Phenocryst – Explosions (Review)

Phenocryst - ExplosionsPhenocryst are a Portuguese death metal band and this is their debut EP.

This 23-minute EP erupts with the sort of underground death metal that impresses on first listen and then simply gets better on subsequent ones. Continue reading “Phenocryst – Explosions (Review)”

Charnel Altar – Abatement of the Sun (Review)

Charnel Altar - Abatement of the SunCharnel Altar are an Australian blackened death metal band and this is their debut album.

Charnel Altar’s 47-minute debut album reeks of horrific misery and grim nightmare. The music combines doom, death, and black metal into a hideously twisted mass of guitars, bass, and drums. It’s blackened death/doom of a sort, only not what that appellation might initially conjure; Abatement of the Sun is bred from far older and darker stock, with an old-school underground feel that’s as infectious as it is authentically nasty. Continue reading “Charnel Altar – Abatement of the Sun (Review)”

Phrenelith – Chimaera (Review)

Phrenelith - ChimaeraThis is the second album from Phrenelith, a death metal band from Denmark.

A monster named Phrenelith lurks deep in the death metal underworld, a malevolent entity that preys on any of the weak and unwary that get close enough to its sinister lair. With Chimaera the creature has ventured out of its territory once more and is hunting for fresh meat… Continue reading “Phrenelith – Chimaera (Review)”

Dessiderium – Aria (Review)

Dessiderium - AriaThis is the fourth album from Dessiderium, a solo progressive death metal act from the US.

Brought to us by a member of Arkaik and NullingrootsAria contains 63 minutes of progressive death metal.

Aria consists of five long and Continue reading “Dessiderium – Aria (Review)”

Genocide Pact – Genocide Pact (Review)

Genocide Pact - Genocide PactGenocide Pact are a death metal band from the US and this is their third album.

I really liked Genocide Pact’s filthy 2018 release Order of Torment, which was a very satisfying album. This new self-titled is even filthier, even more crushingly heavy, and even uglier than its predecessor. Continue reading “Genocide Pact – Genocide Pact (Review)”

Demonstealer – The Holocene Termination (Review)

Demonstealer - The Holocene TerminationThis is the latest EP from Demonstealer, a one-man extreme metal act from India.

This 19-minute EP finds the artist behind Demonstealer surrounding himself with many guests, from bands such as Fleshgod Apocalypse, Six Feet Under, Equipoise, Gorgasm, and Marduk. Continue reading “Demonstealer – The Holocene Termination (Review)”

Dormant Ordeal – The Grand Scheme of Things (Review)

Dormant Ordeal - The Grand Scheme of ThingsThis is the third album from Polish death metallers Dormant Ordeal.

Now here’s something pretty tasty. I haven’t encountered Dormant Ordeal before, but The Grand Scheme of Things is impressive enough to make me wish I had. Across 39 minutes the band absolutely punish the listener with their idiosyncratic and exemplary take on death metal mastery. Continue reading “Dormant Ordeal – The Grand Scheme of Things (Review)”

Hypocrisy – Worship (Review)

Hypocrisy - WorshipThis is the thirteenth album from veteran death metallers Hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy are a death metal band that have always tried different things, have always pushed themselves, and have incorporated many different styles and influences into their music over the decades. On Worship this continues to be the case. Across 51 minutes Continue reading “Hypocrisy – Worship (Review)”

Obscura – A Valediction (Review)

Obscura - A ValedictionObscura are a progressive/technical/melodic death metal band from Germany and this is their sixth album.

Following up on 2018’s Diluvium, 2021’s A Valediction contains 52 minutes of new material. The band have opted for a of a change of direction on their latest album, but despite this it’s still a version of the band so many know and love. Continue reading “Obscura – A Valediction (Review)”

Pathology – The Everlasting Plague (Review)

Pathology - The Everlasting PlagueThis is the eleventh album from US death metallers Pathology.

Both 2017’s Pathology and 2019’s Reborn to Kill were brutally fun records to listen to. What of The Everlasting Plague?

Unexpectedly lengthy, (relatively speaking), at 41 minutes in Continue reading “Pathology – The Everlasting Plague (Review)”