This is the debut album from Swedish thrashers Ominum.
Featuring members of Sonic Assault, Monument contains 56 minutes of face ripping thrash metal. Ominum operate on the heavier end of the thrash spectrum, with an emphasis on crushing guitars, harsh vocals, and biting extremity, but without stepping too far into extreme metal waters. Continue reading “Ominum – Monument (Review)”
This is the debut EP from New Zealand metal band Infinity Ritual.
Infinity Ritual play a groovy metallic brand of doom and stoner, and this EP features four tracks of material with a total duration of 23 minutes. Continue reading “Infinity Ritual – Infinity Ritual (Review)”
This is the thid album from US black ‘n’ roll band Funeral Chic.
Following on from 2018’s Superstition, Roman Candle brings us a different band with a different sound. With ten tracks and a duration of 36 minutes, the album has less songs than Superstition, but is four minutes longer. Continue reading “Funeral Chic – Roman Candle (Review)”
This is the debut album from Nicolas Cage Fighter, a metallic hardcore band from Australia.
The promo blurb states that Nicholas Cage Fighter combine “ruthless hardcore, late 90s metal and death metal influences”, which sets the scene nicely for the 37 minutes of material on The Bones That Grew from Pain.
Imagine a mixture of Hatebreed, Pantera, and the groovy aspect of bands like Thy Art Is Murder and Decapitated, and you’ll have a rough idea of where Nicolas Cage Fighter are coming from. They specialise is music that takes the metallic hardcore style from the 2000s and adds in more contemporary influences.
The music is full of energy and muscular heaviness. These songs are designed for the live arena, but are well-written enough to survive outside of their natural environment. Crushing breakdowns, heavy riffs, and roared vocals are the main order of business, and Nicolas Cage Fighter know their trade well. The songs are heavy, angry, are catchier than you might expect, and are just plain fun to listen to.
I like the inclusion of ambient, melodic, and atmospheric elements into the band’s brutal sound. These are only small enhancements to the songs and only appear at select moments, but they add value nonetheless. I also really like the singer’s vocals. They’re well-performed and varied enough to hold interest.
The Bones That Grew from Pain sits nicely next to recent records by Malevolence and Cage Fight. If you are looking for an album to hit the gym to, or just something to go and break stuff to, then this is for you.
A highly recommended slab of crushing heaviness.
This is the eighth album from Swedish blackened thrash metal band Witchery.
Witchery always tend to release an enjoyable record, (such as 2016’s In His Infernal Majesty’s Service and 2017’s I Am Legion), and their latest one continues this trend. Five years since their last album, Nightside, (which features members of bands such as The Haunted, and Lik), is a 36-minute concept album. Continue reading “Witchery – Nightside (Review)”
This is the second album from UK post-metal act The Ever Living.
The Ever Living combine alternative, electronic/industrial, and post-metal together into 43 minutes of material on Artificial Devices, resulting in a textured, immersive collection of tracks. Continue reading “The Ever Living – Artificial Devices (Review)”
Fellowship are a symphonic power metal band from the UK and this is their debut album.
I love a good power metal album, but I also find I’m constantly disappointed by it, as I’m not easily pleased with the style. Not so with The Saberlight Chronicles – this is a first rate slice of the good stuff. Fun, ridiculously positive and over the top, and packed with great tunes, Fellowship have massively impressed. Continue reading “Fellowship – The Saberlight Chronicles (Review)”
This is the third album from Ice Howl, a heavy metal band from the US.
I enjoyed 2020’s Cadence of the Cursed, so Darkness from Beyond is well-received. Now rounded out to a duo and featuring a couple of guests, this new album seems like more collaborative affair. It’s also a bit meatier, with ten tracks and 43 minutes of material to sink your teeth into. Continue reading “Ice Howl – Darkness from Beyond (Review)”
This is the fourth album from German blackened metal act Mantar.
This is the follow up to 2018’s The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze, (if you ignore the band’s cover album from 2020), and contains 41 minutes of new material. Pain Is Forever and This Is the End is the next logical evolution of Mantar’s sound, bringing a more direct song-focused approach to the music, while Continue reading “Mantar – Pain Is Forever and This Is the End (Review)”
Idol Throne are a heavy metal band from the US and this is their debut album.
Combining thrash and power metal, with a touch of progressive metal, The Sybylline Age contains 61 minutes of prime metallic heft. Traditional heavy metal is augmented with thrash metal muscle, neoclassical flourishes, and power metal flair. These elements are distributed across the album to Continue reading “Idol Throne – The Sibylline Age (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 