Cryptic Shift – Overspace & Supertime (Review)

Cryptic Shift - Overspace & SupertimeCryptic Shift are a death/thrash metal band from the UK and this is their second album.

Do you remember when Cryptic Shift opened their 2020 debut album Visitations from Enceladus with a 26-minute song? Well, now they’re back with a new album called Overspace & Supertime, and, with a duration of 82 minutes, it Continue reading “Cryptic Shift – Overspace & Supertime (Review)”

Exhumed – Red Asphalt (Review)

Exhumed - Red AsphaltExhumed are a death metal band from the US and this is their ninth album.

Exhumed have been slaughtering their way across the death metal scene for long enough that any new material is feverishly greeted by bloodstained grins by a those in the know. Yep, Exhumed rule, and this time they’ve taken their gore-obsessed death metal mobile – Red Asphalt is a 37-minute hymn to Continue reading “Exhumed – Red Asphalt (Review)”

Phasma – Purgatory (Review)

vThis is the third album from international, (Greece/US), blackened death metallers Phasma.

Phasma play an interesting and intense mix of black and death metal, cut with elements of doom and deathcore. Purgatory contains 26 minutes of dark violence, and it’s Continue reading “Phasma – Purgatory (Review)”

Reaper Festival 2026 – Rebellion, Manchester, 14/02/26-15/02/26 (Live Review)

Reaper Festival 2026 - Rebellion, Manchester, 14.02.26-15.02.26

It’s been a few years since the last edition of Reaper Festival, so this show appearing once more was a welcome surprise when it did. The lineup is extremely strong, and it promises to be a great weekend. Kudos to the organisers too, (the always great Reaper Agency), for specifically Continue reading “Reaper Festival 2026 – Rebellion, Manchester, 14/02/26-15/02/26 (Live Review)”

Necronomicon ex Mortis – Zombie Blood Nightmare (Review)

Necronomicon Ex Mortis - Zombie Blood NightmareThis is the latest EP from US death metallers Necronomicon ex Mortis.

I enjoyed my introduction to Necronomicon ex Mortis last year via their split with Bloodfeast Ritual, so was glad to see a new EP appear. Six songs, 30 minutes; Zombie Blood Nightmare offers up a treasure trove of old-school death metal blood-soaked gems to sift through. Continue reading “Necronomicon ex Mortis – Zombie Blood Nightmare (Review)”

Serpent Ascending, Ôros Kaù, Swords of Dis, and Midnight Odyssey – From the Waters of Death – Split (Review)

Serpent Ascending, Ôros Kaù, Swords of Dis, and Midnight Odyssey - From the Waters of Death - SplitSerpent Ascending, Ôros Kaù, Swords of Dis, and Midnight Odyssey have joined together to produce an epic split album.

Now here’s an interesting and unusual release. This massive split is a collaborative concept album aimed at providing a contemporary retelling of the Epic of Gilgamesh. From the Waters of Death brings together an array of atypical talent from the exceptional I, Voidhanger roster, and is something you should definitely be paying attention to if Continue reading “Serpent Ascending, Ôros Kaù, Swords of Dis, and Midnight Odyssey – From the Waters of Death – Split (Review)”

Fossilization – Advent of Wounds (Review)

Fossilization - Advent of WoundsFossilization are a Brazilian death metal band and this is their second album.

Following on from 2023’s monstrous Leprous Daylight, Fossilization have once more emerged from their ancient slumber with the 36-minute Advent of Wounds. Strap yourself into the slime-covered pain machine, as it’s about to get nasty. Continue reading “Fossilization – Advent of Wounds (Review)”

Slaughterday – Dread Emperor (Review)

Slaughterday - Dread EmperorThis is the fifth album from German death metallers Slaughterday.

I really like Slaughterday. I’ve been following them since 2013’s very tasty Nightmare Vortex, through the following year’s Ravenous, 2016’s Laws of the Occult, 2018’s Abattoir, to their last album in 2020 – Ancient Death Triumph. Hold on though, it turns out Continue reading “Slaughterday – Dread Emperor (Review)”

Udręka – Nieistnienie (Review)

Udręka - NieistnienieUdręka are a black metal band from Poland and this is their debut album.

Nieistnienie contains 39 minutes of ferocious modern black metal. Spliced with elements of hardcore and death metal to give it additional power and bulk, this is an imposing release that’s filled with grim sonic violence. Udręka have come out of nowhere and Continue reading “Udręka – Nieistnienie (Review)”

Agenbite Misery – Remorse of Conscience (Review)

Agenbite Misery - Remorse of ConscienceThis 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)”