Reviews

A very enjoyable melodic black metal experience with a fantastic sound that sadly offers nothing new in this saturated genre.

If Apes are really this savage, then we humans are all in big trouble, and I don't suspect they'll show any signs of Penitence towards us either.

As numerous as the melodic black and melodic death metal bands of the world are, the overlap between the two styles has not been explored as extensively as one might anticipate. Albums as mesmerizing as…

I'd go to church if this was the sermon.

How about some epic heavy/power metal with strong black metal sensibilities?

Is Kamelot not prog enough for your tastes? Try Sunburst!

To the surprise of probably not that many people, an 8-year gap and almost complete overhaul of the band’s membership since II has had a fairly dramatic impact upon the sound of Vale Of Pnath.

First, they signed with Blue Swan Records and became part of the ‘Swancore’ math/post-hardcore subgenre, and now they’ve hopped aboard the Djent Express; Eidola clearly aren’t afraid of dabbling with divisive…

It is commendable that Full Of Hell keeps reinventing itself by adding outside influences to their grindcore formula. Still, the new sounds have to make sense, and Coagulated Bliss shows a band losing…

With The Return Of Tomorrow, Fu Manchu sound as if they're already a step ahead. So does this mean they know exactly what you want from this album?

Legend has it, The Watcher has returned with one of his most epically ambitious releases yet.

Thanatotherion is the black metal project of one Shelby Lermo, known for his work in Vastum and Ulthar. Knowing this was enough to make me want to check it out so that's what I'm putting out…

You'll rarely find a more fitting band name.

1h45 of DSBM is the equivalent of that 7h30 Hungarian movie that begins with a long 10-minute shot of cows, just cows. At the beginning I'm intrigued, after a certain moment I'm doubtful, in…

On debut album Meridian, Hippotraktor occasionally gave off the slight sense of being ‘Psychonaut but different’. Stasis accomplishes the goal of establishing this band as its own unique and flourishing…

Candy find new electronic genres to inject into their hardcore mix.

Yes, this is still Cloven Hoof, only they've developed a sudden urge of power after 45 years.

The Star from Wormwood is one of the brightest to shine this year.

With their best work to date, Darkened have solidified their position at the head of the modern death metal pack, presenting equal amounts of atmospheric melody and addictively fun heaviness.

By this point in time, the idea of adding keyboards and synths to blackened metal is one that has been thoroughly explored across multiple decades; despite this, there’s something about Maladomini’s self-described…

Progressive stoner metal with sludge, grunge and post-metal influences: Those We Knew really feels like an album purpose-built for my tastes.

There can only be one 'one and only', and my money is on Chesney Hawkes.

How do you get into gravity?

Riot V is the same band as Riot, yes. The classic Riot, known from albums such as Fire Down Under, Narita, and ThunderSteel, come from the vast American heavy metal and power metal scene. Riot was one…

Khirki solidify themselves as the torchbearers of the Greek metal/rock scene.

Attracted by the cover, I decided to get into this band, unaware of the battalion that awaited me. And I was not disappointed.

Maybe the most important element of Viking metal is indeed the guitar solo.

Back in the 90s, "scientists" created the worst song in the world deliberately. In 2024, Four Stroke Baron attempt to do the same for metal.

It's easy to forget that Thou didn't build their name on collaborations and covers and general detours. Thou built their name on slabs of nasty sludge. In our defense it's been six years…

Do you suffer from the urge to be crushed to metaphorical death by some suffocating, sludgy, doom metal? 9 out of 10 doctors recommend Zolfo!…

Get ready to embark on an 80-minute epically atmospheric journey to uncover Iceland's troubling and uncertain past as if you were really there.

How melodic can raw black metal be before it's no longer "raw"?

After a promising debut album, Huntsmen made a big change for their second record, one that didn’t necessarily pay off. For album number three, they’ve made another big change, but this time, it definitely…

With a lengthy streak of consistently impressive albums, Evergrey have increasingly been giving off the impression of being evergreen. However, nothing lasts forever, and with Theories Of Emptiness, there…

Æthĕrĭa Conscĭentĭa set out to create ‘a great 44-minute acid trip infused with science fiction, black metal and progressive rock’ on The Blossoming, and my word did they accomplish it.

Following the success of post-metal, post-hardcore, post-black metal, progressive post-metal and more, it was only a matter of time before more metal genres started trying to ‘post’ things up; however,…

Pentagram Chile returns a decade after the release of their debut album. Despite the busy schedule of their founder, these South American pioneers stayed focused and released another powerful and rifftastic…

Bands such as Elder, Weedpecker and especially Mastodon have done a lot to inspire a growing number of bands into combining stoner and progressive rock elements. Guenna aren’t pioneers of such a fusion,…

Of all the various bands with ‘bong’ in their name, Bongripper are the one that have managed to record music that sounds as filthy as dirty bong water. Despite its name, Empty is full to the brim with…

What more can be said other than this is The Troops Of Doom performing top quality old-school thrash/death?

Lost for words, but still managing to write a review.

Nocturnus AD rise once more to give us another showcase of technical death mastery.

Reign Of Suffering is the metalcore equivalent of a good Bordeaux.

The black metal plant worshippers Botanist have travelled back to the Jurassic period to become Palaeobotanists; with this comes a slight change in their music style.

Rotting Christ return with at least one (and only one) new riff, one less number of new ideas than riffs, and, shit, we're already in the negative numbers. Does a recycled riff or lyric count as -1…

When reviewing debuts of bands previously covered in Clandestine Cuts, I may have voiced my impatience once or twice (or thrice) for one particular Clandestine Cuts bands to make the same leap; finally,…

Between the likes of Wayfarer, Allegaeon, Blood Incantation and Dreadnought, Denver is arguably one of the most exciting metal cities around right now. Abrams are another band from the city that show some…

A prog thrash band with influences of Death and Vektor. Sounds like a match made in heaven, right?…

It's not a big surprise that out of all the metal genres, it is the slow, somber, and mournful one that has the biggest penchant for emotion. Here's Pallbearer going heavy on the emotion and…

World peace and political accountability would be a terrible thing for thrash metal, leaving bands scrambling around for inspiration and imagery on which to base their output. Thankfully for bands like…

This is going to end in tears? Maybe not.

This isn't Winter anymore; this is Göden bringing you doom from in the Vale Of The Fallen.

...after breakdown after breakdown after breakdown...

Do you remember Negativa? What about Délirant? Do you wish there was a noisier and punkier version of that?

In an increasingly over saturated and largely uninspired world of grindcore, striking out as distinct isn’t always a matter of how original your sound is. Sometimes it comes down to just how hard you can…

Hell awaits.

War metal bands do not care for finesse and innovation. The only thing that truly matters is who screams and plays the loudest. This year, Antichrist Siege Machine attempts to rise to the top like a chimp…

These witches don't sound very Lost, Forgotten And Heartbroken to me, let alone depressed, certainly not by going on how much groovy fun they're having on this record.

After 5 albums in a bit over 3 years, Teramaze waited 18 months before releasing their next effort; it’s hardly a long wait, but it might have been just long enough to recalibrate and get back on form.

This is in the running for the least necessary review on this website. First of all, I don’t think anybody out there was still wondering whether or not they needed to invest their time in A Narrative Soundscape;…

As the hellish artwork (inspired by the 1922 movie Häxan) suggests, Unaussprechlichen Kulten perform witchcraft, for that is the only way they could have released one of the densest death metal albums…

Something wicked this way comes.

What does a French post-black band have to do with a romantic drama produced by Tom Cruise and starring Colin Farrell? I honestly don't know. But the music is pretty cool!…

Producer: So, what style of metal do you guys play? Black, death, sludge, thrash, heavy, post-? Vulgaris: Yes.

The whole ‘releasing a double album/releasing two albums that each focus on a different aspect of a band’s sound’ concept is one that’s had contrasting outcomes across the history of metal. Not every attempt…

The whole ‘releasing a double album/releasing two albums that each focus on a different aspect of a band’s sound’ concept is one that’s had contrasting outcomes across the history of metal. Not every attempt…

With Ben Vanweelden’s Venomous Echoes, I’m somewhat reminded of what we said about Primitive Man when they dropped Scorn back in 2013. That, given the nature of the music, the band name could simply not…

How to renew a genre before it renews itself. Vendetta (GER) guides the listener with their album Brain Damage, which explores in a more innovative way a genre with a well-established style.

Hidden marks 25 years of psychedelic stoner doom from Ufomammut, and they remain as thunderously heavy yet mesmerizingly astral as ever.

Warlord has let Bill's Free Spirit Soar.