Malevolence are a metalcore band from the UK and this is their fourth album.
2022’s Malicious Intent was a solid mix of groove metal and metalcore, so I was interested where Malevolence would take their sound and increased popularity for the 43-minute Where Only the Truth Is Spoken. Continue reading “Malevolence – Where Only the Truth Is Spoken (Review)”
This is the seventh album from UK death metallers Ingested.
So, if you’re a fan of deathcore-edged brutal death metal, then you must surely know of Ingested by now, (if not, acquaint yourself with The Level Above Human, Where Only Gods May Tread, Ashes Lie Still, and the rest). Ingested seem to be on a bit of a creative binge over the last few years, pumping out albums like nobody’s business, which brings us to the 45 minutes of heaviness that is The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams. Continue reading “Ingested – The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams (Review)”
This is the debut album from US metal band Memorrhage.
Now here’s an album I couldn’t miss out on. Brought to us by a member of Cara Neir, Memorrhage is a tribute to the 90s metal scene, specifically nu-metal and the related styles around this, including hardcore, metalcore, and industrial. Yep, I had to hear this. Continue reading “Memorrhage – Memorrhage (Review)”
This is the second album from Bulgarian metallers Gwendydd.
Blending aspects of melodic death metal, nu-metal, industrial, and metalcore into 32 minutes of charismatic metal, Gwendydd have produced an enjoyable album in Censored. Continue reading “Gwendydd – Censored (Review)”
Deathflux are a UK metal band and this is their debut album.
Deathflux play a heavy and aggressive brand of metal. Mixing influences from groove metal and the NWOAHM with some more contemporary deathcore ones, and adding in some Continue reading “Deathflux – Execrated (Review)”
Outright Resistance are a UK metal band and this is their latest EP.
After a rather embarrassing intro track, the rest of the EP is, thankfully, better. This is Pantera/Lamb of God/Chimaira inspired metal that’s all youthful enthusiasm and energy.
The band have the right approach for this kind of music, starting with some decent riffs and Continue reading “Outright Resistance – Me Vs I (Review)”
Death Lullaby are a Canadian Metal band and this is their début album.
This is modern Metal/djent that takes no prisoners with its heavy assault.
Stylistically the band are somewhat of a crossbreed between djent and NWOAHM. This is to their benefit; djent by itself is a very easy sub-genre to do badly, but here the limitations of the style are made up for by the more Metal influences of the modern/NWOAHM elements. The end result is songs that still might be a bit too much for some naysayers of djent, but for me strikes the right balance.
Inner Sanctum are an Indian Thrash/Groove Metal band and this is their début album.
After a rather cinematic opener, Inner Sanctum reveal themselves in their full glory as Thrash/Groove Metal with some Death Metal influences included for added impact. Think the mid-00s-type NWOAHM, only with a darker, more classically Death Metal side to it that emphasises the European Melodic Death Metal heritage of the American style.
The album boasts a sexy, professional sound that’s polished and strong.
The singer has a gruff voice that shouts out with the best of them, occasionally including some semi-cleans that remind me of some of Darkane’s work in places.
The songs are well-written and it’s clear that these tracks have been constructed with care and enthusiasm. The Thrash and Groove influences never take over or embrace the mediocre side of both styles; Inner Sanctum play their brand of heaviness with vibrancy and passion. They deliver everything on here with skill and it’s clear that the band have the talent to succeed.
Legions Awake is a strong collection of songs that make a good impression and showcase a band who really know what they’re doing. If they were American and picked up by a large music label then they would get very far indeed, I think. Unfortunately that isn’t the case, so make sure you support them – bands like this deserve it.
For fans of – Pantera, Lamb of God, Chimaira, Shadows Fall, Darkest Hour, Legion of the Damned, Kreator, Arch Enemy, Testament, etc.
This is the début EP from New Zealand Metal band Suppression.
This is Groove Metal in the vein of Lamb of God, Vision of Disorder and Dead Earth Politics.
The vocals vary between clean singing and shouts. The cleans are a little more muted than the norm and work really well as understated enhancements or choruses – somewhat akin to the Vision of Disorder singer’s style. The shouting is similar to the Lamb of God singer, only not quite as deep. Both sound good and do their jobs well.
The music is riff-heavy and groove-laden, although the band still find space to insert melody and leads where necessary to give the songs an added dimension. They also have guitar solos, which is always something that I appreciate.
Supression tread the line between the commercial and something a bit rougher. Their style is of the sort that bands like Lamb of God, Vision of Disorder, Chimaira, etc. played just before they got bigger. This doesn’t mean that Suppression will also hit the big time, of course, but given the right label backing and a tightening/tidying up of their sound it’s at least possible.
I have enjoyed this EP and it shows great promise for the future.
Check them out.
Favourite Track: Fuel the Pit.
This is the latest EP from US Metallers No Trust.
We know No Trust from their début album Unfound, so it’s good to catch up with their latest offering.
I stand by my previous statements about this band – they’re still huge worshippers of The Riff and still come across as a blending of Dopethrone and Chimaira.
The singer’s raspy roar is back once more and continues to provide very satisfying vocals for the unfolding Metallic carnage. His voice works even closer with the music on this EP to produce songs that gel together nicely.
The guitars seem to buzz and rage through the playing time with that interesting combination of Sludge and Modern Metal that they play so well. The production emphasizes the Metal side of the equation, but the Sludge quality is brought out in the music from some choice riffing and the singer’s acidic snarl.
The songs are more developed this time around and the time between releases seems to have been well spent; overall, No Trust sound more confident and professional than ever.
Well, I’m very happy with this. A 31 minute blast of quality Metal is never to be turned down.
Give them a listen and prepare to unleash the fury.
Wonderbox Metal 