Mastiff – Plague (Review)

Mastiff - PlagueMastiff are a hardcore/sludge metal band from the UK and this is their second album.

Mastiff play the kind of pitch-black ugliness that I really like. Mixing styles and genres into an extreme metal mass of festering hatred and misery, Plague contains elements of doom, sludge, hardcore, and grindcore, all hatefully mixed together and vomited onto the listener with scorn and bile. Continue reading “Mastiff – Plague (Review)”

Hænesy/Moondweller – Earth and Space – Split (Review)

hænesy moondweller - earth and space - splitThis is a split between two black metal acts – Hænesy from Hungary and Moondweller from Russia.

Hænesy open up the split, and after enjoying their debut album Katruzsa from last year, it’s great to have some new material from them already. Continue reading “Hænesy/Moondweller – Earth and Space – Split (Review)”

Ars Magna Umbrae – Lunar Ascension (Review)

Ars Magna Umbrae - Lunar AscensionArs Magna Umbrae is a Polish one man black metal band and this is his debut album.

Lunar Ascension is the follow up to the impressive Through Lunar Gateways, which I really enjoyed. As it turned out, we didn’t have to wait too long for a full length release after all, and here it is. Continue reading “Ars Magna Umbrae – Lunar Ascension (Review)”

Kromorth – Geodesic Beast (Review)

Kromorth - Geodesic BeastKromorth are a death metal band from Brazil and this is their debut album.

This is 32 minutes of brutal, relentless death metal. It’s raw and underground, and displays an instant character that I can’t help but warm to. There’s an obvious passion of delivery here that comes off the music in spades. Kromorth really love what they do. Continue reading “Kromorth – Geodesic Beast (Review)”

Ondfødt – Dödsrikets Kallelse (Review)

ondfødt - dödsrikets kallelseOndfødt are a Finnish black metal band and this is their second album.

We’ve met Ondfødt before on 2014’s Hexkonst, which I found to be quite an enjoyable blast of largely traditional rawness. Continue reading “Ondfødt – Dödsrikets Kallelse (Review)”

From the Vastland – Daevayasna (Review)

From the Vastland - DaevayasnaFrom the Vastland is an Iranian/Norwegian black metal band and this is their fifth album.

I enjoyed 2016’s Chamrosh, and Daevayasna provides us with another 47 minutes of classic black metal fury. The artist behind this project is rounded out by a full band for Daevayasna, boasting current and ex-members of Continue reading “From the Vastland – Daevayasna (Review)”

Azaghal – Valo Pohjoisesta (Review)

Azaghal - Valo PohjoisestaAzaghal are a Finnish black metal band and this is their eleventh album.

It’s been many, many years since I last heard Azaghal. This is definitely my loss, as I was a huge fan of the band at one point. Unfortunately I just lost track of what they were doing, for no particular reason, so it’s great to have the opportunity to catch up with them on their latest release. Continue reading “Azaghal – Valo Pohjoisesta (Review)”