Reviews – Page 165 – Wonderbox Metal

Ashenspire – Hostile Architecture (Review)

Ashenspire are a post-black metal band from the UK and this is their second album.

Holy crap. This is not your standard album, not at all. It’s striking, individual, shockingly emotive, and relentlessly harsh in atmosphere and tone. To set the scene somewhat – Ashenspire play a form of post-black metal with strong avant-garde, experimental, and progressive tendencies. Featuring current and ex-members of Barshasketh and Falloch, Hostile Architecture is a 44-minute journey into the contemporary urban heart of darkness. Continue reading “Ashenspire – Hostile Architecture (Review)”

Antigama – Whiteout (Review)

This is the eighth album from Polish grindcore band Antigama.

I always enjoy hearing Antigama, as no matter what they’re doing you know you’re going to at least get a good base level of quality (see Meteor, The Insolent, and Depressant as good examples). Continue reading “Antigama – Whiteout (Review)”

Maul – Seraphic Punishment (Review)

This is the debut album from US death metal band Maul.

Across 38 minutes Seraphic Punishment torments us with nasty death metal that will not only leave a bad taste in your mouth, but a rusty meat cleaver too. Savage and brutal, the band’s music offers a crushing display of murderous death metal carnage. The style mixes the classic Swedish style with equally classic USDM, to create a hybrid of the two that lacks the strengths of neither. Continue reading “Maul – Seraphic Punishment (Review)”

Mantar – Pain Is Forever and This Is the End (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)”

Cerebral Extinction – Escape from Illusion (Review)

This is the third album from Italian brutal death metallers Cerebral Extinction.

Escape from Illusion delivers a punishing technical assault across 47 minutes of brutal material. Continue reading “Cerebral Extinction – Escape from Illusion (Review)”

Behold! The Monolith – From the Fathomless Deep (Review)

This is the fourth album from US doom/sludge metallers Behold! The Monolith.

It seems like an age ago that it came out, but 2015’s Architects of the Void stood out from the crowds that year, (and made it into my year end list), and I had wondered if we’d ever hear from the band again. They’ve now reappeared though, and with a new singer to boot, to bring us 46 minutes of new material. Continue reading “Behold! The Monolith – From the Fathomless Deep (Review)”

Scarcity – Aveilut (Review)

Scarcity are a black metal band from the US and this is their debut album.

Consisting of one 47-minute song, (which is divided into five tracks), Aveilut is an experimental black metal journey into the expansive and creative vision of Scarcity, (who contain a member of Pyrrhon/Seputus handling vocals). Continue reading “Scarcity – Aveilut (Review)”

Idol Throne – The Sibylline Age (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)”

Altars – Ascetic Reflection (Review)

This is the second album from Australian death metallers Altars.

Ascetic Reflection contains 40 minutes of warped death metal. As a rough outline of the band’s sound, take a base of Morbid Angel and then add in elements of bands like Gorguts, Artificial Brain, and Ulcerate. Then know that that these lazy comparisons do nothing to prepare you for the journey that Ascetic reflection offers. Continue reading “Altars – Ascetic Reflection (Review)”

Begrime Exemious – Rotting in the Aftermath (Review)

This is the fourth album from Canadian black/death metallers Begrime Exemious.

Rotting in the Aftermath contains 37 minutes of filthy underground death metal with a raw blackened edge of ice. This is the most death metal I’ve heard the band, and they sound like they’re enjoying themselves with it. Continue reading “Begrime Exemious – Rotting in the Aftermath (Review)”