome To Your Nightmare
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Aggressive, dark-toned thrash that prefers a menacing groove over all-out speed. If you’re all about a badass riff, this’ll get your head banging.
Stiriah – Portal
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Like a downpour of needles, this stabs at you with cold, sharp riffs at a high and constant pace. There is a genre-suited atmosphere surrounding it all, although it doesn’t contain a ton of depth.
Stygian Crown – Funeral For A King
Genre: Doom/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A solid slab of doom that spins epic tales of greatness past. Traditional metal style vocals with a storytelling flair seem to command the tempo to pick up whenever it’s time to gallop to the next part of the journey. Thus, the album feels like it covers some significant ground, allowing for rousing riffage with a rumbling punch, as much as scene-setting atmosphere.
Toadliquor – Back In The Hole
Genre: Doom/sludge metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Slow, conceptual doom with the rough edges of sludge. It’s unsettling, though not really hostile, painting a picture of a system that’s slowly falling apart behind the scenes.
Toxikull – Under The Southern Light
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Mildly anthemic, let’s-have-a-good-time heavy metal with a positive, energetic attitude. You know, the kind that has to have the word “metal” in at least one of its track titles.
Traveler – Prequel to Madness
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is a band that is so in tune with their preferred branch of the metal tree that they know exactly where to stay in line and where to push things over the top, with the result setting off little fireworks of delight in your brain. Rapid where it counts, cheekily epic in tone, and impatient to flaunt its treasure trove of awesome guitar solos, this is a great example of good intentions coming to bountiful fruition.
Highlights: “Take the Wheel” and “Prequel to Madness”.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
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Weekly rundown February 16 – 2024
A week dominated by black- and doom metal, but not necessarily the kind that makes you want to crawl into a dark hole and hide from the world.
Acrid Death – Abominable Presence Of Blight
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Here’s some death metal with that über-crunchy guitar tone that I can’t get enough of. It sounds beefy as heck and, even though it could definitely go heavier on the grooves, it’s a raging thunderclap of an album.
Bloom – Maybe In Another Life
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Emotionally charged metalcore that, despite a clear presence of cleaner, melodic songs, also knows to go harsh and heavy without it feeling like a gimmick. Not terribly memorable, but several of the melodies hit quite well.
Cercenatory – GoreSphere
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Even though this sounds more or less like one continuous song, in the way that there’s little discernable variation in rhythm and tone, if you like what you’re hearing, there’s no reason not to keep the party going, right?
Darkspace – Dark Space – II
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Consisting of a single, 47 minute track, this isn’t the easiest album to speed review, but even as the usual black metal harshness gets muffled by a wall of darkly synthetic ambience, the core sensibility is there, and makes a mark.
Durbin – Screaming Steel
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5While Halford-esque vocals and tasty guitar solos certainly set the right kind of tone, this is much more an exercise in mimicking past glory than actually reviving it.
Elettra Storm – Powerlords
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5This one cuts straight to the core of what makes power metal a unique and viable subgenre, and basks in it. While not really approaching anything original, you get distinct vocals and tech-happy guitars, making for an altogether fun experience.
Eternal Storm – A Giant Bound to Fall
Genre: Progressive/melodic death/black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5An album that sounds ambitious in all the right ways – expansive, varied and technically competent, and yet the mixture of elements from black-, death-, and prog metal takes the form of a stationary maelstrom rather than a flowing current.
Far Beyond – The End Of My Road
Genre: Heavy/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Epic and darkly adventurous, this sounds like the meeting of traditional metal and Finnish melodeath. A little uneven, it still definitely gets you in the right mood.
Farsot – Life Promises Death
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Mildly progressive, moderately avant-garde, but riff-driven, modern black metal at its heart, this album has a clear direction in mind, but deftly navigates a changing landscape as it goes. Its realm is one of smog and sorrow, and yet it dares to dream beyond all this every now and then. It sounds mature and practiced, and at the same time light on its feet, which is an admirable thing to pull off.
Highlights: “Nausea” and “Chimera”.
Griffon – De Republica
Genre: Symphonic black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A dramatic and forceful gale of a conceptual black metal album. Borrowing more than a few elements from deathcore, this isn’t quite the album for entering a grimly medieval state of mind, but it’s also far from tacky, remaining tastefully dark and on theme throughout.
Ihsahn – Ihsahn
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5Ever industrious, here Ihsahn gives us an album that sounds like the product of years, even decades of reflection. Retaining a delicate but defining black metal edge, this plays like a highly ambitious theatrical play, very much driven by the musical flow, rather than any momentum-killing ambient- or spoken-word sections. It feels grand, allowing orchestral elements to elevate it to lofty heights, but never dominate, and never dictate the next, genre-bending turn of events.
Highlights: “TWICE BORN” and “PILGRIMAGE TO OBLIVION”.
Illumishade – Another Side Of You
Genre: Symphonic/modern heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Centered around accessible melodies and lyrics, you get a rich production with a vibrant use of modern instrumentation, with several highlights slightly drowning among more forgettable material.
In Autumn – What’s Done Is Done
Genre: Avant-garde doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Doom metal that sounds a bit torn between wanting to float in an ocean of genre-fluid atmosphere and rocking out with a mix of stoner, hardcore and blackened death metal .
Leah – The Glory And The Fallen
Genre: Symphonic/folk metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5This is wholly uncomplicated, epic symphonic metal with a folk flair. The melodies are clean and soothing, just not terribly original.
The Obsessed – Gilded Sorrow
Genre: Stoner/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Striking out from a core of groovy stoner, this is a mid-tempo, relaxed affair that still has a generous scoop of attitude.
Pestilength – Solar Clorex
Genre: Experimental doom/death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5This sounds like some horribly mutated, spliced-together, unholy form of life painfully flailing, crawling, charging and stumbling its way around the labyrinthine underground realm in which it was birthed, blind to the chaotic and darkly vivid spectacle that’s going on around it. This is experimental death doom that doesn’t just want to scare you or make your head spin, but take you to a place of grim wonder that you never knew you wanted to visit.
Highlights: “Occlusive” and “Verbalist Aphonee”
Ponte Del Diavolo – Fire Blades From The Tomb
Genre: Doom/black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5This is old school doom metal with a distinctly occult expression, utilizing select black metal elements to sharpen the musical blade edge. Combining a bewitching vocal style with a rhythmic instrumental progression, a threatening tone and alluringly sinister melodies, this hits the sweet spot for combining pleasing subgenre conventions with bucket loads of character.
Highlights: “Covenant” and “Nocturnal Veil”
Praise The Plague – Suffocating In The Current Of Time
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Combining a relatively straightforward black metal approach with a cavernous, deep backing atmosphere, verging on death doom, you get a dark and unsettling sound, that manages to be both jagged, melancholy and brutally heavy.
Profiler – A Digital Nowhere
Genre: Nu-metal/metalcore
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Well-produced, metalcore-tinged nu-metal with elements of djent, a bittersweet disposition, and several nods to pioneers of the subgenre like Linkin Park.
Sujin – Save Our Souls
Genre: Melodic death metal/metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5An eager and technically proficient young band with a penchant for speedy grooves. It’s fresh and suitably heavy, although a bit messy in places.
Thy Shining Curse – Theurgia
Genre: Symphonic death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Grandiose and aggressive symphonic death metal that’s unfortunately let down by a murky production, a choppy mix, and a few questionable songwriting decisions.
UKC – Coming Out – Love & Hate Diaries
Genre: Black/doom metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5A personal and melodically varied musical effort with elements of black-, doom- and folk metal, that never quite gets into a good rhythmical flow.
Vanir – Epitome
Genre: Melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Vanir is back with more rousing, heading-to-battle melodeath in the vein of Amon Amarth. It hits the spot well if you’ve got a craving for this brand of melodic brutality, but breaks virtually no new ground whatsoever.
Volucrine – ETNA
Genre: Metalcore/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2/5An odd combination of deathcore-style modern melodeath with a groovy hardrock approach, dipping into pop-oriented melodic sections, with transitions between the different styles that work rather poorly,
Witchorious – Witchorious
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is classic, stoner-leaning doom metal that foregoes the fuzz and chronic sluggishness, and gets creative with its rhythm work. There’s elements of punk and hard rock, but with the big, crunchy riff at the top of the priority list, and a pleasing tonal consistency.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
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Weekly rundown February 09 – 2024
This week some of the core elements of what makes metal great today – brutality, aggression, thematic confidence, stylistic refinement and innovation – gets into a fight over which one is more essential.
Alfahanne – Vår tid är nu
Genre: Black ‘n roll
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Should you feel like jumping excitedly up and down, or simply nod your head nonchalantly while staring into the floor? This is blackened rock that swings a bit back and forth between groove and nihilism.
All This Filth – Will Tomorrow Be Better?
Genre: Groove metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Vicious, rhythmic groove metal that mostly forgoes melody to deliver tight riffs and hardcore aggression.
Chapel Of Disease – Echoes Of Light
Genre: Progressive/black metal/rock
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5This is one of those albums that makes more and more sense the longer you listen to it. The juxtaposition of harsh, Tribulation-style vocals and optimistic, progressive hard rock can feel a bit off-putting at first, but it doesn’t take long before you naturally accept it as a deliberate style choice. It lends an edge to the otherwise fairly gentle, adventurous grooves, and matches the more intense sections very well. The compositions feel organic, and each track has plenty of character.
Highlight: “Selenophile”.
Contaminated – Celebratory Beheading
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Chaotic and hostile death metal with a speed demon drummer. Check it out if you like your death metal dirty and violent.
F.K.Ü. – The Horror And The Metal
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This one’s just a real good thrashing time. Precise, mid-tempo, mischievous and very headbanging-friendly. The songs are structured to get the most effect out of those tasty riffs, the production is crisp and punchy, and the vocal delivery matches the rhythms perfectly. Horns up!
Gurney – The Creeper (EP)
Genre: Doom/death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5An ominous, ponderous beast of a death doom record with elements of sludge and stoner.
Hulder – Verses In Oath
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Hulder’s latest offering is one of those records where it takes you mere seconds to realize that you’re onto pure quality (at least once you get past the intro). Here’s something for fans of most of the black metal spectrum. It’s grim, subtly yet distinctly melodic, controlled even at its most aggressive, with a light haze of mystical atmosphere. Its strength lies in the details, of which there are more than enough to mark it out as something special.
Highlights: “Hearken The End” and “Veil of Penitence”.
Infected Rain – Time
Genre: Nu metal/metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Infected Rain are back with their attention-catching mix of nu metal grooves and clean, melodic choruses, blending in a few, mildly dissonant djent sections here and there to maintain a sharp edge. TIME delivers admirably, but doesn’t quite take off.
In Vain – Back To Nowhere
Genre: Heavy/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A light-on-its-feet heavy metal album that scores big on fun and enthusiasm, weighing up for a non-negligible lack of originality.
The Last Ten Seconds Of Life – No Name Graves
Genre: Deathcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A super stompy, slamming deathcore record, which is right along the lines of what you’d expect from this band. Clenched-teeth aggression flares through on every level, from the beats to the brutal vocal delivery. If this is the kind of thing that gets you fired up you should grab this and jump straight into a heavy gym session.
Highlights: “Broken Glass Incantation” and “Feel My Fangs in You”
Morbid Saint – Swallowed By Hell
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Speed! Scorching the ground as it sets off, cutting through the air like a razor and radiating devilishly irreverent glee, this hits all the marks for an adrenaline-fueled thrash record. While the style feels old-school, it doesn’t shy away from a punchy, modern production, while stile retaining a cracked-leather, nail studded hide of raw, youthful aggression.
Highlights: “Burn Pit” and “Killer Instinct”.
Petrification – Sever Sacred Light
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Musty, subterranean death metal that works its way in and out of heavy, rhythmic grooves like a massive machine that hasn’t stopped running for centuries. It’s brutal, but not overly hostile, delivering crunchy riffs and guitar squeals aplenty.
Romuvos – Spirits
Genre: Folk metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Pagan, Baltic folk metal with a strong focus on mystical atmosphere and traditional instruments. Great if you’re looking for a non-Scandinavian folk mood, although the metal parts are fairly straightforward.
Spectral Voice – Sparagmos
Genre: Death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5A nightmarish death doom record that clings to you like clawed, skeletal fingers in the pitch black depths of oily quicksand. And, as the intensity builds, it takes the form of a hulking, cadaverous beast stalking you blindly through a dark, dead forest. There’s nothing even approaching hopeful or light-hearted on this record, its four, monumental tracks dropping onto you like the collapsing walls of a massive cave, promising to trap you, helpless against the lurking horrors of the deep.
Highlights: “Sinew Censer” and “Be Cadaver”.
Spiritual Deception – Semitae Mentis
Genre: Technical/atmospheric death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Tech death exploding with grandiose, dramatic atmosphere, eager to set off its fireworks display of brutal, tight instrumentality, not thinking overly hard about where they’re headed.
Where Oceans Burn – The Faces We Portray
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3/5Modern, mildly prog-infused metalcore that pendulums between technical harshness and pop-styled melody.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band or need to give an album another shot, do feel free to express yourself in the comments section below.
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The Metal Dispatch 