Reviews – Page 467 – Wonderbox Metal

Dimlight – The Lost Chapters (Review)

Dimlight are a symphonic metal band from Greece and this is their third album.

Now this is quite interesting. Here we have a Gothic/symphonic metal band that have some death/black metal elements entwined into the tracks.

This is a modern, updated version of the old, so-called, beauty-and-the-beast vocal approach that twins angelic female cleans with guttural male growls. I always quite liked this approach when it was probably at the height of its popularity Continue reading “Dimlight – The Lost Chapters (Review)”

Sonic Poison – Harsh Demonstration (Review)

Sonic Poison are a Finnish grindcore band and this is their latest release.

Playing a primitive, old-school strain of grinding violence, this EP combines grind, crust, ugly thrash and Repulsion-worship into under 10 minutes of nasty carnage. There’s even a hint of Brutal Truth at their ugliest in some of the guitar riffs. Continue reading “Sonic Poison – Harsh Demonstration (Review)”

Countess – Fires of Destiny (Review)

This is the fifteenth album from Countess, a black metal band from the Netherlands.

I enjoy Countess a lot. Both Sermons of the Infidel and Ancient Lies and Battle Cries have been featured on this site previously, and it’s with great pleasure that we now turn to this latest album.

With a slightly rougher sound this time around, these tracks Continue reading “Countess – Fires of Destiny (Review)”

Warfather – The Grey Eminence (Review)

Warfather play death metal and this is their second album.

Warfather’s debut album Orchestrating the Apocalypse was a bit hit and miss. Although it was, overall, an enjoyable affair, over time it revealed itself to be a little unfocused in places and had a rather thin production that didn’t do the music any favours.

Two years later, enter The Grey Eminence. First off, there are no problems with the production this time round. On this latest release it’s thick, chunky and muscular, just as it needs to be. Being produced by Erik Rutan, I would expect no less. Continue reading “Warfather – The Grey Eminence (Review)”

Black Mass Pervertor – Phanerosis (Review)

Black Mass Pervertor are a Finnish black metal band and this is their debut album.

This is filthy, fast and furious black metal with crust and punk influences. It’s the kind of thing you might expect to come from the black metal underground, appealing to fans of the likes of Impaled Nazarene, Watchmaker and Black Witchery. Phanerosis sees the band carrying on the tradition of short, ugly songs that want to rape and kill you just for fun.

Rooted firmly in the oldest of old schools, Black Mass Pervertor Continue reading “Black Mass Pervertor – Phanerosis (Review)”

Cicatrix – Suffocated Faith (Review)

Cicatrix are a Polish deathgrind band, and this is their second album.

Featuring 10 originals and 2 covers of Dead Infection and Terrorizer songs, Cicatrix wear their influences on their collective sleeves and deliver 29 minutes of utter carnage.

This is a mix of brutal death metal and ugly grindcore. The band know how to play fast, but Continue reading “Cicatrix – Suffocated Faith (Review)”

Impure Consecration – Succumb to Impurity Fire (Review)

This is the latest EP from this US death metal band.

Here we have a short blast of ancient, occult death metal that reeks of the old-school and decayed corpses.

With a playing time of less than 10 minutes the band waste no time in getting down to business. These songs are mouldy examples of the atavistic art of death metal, played with the fervour of fanatics and the skill of veterans. Continue reading “Impure Consecration – Succumb to Impurity Fire (Review)”

Hostis – Hostis (Review)

Hostis are a Serbian death/thrash metal band. This is their debut album.

Holy riff bonanza! This is thrash with a side order of death metal for good effect. Or the other way around, I suppose. Who cares when it shreds so hard that you’ll need bandages?

With a quality guitar sound, there are lots of good, energetic riffs on this release. Taking their cues from some of the old-school thrash greats, the guitars are one of the highlights of this release for me, fashioning soundscapes Continue reading “Hostis – Hostis (Review)”

Somnium Nox – Apocrypha (Review)

This is the debut release from Somnium Nox, a black metal band from Australia.

Somnium Nox are harbingers of esoteric progressive/atmospheric black metal that plays out over one 16 minute track, revealing an expansive tapestry of music that explores the underground world of black metal with aplomb. Continue reading “Somnium Nox – Apocrypha (Review)”

Jinjer – King of Everything (Review)

Jinjer are a metal band from the Ukraine, and this is their second album.

King of Everything mixes metalcore, hardcore, thrash metal, groove metal, melodic death metal and djent…Okay, that’s a lot of sub-genres. Let’s just say they cover a lot of bases.

That’s putting it too simply, though; in reality, Jinjer have managed to produce a complex and diverse album that has a whole lot more going on than you might expect for a band that’s labelled Continue reading “Jinjer – King of Everything (Review)”