Bathory – Wonderbox Metal

Label Roundup: Grind to Death Records – Belarus Beaver, Eldprov, & Beyond the Catacombs (Reviews)

Wonderbox Metal gets sent a lot of new music, (which is great), but there’s no way that everything can get covered unfortunately, (which is not so great). This column hopes to redress this balance, if only slightly, by taking a look at a handful of releases that a record label has recently sent out that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks.

In this edition of this column we’ll take a look at Swedish label Grind to Death Records. It’s not a label I’m familiar with, so how better to get a good look at what they do than this? Besides, how could I resist a grindcore album about beavers… Continue reading “Label Roundup: Grind to Death Records – Belarus Beaver, Eldprov, & Beyond the Catacombs (Reviews)”

Label Roundup: Black Mass Prayers – Lykten, Urluk, & Valadier (Reviews)

Wonderbox Metal gets sent a lot of new music, (which is great), but there’s no way that everything can get covered unfortunately, (which is not so great). This new column hopes to redress this balance, if only slightly, by taking a look at a handful of releases that a record label has recently sent out that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks.

For this edition we turn to Black Mass Prayers, an Italian label that states it is “supporting the Italian Black Metal underground and aiming to spread its glory worldwide”. Neither other the label nor the bands on it were familiar to me prior to this, so it felt like a good time to dig in and explore what they had to offer… Continue reading “Label Roundup: Black Mass Prayers – Lykten, Urluk, & Valadier (Reviews)”

Dampf – The Arrival (Review)

This is the debut album from Dampf, a metal band from Sweden.

Brought to us by dance artist E-Type, and featuring members of Bathory and Sabaton, The Arrival contains 41 minutes of metallic fun; Dampf are in the business of big guitars, danceable beats, and even bigger choruses. Continue reading “Dampf – The Arrival (Review)”

Vanum – Legend (Review)

This is the third album from US black metallers Vanum.

The promo blurb states that Legend is for fans of Ultha, Wiegedood, Ash Borer, Fell Voices, Turia, Fluisteraars, Wode, Yellow Eyes, Bathory, Rotting Christ, and epic heavy metal. This is as good a place as any to start with for this record. Continue reading “Vanum – Legend (Review)”

Friends of Hell – Friends of Hell (Review)

This is the debut album by Friends of Hell, an international doom metal band.

As soon as I saw that Friends of Hell featured ex-members of Electric Wizard and Reverend Bizarre, I knew I wanted to sample its wares. I haven’t been disappointed. Continue reading “Friends of Hell – Friends of Hell (Review)”

Pakkt – To Brocken Heights Where Witches Dance (Review)

Armed only with the album cover and the briefest promo blurb I’ve probably ever seen simply identifying this as black metal, I decided to take a chance on it. In fact, I’ll reproduce the promo text in its entirety here – Continue reading “Pakkt – To Brocken Heights Where Witches Dance (Review)”

Dauþuz – Vom Schwarzen Schmied (Review)

This is the fourth album from German black metallers Dauþuz.

Vom Schwarzen Schmied gives us 57 minutes of well-crafted black metal to sink our teeth into. Continue reading “Dauþuz – Vom Schwarzen Schmied (Review)”

Wolves in the Throne Room – Primordial Arcana (Review)

This is the seventh album from US black metallers Wolves in the Throne Room.

A new Wolves in the Throne Room album is a huge event, especially for me, as they’re essentially one of my favourite bands.

With a rawer, sharper sound than Continue reading “Wolves in the Throne Room – Primordial Arcana (Review)”

Corr Mhóna – Abhainn (Review)

This is the second album from Irish black metal band Corr Mhóna.

Abhainn is a 56-minute progressive black metal album that also contains a healthy amount of doom and folk influences. It’s ambitious and bold, but also very striking and well-realised. The band have clearly put a lot into this work, and it shows; Abhainn is Continue reading “Corr Mhóna – Abhainn (Review)”

Midnight Odyssey – Biolume Part 2 – The Golden Orb (Review)

This is the sixth album from Australian one-man black metal act Midnight Odyssey.

The second part in a trilogy, (the first part being 2019’s exceptional Biolume Part 1 – In Tartarean Chains), Biolume Part 2 – The Golden Orb contains a massive 102 minutes of material.

On his latest Continue reading “Midnight Odyssey – Biolume Part 2 – The Golden Orb (Review)”