Brume are a doom band from the US and this is their third album.
I’ve been awaiting this with great excitement, but also great apprehension. Why? Because even though 2017’s Rooster was a damn good record, (appearing on my year end list), 2019’s Rabbits was so fantastic it rightfully topped it. The apprehension comes from worrying whether they can match it or not. Can lightning strike twice? Continue reading “Brume – Marten (Review)”
This is the fourth album from Ancst, a shapeshifting German metal band.
You’re never quite sure what you’re going to get from Ancst. Black metal, crust, hardcore, death metal, dark ambient – these are just genres to play with for the band, using and discarding styles and influences at will, depending on the needs of any given release or song. Which brings us to Culture of Brutality, a 35-minute, 20-track album that fuses deathgrind, metalcore, and hardcore into a monster of brutal heaviness. Continue reading “Ancst – Culture of Brutality (Review)”
This is the second album from one-man Swedish doom metal band Blissful Stream.
I really like Blissful Stream’s personable take on doom metal. If you’re unfamiliar with the project, make sure you also check out Ascending Demons, Devil’s Night to All Souls, Dead Religious, and When the Wolves Start to Circle – all in, just over an hour of quality tuneage. Continue reading “Blissful Stream – Fighting for the Cross (Review)”
Cryfemal are a Spanish black metal band and this is their ninth album.
We’re going back to 2023 for this one. Why? Well, simply because while I’ve been aware of Cryfemal for some time, I’ve never heard them, so when I recently received the promo for this, I really wanted to check it out. So I did, and it made a big impression. Continue reading “Cryfemal – La Gran Victoria del Mal (Review)”
This is the eighth album from US doom metal band Bongripper.
Hell yeah, it’s time to bring the MASSIVE DOOM AGAIN! Empty boasts 67 minutes of gargantuan music that simply crushes flat everything within a mile radius of its imposing bulk. If you only get one doom album this year, then this is going to be the one. Continue reading “Bongripper – Empty (Review)”
This is the sixth album from German solo black metal band Infestus.
Has it really been ten years since 2014’s The Reflecting Void? I really liked that record. With only one album since then – 2018’s Thrypsis, which I somehow missed – I’ve been looking forward to exploring the 46-minute Entzweiung. Continue reading “Infestus – Entzweiung (Review)”
This is the debut album from US one-woman black metal band Lust Hag.
It’s here! It’s finally happening! A full Lust Hag album! Rejoice! This artist was one of my favourite new finds of 2023, so I have been massively looking forward to the day a full album would appear. And now it has – 37 minutes of elite black metal to get to grips with. Let’s be clear from the start – Lust Hag is so damn good it hurts. Continue reading “Lust Hag – Lust Hag (Review)”
This is the second album from US blackened heavy metal band Morgul Blade.
Now there’s an album cover for you. When combined with the title, it that speaks loudly of what you’ll encounter on Heavy Metal Wraiths. Across 36 minutes Morgul Blade deliver a rip-roaring trip through ten boisterous tracks that are designed to get those heads banging and fists pumping. Continue reading “Morgul Blade – Heavy Metal Wraiths (Review)”
This is the third album from Lethe, a dark rock band from Switzerland/Norway.
Well, I wasn’t expecting a new album from Lethe, I must admit. 2014’s When Dreams Become Nightmares was an amazing album, one which I’ve only enjoyed more and more over the last decade (!) since it was released. Nonetheless, we are now gifted with Alienation, which brings us 45 minutes of material. Continue reading “Lethe – Alienation (Review)”
This is the fourth album from US blackened post-hardcore band Glassing.
2019’s Spotted Horse caused people to pay attention to what Glassing had to offer, but it was 2021’s Twin Dream that really impressed. From the Other Side of the Mirror offers 42 minutes of new material, and its as good as you would hope for. Continue reading “Glassing – From the Other Side of the Mirror (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 