This is the second album from Mütterlein, a one-woman experimental band from France.
After being really struck by the quality of Mütterlein’s split with Limbes from earlier in the year, I was looking forward to getting to grips with what Bring Down the Flags had to offer. Continue reading “Mütterlein – Bring Down the Flags (Review)”
Tardigrada are a black metal band from Switzerland and this is their second album.
Vom Bruch bis zur Freiheit is 59 minutes long and contains four massive songs. Before each one of these sits a brief intro/interlude track, and against all expectations these are actually decent moments of rare calm and reflection amidst the atmospheric and emotive storms of the main songs. Continue reading “Tardigrada – Vom Bruch bis zur Freiheit (Review)”
Dakhma are a blackened death metal band from Switzerland and this is their second album.
Dakhma play an exotic form of blackened death metal that’s Zoroastrian-themed and highly detailed. Epic in scope and execution, Blessings of Amurdad offers a highly atmospheric exploration of extreme metal, without sacrificing the meaty, brutal riffs. The music is imbued with Middle Eastern influences that come to life not only Continue reading “Dakhma – Blessings of Amurdad (Review)”
Soul Remnants are a death metal band from the US and this is their fourth album.
Following on from 2013’s Black and Blood and 2017’s Ouroboros, Soul Remnants have now returned with their longest album to date – 50 minutes of new material. If you’re unfamiliar with the band, a mix of old The Haunted and Hypocrisy, (with the occasional dash of Kataklysm and Amon Amarth), is a decent enough starting point to gain an initial idea of how their music roughly sounds, (although this is by no means a comprehensive description). Continue reading “Soul Remnants – Raising the Sacrificial Dagger (Review)”
This is the fourth album from Swedish black metal solo act Funeral Mist.
The follow up to 2018’s vicious Hekatomb, Deiform contains 54 minutes of new material. It is an atmospheric and immersive release, filled with grandeur and weighty concepts and themes. Continue reading “Funeral Mist – Deiform (Review)”
Phenocryst 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 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)”
This is the debut album from post-metal/sludge band No God Only Teeth.
No God Only Teeth play a characterful style that mixes together sludge and post-metal, with elements of post-rock and crust. The band take an emotive approach to their material, forging dark soundscapes from the various subgenres. Continue reading “No God Only Teeth – Placenta (Review)”
Blue Heron are a heavy rock band from the US and this is their debut EP.
Two tracks, 12 minutes, no messing around.
Black Blood of the Earth is a nicely meaty track that combines a love of heavy rock with stoner and psychedelic influences. I like the alternating harsher vocals with Continue reading “Blue Heron – Black Blood of the Earth/A Sunken Place (Review)”
This is the debut album from Inherits the Void, a French one-man black metal act.
Monolith of Light is 37 minutes long and contains a form of melodically-rich atmospheric black metal that hits the spot quite nicely. The promo blurb tells us that the artist behind the band wanted to aim for “a meeting between influences from the ‘90s Swedish black metal scene and a more current orientation of the genre”, and I’d suggest that this has been achieved. The album has an old-school core that’s enhanced by more modern post-blackened influences. Continue reading “Inherits the Void – Monolith of Light (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 