Monthly Overview – the Best of September 2020

There was an unreasonably unreasonable (?) amount of good music to be had in September. So check out the below and let me know your favourite, (it goes without saying you should also be listening to The Ocean and Oceans of Slumber, so I won’t mention those again). Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of September 2020”

Amiensus – Abreaction (Review)

Amiensus - AbreactionAmiensus are a progressive black metal band from the US, and this is their third album.

We last met Amiensus in 2017 with All Paths Lead to Death, which saw them in a more atavistic mood than debut album Restoration. Abreaction finds the band in a more expensive mood once more, while still retaining a core of blackened darkness and aggression. Continue reading “Amiensus – Abreaction (Review)”

Enslaved – Utgard (Review)

Enslaved - UtgardEnslaved are a Norwegian black metal band and this is their fifteenth album.

A new Enslaved release is a thing to be celebrated, and Utgard is no different in this regard. The follow up to 2017’s EUtgard is actually quite different in many other regards, however. Continue reading “Enslaved – Utgard (Review)”

Anaal Nathrakh – Endarkenment (Review)

Anaal Nathrakh - EndarkenmentAnaal Nathrakh are a UK black metal band and this is their eleventh album.

You’ve gotta love Anaal Nathrakh. Albums like A New Kind of Horror just keep on giving, and I’d pretty much recommend anything in their discography, (also check out The Whole of the Law and Desideratum). Endarkenment is another adrenaline-filled ride into darkness and ferocity. Continue reading “Anaal Nathrakh – Endarkenment (Review)”

Ashlands – Ashlands II (Review)

Ashlands - Ashlands IIThis is the second EP from Italian atmospheric black metal band Ashlands.

Here we have an 18-minute EP featuring two intro/interlude-style tracks and two more standard songs. Continue reading “Ashlands – Ashlands II (Review)”

Lik – Misanthropic Breed (Review)

Lik - Misanthropic BreedLik are a Swedish death metal band and this is their third album.

Following on from 2018’s hugely enjoyable Carnage, Lik, (Featuring members of Witchery and Katatonia), now return with another 40 minutes of bloodsoaked material. Continue reading “Lik – Misanthropic Breed (Review)”

Alpha Wolf – A Quiet Place to Die (Review)

Alpha Wolf - A Quiet Place to DieAlpha Wolf are an Australian metalcore band and this is their second album.

Here we have a 36-minute chunk of modern heaviness. This is the heaviest of metalcore, so much so that it borders on deathcore in places. Mixed in with this are aspects of djent and nu-metal, as well as modern hardcore/metal elements in general. Continue reading “Alpha Wolf – A Quiet Place to Die (Review)”

Vous Autres – Sel de Pierre (Review)

Vous Autres - Sel de PierreThis is the second album from French black metallers Vous Autres.

Vous Autres’ black metal has a strong sludge metal undercurrent flowing through it, and it’s a combination that has produced an album of sublime merit. Continue reading “Vous Autres – Sel de Pierre (Review)”

Uada – Djinn (Review)

Uada - DjinnThis is the third album from Uada, a black metal band from the US.

Bursting at the seams with 60 minutes of ambitious, energetic material, Djinn is melodic black metal played by a talented band that know how to write the style. Clearly influenced by the classic blackened style, Uada have taken these influences and channelled them into music that has its own personality and character. Continue reading “Uada – Djinn (Review)”

Svalbard – When I Die, Will I Get Better? (Review)

Svalbard - When I Die, Will I Get BetterSvalbard are a crust/hardcore band from the UK and this is their third album.

The follow up to 2018’s It’s Hard to Have Hope, I was not expecting just how good When I Die, Will I Get Better? is.

This is an album where Continue reading “Svalbard – When I Die, Will I Get Better? (Review)”