Fen – Monuments to Absence (Review)

Fen - Monuments to AbsenceFen are a UK black metal band and this is their seventh album.

I last caught up with Fen on their 2017 album Winter. Apparently they’ve had another album since then, (The Dead Light), which I somehow managed to completely miss, which is a shame. Regardless, it’s now time for Monuments to Absence and its 67 minutes of music to absorb. Continue reading “Fen – Monuments to Absence (Review)”

Serpent of Old – Ensemble Under the Dark Sun (Review)

Serpent of Old - Ensemble Under the Dark SunThis is the debut album from Serpent of Old, a death metal band from Turkey.

Featuring the vocalist of Decimation, (also ex-Abolish), Ensemble Under the Dark Sun is a 42-minute monster of extreme metal. Mixing together black metal and doom, with elements of the progressive, dissonant, and atmospheric strains of death metal, Ensemble Under the Dark Sun is shockingly accomplished. Continue reading “Serpent of Old – Ensemble Under the Dark Sun (Review)”

Supayniyux – Genocidio Infernal (Review)

Supayniyux - Genocidio InfernalThis is the debut album from Swiss black metallers Supayniyux.

Genocidio Infernal contains 37 minutes of bestial black metal. It’s an ugly, noisy hybrid of black and death metal, one that revels in its blasphemy and hatred as its claws carve flesh and its teeth chew through bone. Continue reading “Supayniyux – Genocidio Infernal (Review)”

Wilt – Huginn (Review)

Wilt - HuginnWilt are a Canadian black metal band and this is their third album.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Wilt’s past material, (and bought the T-shirt too), so to say that I have been looking forward to Huginn is an understatement. Both 2015’s Moving Monoliths and 2018’s Ruin are exemplars of atmospheric black metal, and the new release Huginn is no exception. Continue reading “Wilt – Huginn (Review)”

Gravefields – Tetragrammaton (Review)

Gravefields - TetragrammatonGravefields are an international death metal band and this is their third album, (second with this name).

I really enjoyed 2019’s Embrace the Void, so was pleased to see Tetragrammaton appear. Containing 49 minutes of new extreme metal material, this is a record that many a fan of death/black metal would do well to pay attention to. Continue reading “Gravefields – Tetragrammaton (Review)”

None – Inevitable (Review)

None - InevitableNone are a black metal band from the US and this is their fourth album.

If you’re unfamiliar with None, where have you been? Releasing three stellar records in a row, (2017’s None, 2018’s Life Has Gone on Long Enough, and 2019’s Damp Chill of Life), None have now finally returned with their longest album yet, the 56-minute Inevitable. Continue reading “None – Inevitable (Review)”

Miserable Failure – т​о​с​к​а​́ (Review)

Miserable Failure - т​о​с​к​а​́This is the latest release from Miserable Failure, (or MSRBLFLR), a French death metal/grindcore band.

Miserable Failure have surfaced once more to bring us more multifaceted mayhem with this single-track EP.  Toska is a 25-minute descent into chaos, and it’s great to experience Miserable Failure’s dark, warped reality once more. Continue reading “Miserable Failure – т​о​с​к​а​́ (Review)”

Another Black Autumn – Resplendent Apparitions at the Dawn (Review)

Another Black Autumn - Resplendent Apparitions at the DawnThis is the debut album from US black metal band Another Black Autumn.

Containing members of Canis Dirus and Crown of Asteria, Another Black Autumn play atmospheric black metal. Across 31 minutes the band demonstrate a keen ability at producing black metal that doesn’t always do what you expect it to do. Continue reading “Another Black Autumn – Resplendent Apparitions at the Dawn (Review)”

Onheil – In Black Ashes (Review)

Onheil - In Black AshesOnheil are a black/death metal band from the Netherlands and this is their third album.

Now, here’s an album I’ve very much been looking forward to. I thoroughly enjoyed 2014’s Storm Is Coming, even more so over time, and was immensely happy to see that a follow up is finally here. Back now with some lineup changes, and playing an infectious form of melodic black/death metal, with an influence from thrash and heavy metal, In Black Ashes finds Onheil revitalised, and ready to conquer. Continue reading “Onheil – In Black Ashes (Review)”

Mental Cruelty – Zwielicht (Review)

Mental Cruelty - ZwielichtThis is the fourth album from German deathcore band Mental Cruelty.

Following on from 2019’s Inferis and 2021’s huge A Hill to Die Upon, Mental Cruelty have now returned with the crushing Zwielicht. Boasting 49 minutes of new material, as well as a new singer, this material continues Mental Cruelty’s forward progression, marking another shift in style towards even more blackened waters than the band waded in on A Hill to Die Upon. Continue reading “Mental Cruelty – Zwielicht (Review)”