Ulvik are a Canadian black metal band and this is their second album.
Cascades contains 32 minutes of atmospheric black metal. What it might lack in quantity it makes up for in quality. Ulvik have produced an enjoyable, satisfying slice of darkness here. Theirs is a largely aggressive strain of atmoblack, but one that’s not without nuance or dynamic differentiation. Continue reading “Ulvik – Cascades (Review)”
This is the third album from German death metal band Temple of Dread.
Hades Unleashed contains 40 minutes of death metal, and features a member of Slaughterday on vocals. Continue reading “Temple of Dread – Hades Unleashed (Review)”
This is the second album from US metal band Sleep Waker.
Alias contains 31 as of modern metalcore spliced with elements of electronica and ambience. Continue reading “Sleep Waker – Alias (Review)”
This is the third album from UK black metallers Craven Idol.
It’s great to have some new material from Craven Idol. 2013’s Towards Eschaton and 2017’s The Shackles of Mammon were both records that I hugely enjoyed, and the 41 minutes of new material on Forked Tongues continues this trend nicely. Continue reading “Craven Idol – Forked Tongues (Review)”
This is the second album by US heavy rockers The Age of Truth.
Are you after some fluid grooves and engrossing riffs? Do you want good tunes delivered with an assured attitude? Looking for a band that are able to kick out the jams, but also have enough range and depth to keep bringing you back to them? Well, The Age of Truth have you covered. Continue reading “The Age of Truth – Resolute (Review)”
Erdve are from Lithuania and play blackened hardcore sludge. This is their second album.
Following on from 2018’s crushing Vaitojimas, Erdve have returned with 43 minutes of new material. Savigaila contains eleven songs, compared with Vaitojimas‘s six, yet is only five minutes longer due to the overall shorter duration of the individual tracks. Continue reading “Erdve – Savigaila (Review)”
This is the debut EP from US blackened death metal band Disimperium.
Billed as a mix of black, death, and grind, and labelled for fans of bands like Knelt Rote, Heresiarch, and Vermin Womb, how could I not check out the inaugural release from Disimperium? At only 12 minutes in duration, it’s like a foul breath of rotting air given twisted aural shape and venomous musical form.
The songs on this EP are feral and grim. Ultra-aggressive, the music pummels and grinds with inhuman intensity and daemonic fury. All three of the tracks are barbaric and savage, revelling in the mayhem they make and the damage they cause.
This collection of darkly brutal tracks is drenched in layers of blackened malignancy and is purely interested in destruction and chaos. It’s as belligerent as it comes, and the songs don’t care who or what gets torn down in their quest for carnage.
The sound is filthy and unfriendly, and therefore perfect for this sort of release. I find the deep, malevolent growls particularly satisfying, but to be honest everything here just reeks of grim nastiness, which is what you want from something like this.
For a first release Malefic Obliteration is well-formed and impressive. If you’re a connoisseur of underground extremity, then this is well worth your time to explore.
This is the debut album from Archangel A.D., a thrash metal band from the US.
Clearly influenced by the 80s thrash metal scene, as well as aspects of NWOBHM and a selection of other bands from the era such as Motörhead, Casus Belli contains 52 minutes of old-school thrash metal. Continue reading “Archangel A.D. – Casus Belli (Review)”
Towards Atlantis Lights are an international atmospheric doom metal band. This is their second album.
Brought to us by members of Pantheist, Aphonic Threnody, Dea Marica, Arrant Saudade, and Void of Silence, this is the follow up to 2018’s Dust of Aeons, and contains 61 minutes of new material. Continue reading “Towards Atlantis Lights – When the Ashes Devoured the Sun (Review)”
This is the fourth album from US death metallers Cognitive.
I’ve enjoyed following Cognitive’s career, from 2016’s Deformity, through 2018’s Matricide, to their newest album Malevolent Thoughts of a Hastened Extinction, which brings 41 minutes of roaring modern technical death metal to our weary ears. Does it wake us from our lethargy and fire us up with the spirit of death metal’s aggressive energy? Continue reading “Cognitive – Malevolent Thoughts of a Hastened Extinction (Review)”
