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)”
Blackwater Drowning are a melodic death metal band from the US and this is their debut album.
Featuring a member of Final Curse, Blackwater Drowning play melodic death metal with good riffs, hooks, and vocals. Sonder//Satori contains 33 minutes of material, and ably showcases what the band are capable of a in a tight, professional package. Continue reading “Blackwater Drowning – Sonder//Satori (Review)”
This is the second album from Finnish melodic death metallers Horizon Ignited.
Featuring the singer of I Am the Night, Horizon Ignited play a mix of melodic death metal and metalcore, delivering 39 minutes of quality entertainment on Towards the Dying Lands. Continue reading “Horizon Ignited – Towards the Dying Lands (Review)”
This is the seventh album from US heavy metal band Haunt.
It’s always a pleasure to hear new material from this highly prolific act, (check out Mind Freeze as a great example), and Windows of Your Heart brings us 41 minutes of hard rocking heavy metal action. Continue reading “Haunt – Windows of Your Heart (Review)”
This is the second album from UK sludge/post-metallers Conjurer.
This much-anticipated lab of heaviness is the 53-minute follow up to 2018’s punishing Mire.
A contemporary blend of sludge and post-metal, with elements of doom, hardcore, and progressive metal, Páthos takes the sound that Mire did so well and pushes it further, expanding on its core heaviness with a greater range of textures and emotions. It’s like a vicious nest of crushing riffs has been smashed together with a multifaceted collection of rich soundscapes, and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. Continue reading “Conjurer – Páthos (Review)”
Vexes are a US alternative/post-metal band and this is their second album.
2018’s Ancient Geometry was a highlight of that year that I still regularly return to. Providing a slow-burning album that was full of emotive presence and luscious songcraft, it grew on me more and more over time. As such, I’m extremely pleased that Vexes have returned, but I have to say I wasn’t expecting them to bring a double album with them. Yes, Continue reading “Vexes – Imagine What We Could Destroy /// If Only Given Time (Review)”
This is the third album from French thrash/heavy metallers Heart Attack.
Described in the promo blurb as “the lovechild of Gojira, Machine Head and early Metallica”, this is a decent starting point for approaching Negative Sun. Across 45 minutes, (including a Genesis cover as a bonus track), Heart Attack unleash a mix of old and new thrash/groove/heavy metal, (with a touch of hardcore), and do so with passion and charisma. Continue reading “Heart Attack – Negative Sun (Review)”
Deathwhite are a melodic metal band from the US and this is their third album.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed witnessing Deathwhite’s continued development, (check out Ethereal, Solitary Martyr, For a Black Tomorrow, and Grave Image), so the appearance of Grey Everlasting is very welcome. On their latest release Deathwhite spend 48 minutes doing what they do best, only better than they ever have done it before. Continue reading “Deathwhite – Grey Everlasting (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 