This is the debut album from UK black metallers Eihort.
Consuming the Light consists of six original blackened hymns and a Samael cover. All told, we’re given 33 minutes of classic black metal from a band that obviously know and love the style very much. Continue reading “Eihort – Consuming the Light (Review)”
Axioma are a post-black/sludge metal band from the US and this is their second album.
I first met Axioma back in 2016 on their debut EP Opia, which seems like an age ago. Well, since then they haven’t been idle, and their second album Sepsis came out earlier this year. Let’s dive in. Continue reading “Axioma – Sepsis (Review)”
This is the second album from French post-black metal band Jours Pâles.
Last year’s Éclosion came out of nowhere and hugely impressed me. I ended up enjoying it so much it appeared on my end of year list too. I wasn’t expecting another album so soon, but here we are with Tensions, which contains 61 minutes of new material. Continue reading “Jours Pâles – Tensions (Review)”
Rudra are a black/thrash metal band from Singapore. This is their tenth album.
I last caught up with Rudra on 2016’s Enemy of Duality, so it’s good to be able to see what they’re up to six years later. Eight Mahavidyas is a 58-minute folk-influenced black/death metal album that is worth getting to know, and getting to know well. Continue reading “Rudra – Eight Mahavidyas (Review)”
Misþyrming are a black metal band from Iceland and this is their third album.
Following on from 2019’s splendid Algleymi, Misþyrming have now returned with 44 minutes of new material on Með Hamri. Prepare yourself for the sort of album that carves its name into the landscape for all to see its metallic glory and tremble at its approach.
So here we are again. It’s December, and year end lists are flying around like shrapnel. Due to the inherent subjectivity of music it’s always interesting to see what people have made of the preceding year.
For me, I made a concerted effort to drag myself away from the depths of black metal’s always-enticing abyss to spend some more time with other genres and styles that I also love. I said something similar last year, but I feel this year I was more successful in achieving that end. Of course, I still love black metal, still listen to it constantly, and you’ll still find some great examples of the blackened arts in the list below.
2022 was a strong year for death metal for me, and I enjoyed more death metal bands in a deeper way than I have done for some time. In every year there are standout releases, but I felt this year the standard was raised throughout. Possibly I was simply more receptive to it. Either way, you’ll find more death metal-related acts, and in higher spots, in this selection than you’ll have seen in my lists for a while.
As with last year, grindcore was largely absent from my year, disappointingly, as was hardcore. Additionally, the sort of lengthy, ugly, abyssal doom that I love so much has been largely lacking too. It’s all probably out there somewhere, but I didn’t catch it.
The top two spots this year are both claimed by albums/bands/styles that I simply could not have predicted would be at the pinnacle of my list by the year’s end, (one of the bands I hadn’t even heard of in January). I hope you enjoy these excellent records even half as much as I do.
Lastly I just want to say a big thank you to any and all that might read this site. It’s only a small endeavour, and I do it purely for the love of all things METAL and to support bands that I enjoy in whatever minor way I can, but if this is you, a heartfelt thank you for enduring my scribblings.
On to it! Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2022”
This is the debut album from US one-man black metal act Chamber of Mirrors.
Delivering 35 minutes of underground black metal, Shadow Kingdom is a good showcase for what the artist behind Chamber of Mirrors is capable of. Continue reading “Chamber of Mirrors – Shadow Kingdom (Review)”
Although I’d ideally love to be able to conduct hard-hitting, in-depth interviews, who has the time these days? In lieu of this, I’ve thrown together the below question template, hopefully to gather some interesting and informative results, without taking up too much of anyone’s time.
Hi, everyone! I’m Marco “Mark” Bravi, keyboardist, lyricist and co-producer of italian-swiss prog band Virtual Symmetry. Continue reading “Standard Interrogation Techniques: Five Questions for Virtual Symmetry (Interview)”
Sacrilegion are a death metal band from the US and this is their debut album.
From Which Nightmares Crawl contains 44 minutes of potent death metal that’s sure to make some underground waves. Combining brutal heaviness with an expressive melodic prowess, Sacrilegion’s death metal is both satisfying and rewarding. Continue reading “Sacrilegion – From Which Nightmares Crawl (Review)”
This is the debut album from Hei’An, a progressive metal band from Slovenia.
Imago is a long album. With a duration of 69 minutes there’s a lot of material here, (86 minutes with the Slovenian versions of three of the tracks included). Thankfully Hei’An’s progressive metal is wide-ranging enough that it is up to the task of filling this time nicely. Continue reading “Hei’An – Imago (Review)”
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