I’ve decided to do something new for 2020 – a second End of Year list. If you’ve missed it, my standard, definitive best of 2020 list can be seen here, and is made up of albums I was lucky enough to get to review. However, this year I want to also highlight some of the many albums that I’ve enjoyed listening to, but for one reason or another never had the chance to review. So, consider this a complementary list of sorts to the main one. Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List EXTRA! – Best Non-Reviewed Metal of 2020”
Tag: Banisher
Shodan – Death, Rule over Us (Review)
This is the second album by Shodan, a death metal band from Poland.
2016’s Protocol of Dying was a very memorable and enjoyable album, one that stood out for its quality and variety. Four years later the band are now back with Death, Rule over Us, containing 41 minutes of music that improves on their already capable style. Continue reading “Shodan – Death, Rule over Us (Review)”
Banisher – Oniric Delusions (Review)
This is Polish death metal band Banisher’s third album.
I like Banisher, as although they have a core of brutality, they infuse their music with a good deal of technicality and are not afraid to experiment with their sound either, introducing interesting ideas and some progressive elements.
Their last album, Scarcity, was really, really good, and on Oniric Delusions the band take what they did with Continue reading “Banisher – Oniric Delusions (Review)”
Banisher – Scarcity (Review)
Banisher are from Poland and play Death Metal with a good deal of variety and interest.
This is Progressive/Technical/Experimental Death Metal.
I have enjoyed their previous full length, (Slaughterhouse), and was looking forward to hearing what the band have got up to on this, their second album.
They don’t disappoint. Death Metal played fast and hard but with some nice experimentation and technical flourishes thrown in for good measure. The band can certainly play and they know their way around the instruments. Crucially though they can also do simplicity very well and sometimes the riffs just crush!
The band may be heavy and brutal but they also incorporate some melody and atmosphere into the songs to keep things interesting. There are plenty of these moments scattered around the songs and mean that Banisher have a good amount of variety and longevity baked into these tracks.
A strong, clear sound means you can hear everything that the instruments are doing, (even the bass), and allows you to fully appreciate the various things that the band are putting into their songs.
This is catchy, extreme, brutal, technical, atmospheric and engaging in all of the right places. A lot of other death metal bands sound one-dimensional in comparison to this.
And the Benny Hill cover at the end of the album? Pure genius.
Wonderbox Metal 