Tooth and Claw – Dream of Ascension (Review)

Tooth and Claw - Dream of AscensionThis is the debut album from US hardcore band Tooth and Claw.

A band containing members of Earth Crisis and Sect couldn’t fail to get my attention. Across 22 minutes, Tooth and Claw provide us with a raging version of old-school metallic hardcore that also occasionally flexes some death metal muscles with some of the guitars. Imagine a mix of Earth Crisis, Merauder, and Obituary, and you’ll be on the right lines. Continue reading “Tooth and Claw – Dream of Ascension (Review)”

Cult of Occult – Ruin (Review)

Cult of Occult - RuinThis is the latest EP from French sludge doom band Cult of Occult.

Ruin contains a single 22-minute eponymous track; a nightmarish monster of prodigious proportions. Not only that, but there’s also a bonus track in the form of a remix of the title track, which itself lasts 19 minutes. Overall, this release boasts 41 minutes of anguished blackened sludge doom. It’s nasty, but it’s also damn good. Continue reading “Cult of Occult – Ruin (Review)”

Jarun – Rok Spokojnego Słońca (Review)

Jarun - Rok Spokojnego SłońcaThis is the fourth album from Jarun, a Polish progressive black metal band.

Both 2015’s Pod Niebem Utkanym z Popiołu and 2017’s Sporysz were very enjoyable blackened progressive/folk hybrids, and their newest album continues Jarun’s unbroken run of high quality releases. Continue reading “Jarun – Rok Spokojnego Słońca (Review)”

Jess and the Ancient Ones – Vertigo (Review)

Jess and the Ancient Ones - VertigoJess and the Ancient Ones are an occult rock band from Finland and this is their fourth album.

This is the follow up to 2017’s The Horse and Other Weird Tales. On Vertigo, psychedelic rock and tentative progressive rock, (with a hint of garage proto-doom), collide. Across eight tracks, Jess and the Ancient Ones provide 40 minutes of occult rock that’s Continue reading “Jess and the Ancient Ones – Vertigo (Review)”

Borgne – Temps Morts (Review)

Borgne - Temps MortsThis is the tenth album from Swiss black metal act Borgne.

Featuring a member of Enoid and Ancient Moon, Borgne play industrial black metal, and Temps Morts contains 73 minutes of the layered darkness. Continue reading “Borgne – Temps Morts (Review)”

Blessings – Biskopskniven (Review)

Blessings - BiskopsknivenThis is the second album from Blessings, a Swedish post-hardcore band.

Blessings merge elements of noise rock, post-rock, and sludge into their sound. The end result is an album of multifaceted post-hardcore, rich in textured nervous energy and bristling with raw emotional intensity. The promo Continue reading “Blessings – Biskopskniven (Review)”

Esoctrilihum – Dy’th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath (Review)

Esoctrilihum - Dy'th Requiem for the Serpent TelepathThis is the sixth album from French solo black metal act Esoctrilihum.

Dy’th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath offers up an individual take on extreme metal. It mixes a textured interpretation of black metal with elements of death and doom metal, to produce music that’s majestic, symphonic, eccentric, and steeped in rich atmosphere. It does this over a colossal 79 minutes, so prepare yourself for the long haul. Continue reading “Esoctrilihum – Dy’th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath (Review)”

Yautja – The Lurch (Review)

<iframe width="400" height="439" style="position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 439px;" src="//bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=3554547532/size=large/bgcol=262a2b/linkcol=006ac3/artwork=small/" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0"></iframe>This is the second album from US sludge metal band Yautja.

The Lurch is a 46-minute hybrid of ugly sludge metal, vicious grind, and filthy punk. With less grindcore on display than on their previous 2014 album Songs of Descent, The Lurch is still a gnashing, biting thing. This Continue reading “Yautja – The Lurch (Review)”