Monthly Overview – the Best of May 2018

So, every month I say something along the lines of “this month has been a strong month for metal, blah, blah, blah…”, but May really has been a ridiculously strong month for metal! I really have struggled to keep this list down to manageable levels this time, and removed a few potential entries simply to keep the numbers down, (I’m not happy about this). So anyway, in no particular order, I give you my top picks for May 2018… Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of May 2018”

Wombbath – The Great Desolation (Review)

WombbathWombbath are a Swedish death metal band and this is their third album.

Ahh, Swedish death metal. You just keep giving and giving and giving, don’t you? It was 2015 when I last encountered Wombbath, with Continue reading “Wombbath – The Great Desolation (Review)”

Ahtme – Sewerborn (Review)

AhtmeAhtme, (formerly The Roman Holiday), are a death metal band from the US and this is their second album.

I like death metal that combines technical playing with devastating riffs, a meaty production, and a singer that can growl with the best of them. Which is why I like Sewerborn very much. Containing a raging concoction of surprisingly charismatic brutality, as you listen to this it becomes quickly apparent that Ahtme know how to write a good song. Continue reading “Ahtme – Sewerborn (Review)”

ISA – Chimera (Review)

ISAISA is a one man death metal project from the US and this is his debut album.

Chimera contains 41 minutes of music that draws from a twisted death metal base, but builds progressive, technical, and psychedelic elements into it. This basic description really doesn’t do this album justice, however. Continue reading “ISA – Chimera (Review)”

Tomb Mold – Manor of Infinite Forms (Review)

Tomb MoldTomb Mold are a Canadian death metal band and this is their second album.

This is an interesting release. Ostensibly old-school death metal that reeks of the underground and has a filthy, ugly delivery, there’s also a firmly atypical and non-standard side to these songs which makes Manor of Infinite Forms definitely stand out from the pack. Continue reading “Tomb Mold – Manor of Infinite Forms (Review)”

Gaerea – Unsettling Whispers (Review)

GaereaGaerea are a Portuguese black metal band and this is their debut album.

On Unsettling Whispers Gaerea have crafted 42 minutes of black metal that’s distinctly non-standard and in many ways is quite…unsettling. Continue reading “Gaerea – Unsettling Whispers (Review)”

Bleeding Through – Love Will Kill All (Review)

Bleeding ThroughBleeding Through are a metalcore band from the US and this is their eighth album.

Bleeding Through were always one of the absolute best of the metalcore bands that appeared in the early 00s. Not only were they brutally aggressive, with a truly harsh side to their sound that was rarely matched by some of their contemporaries, but they also married this up with some first-rate songcraft, and a relatively unusual inclusion, (at the time), of Gothic keyboards. Continue reading “Bleeding Through – Love Will Kill All (Review)”

Gruesome – Twisted Prayers (Review)

GruesomeGruesome are a US death metal band and this is their second album.

Led by a member of Exhumed, and boasting an already enviable discography of Death-inspired delights, (Savage Land, Dimensions of Horror), Gruesome are back, continuing their remarkably detailed and authentic homage to the mighty Death. On Twisted Prayers they’re up to the Spiritual Healing period. Continue reading “Gruesome – Twisted Prayers (Review)”

Torture Rack – Malefic Humiliation (Review)

Torture RackTorture Rack are a US death metal band and this is their second album

Featuring members of bands such as Dagger Lust and Witch Vomit, (among many others), Malefic Humiliation contains 28 minutes of brutal underground death metal. Continue reading “Torture Rack – Malefic Humiliation (Review)”