Unaussprechlichen Kulten are a death metal band from Chile and this is their sixth album.
I enjoyed 2014’s Baphomet Pan Shub-Niggurath and 2017’s Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X), (somehow I managed to completely miss out on 2019’s Teufelsbücher), and now Unaussprechlichen Kulten have returned with the 43-minute Häxan Sabaoth. Continue reading “Unaussprechlichen Kulten – Häxan Sabaoth (Review)”
Solbrud are a black metal band from Denmark and this is their fourth album.
IIII is an album of four parts, each written by one of Solbrud’s four band members. The end result is an ambitious album with an imposing length – 94 minutes – that takes the listener on a compelling journey into a vast atmospheric black metal vistas. Continue reading “Solbrud – IIII (Review)”
This is the fifth album from US death metal/deathcore band Enterprise Earth.
2020’s EP Foundation of Bones was a solid introduction to the band for me, but I really enjoyed 2022’s The Chosen. Yes it was too long, but I really liked the band’s ability to combine deathcore and death metal with a range of different ideas and influences to create something above the norm for the style. Two years and a new singer later, and Enterprise Earth have returned with Death: An Anthology, which delivers 59 minutes of new material. It has not disappointed. Continue reading “Enterprise Earth – Death: An Anthology (Review)”
This is the debut album from Balsam Grove, a post-hardcore band from the US.
You’re Safe Here contains 40 minutes of material brought to us by ex-members of Caves of Glass. Whereas that mighty band played a distinct brand of multifaceted post-metal, Balsam Grove’s music is a post-hardcore mix of punk, screamo, and metalcore. Continue reading “Balsam Grove – You’re Safe Here (Review)”
This is the debut album from German post-blackened doom metal band Cosmic Void.
Subterranean Rivers contains 61 minutes of material that brings together black, doom, and post-metal influences into a compelling whole. For a starting point for what you can expect to encounter on Subterranean Rivers, imagine a combination of bands such as Cult of Luna, Enslaved, Minsk, Mizmor, Ruins of Beverast, and Amenra. Continue reading “Cosmic Void – Subterranean Rivers (Review)”
Boarhammer are a German black metal band and this is their debut album.
II: Chemognosis – A Shortcut to Mushrooms contains 45 minutes, (with the bonus track), of old-school black metal. So old-school in fact, that it’s a blend of first and second wave influences, rather than the latter only. Boarhammer channel the spirits of Darkthrone, Venom, Celtic Frost, and Bathory, and they do so rather well. Continue reading “Boarhammer – II: Chemognosis – A Shortcut to Mushrooms (Review)”
This is the debut album from US post-metal band Guhts.
Guhts play post-metal that benefits from avant-garde, sludge, doom, and shoegaze elements that allow the band to build and sustain compelling musical vistas over time. It’s all about emotion and atmosphere with Guhts, and across 46 minutes Regeneration is soaked to the core with feeling. Continue reading “Guhts – Regeneration (Review)”
Olhava are a Russian ambient/post-black metal band and this is their sixth album.
It’s always a pleasure to hear a new Olhava album. I thoroughly enjoyed both 2021’s Frozen Bloom and 2020’s Reborn, so am more than happy to be able to experience the immersive immensity of Sacrifice. Sacrifice offers a rich feast of atmospheric, ambient, and post-black metal/blackgaze. Continue reading “Olhava – Sacrifice (Review)”
This is a split between Lotus Thief and Forlesen. Both are US bands and both share members.
Lotus Thief open the split with In Perdition, a 12-minute song. I’m not familiar with the band, and I soon regret that immensely. Continue reading “Lotus Thief/Forlesen – Split (Review)”
This is the sixth album from French death metallers Exocrine.
A new Exocrine album is always a thing to be celebrated. 2018’s Molten Giant and 2020’s Maelstrom were both notable records, but then 2022’s The Hybrid Suns saw the band shift up a level once more. Now, hot on the heels of that last release, comes Legend, featuring 45 minutes of music, (40 without the bonus track). So what does Legend have to offer the discerning extreme metal fan in 2024? Continue reading “Exocrine – Legend (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 