Somnuri are a sludge metal band from the US. and this is their second album.
Featuring an ex-member of Cleanteeth, Somnuri’s sound can best be described as something like progressive sludge metal. The promo blurb mentions bands such as High on Fire, Mastodon, Converge, Torche, and Baroness, and this sets the scene nicely. However, while all of the Continue reading “Somnuri – Nefarious Wave (Review)”
May continued 2021’s trend of being a very good year for metal. As is now usual, restricting the list to just a handful of releases was difficult. There’s more where this came from! Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of May 2021”
Boss Keloid are a progressive sludge metal band from the UK and this is their fifth album.
Family the Smiling Thrush contains 47 minutes of new material from the ever-welcome Boss Keloid. A shining light in the UK’s heavy music scene, I’ve enjoyed watching their development from 2016’s Herb Your Enthusiasm to 2018’s Melted on the Inch. Now they’ve Continue reading “Boss Keloid – Family the Smiling Thrush (Review)”
This is the third album from black metal band Klamm.
Misanthropocene is an interesting and engaging album that offers the listener a modern and layered interpretation of black metal. The style is rooted in the atmospheric one, but also takes in elements of the melodic, avant-garde, and post-black Continue reading “Klamm – Misanthropocene (Review)”
Alastor are a Swedish doom metal band and this is their second album.
Onwards and Downwards contains 46 minutes of old-school music that sits somewhere between doom metal and psychedelic hard rock. Continue reading “Alastor – Onwards and Downwards (Review)”
This is the latest EP from French sludge doom band Cult of Occult.
Ruin contains a single 22-minute eponymous track; a nightmarish monster of prodigious proportions. Not only that, but there’s also a bonus track in the form of a remix of the title track, which itself lasts 19 minutes. Overall, this release boasts 41 minutes of anguished blackened sludge doom. It’s nasty, but it’s also damn good. Continue reading “Cult of Occult – Ruin (Review)”
Awenden and Feminazgûl are both atmospheric black metal bands from the US, and they have teamed up for this split release; three songs, 30 minutes in total.
We start with a single track from Awenden, which is a solo act with guests, (vocals/flute). Continue reading “Awenden/Feminazgûl – Split (Review)”
This is the fourth album from Vokonis, a progressive doom metal band from Sweden.
Vokonis’ style mixes together progressive metal with stoner and doom metal, resulting in a colourful and enjoyable collection of tracks. While Mastodon is the obvious reference point, it’s also an inadequate one for Odyssey, as there’s a lot more at play here than simply Mastodon worship. I can also hear elements of bands as diverse as Sleep, Slomatics, Elder, Perihelion Ship, Rush, Khemmis, Alice in Chains, Witchkiss, Monolord, and Black Crown Initiate, to name but a few. Continue reading “Vokonis – Odyssey (Review)”
Another month, another truckload of top tier metal releases. 2021 just keeps on giving when it comes to music. I struggled hard to limit the below list to the ones that I did, and could easily have included more albums from what was a very packed April. Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of April 2021”
Hadit are an Italian death metal band and this is their debut album.
Hadit play death metal that has both a malevolent blackened side and a secret doom heart.
Cold dissonance and grim Continue reading “Hadit – With Ardour and Joy Through the Incommensurable Path (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 