Skythala – Boreal Despair (Review)

Skythala - Boreal DespairThis is the debut album from US black metal band Skythala.

Boreal Dispair offers discerning listeners 57 minutes of avant-garde black metal, which is a really simplistic way of describing a work that’s the complete opposite of simple. Continue reading “Skythala – Boreal Despair (Review)”

Eskhaton – Horracle (Review)

Eskhaton - HorracleThis is the latest EP from Australian death metallers Eskhaton.

2014’s Worship Death and 2018’s Omegalitheous were both howling, snarling slabs of blackened death metal. Bestial and savage, Horracle returns with 29 minutes of chaotic violence for listeners to become mauled by. Continue reading “Eskhaton – Horracle (Review)”

Label Roundup: Vendetta Records – Afsky, Vukari, and Ultha (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.

I like the output of Vendetta Records a great deal, so I wanted to revisit them once more. However, unlike last time when I looked at a few of their upcoming releases, this time I wanted to focus on a few gems from earlier in the year that you, (and I), may have missed. Continue reading “Label Roundup: Vendetta Records – Afsky, Vukari, and Ultha (Reviews)”

Bonecarver – Carnage Funeral (Review)

Bonecarver - Carnage FuneralBonecarver are a Spanish deathcore band and this is their second album.

After the thoroughly brutal Evil from only last year, Bonecarver are back already with Carnage Funeral, but they’re not the same band that we met only recently. This 40-minute record showcases the band as they develop their sound further; Carnage Funeral is Bonecarver’s next evolutionary step. Continue reading “Bonecarver – Carnage Funeral (Review)”

Kampfar – Til Klovers Takt (Review)

Kampfar - Til Klovers TaktThis is the ninth album from Norwegian Black Metallers Kampfar.

It’s been a while since I last caught up with what Kampfar were doing, (2015’s Profan). Their brand of pagan black metal is always entertaining, so when Til Klovers Takt appeared I was eager to check it out. Continue reading “Kampfar – Til Klovers Takt (Review)”

Fell Ruin – Cast in Oil the Dressed Wrought (Review)

Fell Ruin - Cast in Oil the Dressed WroughtThis is the second album from Fell Ruin, a blackened doom band from the US.

It has been a while since we last heard from Fell Ruin, but I liked 2015’s Devices and 2017’s To the Concrete Drifts enough that when I discovered a new album was coming out, I knew I wanted to absorb its dark charms. Continue reading “Fell Ruin – Cast in Oil the Dressed Wrought (Review)”

Arallu – Death Covenant (Review)

Arallu - Death CovenantArallu are black metal band from Israel and this is their eighth album.

A new Arallu album is always worth checking out. Over the years the band have amassed an enviable discography, (don’t miss Geniewar, Six, Desert Battles – Descending to the Sands, or En Olam), so it’s always a pleasure to encounter them once more. Continue reading “Arallu – Death Covenant (Review)”

Golgata – Ur Eld Och Aska (Review)

Golgata - Ur Eld Och AskaThis is the third album from Swedish black metallers Golgata.

2020’s Tempel was an enjoyable journey into Golgata’s world, so I’m glad to revisit it once more and see what their latest release has to offer. Continue reading “Golgata – Ur Eld Och Aska (Review)”

Helvellyn – The Lore of the Cloaked Assembly (Review)

Helvellyn - The Lore of the Cloaked AssemblyHelvellyn are a black metal band from the UK and this is their debut album.

Containing 38 minutes of material, The Lore of the Cloaked Assembly delivers black metal steeped in the old ways; Helvellyn worship at the altar of 90s second wave black metal. The band have clearly been blessed by their dark gods, as their music recalls the classics, while also offering something worth listening to in 2022. Continue reading “Helvellyn – The Lore of the Cloaked Assembly (Review)”