Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2020

Almost every year I think about how challenging it is to compile a definitive best of list, and how subjective it is, etc. Although that’s still true for this collecting of albums, this year, however, has been easier than most. 2020 has been heavy on the black metal for me. It’s been my most reviewed genre, in all its myriad permutations, and this is reflected in the below list.

For the longest of times the bands in positions 5 and 6 vied for top position, but then October and November happened. All of a sudden, unexpectedly, these two months unleashed a wealth of quality, and stole the top four positions in a rampant display of blackened supremacy.

I hope you enjoy the below recommendations of mine and find something new to obsess over. Let me know how you get on.

Let’s dig in… Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2020”

Haunted Cenotaph – Abyssal Menace (Review)

Haunted Cenotaph - Abyssal MenaceThis is the debut album from Polish death/doom metal band Haunted Cenotaph.

Abyssal Menace contains 41 minutes of gloomy old-school death metal. With a hefty amount of doom metal elements, and a Celtic Frost influence, this is an enjoyable listen for anyone that wants to explore OSDM that has a different perspective on the genre than that of many of the band’s contemporaries. Continue reading “Haunted Cenotaph – Abyssal Menace (Review)”

Heads for the Dead – Into the Red (Review)

Heads for the Dead - Into the RedThis is the second album from Heads for the Dead, an international death metal band.

2018’s Serpent’s Curse was a great record, so this new one is much-anticipated. Into the Red contains 47 minutes of horror-themed old-school death metal, and the album has been worth anticipating; this is a crushing record that deserves much attention. Continue reading “Heads for the Dead – Into the Red (Review)”

Heretical Sect – Rapturous Flesh Consumed (Review)

Heretical Sect - Rapturous Flesh ConsumedThis is the debut album from US black metal band Heretical Sect.

Heretical Sect’s sound combines blackened ferocity with doom misery. Specifically, traditional black metal and 90s death/doom. It’s a combination that works well, yielding some gruesome rotten fruit over the course of six grim tracks. Across Continue reading “Heretical Sect – Rapturous Flesh Consumed (Review)”

Profanity – Fragments of Solace (Review)

Profanity - Fragments of SolaceThis is the fourth album from German death metallers Profanity.

Despite the decent-sized discography of Profanity, this is my first encounter with them other than their 2014 EP Hatred Hell Within. The EP was enough to ensure that I checked out this album when it appeared, (although it Continue reading “Profanity – Fragments of Solace (Review)”

Depravity – Grand Malevolence (Review)

Depravity - Grand MalevolenceThis is the second album from Australian death metallers Depravity.

Depravity’s 2018 album Evil Upheaval was a fearsome slab of devastating death metal, so listening to their new slab of aggression was a must. Continue reading “Depravity – Grand Malevolence (Review)”

Pneuma Hagion – Voidgazer (Review)

Pneuma Hagion - VoidgazerThis is the debut album from Pneuma Hagion, a death metal band from the US.

Ugly and heavy, death metal like this feels like it should be able to swallow stars. You can hear influences from both black and doom metal, but mostly you can hear the sound of brutal nightmares forged into music. Continue reading “Pneuma Hagion – Voidgazer (Review)”

Cryptic Shift/Replicant/Inoculation/Astral Tomb – Chasm of Aeons – Split (Review)

Cryptic Shift Replicant Inoculation Astral Tomb - Chasm of AeonsA sci-fi themed 4-way death metal split release? Hell yes! Sign me up! The class artwork sealed the deal, to be honest, never mind the 19 minutes of quality cosmic metal of death on offer.

UK band Cryptic Shift are the only band here I actually know, (due to Visitations from Enceladus), so was expecting good things; I wasn’t disappointed. Cosmic Dreams is an older Continue reading “Cryptic Shift/Replicant/Inoculation/Astral Tomb – Chasm of Aeons – Split (Review)”

Slaughterday – Ancient Death Triumph (Review)

Slaughterday - Ancient Death TriumphThis is the third album from German death metallers Slaughterday.

Slaughterday are reliable and enjoyable. Drop into any of their discography at almost any point, (Nightmare Vortex, Ravenous, Laws of the Occult, Abattoir), and you’ll find timeless death metal, with an authentic, honest, merciless Continue reading “Slaughterday – Ancient Death Triumph (Review)”