Wonderbox Metal

Interview with Mindscar

Mindscar’s second album is a different beast to their first one, but no less savage. What’s Beyond the Light is both catchy and memorable extreme metal, confident in its attack and nuanced enough to have more depth than you might be expecting from such an in-your-face band.

Guitarist/singer Richie Brown tells us more…

Introduce us to Mindscar!

We are a three piece metal band from Florida with two albums out: Kill The King and What’s Beyond The Light.

What are your influences?

Nature and life experiences. Continue reading “Interview with Mindscar”

Asphyx – Incoming Death (Review)

Hailing from The Netherlands, this is the ninth album from legendary death metallers Asphyx.

Asphyx are a well-known band for a reason and new material from them is always welcome.

Incoming Death contains 48 minutes of colossal death metal, with huge riffs and drums that drop like bombs.

War-themed and crushingly heavy, this is an album that sweeps you away as soon as you start playing it. Sure, there are Continue reading “Asphyx – Incoming Death (Review)”

Khaldera – Alteration (Review)

Khaldera are from Switzerland. They play post-metal and this is their second EP.

Khaldera play their music as an instrumental band with plenty of atmosphere.

Weaving heavy, down-beat grooves with atmospheric doom and post-metal contemplation, this 18 minute Continue reading “Khaldera – Alteration (Review)”

Season of Arrows – Give It to the Mountain (Review)

This is the second album from Season of Arrows, a doom/stoner metal band from the US.

This is an album that combines retro/70s doom metal stylings with a more contemporary stoner rock vibe.

The songs on this release merge the various influences of the band effectively, creating tracks that not only worship at the altars of old-school doom and more recent stoner, but also give nods towards post-metal and atmospheric metal in places too. Continue reading “Season of Arrows – Give It to the Mountain (Review)”

Pénitence Onirique – V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (Review)

This is the debut album by Pénitence Onirique, a French black metal band.

Pénitence Onirique play scathing black metal, filled with dark atmosphere and with a foreboding presence.

Razor sharp vocals lash out from the music like barbs, lacerating with ease, while the Continue reading “Pénitence Onirique – V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (Review)”

Agatus – The Eternalist (Review)

This is the third album from this Greek black/heavy metal band.

Now this is an interesting release. 14 years after their second album, Agatus return with even more of a progressive/heavy metal approach to their music.

70s progressive rock and NWOBHM influences collide head-on with the black metal background of the group, making for an album that sounds little like any of their contemporaries.

The closest I can come to compare with other bands would be a crazy fusion of Rotting Christ, Vintersorg and Countess, all given a workover by NWOBHM and 70s progressive rock. or something. All I know is it’s infectious, addictive, individual and bloody good.

The black metal aspects Continue reading “Agatus – The Eternalist (Review)”

Interview with Ancient

Ancient have returned! Back to the Land of the Dead is the band’s first outing in 12 years, and one that has amassed no small amount of expectation in certain quarters.

You’ll no doubt be pleased to know that it’s an album that lives up to these expectations, one that’s worth taking the time to listen to and to get to know as it lashes you with its frosted riffs and serrated vocals.

Thankfully, when speaking to the owner of said serrated vocals, he revealed himself to be much less scary than his recordings would suggest.

Step into the world of Ancient…

Introduce yourself!

My name is Zel, founder of the band Ancient, an extreme metal band, with roots in the Norwegian black metal scene, founded in Norway in 1992, but today is based in Italy, and Greece (where I live). Continue reading “Interview with Ancient”

Allegaeon – Proponent for Sentience (Review)

This is the fourth album from US death metallers Allegaeon.

This is an ambitious, epic release; 72 minutes of science fiction-themed grandeur and technical aggression.

The band’s music is technical, melodic death metal that features a lot of engaging content and some quite virtuoso playing. For a band like this, the level of technicality on display is always going to be high, but Allegaeon never Continue reading “Allegaeon – Proponent for Sentience (Review)”

Delain – Moonbathers (Review)

Delain are a symphonic metal band from The Netherlands and this is their fifth album.

Delain are one of those bands that I feel I should have heard a long time ago, but Moonbathers is actually my first encounter with the band’s material.

Within Temptation and Nightwish are the obvious reference points for a band like this, and Continue reading “Delain – Moonbathers (Review)”

Myteri – Myteri (Review)

Myteri are a crust/punk band from Sweden and this is their debut album.

Myteri combine crust and punk influences into 27 minutes of roiling hardcore, recalling a mix of Poison Idea, Fredag Den 13:e and Martyrdöd.

With a very unassuming cover, along with the brief intro track, this seems to Continue reading “Myteri – Myteri (Review)”