Necroven – Primordial Subjugation (Review)

NecrovenThis is the second album from Spanish death metallers Necroven.

Necroven worship at the altar of old-school death metal and serve up Primordial Subjugation with a visceral assault on the senses. Aggressive 90s death metal styles are smashed together at high speed to create 36 minutes of music that’s a joyful ride through everything dark, macabre and brutal. Continue reading “Necroven – Primordial Subjugation (Review)”

1914 – Eschatology of War (Review)

1914This is the debut album from Ukrainian blackened death/doom band 1914.

I really enjoyed this band’s 2016 split with Minenwerfer, so thought it was time to catch up with their 2015 full-length album Eschatology of War.

With a World War I theme, Eschatology of War is a heavy, martial beast that relentlessly marches forwards overcoming all opposition with strength of numbers and a formidable will. Continue reading “1914 – Eschatology of War (Review)”

Omnizide – Nekroregime (Review)

OmnizideThis is the second album from Swedish black metallers Omnizide.

As the follow up to 2014’s very pleasing debut album Death Metal Holocaust, Nekroregime continues the band’s blackened assault on the senses, added to and infected by some good old-fashioned death metal influences here and there. Continue reading “Omnizide – Nekroregime (Review)”

Lago/Calm Hatchery – Split (Review)

Lago Calm HatcheryHere we have a short split between death metallers Lago and Calm Hatchery, from the US and Poland, respectively.

Lago’s 2014 album Tyranny was an album that had a kind of darkly melodic brutality to it. It saw the band balance their style somewhere between the old-school and the new, to great effect. Continue reading “Lago/Calm Hatchery – Split (Review)”

Rudra – Enemy of Duality (Review)

RudraRudra are a blackened extreme metal band from Singapore. This is their eighth album.

Despite being around for a very long time at this point, and despite having first heard of them an almost equally long time ago, this is my first actual encounter with Rudra and their so-called Vedic metal. Continue reading “Rudra – Enemy of Duality (Review)”

Vircolac – The Cursed Travails of the Demeter (Review)

VircolacVircolac are an Irish death metal band and this is their debut EP.

This is a band that have been firmly influenced by the old-school. It’s classic-styled death metal that firmly puts the emphasis on songs and atmosphere, as opposed to mindless speed, technicality or similar such stuff. Continue reading “Vircolac – The Cursed Travails of the Demeter (Review)”

Azooma – The Act of Eye (Review)

AzoomaAzooma are a death metal band from Iran. This is their debut album.

This is progressive death metal that sees the band upping their game from their already quite impressive debut release A Hymn of a Vicious Monster. The Act of Eye continues and refines their style, mixing Opeth and Death with elements of more modern bands such as Obscura, Gorod and Gorguts. Continue reading “Azooma – The Act of Eye (Review)”

Church of Disgust – Veneration of Filth (Review)

Church of DisgustThis is the second album from Church of Disgust, a US death metal band.

I really enjoyed 2013’s Unworldly Summoning. Here was an album that was just over half an hour of filthy, old-school death metal that was so ugly, hostile and evil that it was a depraved joy to experience.

Three years later and they have finally emerged from their crypt. On Veneration of Filth the band do exactly what it says on the tin and offer up 40 minutes of corpse-fresh filthy death metal, reeking of the old-school and ripe with pustulent rot. Continue reading “Church of Disgust – Veneration of Filth (Review)”

Vereor Nox – Noli Respicere (Review)

Vereor NoxThis is the debut album from Italian symphonic black/death metallers Vereor Nox.

In some ways this reminds me of The Forest Dreams of Black by Tine, which is one of my favourite examples of how to merge black and death metal with symphonic elements. Although Vereor Nox don’t sound like carbon copies of Tine, there’s enough superficial resemblance to make me instantly warm to the music on Noli Respicere. Continue reading “Vereor Nox – Noli Respicere (Review)”