In Vain – Solemn (Review)

In Vain - SolemnThis is the fifth album from Norwegian progressive metal band In Vain.

I really, really liked 2018’s Currents, so to my mind it has been far too long since we’ve heard from In Vain. Featuring 61 minutes of new music, Solemn is a grand affair, mixing together the band’s progressive/melodic death metal ingredients into a feast of tasty extreme metal. Continue reading “In Vain – Solemn (Review)”

Nuclear Tomb – Terror Labyrinthian (Review)

Nuclear Tomb - Terror LabyrinthianNuclear Tomb are a death/thrash metal band from the US and this is their debut album.

Nuclear Tomb play an intriguing mix of death and thrash metal that combines a ferocious attack with progressive wanderings and idiosyncratic layers. Exploding across 33 minutes, Terror Labyrinthian impresses with its ambition, scope, and beating heart of passionate steel. Continue reading “Nuclear Tomb – Terror Labyrinthian (Review)”

Slug Gore – They Slime! They Ooze! They Kill! (Review)

Slug Gore - They Slime! They Ooze! They Kill!This is the debut album from Slug Gore, an Italian grindcore band.

Fusing together death metal and grindcore into a gross deathgrind brew that stinks to high heaven, Slug Gore deliver 18 minutes of disgusting fight music on their debut album. Prepare yourself, as it’s about to get messy. Continue reading “Slug Gore – They Slime! They Ooze! They Kill! (Review)”

Veriteras – The Dark Horizon (Review)

Veriteras - The Dark HorizonThis is the second album from US death metal band Veriteras.

Veriteras play melodic black/death metal inspired by the old-school Scandinavian scene of the 90s. The Dark Horizon is a 31-minute homage to this era, and boy does it get a lot right. Continue reading “Veriteras – The Dark Horizon (Review)”

Heresiarch – Edifice (Review)

Heresiarch - EdificeThis is the second album from New Zealand black/death metallers Heresiarch.

Prior to Edifice my first and only encounter with Heresiarch was on their 2019 split release – Scorn Coalescence – with Serpents Athirst, Genocide Shrines, and Trepanation, so this new album seemed like a good opportunity to find out what Heresiarch are capable of with a full album. Continue reading “Heresiarch – Edifice (Review)”

Spit on Your Grave – Arkanum (Review)

Spit on Your Grave - ArkanumThis is the third album from Mexican death metallers Spit on Your Grave.

Arkanum provides us with 32 minutes of melodic death metal that showcases Spit on Your Grave’s considerable skills. This is my first encounter with the band, but they are clearly more than capable of competing in the death metal big leagues. Continue reading “Spit on Your Grave – Arkanum (Review)”

Love Sex Machine – Trve (Review)

Love Sex Machine - TrveThis is the third album from French sludge metal band Love Sex Machine.

When the promo blurb states that this is for fans of Meshuggah, Intronaut, Amenra, LLNN, Sumac, and Herod, you know it’s gonna be a heavy one. And it is. Trve is 36 minutes of heaviness wrapped in an expressive outer coating. Continue reading “Love Sex Machine – Trve (Review)”

The Vision Bleak – Weird Tales (Review)

The Vision Bleak - Weird TalesThis is the seventh album from German Gothic metal band The Vision Bleak.

Weird Tales consists of a single 41-minute song, which is made up of twelve separate movements. It looks like on Bandcamp this will be divided into actual tracks, but thankfully the review version consists of just one track, as this is definitely a release to experience in its entirety, without interruption. Continue reading “The Vision Bleak – Weird Tales (Review)”