Wonderbox Metal

Aphonic Threnody – Grace My Heart (Review)

This is the seventh album from Aphonic Threnody, a funeral doom band from the UK.

It’s always a pleasure to listen to a new Aphonic Threnody album. The primary artist behind the band, (also in Arrant Saudade, Dea Marica, and Towards Atlantis Lights), has been remarkably consistent over the years, reappearing regularly to unleash another colossal opus on the funeral death/doom underground. With this in mind, your further listening assignments include 2017’s Of Loss and Grief, 2020’s The Great Hatred, 2021’s The All Consuming Void, 2022’s The Loneliest Walk, and last year’s A Silence Too Old. Continue reading “Aphonic Threnody – Grace My Heart (Review)”

Wormwood – Å (Review)

Wormwood are a Swedish black metal band and this is their latest release.

This short, two-track EP follows on from 2024’s The Star, bringing us a another dose of Wormwood’s intelligently crafted progressive black metal. With a duration of 16 minutes, Å showcases Wormwood’s notable talents in an easy-to-digest format that nonetheless has plenty to explore at length. Continue reading “Wormwood – Å (Review)”

Hulder – Verbolgen (Review)

This is the third album from US black metal band Hulder.

Following on from 2022’s The Eternal Fanfare and 2024’s Verses in Oath, comes the 49-minute Verbolgen, which is Hulder’s first as a duo. Verbolgen is old-school black metal, delivered with contemporary skill and vision. If you’re familiar with Hulder’s past work, then this new record is the next step along the artist’s path, a progression most welcome. Continue reading “Hulder – Verbolgen (Review)”

Hagoroth – Hagoroth (Review)

Hagoroth are a black metal band from an unknown location, and this is their second album.

No information is available as to whether Hagoroth is a full band or a solo venture. Either way, Hagoroth play black metal with progressive and avant-garde tendencies, and it’s really rather special. Across 38 expressive minutes, Hagoroth reveals itself to be a carefully curated blend of aggression, atmosphere, emotion, and exploration. Continue reading “Hagoroth – Hagoroth (Review)”

Carbon Tomb – Passage to a Neutron Star (Review)

Carbon Tomb are a death metal band from Denmark and this is their debut album.

Carbon Tomb play dissonant death metal, with a touch of a blackened influence in places. Passage to a Neutron Star delivers a 34-minute exemplar of the style’s dark allure, offering both brutality and feeling. Continue reading “Carbon Tomb – Passage to a Neutron Star (Review)”

Disgracing – Descension into Despair (Review)

This is the debut EP from UK death metal band Disgracing.

Introducing the world to Disgracing’s brand of brutal death metal comes Descension into Despair – 19 minutes of barbaric savagery and bone-crushing heaviness. Continue reading “Disgracing – Descension into Despair (Review)”

Beyond Grace – Welcome to the New Dark Ages, Part 3 (Review)

This is the latest EP from Beyond Grace, a death metal band from the UK.

Two years after the second part of this EP trilogy, we come to Welcome to the New Dark Ages, Part 3. Beyond Grace continue to impress, and their continued lack of higher profile continues to be a mystery. Regardless, this EP is another reason to get on board the Beyond Grace train. Continue reading “Beyond Grace – Welcome to the New Dark Ages, Part 3 (Review)”

Altarage – Cogwheel (Review)

Altarage are a Spanish blackened death metal band and this is their seventh album.

If you’re unfamiliar with the monstrous entity that is Altarage, then prepare yourself for something dread-inducing that will haunt your nightmares. Yes, Cogwheel is here. Offering up an imposing 75 minutes of new material, Cogwheel finds Altarage ready to begin the end times all on their own. Continue reading “Altarage – Cogwheel (Review)”

Nothingness – Godslaughter (Review)

This is the third album from US death metallers Nothingness.

Following on from 2023’s very well-received Supraliminal comes Godslaughter, which provides us with 41 minutes of new material. Nothingness continue to elevate themselves. In the death metal killing arenas, they take skulls and grisly trophies increasingly easily. Continue reading “Nothingness – Godslaughter (Review)”

The Salt Pale Collective – …And God Said Nothing (Review)

This is the second album from UK post-metal band The Salt Pale Collective.

Bringing together doom, sludge, post-rock, and post-metal components into a bleakly compelling whole, The Salt Pale Collective are quite the proposition. Across 35 minutes, …And God Said Nothing channels six nightmare states, each working both together and individually to end the world. Continue reading “The Salt Pale Collective – …And God Said Nothing (Review)”