Deströyer 666 - Never Surrender
Review by AndyMetalFreak

7.9

Here is Never Surrender, the sixth release by the blackened thrash act Deströyer 666, which yet again provides us with more stellar headbanging material, with some of the catchiest riffs and tastiest guitar leads you'll hear this year. So Never Surrender seems a fitting album title, I say, as the beastly wolves certainly have no indication of surrendering their devastatingly ferocious bite just yet.

Read more ››

Monolithe - Kosmodrom
Review by musclassia

7.8

It’s unfortunate that Monolithe have become lodged in my head as ‘the band that does weird stuff with their song lengths’. Admittedly, the extent to which they have placed patterns in their track lengths on each album does mean that they have no one else but themselves to blame for that, but nevertheless, the consistent quality of their music across records, including this one, does make anything that draws attention away from said music an unnecessary distraction.

Read more ››

De-Solación - Necro-Misterio
Review by X-Ray Rod

9.0

One of the murkiest, deadliest rituals of the year.

Read more ››

Mournument - Smouldering Into Dust
Review by BitterCOld

7.8

Amusingly, I fired Smouldering Into Dust up for another round while typing the review and midway through the opening track, “On Rain And Thunder” a freak hail & thunderstorm set off, killing our power. Talk about setting the mood.

Read more ››

Jordfäst - Av Stoft
Review by Netzach

8.5

Another day, another black metal album with disturbing lyrical content recommended by Nejde. Jordfäst plays a stripped-down, thrashy sort of Viking black - sort of as if Moonsorrow copulated with Watain. Despite the vast lengths, these two songs are mostly riffs upon riffs upon riffs upon excellent vocal delivery.

Read more ››

(EchO) - Witnesses
Review by AndyMetalFreak

7.5

So this here is the Italian doom metal band (EchO), bringing to you their fourth release, Witnesses, one that features a guest list of artists from bands such as Draconian, Evoken and October Tide. Witnesses is as you might have guessed by now, a pandemic-influenced release, which in turn means a hard-hitting ride of emotional discomfort that hopefully the listener will look back at and remember. This should paint a picture of what this atmospheric doom metal band has in store for you.

Read more ››

Witcher - Lélekharang
Review by Netzach

8.5

The soul bell is chiming, accompanied by melody-driven, cosily atmospheric black metal. With relatively long songs built by just a few different sections each, this is music that lives or dies by the quality of its melodies.

Read more ››

Incantvm - Strigae
Review by musclassia

7.8

On 18th November, I, Voidhanger Records, purveyors of all things esoteric and unconventional, dropped a trio of records, all of which were the debut offerings of the respective bands. Unsurprisingly, all 3 albums are maddening, chaotic exhibitions of avant-garde extremity, but you can trust the one masterminded by a clarinetist to be the most intriguing.

Read more ››