Aethereus are a death metal band from the US and this is their second album.
Leiden is a 55-minute death metal monstrosity that blends technical, progressive, and dissonant elements together into a very impressive package. The band’s Facebook page describes them as for fans of Obscura, Beyond Creation, and Gorguts, and that’s a good starting place from which to approach Leiden. Continue reading “Aethereus – Leiden (Review)”
This is the latest EP from French death metallers Barús.
I enjoyed 2015’s self-titled EP, as well as 2018’s Drowned, so when it appeared Fanges was always destined for my playlists. Although billed as an EP, there’s actually an album’s worth of material for some bands here – 34-minutes spread out over two large tracks. Barús play atmospheric death metal with progressive and dissonant elements, and on Fanges they range wider and more freely than they have done before. Continue reading “Barús – Fanges (Review)”
Yes, it’s that time of year again! 2021 gave us some very, very good metal, and I feel honoured to have been able to have listened to as much of it as I have done. There are some notable absences, (for me at least), from the below list, but there’s just not enough time or space for everything, dammit!
2020 was a very blackened year for me; I listened to a lot of black metal, and the list for that year reflected that. At the start of 2021 I decided I’d consciously try to ensure I cast my net a bit wider again, reconnecting more deeply with some of many other styles of metal that I enjoy. 2021’s list reflects this. However, I’ve still ended up with much more of a black metal presence in the list than I was initially expecting. What can I say? I’m a sucker for all of the myriad blackened flavours of the style. However, there’s also a lot of other stuff here that I hope you’ll dig into and enjoy too. I felt that there was a notable absence of grindcore in 2021, as well as some of the more extreme styles of doom. What do you think?
I hope you enjoy perusing some of my favourite records from this year, and I hope you find something new to tickle your fancy. What’s your number one this year? Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2021”
This is the third album from Polish death metallers Dormant Ordeal.
Now here’s something pretty tasty. I haven’t encountered Dormant Ordeal before, but The Grand Scheme of Things is impressive enough to make me wish I had. Across 39 minutes the band absolutely punish the listener with their idiosyncratic and exemplary take on death metal mastery. Continue reading “Dormant Ordeal – The Grand Scheme of Things (Review)”
This is the second album from Hyperdontia, an international death metal band.
Hyperdontia, (who feature current and ex-members of Burial Invocation, Diabolizer, and Sulphurous), present us with 39 minutes of old-school death metal on Hideous Entity. Continue reading “Hyperdontia – Hideous Entity (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal gets sent a lot of new music, (which is great), but there’s no way that everything can get covered unfortunately, (which is not so great). This new column hopes to redress this balance, if only slightly, by taking a look at a handful of releases that a record label has recently sent out that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks.
Transcending Obscurity is an excellent record label that has released some phenomenal music over the years. If you have the time I highly recommend going back through the label’s multifaceted back catalogue as there are some true gems there. Let’s have a look at a selection of their more recent output below… Continue reading “Label Roundup: Transcending Obscurity – Heads for the Dead, Replicant, Norse, & Noltem (Reviews)”
This is the second album from Sunless, a death metal band from the US.
2017’s Urraca was a very notable and enjoyable release for me, even making it into that year’s end of year list. Progressive, technical, dissonant, avant-garde, psychedelic, and many other high-brow-esque appellations, Urraca was a multidimensional gateway to forward-thinking heaviness from a band who clearly knew their art well. Continue reading “Sunless – Ylem (Review)”
This is the debut album from Canadian death metal band Atræ Bilis.
Across 32 minutes of brutal darkness, Atræ Bilis explore various expressions of heaviness via roaring death metal. Continue reading “Atræ Bilis – Apexapien (Review)”
Defacement are a blackened death metal band from the Netherlands and this is their second album.
Featuring members of Earth and Pillars and Cryptic Shift, Defacement contains 41 minutes of material, but only four of the eight tracks are actual songs. The remaining four are intro/interludes that I was expecting to dismiss as pointless as most of their ilk are, but I was Continue reading “Defacement – Defacement (Review)”
This is the second album from UK death metallers Beyond Grace.
2014’s Monstrous showed buckets of promise, which 2017’s debut album Seekers delivered upon. It’s now 2021 and Beyond Grace have returned with 47 minutes of new material. Is the time well spent? Continue reading “Beyond Grace – Our Kingdom Undone (Review)”
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