Svalbard are a crust/hardcore band from the UK and this is their fourth album.
This is one I’ve been quite eagerly awaiting. 2018’s It’s Hard to Have Hope was a very enjoyable record, but 2020’s When I Die, Will I Get Better? was the record that really put Svalbard on most people’s radars. Now the band have returned, with the 44-minute wonder that is The Weight of the Mask. Continue reading “Svalbard – The Weight of the Mask (Review)”
This is the second album from UK hardcore band Geist.
Following on from 2019’s Swarming Season, Blueprints to Moderate Sedation provides us with 31 minutes of dark aggression. Combining punk, crust, and metal into an abrasive hardcore intensity, Geist have produced an enjoyable album of dark heaviness. Continue reading “Geist – Blueprints to Moderate Sedation (Review)”
This is the debut EP from Black Birch, a Swedish black metal band.
Containing 22 minutes of music, Black Birch is an atmospheric black metal release that showcases the very capable talents of this new black metal act in no uncertain terms. Continue reading “Black Birch – Black Birch (Review)”
This is the debut album from Thørn, a blackened crust band from Italy.
Inferno contains 36 minutes of anger, teeth, and crushing distorted intensity. Thørn’s blackened crusty hardcore is a shockingly good record. Continue reading “Thørn – Inferno (Review)”
This is the eighth album from Finnish grindcore band Rotten Sound.
Following on from 2018’s Suffer to Abuse, Apocalypse unleashes a condensed barrage of mayhem and carnage for us to be punished by. 18 songs in just 21 minutes? Count me in! None of the tracks on Continue reading “Rotten Sound – Apocalypse (Review)”
Downfall of Gaia are a German post-black metal band and this is their sixth album.
Following on from 2016’s Atrophy and 2019’s Ethic of Radical Finitude, Sillhouettes of Disgust brings us a new 45 minutes of Downfall of Gaia’s idiosyncratic mix of black metal, post-metal, sludge, blackgaze, and crust. Continue reading “Downfall of Gaia – Silhouettes of Disgust (Review)”
This is the third album from Polish grindcore band Straight Hate.
On 2016’s Every Scum Is a Straight Arrow and 2019’s Black Sheep Parade, Straight Hate amiably demonstrated their competence in the gritty arts of grindcore. Now they’ve returned with 26 minutes of new material on Slaves of Falseness, and they’re ready to grind. Continue reading “Straight Hate – Slaves of Falseness (Review)”
Endorphins Lost are from the US and play grindcore. This is their third album.
I enjoyed Endorphins Lost’s 2018 split with Osk, and I enjoyed their 2019 album Seclusions. Their successful run continues, as now, I also enjoy Night People too. 14 tracks, 20 minutes; Night People is succinct and to the point, yet doesn’t lack in finesse or depth. Continue reading “Endorphins Lost – Night People (Review)”
This is the debut album from French doom band Monastr.
Crushing together crust, post-metal, and sludge into 40 minutes of scathing doom, On Your Knees is a harrowing journey into the darkness of the real world’s horrors. There’s no escape here, only the harshness of reality. Continue reading “Monastr – On Your Knees (Review)”
This is the debut album from international grindcore band Kill Division.
Kill Division boast current and ex-members of bands such as Aborted, Bent Sea, Gruesome, Inhuman Condition, Malevolent Creation, Megadeth, Soilwork, and Venom Inc. in their ranks, so you know a lot of experience has gone into this album. Continue reading “Kill Division – Peace Through Tyranny (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 