Sentient Horror – Rites of Gore (Review)

Sentient Horror - Rites of GoreThis is the third album from US death metallers Sentient Horror.

My long-standing love affair with old-school Swedish death metal has begun to wane in the last couple of years. Where I was once easily pleased, I am now much less so, and I seek the style out far less than I used to. However, Sentient Ruin’s Rites of Gore has rubbed me up the right way, so it Continue reading “Sentient Horror – Rites of Gore (Review)”

Undeath – It’s Time​.​.​.​to Rise from the Grave (Review)

Undeath - It's Time​.​.​.​to Rise from the GraveUndeath are a death metal band from the US and this is their second album.

I thoroughly enjoyed 2020’s Lesions of a Different Kind, so now that the band are back with 36 minutes of festering new material, I’m ready. At least, I though I was; It’s Time​.​.​.​to Rise from the Grave is better than I could have hoped for. Continue reading “Undeath – It’s Time​.​.​.​to Rise from the Grave (Review)”

Corpsessed – Succumb to Rot (Review)

Corpsessed - Succumb to RotCorpsessed are a Finnish death metal band and this is their third album, (or fourth, depending on your perspective).

I do so enjoy Corpsessed’s material, (check out 2014’s Abysmal Thresholds and 2018’s Impetus of Death). Four years after their last release, regular as rotten clockwork, they have returned with new platter Succumb to Rot. This release features the band’s most colourful artwork, as well as their shortest running time, (36 minutes). Continue reading “Corpsessed – Succumb to Rot (Review)”

Epitaphe – II (Review)

Epitaphe - IIEpitaphe are a French progressive death/doom band and this is their second album.

Featuring three near-20-minute songs bookended by a 3-minute intro and outro, II is a mammoth 63-minute offering from this enticing entity. For a simplistic starting point, think of a mix of bands such as Opeth, Nile, and Pink Floyd, and then realise that Epitaphe have even more to offer than this would lead you to believe. Continue reading “Epitaphe – II (Review)”

Grand Harvest – Consummatum Est (Review)

Grand Harvest - Consummatum EstThis is the debut album from Swedish death/doom metallers Grand Harvest.

Here we have 51 minutes of death/doom metal, with some blackened influences thrown in for good measure. Prepare yourself in advance, as this is some Grade A stuff right here… Continue reading “Grand Harvest – Consummatum Est (Review)”

Golgothan Remains – Adorned in Ruin (Review)

Golgothan Remains - Adorned in RuinThis is the second album from Australian death metallers Golgothan Remains.

I really enjoyed the ugly malevolence of Golgothan Remains’ 2018 debut Perverse Offerings to the Void. It’s now four years later, and Adorned in Ruin has finally come crashing into our lives. Has it been worth the wait? Continue reading “Golgothan Remains – Adorned in Ruin (Review)”

Astral Tomb – Soulgazer (Review)

Astral Tomb - SoulgazerThis is the debut album from Astral Tomb, a death metal band from the US.

I’ve enjoyed watching Astral Tomb develop their ghastly death metal sound, from 2020’s split with Cryptic Shift, Replicant, and Inoculation, to 2021’s EP Degradation of Human Consciousness, (which I honestly thought I had reviewed, but apparently not). Soulgazer is the band’s first album, and I have been looking forward to it. Continue reading “Astral Tomb – Soulgazer (Review)”

Aeviterne – The Ailing Facade (Review)

Aeviterne - The Ailing FacadeAeviterne are a death metal band from the US and this is their debut album.

Aeviterne contain current and ex-members of bands such as Artificial Brain, Tombs, and Pillory, and play a brutal form of death metal with experimental tendencies. Continue reading “Aeviterne – The Ailing Facade (Review)”

Cryptivore – Celestial Extinction (Review)

Cryptivore - Celestial ExtinctionThis is the debut album from Cryptivore, a one-man Australian death metal band.

Across 27 minutes the artist behind Cryptivore hammers into us his vision for old-school death metal. Taking influence from early Amorphis, Carcass, and Grave, Celestial Extinction is a mix of brutal Swedish death metal, moody melodic death metal, and feral grindcore. Continue reading “Cryptivore – Celestial Extinction (Review)”

Arkaik – Labyrinth of Hungry Ghosts (Review)

Arkaik - Labyrinth of Hungry GhostsThis is the sixth album from US death metallers Arkaik.

Back now with a new lineup, (featuring current and ex-members of Singularity, Alterbeast, Dessiderium, and Nullingroots), Labyrinth of Hungry Ghosts boasts 48 minutes of new material. Both 2015’s Lucid Dawn and 2017’s Nemethia were very likeable records, so Arkaik’s new one carries a certain level of expectation. Spoiler alert – it’s been exceeded. Continue reading “Arkaik – Labyrinth of Hungry Ghosts (Review)”