This is the debut album from US one-man black metal act Antimony.
Antimony’s black metal is a combination of the progressive, atmospheric, and melodic styles. These are mixed together to produce lengthy songs that describe a journey into existential dread. The promo blurb states that it’s reminiscent of Moonsorrow, Mgła, and Drudkh, and this should give an appropriate starting reference for the style you’ll find on Ending. Continue reading “Antimony – Ending (Review)”
This is the latest EP from French death metallers Barús.
I enjoyed 2015’s self-titled EP, as well as 2018’s Drowned, so when it appeared Fanges was always destined for my playlists. Although billed as an EP, there’s actually an album’s worth of material for some bands here – 34-minutes spread out over two large tracks. Barús play atmospheric death metal with progressive and dissonant elements, and on Fanges they range wider and more freely than they have done before. Continue reading “Barús – Fanges (Review)”
Armed only with the album cover and the briefest promo blurb I’ve probably ever seen simply identifying this as black metal, I decided to take a chance on it. In fact, I’ll reproduce the promo text in its entirety here – Continue reading “Pakkt – To Brocken Heights Where Witches Dance (Review)”
This is the second album from Mütterlein, a one-woman experimental band from France.
After being really struck by the quality of Mütterlein’s split with Limbes from earlier in the year, I was looking forward to getting to grips with what Bring Down the Flags had to offer. Continue reading “Mütterlein – Bring Down the Flags (Review)”
Tardigrada are a black metal band from Switzerland and this is their second album.
Vom Bruch bis zur Freiheit is 59 minutes long and contains four massive songs. Before each one of these sits a brief intro/interlude track, and against all expectations these are actually decent moments of rare calm and reflection amidst the atmospheric and emotive storms of the main songs. Continue reading “Tardigrada – Vom Bruch bis zur Freiheit (Review)”
Dakhma are a blackened death metal band from Switzerland and this is their second album.
Dakhma play an exotic form of blackened death metal that’s Zoroastrian-themed and highly detailed. Epic in scope and execution, Blessings of Amurdad offers a highly atmospheric exploration of extreme metal, without sacrificing the meaty, brutal riffs. The music is imbued with Middle Eastern influences that come to life not only Continue reading “Dakhma – Blessings of Amurdad (Review)”
Soul Remnants are a death metal band from the US and this is their fourth album.
Following on from 2013’s Black and Blood and 2017’s Ouroboros, Soul Remnants have now returned with their longest album to date – 50 minutes of new material. If you’re unfamiliar with the band, a mix of old The Haunted and Hypocrisy, (with the occasional dash of Kataklysm and Amon Amarth), is a decent enough starting point to gain an initial idea of how their music roughly sounds, (although this is by no means a comprehensive description). Continue reading “Soul Remnants – Raising the Sacrificial Dagger (Review)”
This is the fourth album from Swedish black metal solo act Funeral Mist.
The follow up to 2018’s vicious Hekatomb, Deiform contains 54 minutes of new material. It is an atmospheric and immersive release, filled with grandeur and weighty concepts and themes. Continue reading “Funeral Mist – Deiform (Review)”
Yes, it’s that time of year again! 2021 gave us some very, very good metal, and I feel honoured to have been able to have listened to as much of it as I have done. There are some notable absences, (for me at least), from the below list, but there’s just not enough time or space for everything, dammit!
2020 was a very blackened year for me; I listened to a lot of black metal, and the list for that year reflected that. At the start of 2021 I decided I’d consciously try to ensure I cast my net a bit wider again, reconnecting more deeply with some of many other styles of metal that I enjoy. 2021’s list reflects this. However, I’ve still ended up with much more of a black metal presence in the list than I was initially expecting. What can I say? I’m a sucker for all of the myriad blackened flavours of the style. However, there’s also a lot of other stuff here that I hope you’ll dig into and enjoy too. I felt that there was a notable absence of grindcore in 2021, as well as some of the more extreme styles of doom. What do you think?
I hope you enjoy perusing some of my favourite records from this year, and I hope you find something new to tickle your fancy. What’s your number one this year? Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2021”
Phenocryst are a Portuguese death metal band and this is their debut EP.
This 23-minute EP erupts with the sort of underground death metal that impresses on first listen and then simply gets better on subsequent ones. Continue reading “Phenocryst – Explosions (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 