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)”

Worm – Bluenothing (Review)

Worm - BluenothingThis is the latest EP from Worm, a blackened death/doom band from the US.

Worm return! After the monstrous slab of blackened doom malevolence that was 2021’s Foreverglade, Worm are back with 27 minutes of foul new material. Continue reading “Worm – Bluenothing (Review)”

Acod – Fourth Reign over Opacities and Beyond (Review)

Acod - Fourth Reign over Opacities and BeyondThis is the fifth album from French black metal band Acod.

Fourth Reign over Opacities and Beyond is a 52-minute journey into Acod’s lovingly-crafted world. Continue reading “Acod – Fourth Reign over Opacities and Beyond (Review)”

Hanging the Nihilist – Prophetic Blasphemy (Review)

Hanging the Nihilist - Prophetic BlasphemyHanging the Nihilist are a blackened deathcore band from Denmark and this is their debut album.

Prophetic Blasphemy contains 42 minutes of brutal modern blackened deathcore. Riven with huge breakdowns and enhanced with blackened malevolence, Prophetic Blasphemy is on the darker, heavier side of the deathcore spectrum, and I like what I hear. Continue reading “Hanging the Nihilist – Prophetic Blasphemy (Review)”

Zornheym – The Zornheim Sleep Experiment (Review)

Zornheym - The Zornheim Sleep ExperimentThis is the second album from Zornheym, a symphonic extreme metal band from Sweden.

Featuring an ex-member of Dark Funeral, Zornheym present us with a symphonic monster of black/death/heavy/extreme metal. Yes, a lot of genres are thrown into this one, to great effect. The Zornheim Sleep Experiment contains 37 minutes of the stuff, and it’s a damn good listen. Continue reading “Zornheym – The Zornheim Sleep Experiment (Review)”

Necronautical – Slain in the Spirit (Review)

Necronautical - Slain in the SpiritNecronautical are a UK black metal band and this is their fourth album.

Featuring members of Winterfylleth and Foetal Juice, Necronautical play black metal influenced by the second wave, in particular the keyboard-enhanced symphonic side of it. To this is added a muscular death metal influence, which is streamlined by the blackened core of the band and used to add a lethal edge to the music. There’s also a progressive metal influence that can felt on occasion, usually in a particular riff, solo, or melody, for example. Continue reading “Necronautical – Slain in the Spirit (Review)”

The Ember, the Ash – Fixation (Review)

The Ember, the Ash - FixationThis is the second album from solo blackened metalcore act The Ember, the Ash.

Fixation is an interesting blend of symphonic black metal and breakdown-heavy metalcore. Only a few bands are playing around with blackened elements in metalcore, to varying degrees of success, so it’s always good to hear another such act throw their interpretation of this unusual subgenre into the ring. Continue reading “The Ember, the Ash – Fixation (Review)”

Anguis Dei – Angeist (Review)

Anguis Dei - AngeistThis is the debut album from Anguis Dei, a black metal band from Japan.

If you have a craving for old-school symphonic/orchestral black metal in the style of bands such as Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, and Cradle of Filth, then Angeist is one for you. Across 45 minutes Angus Dei transport Continue reading “Anguis Dei – Angeist (Review)”

Second to Sun – The Black (Review)

Second to SunThis is the fourth album from Russian blackened melodic death metal band Second to Sun.

Apparently this is a rerecording of the band’s 2016 release Blackbound, with added vocals, and other differences. I was totally unfamiliar with Second to Sun’s work prior to listening to The Black, so I can’t comment on how this relates to Blackbound, other than to say that it does. Continue reading “Second to Sun – The Black (Review)”

Utburd – The Horrors Untold (Review)

UtburdUtburd is a one man Russian black metal band and this is his second album.

Combining elements of both atmospheric and depressive black metal alongside a second wave base, this release explores the dark horrors that lurk in the night. Continue reading “Utburd – The Horrors Untold (Review)”