Unearthly Rites are a Finnish death metal band and this is their debut album.
Here’s some nasty death metal for you to clog up your pores. Ecdysis is a sludge factory of old-school death metal that really brings out the filth in the style. Across 34 minutes Unearthly Rites spread their disease with convincing menace and a swamp’s worth of heaviness. Continue reading “Unearthly Rites – Ecdysis (Review)”
This is the second album from US metal band The Watchers.
Nyctophilia contains 41 minutes of song-based metallic fun. Taking elements from the classic metal, thrash, stoner, grunge, and doom styles, The Watchers ably demonstrate what they are capable of. Continue reading “The Watchers – Nyctophilia (Review)”
Terminal Nation are a death metal band from the US and this is their second album.
Terminal Nation play hardcore-infused death metal, delivering 40 minutes of the stuff over 12 songs on this record. The promo blurb tells us that Echoes of the Devil’s Den is for fans of All Out War, Bolt Thrower, Earth Crisis, Maul, Xibalba, Kruelty, Fuming Mouth, and Gatecreeper, so this should give you a good idea of where Terminal Nation are coming from. Continue reading “Terminal Nation – Echoes of the Devil’s Den (Review)”
Crawl are a death metal band from Sweden and this is their second album.
I thoroughly enjoyed 2018’s Rituals, so was pleased when Crawl’s split with Feral appeared last year. They’re now back again with Altar of Disgust, which delivers 31 minutes of crust-driven Swedeath heaviness. Continue reading “Crawl – Altar of Disgust (Review)”
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)”
Wonderbox Metal 