Having considered it long and hard, I’ve decided that any form of introductory paragraph with any real substance would simply detract from the list below. As such, all I’ll say is that 2018, like every year, has given us some top quality metal releases. So have a look at my top picks for 2018, and hopefully you’ll find a new band to obsess over…
Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2018”
This is the second album from one man death/doom metal band Vanha.
Vanha’s debut album Within the Mist of Sorrow struck me hard, and has stayed with me ever since as a quality exemplar of how to provide a textured and highly atmospheric display of 90s death/doom influences. Delivered as a duo, Vanha is now one man, Melancholia is his latest effort. Continue reading “Vanha – Melancholia (Review)”
Disuse are a grindcore band from the Netherlands and this is their latest EP.
This is blink-and-you’ll-miss-it grindcore, boasting a raw and vicious 14 tracks across just five minutes. Continue reading “Disuse – The Yeti from Kad-Man-Ra (Review)”
I arrive at the venue before the first band is scheduled to start, (as I always try to). Once there, I’m presented with the longest queue outside the building that I’ve ever seen, surely a testament to the insane quality of this star-studded four-band bill. Continue reading “The Outer Ones Global Invasion Part II Tour – Revocation/Archspire/Soreption/Rivers of Nihil– Manchester Rebellion, 19/12/18 (Live Review)”
Xenobiotic are a deathcore band from Australia and this is their debut album.
Australians seem to know how to tear out some decent extreme metal, and Prometheus is a very enjoyable listen if you’re partial to modern heavy music. Yep, fans of Aversions Crown, Thy Art Is Murder, Fit for an Autopsy, and the like are advised to check this out.
This slab of gnarliness also features the guitarist of Earth Rot, which is another selling point. Continue reading “Xenobiotic – Prometheus (Review)”
Cerebrum are a Greek death metal band and this is their third album.
Cerebrum play an aggressive, fluid brand of technical death metal. Sometimes intense, sometimes adventurous, but not inaccessible for the average metalhead, Iridium is a solid slab of well-crafted death metal. Continue reading “Cerebrum – Iridium (Review)”
Sulphur Aeon are a German death metal band and this is their third album.
After the triumphant roar from the depths that was 2015’s Gateway to the Antisphere, (which I loved), this new one is greatly anticipated. It has not disappointed, either. Boasting another hypnotically engaging piece of artwork, the band are back and better than ever. Continue reading “Sulphur Aeon – The Scythe of Cosmic Chaos (Review)”
This is the debut EP from German post-metal band Haven.
This is music with dark undertones and ambient atmosphere. Haven mix together the atmospheric allure of post-metal, with the harsher framing of post-hardcore, and the delicate introspection of progressive rock. These influences collide Continue reading “Haven – Anima (Review)”
This is the debut album from Embra, a black/death metal band from the US.
Here we have a very tasty and impressive slice of modern atmospheric black metal, shot through with dark death metal influences for added bite. Continue reading “Embra – Abjection (Review)”
Sågverk are a Finnish blackened crust band and this is their second album.
This is the follow up to the belligerent Sahataan ne Kaikki from 2015. Like Royalty finds Sågverk in fine form. They have managed to take what made their debut album so enjoyable and refine and develop it further into the very satisfying 38 minutes of music that they have given us here. Continue reading “Sågverk – Like Royalty (Review)”
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