Hekata – Ruin (Review)

hekata - ruinHekata are a Russian death metal band and this is their debut album.

Hekata play a virulent mix of death metal, black metal, hardcore, crust, and grind. It’s quite the mix, and essentially results in songs that merge these influences into blackened slabs of Scandinavian-influenced deathcrustcore. Or something. You get the idea, I’m sure. Continue reading “Hekata – Ruin (Review)”

Altarage – The Approaching Roar (Review)

altarage - the approaching roarAltarage are a Spanish blackened death metal band and this is their third album.

2017’s Endinghent was a contagious plague of ugly blackened dissonance, and The Approaching Roar provides us with a brand new 43 minutes of dark intensity and malignant hatred. Continue reading “Altarage – The Approaching Roar (Review)”

Blurr Thrower – Les Avatars du Vide (Review)

Blurr Thrower - Les Avatars du VideBlurr Thrower is a one man atmospheric black metal band from France and this is his debut release.

Blurr Thrower’s music is heavily influenced by the Cascadian scene, which is no bad thing when the results are this good. Continue reading “Blurr Thrower – Les Avatars du Vide (Review)”

Barshasketh – Barshasketh (Review)

Barshasketh - BarshaskethBarshasketh are a black metal band from New Zealand/the UK and this is their fourth album.

My past encounters with Barshasketh have always been very positive, (see their split with Void Ritual and split with Outre), but this is my first exposure to a full length from the band.

Well, I enjoyed the band’s previous work that I’ve heard, but this is something else. Continue reading “Barshasketh – Barshasketh (Review)”

Yatra – Death Ritual (Review)

Yatra - Death RitualYatra are a doom band from the US and this is their debut album.

Now here we have an album that’s infused with darkness; it’s almost tangible, but in a warm, smoky way. Mixing ugly doom, riff-hungry stoner, blackened sludge, and harsh drone influences into 45 minutes of material, Death Ritual showcases the dark underbelly of doom metal. Continue reading “Yatra – Death Ritual (Review)”

Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2018

Having considered it long and hard, I’ve decided that any form of introductory paragraph with any real substance would simply detract from the list below. As such, all I’ll say is that 2018, like every year, has given us some top quality metal releases. So have a look at my top picks for 2018, and hopefully you’ll find a new band to obsess over…

Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2018”

Embra – Abjection (Review)

Embra - AbjectionThis is the debut album from Embra, a black/death metal band from the US.

Here we have a very tasty and impressive slice of modern atmospheric black metal, shot through with dark death metal influences for added bite. Continue reading “Embra – Abjection (Review)”