Kehlvin – Holistic Dreams (Review)

Kehlvin - Holistic DreamsKehlvin are a progressive hardcore band from Switzerland and this is their third album.

Holistic Dreams contains 35 minutes of material. Kehlvin’s style is a progressive form of hardcore that also has post-hardcore and sludge metal flavours in it. For lack of a better description, imagine a mix of Knut, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Mastodon, and that will give you a rough starting point for Kehlvin’s sound. Continue reading “Kehlvin – Holistic Dreams (Review)”

Razoreater – Purgatory (Review)

Razoreater - PurgatoryThis is the latest EP from UK grindcore band Razoreater.

I like grind a lot, but there has been a distinct lack of it in 2021. At least, nothing that’s really crossed my path at any rate. In fact, I haven’t reviewed a single grindcore release this year, which is a shocking state of affairs. Time Continue reading “Razoreater – Purgatory (Review)”

Orbit Culture – Shaman (Review)

Orbit Culture - ShamanThis is the latest EP from Orbit Culture, a Swedish metal band.

Following on from 2020’s NijaShaman contains 25 minutes of new material. If you’re a fan of modern metal that mixes groove metal, thrash, metalcore , and deathcore together, then Shaman is a meaty and satisfying hit of heaviness. Continue reading “Orbit Culture – Shaman (Review)”

Rivers of Nihil – The Work (Review)

Rivers of Nihil - The WorkThis is the fourth album from US progressive metallers Rivers of Nihil.

The Work is a 64-minute journey into the increasingly ambitious world of Rivers of Nihil. 2018’s very well-regarded Where Only Owls Know My Name introduced more progressive elements then the previous album did, and the end result of this same evolution is showcased on The Work. Continue reading “Rivers of Nihil – The Work (Review)”

Signs of the Swarm – Absolvere (Review)

Signs of the Swarm - AbsolvereThis is the fourth album from US deathcore/death metal band Signs of the Swarm.

Both 2017’s The Disfigurement of Existence and 2019’s Vital Deprivation were crushingly effective records, which has made me quite excited for Absolvere. With a change of album art style, has there been a change of sound too? Continue reading “Signs of the Swarm – Absolvere (Review)”

Employed to Serve – Conquering (Review)

Employed to Serve - ConqueringThis is the fourth album from UK metallers Employed to Serve.

Across 48 minutes Employed to Serve dish out eleven tracks of energetic damage. Combining metal and hardcore together like it’s something fresh and vital, the band manage to avoid the tired metalcore tropes and instead deliver an album of crushing tunes and anthemic heaviness. Continue reading “Employed to Serve – Conquering (Review)”

Cognizance – Upheaval (Review)

Cognizance - UpheavalThis is the second album from UK/Austrian death metal band Cognizance.

Despite enjoying Cognizance’s early work, (such as Inquisition), I somehow managed to miss out on the band’s debut album Malignant Dominion. As such, when Upheaval appeared, lest I miss out again, I greedily took it to one side and hungrily devoured it. Continue reading “Cognizance – Upheaval (Review)”

Waldgeflüster – Dahoam (Review)

Waldgeflüster - DahoamThis is the sixth album by German black metal band Waldgeflüster.

I very much enjoyed 2016’s Ruinen, and then 2019’s Mondscheinsonaten appeared and saw the band’s atmospheric brand of blackened music take another strong step forward. So, what of Dahoam then? Continue reading “Waldgeflüster – Dahoam (Review)”

A Pale Horse Named Death – Infernum in Terra (Review)

A Pale Horse Named Death - Infernum in TerraThis is the fourth album from A Pale Horse Named Death, a Gothic/doom metal band from the US.

Featuring the ex-drummer of both Type O Negative and Life of Agony, we last caught up with A Pale Horse Named Death on 2019’s When the World Becomes Undone, which I enjoyed at the time, but ultimately didn’t live up to the promise of the band’s first two records. Infernum in Terra is here to rectify that. Continue reading “A Pale Horse Named Death – Infernum in Terra (Review)”