Lord Mantis are from the US and play Blackened Sludge Metal. This is their fourth album.
2014’s Death Mask was a tortured nightmare of evil sludge, pretty much as foul as the style gets. Five years later the band have returned, infecting the world with 44 minutes of new material that’s as virulent and as nasty as ever. Continue reading “Lord Mantis – Universal Death Church (Review)”
This is the third album from Italian black metal band Earth and Pillars.
2016’s Pillars I consisted of four monolithic tracks that made a very good impression. A release full of dark delights, it was a memorable album that still holds itself very well three years later. Continue reading “Earth and Pillars – Earth II (Review)”
This is the debut album from Endless Voyage X, a black metal band from the US.
Here we have 34 minutes of music that takes a second wave black metal base and builds on it with additional melody and atmosphere. Continue reading “Endless Voyage X – Opaque (Review)”
Wells Valley are a Portuguese Post-Metal band. This is their second album.
Following up 2015’s Matter as Regent and 2017’s The Orphic, Wells Valley have produced 49 minutes of new music for us to enjoy. The band sound more cohesive and developed than ever on their new release. Continue reading “Wells Valley – Reconcile the Antinomy (Review)”
Schammasch are a Black Metal band from Switzerland. This is their fourth album.
Was it really 2016 that the epic Triangle was released to an unsuspecting world? Apparently so. An incredibly strong release, it narrowly missed out on the top spot for my best albums of 2016 list. It was followed up in 2017 by the even more avant-garde EP The Maldoror Chants: Hermaphrodite, which provided a compelling dose of atmospheric material. Continue reading “Schammasch – Hearts of No Light (Review)”
Although not as jam-packed as September, October still had its fair share of Grade A metal releases. Check out my top picks below – Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of October 2019”
Lambs are an Italian post-metal/sludge/hardcore band and this is their debut album.
It’s been a while since I last caught up with Lambs, but it seems that time has been good to them. They now operate in more atmospheric waters than they used to, despite a large portion of their sound still being fuelled by rage and hatred. Continue reading “Lambs – Malice (Review)”
Midnight Odyssey is an Australian one-man black metal band and this is his third album.
As ridiculous as it sounds, I almost didn’t want to review or even listen to this album. Why? Because the band’s last album – 2015’s immense Shards of Silver Fade – was so hideously good that I couldn’t imagine being anything but disappointed with Biolume Part 1 – In Tartarean Chains. After all, Shards of Silver Fade claimed the coveted top spot in my end of year list for 2015, so this new one had a lot to live up to.
Anyway, enough preamble. Time to judge Biolume Part 1 – In Tartarean Chains on its own merits, of which there are many. Apparently this is the first in a trilogy of albums. I can’t wait to hear the next one already. Continue reading “Midnight Odyssey – Biolume Part 1 – In Tartarean Chains (Review)”
Frostmoon Eclipse are an Italian black metal band and this is their seventh album.
Frostmoon Eclipse play black metal that blends together elements of old and new(ish), coming across like a combination of where the classic second wave sound was circa 2000, while also having more than enough of the band’s own contemporary personalities mixed in. Continue reading “Frostmoon Eclipse – Worse Weather to Come (Review)”
Malevich are a grindcore/sludge metal band from the US and this is their second album.
What foul, twisted mass of ugly heaviness do we have before us here then? I do so enjoy hybrid releases like this, where multiple styles and subgenres are smashed together into an almost unrecognisable whole. On Our Hollow Continue reading “Malevich – Our Hollow (Review)”
