Mother of Graves – Where the Shadows Adorn (Review)

Mother of Graves - Where the Shadows AdornThis is the debut album from US death/doom metal band Mother of Graves.

So, here we have it then. After the very enjoyable 2021 EP In Sombre Dreams we now get to see whether that release’s promise has paid off on a full length album. Can Mother of Graves maintain the quality levels that they have already introduced us to? Continue reading “Mother of Graves – Where the Shadows Adorn (Review)”

De Profundis – The Corruption of Virtue (Review)

De Profundis - The Corruption of VirtueThis is the sixth album from De Profundis, a death metal band from the UK.

More De Profundis is always a welcome thing. 2018’s The Blinding Light of Faith was particularly impressive, but I also highly recommend 2015’s Kingdom of the Blind too. I have been looking forward to The Corruption of Virtue and it has not disappointed. Continue reading “De Profundis – The Corruption of Virtue (Review)”

Goatwhore – Angels Hung from the Arches of Heaven (Review)

Goatwhore - Angels Hung from the Arches of HeavenThis is the eighth album from US black metallers Goatwhore.

Playing an unholy mix of black, death, and thrash metal, Goatwhore are a band that I always enjoy. The band’s last couple of albums were very enjoyable slabs of venomous ugliness, (2014’s Constricting Rage of the Merciless and 2017’s Vengeful Ascension), so it’s great to have some new material from the band after so many years. Continue reading “Goatwhore – Angels Hung from the Arches of Heaven (Review)”

Monthly Overview – the Best of September 2022

September was a particularly difficult month to have to limit my choice of key metal albums to just five. As such, I’m going to skip over both An Abstract Illusion’s Woe and Gaerea’s Mirage; both are great records and are getting abundant, richly-deserved praise elsewhere, allowing me to focus on lesser-known releases. Even with this though, I still struggled with having to omit so many other worthy albums… Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of September 2022”

Vessel of Iniquity – The Path Unseen (Review)

Vessel of Iniquity - The Path UnseenThis is the third album from Vessel of Iniquity, a black metal solo act from the UK.

Lasting a brief, yet scarring, 30 minutes, The Path Unseen is a horrific nightmarescape of industrial black metal, replete with harsh noise and terrifying atmosphere. Having enjoyed/weathered the artist’s 2021 split with Thecodontion, I was looking forward to hearing more and The Path Unseen has not disappointed. Continue reading “Vessel of Iniquity – The Path Unseen (Review)”

Strangle Wire – Shaped by Human Frailty (Review)

Strangle Wire - Shaped by Human FrailtyStrangle Wire are a death metal band from Northern Ireland and this is their debut album.

It seems like a very long time since Strangle Wire treated us to their enjoyable debut EP The Dark Triad. Has this early promise been realised on Shaped by Human Frailty‘s 34 minutes? Continue reading “Strangle Wire – Shaped by Human Frailty (Review)”

Acephalix – Theothanatology (Review)

Acephalix - TheothanatologyAcephalix are a death metal band from the US and this is their fourth album.

Theothanatology, (which features a member of Draghkar/Vastum), is an album of blunt brutality, repeatedly slamming broken bits of gravestone into your head across 32 minutes of death metal barbarity. Continue reading “Acephalix – Theothanatology (Review)”

Spectrum Mortis – Bit Meseri – The Incantation (Review)

Spectrum Mortis - Bit Meseri -The IncantationThis is the debut album from Spanish black/death/doom metal band Spectrum Mortis.

Spectrum Mortis play occult death metal with lashings of blackened malevolence and an air of ritualistic doom. Across 39 minutes the band preach their foul hymns and conduct their hideous ceremonies, drawing you uncertainly into their esoteric world. Continue reading “Spectrum Mortis – Bit Meseri – The Incantation (Review)”

Putrescine/Kosmogyr – Desolate Tides – Split (Review)

Putrescine Kosmogyr - Desolate Tides - SplitTeaming up for this split we have US death metallers Putrescine and international black metallers Kosmogyr.

Putrescine deliver 3 songs with a duration of 17 minutes in total. Putrescine play a progressive form of dissonant death metal. The promo blurb mentions bands like Gorguts, Undeath, and Morbid Angel. Continue reading “Putrescine/Kosmogyr – Desolate Tides – Split (Review)”

Gutvoid – Durance of Lightless Horizons (Review)

Gutvoid - Durance of Lightless HorizonsThis is the debut album from Canadian death metallers Gutvoid.

Featuring six tracks of monstrous death metal spread across 54 minutes, Gutvoid’s ambition is clear. Durance of Lightless Horizons is a grand slab of expressive extreme metal, and is definitely worth spending the time to explore. Let’s dig in. Continue reading “Gutvoid – Durance of Lightless Horizons (Review)”