This is the seventh album from Yellow Eyes, a black metal band from the US.
I last caught up with Yellow Eyes on their 2019 record Rare Field Ceiling, so the unexpected unveiling of Confusion Gate is a welcome surprise. With a 61-minute duration it’s the band’s longest album by a decent margin, so let’s embark on this journey and see what awaits us. Continue reading “Yellow Eyes – Confusion Gate (Review)”
This is the debut album from US grindcore band Defigurement.
Defigurement are described as playing a technical/avant-garde/experimental form of grindcore. Couple this with the fact that the band contain current/ex-members of bands such as Bad Acid Trip, Changeling, Fear Factory, Invidiosus, Malignancy, Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky, and Zillah, and this was one I wanted to check out. Continue reading “Defigurement – Endbryo (Review)”
This is the fourth album from US black metal band Fauna.
Containing members of Echtra and Eigenlicht, Fauna play Cascadian atmospheric black metal. Ochre & Ash is the unexpected follow up to 2012’s masterpiece Avifauna, so to say I have high expectations for the 70 minutes of Ochre & Ash is an understatement. Continue reading “Fauna – Ochre & Ash (Review)”
This is the third album from Рожь (otherwise known as Rye), a one-man blackened doom band from Russia.
2023’s Всё was a record that made a strong impression, so it’s good to now have 40 minutes of new material from the artist behind Рожь. Знание contains just three tracks, but each is worth spending time with, as we’ll see. Continue reading “Рожь (Rye) – Знание (Review)”
This is the fifth album from Polish experimental metal band Thaw.
It’s been more than a while since 2017’s Grains, so I was intrigued to see what Thaw have to offer in 2024. An experimental act, who have operated in black metal, sludge, doom, drone, ambient, and noise waters across their career, what does Fading Backwards and its 36 minutes of new material bring us? Continue reading “Thaw – Fading Backwards (Review)”
This is the fourth album from Swedish post-metal band A Swarm of the Sun.
An Empire offers up a daunting 71 minutes of music to explore. It’s a lot to absorb, but is worth the time investment, as the dark soundscapes that A Swarm of the Sun create are utterly captivating. Continue reading “A Swarm of the Sun – An Empire (Review)”
This is the fourth album from UK black metallers Gråt Strigoi.
Despite being four albums deep into their career, I’ve never heard of Gråt Strigoi before the wonderful Fiadh Productions put them on my radar. It’s seriously been my loss, as this stuff is so far up my alley it hurts. The Prophetic Silence contains 56 minutes of black metal that’s so good you should just stop reading this now and go and listen to it. Continue reading “Gråt Strigoi – The Prophetic Silence (Review)”
Scarcity are a black metal band from the US and this is their second album.
The successor of 2022’s well-received Aveilut, The Promise of Rain contains 40 minutes of new material from Scarcity. Brought to us from a band that features members of Anicon, Glorious Depravity, Krallice, Pyrrhon, Seputus, Weeping Sores, and Woe, Scarcity have a wealth of experience in the realms of extreme metal that they bring to bear here to good effect. Continue reading “Scarcity – The Promise of Rain (Review)”
Furia are a black metal band from Poland and this is their sixth album.
I haven’t reviewed a Furia release before, so this offers a well-overdue chance to rectify this unfortunate situation, and cast a critical eye over what this idiosyncratic band are up to in 2023. Over time Furia have only gotten more individual and experimental, so what does Huta Luna have to offer discerning black metal fans? Continue reading “Furia – Huta Luna (Review)”
This is the fourth album from US post-black metal band Ashbringer.
This is the follow up to 2019’s well-received Absolution, We Came Here to Grieve brings us 44 minutes of new music. On this new record Ashbringer continue to evolve their sound, pushing the envelope further, with a multifaceted mix of experimental black metal sounds. Although having said that, there’s less direct black metal on this album, for sure. Continue reading “Ashbringer – We Came Here to Grieve (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 