Sadistik Forest – Obscure Old Remains (Review)

Sadistik Forest - Obscure Old RemainsThis is the latest EP from Finnish death metallers Sadistik Forest.

Morbid Majesties was a highlight of 2018, so it’s great to have Sadistik Forest back with some new material. Obscure Old Remains contains four songs, with a total duration of 19 minutes. Continue reading “Sadistik Forest – Obscure Old Remains (Review)”

Unfathomable Ruination – Decennium Ruinae (Review)

Unfathomable Ruination - Decennium RuinaeThis is the latest EP from UK death metallers Unfathomable Ruination.

After the tight ball of fury that was 2019’s Enraged and Unbound, it’s good to hear from Unfathomable Ruination once more. This new EP contains 20 minutes of material – three new songs, and a rerecorded version of an old one. Continue reading “Unfathomable Ruination – Decennium Ruinae (Review)”

Ghastly – Mercurial Passages (Review)

Ghastly - Mercurial PassagesThis is the third album from Finnish death metallers Ghastly.

Ghastly specialise in death metal that has a sort of creeping, otherworldly malevolence to it. It’s atmospheric and sinister in ways that are unusual. You can hear the debt that has been paid to band’s such as Death and Autopsy, etc., but you can equally Continue reading “Ghastly – Mercurial Passages (Review)”

Noctule – Wretched Abyss (Review)

Noctule - Wretched AbyssNoctule is a one-woman black metal band from the UK, and this is her debut album.

Brought to us by the singer/guitarist of Svalbard, Wretched Abyss is a 42-minute Skyrim-themed album that takes some of the darker and melodic elements you can hear in Svalbard’s sound, and wraps them around a blackened core. Continue reading “Noctule – Wretched Abyss (Review)”

Mental Cruelty – A Hill to Die Upon (Review)

Mental Cruelty - A Hill to Die UponThis is the third album from German deathcore band Mental Cruelty.

This is the follow up to 2019’s Inferis, although A Hill to Die Upon is a different beast to its predecessor. Although the foundations are the same, they’ve been built upon and reshaped into a far darker, more blackened Continue reading “Mental Cruelty – A Hill to Die Upon (Review)”

Burning Witches – The Witch of the North (Review)

Burning Witches - The Witch of the NorthThis is the fourth album from Swiss heavy metallers Burning Witches.

I always enjoy hearing some new material from this band. Can they follow up 2018’s Hexenhammer and 2020’s Dance with the Devil with another slab of prime heavy metal goodness?

The answer is Continue reading “Burning Witches – The Witch of the North (Review)”

Alluvial – Sarcoma (Review)

Alluvial - SarcomaThis is the second album from Alluvial, a modern death metal band from the US.

Sarcoma contains 38 minutes of progressive death metal. Alluvial fuse their modern approach to the style with technical, progressive, and atmospheric flourishes, yet do so in a restrained song-based way. This results in songs that are atypical expressions of Continue reading “Alluvial – Sarcoma (Review)”

Alastor – Onwards and Downwards (Review)

Alastor - Onwards and DownwardsAlastor are a Swedish doom metal band and this is their second album.

Onwards and Downwards contains 46 minutes of old-school music that sits somewhere between doom metal and psychedelic hard rock. Continue reading “Alastor – Onwards and Downwards (Review)”

Tooth and Claw – Dream of Ascension (Review)

Tooth and Claw - Dream of AscensionThis is the debut album from US hardcore band Tooth and Claw.

A band containing members of Earth Crisis and Sect couldn’t fail to get my attention. Across 22 minutes, Tooth and Claw provide us with a raging version of old-school metallic hardcore that also occasionally flexes some death metal muscles with some of the guitars. Imagine a mix of Earth Crisis, Merauder, and Obituary, and you’ll be on the right lines. Continue reading “Tooth and Claw – Dream of Ascension (Review)”