This is the fourth album from German death metal band Temple of Dread.
Following on from 2021’s Hades Unleashed, Beyond Acheron contains 46 minutes of thrash-edged old-school death metal mayhem. Beyond Acheron marauders through its running time like a thing possessed, but one that hoards secret knowledge and forbidden truths that elevate it to more than a simple beast. Continue reading “Temple of Dread – Beyond Acheron (Review)”
This is the fifteenth album from Canadian death metal band Kataklysm.
Goliath contains 41 minutes of Kataklysm’s brutal approach to melodic death metal. Goliath is a powerhouse of contemporary aggression that benefits from Kataklysm’s old-school pedigree and experience. The band sound revitalised, and the songs energetic and hostile. Continue reading “Kataklysm – Goliath (Review)”
This is the debut album from Shadow Legion, a progressive extreme metal band from the US.
Shadow Legion contains 68 minutes of music, and is brought to us by current/ex-members of bands such as Diabolic, Gigan, Hate Eternal, and Pyrrhon, among others. Continue reading “Shadow Legion – Shadow Legion (Review)”
This is the fourth album from Australian death metal band Werewolves.
Following quickly on the heels of last year’s From the Cave to the Grave, Werewolves have returned with My Enemies Look and Sound Like Me, which boasts 34 minutes of lean and muscular new material. Continue reading “Werewolves – My Enemies Look and Sound Like Me (Review)”
The Crawling are a death/doom band from Northern Ireland and this is their third album.
The promo blurb for this album recommends it for fans of Paradise Lost, Officium Triste, Evoken, and Sentenced, which gives a decent starting point for what sort of style The Crawling play. To this I’d also add touches of My Dying Bride and, from a Continue reading “The Crawling – All of This for Nothing (Review)”
Dusk Cult are an Australian black metal band and this is their second album.
Brought to us by members of Be’lakor and Rainshadow, Night Sky Revelations contains 43 minutes of enticing black metal. Dusk Cult have impressed with their brand of blackened extremity. Continue reading “Dusk Cult – Night Sky Revelations (Review)”
I’ve never been to The Hairy Dog before, but it’s a great venue with a good vibe and good sound system. I don’t actually think I’ve ever been to Derby before at all, but if anything was going to entice me here, it was this year’s Reaper Festival, brought to us by the wonderful Reaper Agency UK. It was a great day overall, and I’d gladly attend such a well-organised show again. Sadly I could only make day one of the festival, which is a shame, as day two has many great bands too. Continue reading “Reaper Festival 2023 – Day One: Saturday – Ultha/Darkher/Coscradh/Dawn Ray’d/The Sun’s Journey Through the Night/Ruadh/Calligram/Cairns – Derby The Hairy Dog, 29/07/23 (Live Review)”
This is the debut album from UK metal band Lokust.
Infidel is a 52-minute metal album that uses modern, groove, and thrash metal to produce a crushing assault that’s shockingly accomplished for a debut album. Despite the genre tags I’ve just thrown around though, Infidel might not be what you’re expecting. Continue reading “Lokust – Infidel (Review)”
Tongues are a black metal band from Denmark and this is their second album.
Tongues create quality extreme metal – just check out 2014’s Thelésis Ignis or 2017’s Hreilia for ample evidence of this. It’s been a while, but Tongues have now returned with Formløse Stjerner, a 40-minute odyssey of abyssal exploration. Continue reading “Tongues – Formløse Stjerner (Review)”
This is the fifth album from US deathcore/death metal band Signs of the Swarm.
It’s always good to have some new Signs of the Swarm, as the band haven’t disappointed me yet. 2017’s The Disfigurement of Existence, 2019’s Vital Deprivation, and 2021’s Absolvere were all crushing slabs of heaviness, and the 42 minutes of new material on Amongst the Low & Empty is no exception. Having said that, it’s not completely business as usual either, and Signs of the Swarm have produced their best work so far. Continue reading “Signs of the Swarm – Amongst the Low & Empty (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 