This is the eighth album from Australian black metal band Pestilential Shadows.
For such a long-running band this is my first encounter with Pestilential Shadows. Wretch caught my eye though, with its 48 minutes of material that satisfies my taste for all things old-school black metal. Continue reading “Pestilential Shadows – Wretch (Review)”
This is the second album from Brazilian solo black metal act Autrest.
On Burning Embers, Forgotten Wolves, the artist behind Autrest provides us with 42 minutes of nature-inspired atmospheric black metal. It’s well crafted, and the artist clearly knows what he’s doing. Continue reading “Autrest – Burning Embers, Forgotten Wolves (Review)”
This is the second album from one-man black metal band Hasard.
This is the 46-minute follow up to 2023’s Malivore, which showcased the artist behind Hasard’s vision for dark, nightmarish black metal. Abgnose contains an idiosyncratic form of dissonant avant-garde black metal, one that’s enriched with dark orchestral symphonics as part of its journey into the abyss. Continue reading “Hasard – Abgnose (Review)”
This is the third album from Finnish black metallers Sarastus.
Agony Eternal contains 42 minutes of material, and is brought to us by current/ex-members of Iron Harvest and Order of Nosferat. Sarastus unleash their classic black metal might in no uncertain terms across these nine songs. It’s Finnish melodic black metal, played with cold fury and a fiery heart. Continue reading “Sarastus – Agony Eternal (Review)”
Zatokrev are a doom/sludge/post-metal band from Switzerland and this is their fifth album.
I was very, very excited to see this one appear. Rather shockingly, it’s been a whole decade since 2015’s Silk Spiders Underwater…, so it’s great to finally have the 65-minute …Bring Mirrors to the Surface. Zatokrev are one of the greatest doom/sludge/post-metal bands in existence, yet are criminally unknown. They’ve now signed to the fantastic Pelagic Records, wo hopefully this will allow them to get the exposure they deserve. Continue reading “Zatokrev – …Bring Mirrors to the Surface (Review)”
Årabrot are a Norwegian rock band and this is their eleventh album.
Recorded at the same time as its 2023 predecessor Of Darkness and Light, (the titular track of which is on this new record, and note the stylistically similar cover), Rite of Dionysus contains 43 minutes of new material. Continue reading “Årabrot – Rite of Dionysus (Review)”
This is the second album from Finnish death metal band Proscription.
Desolate Divine contains 44 minutes of blackened death metal. This, right here, is the good stuff. Proscription landed on my radar with 2020’s Conduit, (which I could have swore I’d reviewed, but apparently not), but Desolate Divine has destroyed my expectations. Yep, I like this.. Continue reading “Proscription – Desolate Divine (Review)”
Imperishable are a death metal band from the US and this is their debut album.
Brought to us by current/ex-members of Aurora Borealis, Enthean, Hate Eternal, Malevolent Creation, Nile, and Olkoth, Imperishable have a wealth of experience available to them. What do they do with it? They unleash the 32-minute Revelation in Purity, and you’d better get out of its way, lest you be left a bloody smear on the floor. Continue reading “Imperishable – Revelation in Purity (Review)”
This is the debut album from Italian black metal band Blutsauger.
Nocturnal Blood Tyrants contains 34 minutes of primal, atavistic black metal. Blutsauger play it hard, nasty, and grim. It may be 2025, but around these parts it’s 1993. I liked this one a lot. Continue reading “Blutsauger – Nocturnal Blood Tyrants (Review)”
This is the debut album from US black metal band Execrari.
Containing a member of Relentless, Execrari’s style is rooted in black metal’s second wave, while also showing some contemporary influences and progressive, melodic, and avant-garde tendencies. Desolation Manifest has come out of nowhere to really impress. There are six songs, spanning 47 minutes, and each track is a powerful reminder of just how potent black metal can be in the right hands. Exciting even, despite its ancient roots. Continue reading “Execrari – Desolation Manifest (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 