Blood Red Throne – Wonderbox Metal

Severe Torture – Torn from the Jaws of Death (Review)

Severe Torture are a death metal band from the Netherlands and this is their sixth album.

Torn from the Jaws of Death is a 39-minute hammer smash to the face. I’ve been a huge fan of Severe Torture ever since 2000’s Feasting on Blood, so to say I’ve been excited for this has been an understatement. I’m pleased to say that Severe Torture have delivered the entrails-smeared goods, and have also brought some additional torture implements with them too. Continue reading “Severe Torture – Torn from the Jaws of Death (Review)”

Necrot – Lifeless Birth (Review)

Necrot are a death metal band from the US and this is their third album.

2020’s Mortal was an enjoyable slab of old-school death metal carnage, and now Necrot are back to reap more limbs with the 40-minute Lifeless Birth. It’s a step up a level for Necrot, one you must listen to if you’re a fan of bands such as Gatecreeper, Bolt Thrower, Undeath, Incantation, Blood Red Throne, Autopsy, Grave, Tomb Mold, Outer Heaven, Genocide Pact, etc. Continue reading “Necrot – Lifeless Birth (Review)”

Blood Red Throne – Nonagon (Review)

This is the eleventh album from Blood Red Throne, a death metal band from Norway.

Containing 43 minutes of burly, crushing material, Blood Red Throne’s latest delivers an exemplar of classic death metal mastery. Nonagon feels both old-school and fresh, giving it a timeless vibe that I find much of the best death metal has. Continue reading “Blood Red Throne – Nonagon (Review)”

Demonstealer – The Propaganda Machine (Review)

This is the fourth album from Indian one-man extreme metal band Demonstealer.

I enjoyed both 2016’s This Burden Is Mine and 2021’s The Holocene Termination, so it’s now time to catch up with the talented artist behind Demonstealer. This time he’s come with a large supporting cast, as he’s assembled an enviable amount of musicians to help him to achieve his metallic goals, (from Continue reading “Demonstealer – The Propaganda Machine (Review)”

Nomad – Tetramorph (Review)

This is the latest EP from Polish Blackened Death Metallers Nomad.

Here we have 4 songs, 16 minutes of music; a glimpse into the world of Nomad. This world is brutal and ugly, but surprisingly nuanced and with an interestingly Blackened Sheen. The songs seems to barge out of the darkness to commit heinous, blasphemous acts before disappearing back into the night once more.

This is solid Death Metal, corrupted by Black Metal influences to tinge the riffs a shade darker than they would normally be and infusing the songs with dark atmospheres and an occult presence. They kind of remind me of a band like Blood Red Throne if they were more of a Blackened Death Metal proposition and were mixed with a band like Zyklon.

Nomad’s songs seem to be less about the individual riffs or parts and more about holistic atmosphere and feeling. This is an approach more commonly used by Black Metal bands than Death Metal ones, and thus befits their hybrid status. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some choice riffs on display here though; there are, and the overall impression that Tetramorph makes is extremely positive.

Dark growls that are more emotive than the norm for this style are combined with sickly screams and all kinds of other incantations to produce a focal point for these Blackened hymns.

Having never heard Nomad before, this is not what I was actually expecting. It’s always nice to be surprised and hear Blackened Death Metal done well, especially when the two styles are blurred so well like they are here.

Recommended.