Signs of the Swarm – Vital Deprivation (Review)

Signs of the Swarm - Vital DeprivationThis is the third album from US deathcore/death metal band Signs of the Swarm.

I enjoyed 2017’s The Disfigurement of Existence, which took the standard deathcore template and injected into it brutal slamming death metal and the very occasional bout of melody and atmosphere. On Vital Deprivation the band have returned with 27 minutes of new material, and a changed style and singer too. Continue reading “Signs of the Swarm – Vital Deprivation (Review)”

Blut Aus Nord – Hallucinogen (Review)

Blut Aus Nord - HallucinogenThis is the thirteenth album from Blut Aus Nord, a French black metal band.

You never quite know what you’re going to be getting with a Blut Aus Nord release, and on Hallucinogen the band have mutated once again. Their latest incarnation is an avant-garde progressive black metal monster, emphasising atmosphere and feeling via engaging blackened soundscapes. Continue reading “Blut Aus Nord – Hallucinogen (Review)”

Entrails – Rise of the Reaper (Review)

Entrails - Rise of the ReaperThis is the sixth album from Entrails, a Swedish death metal band.

Entrails are a reliable death metal juggernaut. With both Obliteration and World Inferno the band produced highly enjoyable exemplars of the classic Swedish death metal style, and now with Rise of the Reaper they’re back once again with another 47 minutes of buzzsaw worship. Continue reading “Entrails – Rise of the Reaper (Review)”

Exhumed – Horror (Review)

Exhumed - HorrorExhumed are a death metal band from the US and this is their seventh album.

How unexpected. If you’d have told me that in 2019 Exhumed’s newest album would be 26 minutes of gore-obsessed deathgrind, I’d certainly have been surprised. And I am. Maybe this is a reaction to the relative sophistication of Continue reading “Exhumed – Horror (Review)”