-
Weekly rundown May 10 – 2024
This week is all over the place, bringing nostalgia as well as fresh surprises – predictability on one side and untamed experimentation on the other. Test your palate, how much of it will be to your taste?
Belushi Speed Ball – Stellkira
Genre: Hardcore/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Some real speed freak crossover thrash that’s not holding back on the silliness. But it’s also got the energy and instrumental chops in case you really want to take it seriously.
Borer – Bag Seeker
Genre: Doom/sludge metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Near-funeral doom-tempo sludge that’s got the fuzz up to 11. There are moments you can really sink into on here, but it takes forever to get there.
Crownshift – Crownshift
Genre: Melodic death/progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5New Finnish supergroup Crownshift sets off with this self-titled release, which seems like an attempt to combine defining elements of their respective (former) bands (Nightwish, Children of Bodom, Wintersun). In many ways it works, producing a highly vibrant, precise and hard-hitting sound, and striking a good balance between melody and aggression. Overall though, some parts, or even whole songs, differ to such a degree that it’s hard to perceive a cohesive style.
Darkness Everywhere – To Conquer Eternal Damnation
Genre: Melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff, I can’t help it, and I don’t care. This is early In Flames and At the Gates brought back to life and whipped into present day shape with a crisp, full production. The main thing that differentiates this from its inspirations is the sheer precision of the instrumental performances, which makes it feel very direct and to the point, rather than fully organic. All the melody that you want is there, and the tone of everything is so specifically classic Gothenburg that it’s almost a bit over the top. It doesn’t take the style anywhere new at all, but the bliss you will feel as a fan of this sound is going to overpower any such concerns.
Highlights: “Retaliation” and “To Conquer Eternal Damnation”.
Dødsferd – Wrath
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A classic 90s style black metal record in pretty much every way but the production, which is actually quite decent. There is little to fault in thematic og technical approach, although large portions of the album end up feeling fairly interchangeable.
El Moono – The Waking Sun
Genre: Alternative/progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A mood-dominated sort of prog album that seems to exist in some space just outside of reality, It both is and isn’t heavy, borrowing as much from alternative rock as it does from doom-tinged progressive metal. Perhaps a tad bit too introspective and circling at times, it’s also really exciting in parts, and is never predictable.
Freedom Call – Silver Romance
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5This is the very essence of power metal right here. It’s an incredibly reassuring sound, leaning far into the magical, positive and colorful, all the while making all the right moves in order to avoid the valley of clichés and cheesiness. Everything works in perfect harmony, delivering strong, uplifting melodies, subtle but expertly executed rhythm transitions and exciting instrumental feats that don’t distract from the overall experience.
Highlight: “In Quest of Love”.
The Hazytones – Wild Fever
Genre: Stoner/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Mildly psychedelic stoner metal that will take you both in to the doomy gloom and the galloping plains of traditional heavy metal. Not incredibly varied, but solid.
Illusion of Fate – Portals to Kur
Genre: Black/death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Atmosphere-rich blackened death metal that doesn’t quite seamlessly meld the two subgenres, and struggles a bit with its rhythm precision.
Ivanhoe – Healed By The Sun
Genre: Melodic progressive metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Very classic prog metal that might as well have been made in the early 2000s considering the synth elements. It’s got some good grooves, but feels a bit like a repeat.
Like Moths To Flames – The Cycles Of Trying To Cope
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Quite mature-sounding modern metalcore, that’s brimming with aggression. They do well to let the energy bleed into the softer and more emotionally charged sections, which means the experience feels powerful throughout.
Machiavellian God – Beyond The Void
Genre: Melodic/symphonic death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Fairly dark, modern melodic death metal that tries to sound epic and bleak at the same time, and only partially succeeding.
Anette Olzon – Rapture
Genre: Symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Anthemic symphonic metal executed pretty much exactly how you’d expect. There’s grandeur, but it’s mostly from backing effects rather than any effectively rousing melodies. It is very catchy though, thanks to its straightforward rhythms.
Paradox Rift – Ensnared
Genre: Groove/death/progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5This one might be a case of one too many tricks in one bag. It’s trying to be groove, tech death and progressive, and adding a fair dose of mathcore complexity on top of that. It sounds good piece by piece, but struggles a bit to get anywhere of note.
Powerman 5000 – Abandon Ship
Genre: Industrial metal/alternative hard rock
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Wait, what year is it again? This feels weird, like I should be downloading this to my mp3-player. They make it work though, filling it with dance beats and a metric shit ton of too-cool-for-school alt-attitude. But I can’t for the life of me figure out what it’s actually for.
Primitive Warfare – Extinction Protocol
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Hey, I’m a death metal fan all day long, but this one runs me out of the room with a bayonet while firing on full auto. It’s an incredibly harsh and hostile album, but for those that can get with the brutality, it really delivers.
Red Rot – Borders Of Mania
Genre: Experimental sludge/death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A brutal and atmosphere-rich blend of “clean” sludge and death, with a hint of progressive black metal in the style of Ihsahn. It keeps impressing with expert transitions between rhythms and different levels of intensity, offering some really chunky riffs coated in a bitter tone. It could do with a bit of trimming down, but is for the most part commendably engaging considering the somewhat limited melodic range.
Highlight: “Not in Control”.
Sarcoughagus – Remnants
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A fairly small serving of evil-as-can-be, oldschool brutal death metal. The tone is right where you want it, the vocals are spot on and it’s got some great riffs, but it really doesn’t bring much new to the table.
Six Feet Under – Killing For Revenge
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Let’s get it out of the way immediately – this album has a bunch of failings. It’s highly uneven, the flow is dismal, and the vocals really just aren’t up to snuff. But if you just want some banging, thrash-infused riffs and evil groove, then this should provide a solid serving.
Syk – eartHFlesh
Genre: Progressive death/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A forceful, well-produced blackened death metal album that’s all in on those proggy odd rhythms. But on here the rhythm shifts do serve a purpose, as they abruptly steer the intensity in new directions, and the band’s performances follow these cues perfectly. A bit monotone in its dramatically dark tone, perhaps, but the rest is varied enough to make it interesting.
Svneatr – Never Return
Genre: Black/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5This album gets off to an incredibly good start, with some nice and sharpened black metal atop some epic riffage in the style of Abbath, and added some heavy metal flair. Then, on the third song, it all kind of falls apart, with stumbling songwriting, misplaced dissonance and some terribly off-key clean-ish vocals. Unfortunately, it never really gets completely back on its feet, but there’s real promise here.
Unleash The Archers – Phantoma
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Time for a cosmic adventure! As is their strength, Unleash the Archers very successfully blends the epic scale and light-heartedness of power metal with a serious attitude to crafting solid melodies of a kind of cinematic quality. Some of the rhythms on here are perhaps overly accessible, but still not overused, and it all ties in to the fun, sci-fi theme. You get hints of a heavier approach in some of the more forceful peaks, and it remains just enough to invoke a shadow of gravitas that elevates the experience a good notch.
Highlights: “Blood Empress” and “Green & Glass”.
Vaticinal Rites – Cascading Memories Of Immortality
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A wicked mix of old school, jagged death metal, some thrash and modern technicality. The intentions are good, and the performances really promising, although the rhythms get really rather clunky at times, harming the flow.
Warlord – Free Spirit Soar
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Epic heavy metal with mild storytelling-prog ambitions, this is light-hearted, adventure-calling kind of stuff.
Waste – In Bloom
Genre: Deathcore/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A short, 7-song album that still leaves absolute wreckage in its wake. It’s got all of the brutality of deathcore, with the rhythmic beatdown-approach of hardcore. All the energy and violence you could want is there, although it doesn’t have a ton more tricks up its sleeve.
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?
albums, black metal, crownshift, darkness everywhere, death metal, el moono, freedom call, grindcore, groove metal, like moths to flames, metal, metal albums out this week, new metal releases, new releases, overview, powerman 5000, primitive warfare, progressive metal, red rot, review, six feet under, svneatr, syk, thrash metal, unleash the archers, waste -
Weekly rundown May 03 – 2024
I’ll be upfront – this is far from the most content-rich week you’ll come across this year… but wait! There are a few titles that will make it more than worth your while.
Brume – Marten
Genre: Doom/folk rock/metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Here’s one to really sink into. Building very slowly through balmy, sorrow-tinged melodies, accompanied by sublime vocals, it eventually arrives at passing moments approaching metal heaviness. And while these are not unwelcome or jarring in any way, it’s definitely the journey that counts the most on this one.
Deliria – Phantasm
Genre: Avant-garde black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Distinctly non-traditional, modern black metal with influxes of modern, acoustic folk.
Dååth – The Deceivers
Genre: Progressive/symphonic death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5This is a lively one. Comfortably straddled across progressive-, symphonic- and technical death metal, and featuring a ton of guest performers, it feels like an all-guns-blazing kind of album, shaking off dust and breaking new ground at the same time. It’s distinctly modern, but not in a limiting sort of fashion. The technicality is not in your face, the rhythm gymnastics are not at all obnoxious, and the grandeur of the symphonic parts serve to elevate the melodies. Highly enjoyable from start to finish.
Highlights: “Ascension” and “With Ill Desire”.
From Dying Suns – Calamity
Genre: Progressive thrash/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Okay, so it’s a bit messy and uneven, and the progressive part of this project doesn’t serve a ton of purpose. But when the grooves hit, they’re really on point. It’s a spritely collection of songs, lacking cohesion, but making up for it with guts. And that album cover.
Ghost On Mars – Out Of Time And Space
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5If you like melodic and atmosphere-rich prog, then you should check this one out. The band uses a lot of sci-fi references in their music, although it doesn’t really sound particularly spacey.
Gothminister – Pandemonium II – Battle Of The Underworlds
Genre: Industrial/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Hey, if you really like early 2000s techno and don’t mind the anthemic, rhyme-bound vocals, Gothminister can be a really good time. The album is pretty interchangeable with earlier stuff, but it doesn’t sound tired, either.
My Silent Wake – Lost In Memories, Lost In Grief
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5In the same vein as My Dying Bride, this is gloomy, lamenting doom with the silver lining of a soothing quality to the melodies. The intensity picks up now and then with some death metal anger, but it never flies off the handle.
Notsm – Only Death Brings Silence
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5A small metalcore project flapping its wings, deciding on a course to take. There’s both old-school and modern metalcore in here, as well as some prog exploration. It’s got some heft, but doesn’t really land anywhere.
P.O.D. – Veritas
Genre: Nu/rap metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 2/5Even though I have close to zero relationship with P.O.D., I was kind of excited for a revival of the early 2000s rap metal sound. But honestly, this album feels like the definition of the term “lackluster”. Not at one point did I feel more than a blip of infectious energy. And with lyrics like “We’re going straight to the top. Now let the whole world drop. Don’t ever play with fire cuz you might get burned! If you play with fire you’re gonna get burned!” (and no, the vocal delivery does not make up for it – if anything it makes it worse), on the opening track, you should know what you’re in for from the get-go.
Severed Angel – Skyward
Genre: Symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Bright and colorful symphonic metal with some playful, prog-style instrumental work. The vocal harmonies need some work though.
Terminal Nation – Echoes Of The Devil’s Den
Genre: Death metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5So THIS is where all that energy that was missing on the new P.O.D. album went! Cause it’s certainly in no short supply on here. You know that when even the interlude is cool, you’ve got greatness in your ears (okay, the interlude is still a little long). These riffs are so fucking crunchy, and the beats so goddamn heavy, and the vocals just the peak of badassery. And it just keeps giving, and giving, and giving. It’s got a bunch of guest artists as well, who really don’t overstay their welcome, and considering the theme, I was almost surprised not to see Body Count among them. It’s a pure ripper, through and through, and almost single-handedly redeemed this whole week.
Highlights: “Merchants of Bloodshed” and “Release the Serpents”.
Thin Ice – A Matter Of Time
Genre: Hardcore/hard rock
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Highly headbang-able, riff-happy hardcore, that’s got a decent amount of hard rock groove to it. You can definitely rock out to this one.
Unearthly Rites – Ecdysis
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Ungodly heavy, moldy death metal emerging from some abandoned, toxic sewer. Don’t expect to find any happiness on here, but plenty of doom-tempo riffs and squealy anti-harmony.
The Watchers – Nyctophilia
Genre: Stoner rock/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Remember the coolest riffs out of Ghost’s “Infestissumam” and “Meliora”? Their brothers and sisters all live on here, and probably outnumber them. This album is really cool when it’s sinister, but it’s also got plenty of high-spirited soul to go with it. The style is definitely groovy stoner rock, but with heavy metal riffs and solos that’s definitely worthy of your horns raised high.
Highlight: “Garden Tomb”.
Wheel – Charismatic Leaders
Genre: Progressive metal/hard rock
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5It’s clear at this point that Finnish band Wheel have their gazes firmly fixed forward, and at a steep ascent. Their debut album, “Moving Backwards”, really stuck with me when it came out back in 2019, but I would hardly describe it as expansive. “Charismatic Leaders”, while lacking a bit of the punch, has all of that conceptual and atmospheric space that the debut was lacking. While testing your patience a bit at times, they lure you in with beautiful instrumental tones, an excellent vocal performance, and sublime melodies, then slowly build to triumphant peaks. It sounds great, and offers a huge, varied and brain-tickling soundcape to get lost in.
Highlights: “Empire” and “The Freeze”.
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?
-
Weekly rundown April 26 – 2024
A week for the slightly weird and unpredictable, inevitably dividing opinions, as the traditional gives way for the experimental and eccentric.
Accept – Humanoid
Genre: Heavy metal/hard rock
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Licks on licks on licks! Accept delivers another attitude-flaunting, uncomplicated heavy metal record mostly built around hard rock rhythms.
ACxDC – G.O.A.T.
Genre: Powerviolence
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Spitting bile and pounding out heavy riffs like a rain of anvils.
Amiensus – Reclamation: Part 1
Genre: Progressive black metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A bold attempt at melding black metal with much softer, clean melodic prog. The musicianship is clearly very accomplished, and the album feels like a complete work, although for some the juxtaposition of styles will feel like an unwelcome clash.
Arð – Untouched By Fire
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Restrained and ponderous doom with an awe-inspiring, epic tone. Labeled as “monastic doom” it feels properly medieval, but you need patience for this one.
Barbarian Swords – Fetid
Genre: Black/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Undead, dirt-slow black metal with the scope of epic doom. It feels like being part of an adventure in a dying, festering land. At its best it’s a snarling, hostile beast covered in venomous thorns, but it also does get fairly sluggish at times.
Baron – Beneath The Blazing Abyss
Genre: Death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A thunderous death doom album that’s all about apocalyptically heavy, at times hardcore-styled, rhythms and that awesome crunchy guitar tone. The tempo is suitably restrained, but never comes to a stall. I’d imagine this would work perfectly as the soundtrack to an erupting volcano.
Cypecore – Make Me Real
Genre: Metalcore/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5I remember this band from an earlier chapter in their career when they were more industrial melodeath. On this one they’ve steered well into metalcore and deathcore territory, and, while it feels impactful, it’s also robbed some identity.
Darkness – Blood On Canvas
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Old-school, gruff thrash metal that feels just as unpolished and rowdy as it should. It’s got some real tasty riffs and good tempo variation.
Darkthrone – It Beckons Us All
Genre: Black/psychedelic metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 4/5Welcome to another album that makes it abundantly clear that Darkthrone is not bound by any one style, and will do pretty much whatever the hell they please at any time. The primitive riffs are definitely in place, with a crisp production highlighting the introduction of fuzz and psychedelic tone-bending. Personally, the conceptual and stylistic treatment of the album gave me very little, but it’s a solid and committed effort that will definitely find its audience.
Highlight: “The Lone Pines of the Lost Planet”
Deicide – Banished By Sin
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Deicide is definitely on the attack on this one. The tone is just the way we like it, and the punch is all there. But at the end of the album, I had already kind of forgotten what I thought about it.
Diamond Construct – Angel Killer Zero
Genre: Nu/industrial metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Highly processed, heavy-rhythm nu metal that’s all beats and mildly dissonant artificial ambience.
Disbelief – Killing Karma
Genre: Groove/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A rough-toned groove metal offering that will bring to mind Kataklysm and Devil Driver, but with some added death metal heft and sludge coarseness. The first half of the album is a blood-pumping output of rage and great riffs. The energy wanes in the second half, which makes for a slightly lackluster finish, although technically it holds up well all the way through.
Full Of Hell – Coagulated Bliss
Genre: Grindcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5As grindcore goes, I don’t suppose this should be considered particularly unhinged. Maybe a bit eccentric. On here is everything from a 56-second all-out rampage to a 6+ minute dip into crawling death doom, oppressive noise and hard rock grooves. The impressive part is that, rather than feeling disjointed, it all adds up to welcome variation that keeps you engaged throughout. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all very hostile indeed. Harsh and fairly dissonant at times, but it’s not an all-out firestorm that wears you down after half its runtime. You could almost call it progressive, but you don’t get the impression that it’s being technical just for the sake of it.
Highlights: “Transmuting Chemical Burns” and “Coagulated Bliss”.
Hacavitz – Muerte
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Murky, atmosphere-rich black metal that sounds like it’s coming through a fog as thick as soup. They’ve gone a little aboard with the echo-effects, but the riffs and tone hit the sweet spot.
Hellish Torment – Hellish Torment
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2/5A purposefully (I hope) helter-skelter black metal album that’s got the disorderly nature of grindcore and punk, and a bit of brutal death metal heaviness. It’s a bit of a mess.
Inter Arma – New Heaven
Genre: Experimental/sludge metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5For someone not familiar with this band, this is gonna be a difficult album to wrap one’s head around. It’s unsettling in its bleak tone and dissonant, violent attack, but in between all that it takes hard turns into territories of soulful, contemplative melody, proving that there are many facets to this band’s personality. There’s a lot of sludge in here, some black metal, a bit of doom, but none of it’s laid out in a predictable manner. A trip out of anyone’s comfort zone, for sure, and definitely in a purposeful way.
Highlight: “Desolation’s Harp”
Morgul Blade – Heavy Metal Wraiths
Genre: Heavy/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Full-on medieval fantasy from a ringwraith’s perspective. It’s got all the energy and melody of an epic heavy metal project, and added to that the sharp blade edge and dry snarls of black metal, with a rad guitar tone. The first half of the album is definitely the strongest, but there are cool moments littered across the whole thing.
Ou – 蘇醒 II: Frailty
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 4/5A wildly creative album that feels like it’s been born in some ethereal space up in the clouds. Particularly thanks to a truly outstanding vocal performance, the music has a shifting personality, that’s never outright hostile, but also far from balmy. Being co-produced by Devin Townsend, this definitely has his signature written all over it, which in itself is a stamp of quality, but also moors the whole thing in a very specific sonic territory.
Party Cannon – Injuries Are Inevitable
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5From a purely subjective standpoint, the musical merit of this kind of stuff is pretty much completely lost on me. But if slamming brutality is your thing, there can be little doubt that you’re gonna get your fill here.
Exhumation – Master’s Personae
Genre: Blackened death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A very interesting and spirited blackened death project that incorporated some speed metal and a bit of sludge, for a chaotic experience that’s bound together by creepily mystical atmosphere.
Stormborn – Zenith
Genre: Power/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5A project that combines the eager gallop of classic heavy metal with the high-reaching grandeur of power metal. At it’s best it’s epic fun, but it also har some moments where the harmony simply falls flat.
Tombstoner – Rot Stink Rip
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5The band name and album art might lead you to think that this is gonna be a heavily stoner-leaning thing, but it’s really not. What you get is mostly old-school death metal mixed with a bit of hardcore and groove. What’s abundantly clear is that these guys dig their riffs, so when this rips, it really rips.
Vesperian Sorrow – Awaken The Greylight
Genre: Symphonic black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A majestic, frigid storm surge of a symphonic black metal album, unfortunately a little too uneven to leave a lasting impression, but certainly forceful enough to whish you away for a while.
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?
albums, amiensus, arð, barbarian swords, baron, black metal, darkthrone, death metal, disbelief, full of hell, grindcore, groove metal, inter arma, metal, metal albums out this week, morgul blade, new metal releases, new releases, ou, overview, party cannon, progressive metal, review, thrash metal, tombstoner -
Weekly rundown April 19 – 2024
Set aside some time. Seriously. This week is absolutely packed.
Antichrist Siege Machine – Vengeance Of Eternal Fire
Genre: Blackened death metal/grindcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Rarely do you hear music that so thoroughly lives up to its name. This album is nothing but fiery, hateful rage, to the degree that you start to feel sorry for the instrumental hardware that went into making this. The tone is all the way blackened death, but the intensity comes from grindcore and the angriest hardcore imaginable. If you can make it through extended waves of utter pummeling, you get rewarded with some slightly more reigned-in, ultra heavy riff sections that will make you start a pit wherever you might find yourself at the time.
Highlights: “Prey Upon Them” and “”Vanquishing Spirit”.
Ater – Somber
Genre: Progressive/black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5An album that cloaks itself in the bleakness of black- and gothic metal, but plays like fairly straightforward, djent-form, modern prog.
Atræ Bilis – Aumicide
Genre: Technical death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5You gotta love technical metal that knows how to be so selectively. This is tech death that isn’t just trying to impress or overwhelm you. And it adds elements like dissonance, pauses, and tonal shifts, not just to seem progressive or stylistically up to date, but to craft music that is equally forceful and flexible. Even though this incorporates a good deal of different influences, it feels like a unified style that the whole band stands firmly behind, and the result feels both mature and highly convincing.
Highlights: “Salted In Stygia” and “Excruciate Incarnate”.
Balance Of Power – Fresh From The Abyss
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Heavy metal that sounds like a blend of modern and classic. It needs a fuller production and perhaps a bit more thought put into the lyrics.
Blaze Of Perdition – Upharsin
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5This is black metal that both spits bile at you and seeks to hypnotizes you with its sweeping, melancholic melodies. The production on this album is excellent, allowing for the band’s unique blend of powerful aggression and distinctly-toned atmosphere to shine through in equal measure. Each song stands as an individual statement, living in the same space as the others but fulfilling a different role.
Highlight: “Młot, miecz i bat” and “W kwiecie rozłamu”
Blazing Eternity – A Certain End Of Everything
Genre: Gothic/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5A mellow, dark gothic metal album that mostly travels at doom tempo. It sets aside heaviness and overt harshness for emotionally charged melodies that feels calming, even with the sadness inherent.
Dvne – Voidkind
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5If you got into Dvne with their stellar 2021 release, “Etemen Ænka”, then don’t worry, you’re in very good hands. This is prog metal meant to fill your consciousness. Not in the way that it feels overly complicated or busy, but in that it’s compelling. The album flows effortlessly between atmosphere-rich melodic sections and hard-hitting highs of intensity. The rhythm work is exceptional, but doesn’t try to shove it down your throat. Personally I found it to be an overall less engaging experience this time around, but that doesn’t mean that the band has lost any of its songwriting touch.
Highlight: “Reliquary”
Folterkammer – Weibermacht
Genre: Operatic black/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5How to make German, operatic, dominatrix-themed black metal as un-tacky as possible? Whatever the exact recipe, Foltenkammer seems to have found it. Even though the song titles and lyrics are pretty straight to the point, there is such a level of confidence, conviction and proficiency in both vocal- and instrumental delivery that any flippant attitude towards it is instantly strangled. It’s fairly dramatic as black metal goes, with a stunning vocal performance switching between snarls and pure opera, and an overall solemn tone, but the rhythms play a big role in alternating between different moods, which shows a very flexible approach to the genre that feels highly refreshing.
Highlights: “Algolagnia” and “Anno Domina”.
The Ghost Inside – Searching For Solace
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Rhythmic modern metalcore that does a great job of balancing beat-heavy aggression and emotionally charged melody, although generally shying away from riff-led grooves.
Haunted – Stare At Nothing
Genre: Doom/stoner metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Doom metal with classic female vocals and stoner-styled rhythms, but with a heavy and punchy bass end that beautifully contrasts the more serene melodies.
High on Fire – Cometh the Storm
Genre: Sludge metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5One thing’s for sure, you’re gonna struggle to find meatier sludge metal than this. High On Fire’s newest instantly gets into the groove, and never skips out of it for the duration of the album. It feels music that would be able to shake a building off its foundation, like if you heard it live you would be constantly struggling not to get pushed away from the stage by the shockwaves emitted from the speakers. The rhythms on here vary just enough to keep it interesting all the way through, and every now and then the band explores some darker, more sinister moods that fit them really well.
Highlights: “Lambsbread” and “Cometh The Storm”.
In Vain – Solemn
Genre: Progressive/melodic death/black metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5A masterclass in balancing a progressive and melodic approach to modern extreme metal. The overall impression you get is that of blackened melodeath, although adhering to no real genre conventions, and neither trying to sound old-school nor being bound to tropes of the zeitgeist. It’s a fairly clean sound, rich and detailed but not overly heavy, allowing the melody to guide the flow as it swells into triumphant highs or gently trickles down the snaking path left by the vivid rhythms.
Highlights: “Season of Unrest” and “Where the Winds Meet”.
Lightworker – How The Beautiful Decay
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5An engaging meld of old school and modern metalcore, incorporating both heavy rhythms and guitar-led grooves. The melodic sections are well ingrained with the rest, although the choruses don’t quite elevate the songs as well as they should.
Maere – …And The Universe Keeps Silent
Genre: Experimental death metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3/5Very dissonant death metal that does a good job of invoking unease and a feeling of misery, although can come off as very clunky if you don’t “get” it.
My Dying Bride – A Mortal Binding
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5No one makes doom quite like My Dying Bride, and if their style speaks to you, then this album will feel like an embrace. The folk-tinged tone defines the experience, and while not being as abjectly miserable as on some earlier work, it’s certainly austere. While lacking that expansive feeling that might have elevated the album, the rhythms do a great job of keeping it moving, so it never becomes bogged down.
Nocturna – Of Sorcery And Darkness
Genre: Symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Female-fronted symphonic metal with a gothic feel, some power metal galloping speed, and plenty of fun, virtuosic guitar escapades.
Oak, Ash & Thorn – Our Grief Is Thus
Genre: Folk/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5If you like the idea of folk-y melodic black metal going down a heavy/power metal path, then you should really check this out. You get a little bit of everything on here, and yet it doesn’t feel silly or half-hearted in any way. It’s full of life and delivers both thundering aggression as well as soaring epicness. Ever so slightly uneven in quality, perhaps, but a lot of fun.
Opium Death – Genocidal Nemesis
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2/5Not-quite-mature death metal combining melody and some hardcore savagery, suffering from a sub-par production.
Praying Mantis – Defiance
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Jazzed up, classic NWOBHM of the melodic and slightly anthemic kind. It’s got a real positive vibe over it that makes this a good time to listen to.
Satanic North – Satanic North
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5It’s a safe bet that when the Finns try their hand at classic black metal, it’s not gonna be quite as stone-faced as with their Scandinavian cousins to the west. Satanic North jump face-first into the fray with this one, fully embracing the hallmarks of the genre, and if it wasn’t for their obvious enthusiasm, it would probably sound completely interchangeable with its influences. Instead, it’s just really engaging, full of hissing aggression, while being as serious as black metal with a sense of irony can be.
Selbst – Despondency Chord Progressions
Genre: Black/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5This album spans the realms of atmospheric and depressive black metal, as well as doom, and really only uses the minimum of what it needs from the different styles in order to craft its musical journey as intended. As you can expect, it’s a melancholy one, but not truly miserable. There is life and energy in the melodies, more than enough to grab a hold of you and force a reaction, and they get to be the guiding force of the music. The rest, while powerful in their own right, play more supporting roles, with highlights being the sweetly bitter tremolo and agonized vocals. The progression feels completely organic, and deeply arresting in the sincerity of its drama.
Highlights: “Chant of Self Confrontation” and “Stench of a Dead Spirit”.
SRD – Vragvmesiton
Genre: Black/folk metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5It’s bands like this that contribute to showcasing the versatility of black metal. You can try to pinpoint all the different elements that add to the standard sound – “is that gang vocals?” – “that almost definitely qualifies as folk” – but in the end it’s musicians making music the way they want to, and that sentiment is abundantly clear on this album. It’s a great mix of tasty tremolo, clear-cut rhythms, rusty vocals, and warm melodies.
Tomorrow’s Rain – Ovdan
Genre: Avant-garde doom/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is a band that don’t care too much about staying in a lane. It blends the darkness of black metal with the haunting, slow torment of sullen doom, and gives it a gothic makeover. It’s a little all over the place, but scores big on atmosphere.
Uragh – Maelstrom
Genre: Groove/alternative metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5An aggressive meld of groove, prog and alternative metal that unfortunately falls a bit between all of those chairs.
Vanden Plas – The Empyrean Equation Of The Long Lost Things
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A fresh serving of highly melodic, classic prog metal from these German veterans. No new tricks, really, but great if you like to get lost in vibrant instrumental escapades and colorful atmosphere.
Verikalpa – Tuomio
Genre: Folk metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5How about some rowdy Finnish folk with Children of Bodom vibes? It’s a great, cave-dancing, accordion playing, upbeat time that also has cool riffs.
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?
albums, antichrist siege machine, atræ bilis, black metal, blaze of perdition, death metal, dvne, folterkammer, grindcore, groove metal, high on fire, in vain, lightworker, metal, metal albums out this week, my dying bride, new metal releases, new releases, oak ash & thorn, overview, progressive metal, review, satanic north, selbst, srd, the ghost inside, thrash metal, tomorrow’s rain, verikalpa -
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?
-
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?
albums, alpha wolf, austere, black metal, death metal, diabolic oath, erra, grindcore, groove metal, horndal, ingested, iron monkey, korpiklaani, locrian, metal, metal albums out this week, new metal releases, new releases, overview, progressive metal, review, temple of the fuzz witch, thrash metal, trocar, witch vomit -
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?
above aurora, albums, black metal, boundaries, cantique lépreux, child, coffin storm, coffins, death metal, givre, glyph, grindcore, groove metal, kólga, metal, metal albums out this week, new metal releases, new releases, overview, progressive metal, review, suffer, the absence, thrash metal, verwoed, vorga, wristmeetrazor -
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?
albums, altar of betelgeuze, apparition, avralize, black metal, brodequin, civerous, death metal, deception, fall of serenity, grindcore, groove metal, hamferð, hammer king, hideous divinity, keygen church, khold, metal, metal albums out this week, new metal releases, new releases, overview, progressive metal, review, the wizards, thrash metal -
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?
aborted, albums, black metal, brat, death metal, defect designer, dragonforce, grindcore, groove metal, leather lung, metal, metal albums out this week, nastergal, necrophobic, new metal releases, new releases, overview, prisoner, progressive metal, review, shock withdrawal, thrash metal, udåd, vltimas, weston super maim -
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?
