Manchester’s hot ticket is tonight is Dragged into Sunlight, and people have turned out in force. As usual, their merch queue is ridiculous, and it stays ridiculous for a ridiculous amount of time. Good for them. They’re not the only tasty treat on this gnarled bill though; first comes death metal most foul. Continue reading “Dragged into Sunlight/Vacuous/Plague Pit – Club Academy, Manchester – 30/05/26 (Live Review)”
Portrayal of Guilt are a blackened hardcore band from the US and this is their fourth album.
…Beginning of the End is the sound of Portrayal of Guilt pushing their sound harder and deeper. Across 31 evocative minutes, the band reach across genres and styles to grasp what they want in an unyielding iron grip. …Beginning of the End brings a lot to the table. Continue reading “Portrayal of Guilt – …Beginning of the End (Review)”
This is the debut album from Agenbite Misery, a US black/death/sludge metal band.
Okay, it’s to the promo blurb for this one – “…the band began with a deceptively simple idea: to adapt James Joyce’s Ulysses into an experimental metal album. What emerged from that idea is a 55-minute odyssey of layered sonic aggression and literary depth, an album that blends blackened sludge, dissonant death metal, post-punk, ambient drone, and more into a singular, genre-defying statement of purpose.” So there you have it. Continue reading “Agenbite Misery – Remorse of Conscience (Review)”
This is the debut album from German doom band Lightless.
A Foreseen Loss is a crushing 80-minute slab of blackened doom. Lightless play a gargantuan brand of doom mixed with serrated black metal and dark murderous sludge, (along with touches of post-metal and drone). Let me tell you, it doesn’t just hit the spot, but obliterates it. Continue reading “Lightless – A Foreseen Loss (Review)”
This is the debut album from Australian blackened doom/sludge band Ghostsmoker.
Playing a hideous stew of blackened sludge and doom metal, Ghostsmoker’s debut album Inertia Cult is a 42-minute endurance test – do you have what it takes to survive their onslaught of abrasive distortion and scathing darkness? Continue reading “Ghostsmoker – Inertia Cult (Review)”
This is the second album from German post-metallers Druma.
Sores of Our Time contains 36 minutes of music spread out over four songs. Druma’s style is a mix of sludge and post-metal, with dark atmosphere and a rich blackened touch. With a promo blurb that says it should be for fans of bands such as The Ocean, Cult of Luna, Amenra, and Gaerea, Sores of Our Time is an album that demanded I pay attention to it. Continue reading “Druma – Sores of Our Time (Review)”
This Gift Is a Curse are a blackened hardcore/sludge band from Sweden and this is their fourth album.
I thoroughly enjoyed 2019’s A Throne of Ash, so the return of This Gift Is a Curse is a welcome one. They’ve not held back either; Heir is a 67-minute monster. Honestly, I was expecting something good from the band, but Heir is just exceptional. Continue reading “This Gift Is a Curse – Heir (Review)”
Oryx are a sludge metal band from the US and this is their fourth album.
I enjoyed 2021’s Lamenting a Dead World a great deal, so I knew I had to check out Primordial Sky. Across 41 minutes Oryx once again deliver a weighty slab of blackened sludge doom that’s more expressive than most. Continue reading “Oryx – Primordial Sky (Review)”
This is the eleventh album from Forgotten Tomb, an Italian black/doom metal band.
A new Forgotten Tomb album is a notable event around these parts. 2015’s Hurt Yourself and the Ones You Love, 2017’s We Owe You Nothing, and 2020’s Nihilistic Estrangement, were all top drawer records, so it’s with expectation that Nightfloating‘s 41 minutes of new material is greeted. Continue reading “Forgotten Tomb – Nightfloating (Review)”
Dopethrone are a Canadian sludge metal band and this is their sixth album.
Following on from 2018’s Transcanadian Anger, Dopethrone have finally returned to crush everyone flat with their charismatic sludge metal brew. Broke Sabbath contains 39 minutes of filth and hatred, all thrown at the listener in typically heavy Dopethrone fashion. Ahh, it’s good to have this particular brand of sludge nastiness back in town. Continue reading “Dopethrone – Broke Sabbath (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 