Reviews

As we near the end of what has been quite a memorable year for Icelandic black metal, the blackened folk trio Árstíðir Lífsins take you on a final journey inspired by Nordic runes and Skaldic literature…

They grow up so fast.

There's something to be said for unbridled aggression as a form of expression (bonky caveman riffs is people, too), but very often the results are more interesting when death metal's technical…

Crust seems a fitting title for a band more than capable of pummelling their way through the Earth's crust with their Earth-shattering tone, and Dissolution is an equally fitting album title, as the…

Woah woah wait wait, EXCUUUUUSE ME... how in the has no one reviewed this big ball of legendary yet? Doc? Lucas? Not even you, Old Bitter Sheriff? Well..... I saw it first, then.

Some bands make both their strengths and their drawbacks very loud.

There's still something quite endearing about bands that only managed to release one album, bands that never really got the chance to make it but whose one album might get a cult classic status. Sometimes,…

The Wolvennest crew have been busy recently; in the last 5 years, they’ve put out 3 full albums, an EP, and a quasi-album as The Nest. However, it seems that some of the musicians behind the project still…

Starting as a fairly straightforward Swedish black metal band, Mephorash have come a long way since their debut album, Death Awakens, back in 2011. 1557-Rites Of Nullification marked a willingness to explore…

You might be familiar with the notoriously blasphemous metal noir Québécois (Quebec black metal scene), but are you familiar with the band Délétère? Well, here's a chance to experience an unholy black…

The men of Men Eater have clearly eaten a lot of men during their time off, as their comeback album Men Eater is a meaty, bulky affair.

After a successful debut, Icon Of Sin released their new album Legends this year. The second record is often seen as one of the most important for a band; it is often the one that establishes them and…

If you're familiar with modern black metal, then you'll know that Poland has been producing a lot of quality bands in the genre in recent years. This new release could be an opportunity for Mānbryne…

Halysis pitch themselves as a modern death metal band; the extent to which their particular sound revolves around death metal fluctuates, but the stylistic synthesis delivered here is very much that of…

Just like in The Matrix.

One of the most ludicrous melodeath debuts in recent years gets an equally ludicrous follow-up.

Naming your funeral doom project Slow is the exact opposite of false advertisement. You know the most important aspect of the music before you even press play. So let's dig into the other aspects…

Having just had newfound appreciation for Health due to their collaborative series of albums, it's time to hear how well they fare back on their own terms.

When you thought French black metal couldn't possibly sound any more French, Abduction come along. The French atmospheric black metal band Abduction have been around since their formation back…

Troll finally awaken after a thirteen-year slumber to offer us a glimpse of their light-hearted style of black metal, creating the perfect setting for a fairytale troll kingdom.

Yep, that's a “III” in the album title. As the final part of a trilogy, are there any surprises in store for us on Leviathan III? Well, actually…

Inculter's origins may not be as morbid as this album's title would suggest; however, their style traces back to the morbid peak of thrash, when the scene ruled over all that surrounded it.

Last time we heard Unprocessed, they were dialling down the metal in favour of a more R&B/rock fusion sound. It seems that Gold was more of a detour than a new beginning, as ...And Everything In Between…

There’s not many bands out there as eager on doing a collaboration album as Full Of Hell; Nothing may not be the most obvious bedfellows for a grindcore band, but they’ve found a way to make it work.

Atmospheric black metal does hit differently when it gets this cold outside and you write reviews with your Christmas sweater on.

Omne, I hear you ask, why don't you believe me when I say I want it that way?…

Omne, I hear you ask: are you the very model of a modern Major-General, with information vegetable, animal, and mineral, do you know the kings of England, and quote the fights historical, from Marathon…

Omne, I hear you ask, how do I dislodge my toe from my ear after seeing if I could lasso a KFC bargain bucket?…

Seek medical advice.

There's certainly No Dawn For The Caliginous Night when it comes to Convocation's latest output, but then what better way is there to mark your ten-year anniversary than to celebrate with something…

If I had to associate the jester with a metal genre, aside from the obvious In Flames possibility, it would still be avant-garde metal. The other genres don't really let themselves be silly in the…

Australia have themselves quite the nice little metalcore/deathcore scene, exporting the likes of Parkway Drive, Thy Art Is Murder, Make Them Suffer, Northlane and Polaris, among others. The next name…

I, Voidhanger Records certainly have a type: you know, the chaotic, dissonant, nightmare-inducing extreme metal offered up just this year by the likes of Bekor Qilish, Baring Teeth, Fleshvessel and Ôros…

The warm, gazy drone doom of Megaton Leviathan’s Mage in 2018 was one of the albums that ignited a greater interest in ambient/drone-related metal on my part. In the five years since, Megaton Leviathan…

Are you ready to have the "very long albums" discussion again?

Get out your surfboards! It's time to ride the new wave of progressive, technical thrash—or you'll get swept away!

Reinventing the lineup doesn't always come with reinventing the wheel, and following up a landmark album doesn't always have to completely disappoint or completely live up to the hype. Here's…

Entering the 2020s, Amorphis weren’t necessarily the band from which I was expecting to see multiple members break out as solo artists, but evidently their star guitar duo had other ideas.

Celebrating their 35th anniversary this year, Varathron have by no means lost their touch during that time; in fact, The Crimson Temple suggests the complete opposite.

People like to deride pizza thrash as if it's the lowest denominator in terms of an art form: you know what I say?

Somethings are better just unsung.

This year, DGM bring a progressive power metal release to Life with the highest standards of musicianship.

Fast, technical, progressive thrash hardcore bursting with creativity. Sounds cool, huh? Welcome to Hellix.

Sequestered Sympathy, the 2019 debut of Exulansis, was a fascinating combination of black, prog, crust and doom metal with a whole dollop of chamber folk that left many eager to see where the band could…

Considering they came out with at least something every year between 2016 and 2021, it’s been a quiet couple of years for Spaceslug. Going some way to filling the void left by them is Mountain Of Misery.

It’s been 4 years since Sâver dropped their debut album, but they’ve not been idling in the interim, merely honing their craft across a couple of collaborative releases before unleashing sophomore album…

The Mayan calendar got it wrong. Weltende, the end of the world, arrived in 2023, not 2012.

It would be safe to say that Moonlight Sorcery's inaugural full-length was one of the most anticipated debuts to hit the black metal scene of late. What's not so safe to say is the name of the…

A gargantuan slab of ice approaches from the heavens, something that ought to be mind-twisting for all who witness, but in that moment, it feels really comprehensible. Let's see why.

When I first heard Helga with the release of their single “Skogen Mumlar”, I was immediately excited for a great neofolk-metal hybrid album. As it turns out, Wrapped In Mist is only partially folk, and…

Through the filthy lenses of black metal, death industrial and noise, Gnaw Their Tongues molds and twists itself to accurately portray mankind’s vile nature. There have been many adjustments in sound over…

The Shadow Inside Sadus has been unleashed. Now, prepare for an unrelenting flow of high-end, exhilarating technical death/thrash madness.

Freshly squeezed and ready to please.

It's both a blessing and a curse that so many albums are released throughout the year.

Initially a four-piece, the three remaining members of A Flourishing Scourge have managed very well following the departure of their founding drummer. Still, it’s probably easier to flourish as an extreme…

Did you know blackened death also has a softer, more melodic side? Yes it's true, Aeternus even introduce elements of folk to this brutal subgenre, as this is their philosophy.

While Portugal hasn’t spawned a huge number of international metal acts, they’ve made a sizeable impact on the worlds of gothic and doom metal, with the likes of Moonspell, Heavenwood and Process Of Guilt:…

There’s a number of notorious albums out there with lengthy production times that weren’t reflected in the finished product (think Chinese Democracy or Time). Let The Truth Speak is one of those rare records…

Kurokuma, Ch’ahom, Ershetu... Mesoamerican themes: so hot right now.

On This Heathen Land, Green Lung slowly transition from their wild, fun, energetic style to a calmer approach featuring psychedelic atmosphere and mournful ballads.

Aliens built the pyramids and taught the Mayans their language. Ok, fine. But answer me this: can the aliens play black metal too?…

Yes, punk is still a thing, and it always has been and always will be. Just so long as bands like Kvelertak are still rocking, we'll continue to protest, and to hate this world we live in.

There might be some alchemy involved in how Malokarpatan channels the sounds of yore.

Some rot goes back a long time ago, but rotting is a continuous process. Mortuary Drape are still rotting.

A ‘glass future’ gives off an impression of fragility; however, with their sophomore full-length album, Nashville’s Howling Giant appear to be laying solid foundations for their nascent career.

Bull Elephant is an anonymous, progressive doom metal band, based in London, and The Long War is their third album, concluding a trilogy about a slain African elephant that was reanimated to take part…

Filling in the blanks.

Tumanduumband (pronounced two-man-doom-band) are a two-man doom band from the West Midlands; the name concept is remarkable in its simplicity (even if the spelling isn’t), and the band’s music is similarly…

Since Rafał ‘K-vass’ Kwaśny joined Moanaa in 2014, the band’s output rate has been steady; 3 albums and an EP is nothing to sniff at. However, K-vass clearly had more he wished to express, as for the second…

With over 20 years under their belt, Serenity are now genuine veterans of the power metal circuit. Their previous album, The Last Knight, raised fears that the band might be growing weary with age, but…