Wonderbox Metal

Interview with Arallu

Arallu are a band that have been releasing quality music for almost 20 years, and their fifth album, Geniewar, sees the band losing no momentum or creative power. It’s an engrossing listen, and by rights the band should be at least twice as popular as they actually are. With that in mind, let’s take the time to catch up with Arallu and find out a bit more about what makes this very individual black metal band tick…

Introduce us to Arallu!

Hello from Jerusalem.

Arallu was founded in Jerusalem, in the middle of the conflict between the religions around the old city of Jerusalem in the 90s. When you live as the terror is surrounding you. Want it or not, it inspires you whatever you do. Continue reading “Interview with Arallu”

Katalepsy – Gravenous Hour (Review)

This is the second album from this Russian death metal band.

Katalepsy have a dynamic and vibrant sound for a band that are, essentially, brutal death metal. They seem to be able to pick energetic riffs with ease and form their compositions around interesting structures and ideas.

This album’s a monster, and crushes like one, too. A clear, crisp Continue reading “Katalepsy – Gravenous Hour (Review)”

Destruction – Under Attack (Review)

This is the 14th album from this prolific German thrash metal band.

For a band that have been around for over 30 years(!), describing Destruction as veterans of the thrash metal scene, or something like that, is an understatement. Considering both their longevity and considerable output since that time, I imagine there are few in the metal world who are unfamiliar with the band in some capacity or other. Well, unless all you listen to is Continue reading “Destruction – Under Attack (Review)”

Sarcoptes – Songs and Dances of Death (Review)

Sarcoptes are a black metal band from the US. This is their début album.

This record makes me feel nostalgic. The band play a classic style of black metal that incorporates elements of the 90s symphonic style alongside a few thrashier bits here and there. It really does take me back to the early days of bands like Cradle of Filth, Emperor, Bal-Sagoth, Hecate Enthroned, Dimmu Borgir, etc.

The singer has Continue reading “Sarcoptes – Songs and Dances of Death (Review)”

Seedna – Forlorn (Review)

Seedna are an atmospheric black metal band from Sweden. This is their third album.

I like music like this; some of my favourite albums are those where it sounds as if the band are taking the listener on a journey, and Forlorn is very much a release like this.

Seedna play atmospheric black metal that’s big on emotional content and Continue reading “Seedna – Forlorn (Review)”

Interview with Earth Rot

Australian death metal band Earth Rot have produced one of the most exciting and jaw-droppingly impressive EPs in recent memory. Chthonian Virtues is its name, and merry destruction is its game. Jared Bridgeman, he of the inhuman lungs, told me a bit more about this energetic band…

Introduce us to Earth Rot!

We’re a 4 piece black/death band from Perth, Australia. We have 3 releases to date: Chthonian Virtues, Follow The Black Smoke and Dirt. Listen here and figure out for yourself what we’re about: http://www.earthrot.com.au Continue reading “Interview with Earth Rot”

Aborted – Retrogore (Review)

Aborted are a veteran death metal band from Belgium and this is their 9th album.

The return of Aborted! Huzzah! After recently catching them live, I was eagerly awaiting their latest foray into the killing pits. Their brand of blasting mayhem and huge groovy riffs has been refined over the years so that they’re definitely one of the best in the genre at this point.

The singer has always been Continue reading “Aborted – Retrogore (Review)”

Arallu – Geniewar (Review)

This is the fifth album from this Israeli black metal band.

Ever since I first heard Satanic War in Jerusalem back in 2002, it was immediately apparent that there was something different, something special, about Arallu’s music. Sure, it was black metal and contained recognisably black metal components, but there was also something extra that the band had. They’ve nurtured and developed it over the years, and every time I hear them I’m reminded of just how individual they are.

So basically, we get black metal in the recognisable format, but twisted with Continue reading “Arallu – Geniewar (Review)”

Gruesome – Dimensions of Horror (Review)

Gruesome are a Death Metal band from the US. This is their latest EP.

Gruesome are a supergroup of sorts, made up of members who have a large amount of extreme metal experience and count many different bands as their current and ex-projects, including Exhumed, Possessed and Malevolent Creation.

After the massively enjoyable slab of Death-worship that was Savage Land, Gruesome return with Continue reading “Gruesome – Dimensions of Horror (Review)”

Interview with Gridfailure

For someone who’s not massively into noise/drone/experimental/whatever music, Gridfailure has been a bit of an eye-opener for me. It differentiates itself from a lot of its peers simply by being pretty damn good. That’s it, really. The soundscapes on Ensuring the Bloodline Ends Here are made up of just good music; here we have something that builds, turns, changes and emotes, exactly what you want out of an album, no matter what it’s composed of. David Brenner, the evil genius behind the band, was kind enough to give a bit of insight into the birth of Gridfailure…

Introduce us to Gridfailure!

Gridfailure is comprised of only myself, David Brenner; the act is as of now a solo project that happened “by accident”. I’ve been playing live and recording with Theologian since last year, Summer 2015, and within that time have heavily expanded upon the bass/vocal or vocal-only responsibilities I’ve had with any of my prior acts many moons ago. All of a sudden I was unloading a wealth of accumulated ideas, recording for Theologian, in the meantime creating a plethora of toxic runoff that would not be used on our records. One day this past February I was playing with unused recordings from random sessions basically just learning how to use music creation software. Suddenly these songs just kind of “happened” within layering this dark waste, and I started creating new material to merge them together in a very Frankenhooker fashion. Gridfailure was a random name I came up with while writing lyrics for a then non-existent band in the dark during our blackout of Hurricane Sandy, then just sat there in a folder… it just popped out while these tracks were aligning, and the project was brought into existence right then, randomly dicking-around with abandoned source material and old scribble. Continue reading “Interview with Gridfailure”