Defacement are an international death metal band and this is their fourth album.
I enjoyed 2021’s Defacement, but then totally managed to overlook its follow up from last year – Duality. This oversight ends now, as a year on from that release we have the 41-minute Doomed. Continue reading “Defacement – Doomed (Review)”
Both Pelican and Ni are in the UK for ArcTanGent, (I’ll get there one day), so it’s a great opportunity to catch them doing their thing. I don’t know Ni at all, but I’ve been waiting to get the chance to see Pelican for over two decades (!), so am very excited.
Yes isn’t a venue I’ve been to before, but I like it. Melvins are also playing Manchester tonight, which is a bit of bad luck for both bands really, as I’m pretty sure there are more than a few shared fans between them. Regardless, those in attendance tonight are in the right place as it turns out. Continue reading “Pelican/Ni – Yes (Pink Room), Manchester – 13/08/25 (Live Review)”
This is the second album by Irish blackened death metallers Malthusian.
2018’s Across Deaths was a nightmarish, venomous first record from Malthusian, ably showcasing their hideous blackened death metal style. In 2022 we were gifted with Time’s Withering Shadow, their split with Suffering Hour, which was another impressive outing, for both bands concerned. Which brings us to the 54-minute The Summoning Bell. Have Malthusian continued their ascent from the bowels of the underworld? Continue reading “Malthusian – The Summoning Bell (Review)”
This is the eleventh album from US experimental band Kayo Dot.
The tag experimental is frequently not a very useful one, but then Kayo Dot aren’t a band that invite easy categorisation. Every Rock, Every Half-Truth under Reason contains 66 minutes of music, and a range of styles and influences have gone into its creation. Continue reading “Kayo Dot – Every Rock, Every Half-Truth under Reason (Review)”
This is the debut album from US black metal band Vakker.
I only encountered What Will Become of Our Pain due to a random social media recommendation, and I’m very glad I did. Vakker play atmospheric black metal, only with the sort of horrific, monstrous vocals that you wouldn’t normally associate with the style. Continue reading “Vakker – What Will Become of Our Pain (Review)”
Grayceon are a progressive metal band from the US and this is their sixth album.
With a striking album cover and containing a member of the fantastic Brume, (also ex-Ludicra), how could I let this one pass me by? Containing a colossal 82 minutes of music, Grayceon are not without ambition, but thankfully have the skill and talent to pull off an endeavour such as Then the Darkness. Continue reading “Grayceon – Then the Darkness (Review)”
Hemelbestormer are a post-metal band from Belgium and this is their fourth album.
I rate Hemelbestormer highly, and you should too. 2016’s Aether, 2018’s A Ring of Blue Light, and 2021’s Collide & Merge are all massive slabs of instrumental post-metal/doom, and I heartily recommend them. The Radiant Veil is cut from the same cloth, providing the refined listener with 66 minutes of expressive and atmospheric music to explore. Continue reading “Hemelbestormer – The Radiant Veil (Review)”
This is the second album by Stomach, a doom/sludge band from the US.
Containing 43 minutes of thoroughly obnoxious doom sludge nastiness, Low Demon is a hideous mix of doom, sludge, drone, noise, grindcore, industrial, and punk. Stomach, brought to us by current/ex-members of Weekend Nachos, know their way around the style, as becomes quickly apparent across these five tracks. Continue reading “Stomach – Low Demon (Review)”
This is the second album from US death metal band Re-Buried.
Following on from 2021’s split with Deconsecration and 2023’s Repulsive Nature, Flesh Mourning contains 30 minutes of new material from Re-Buried. If you’re a fan of death metal, there is a lot to like here. Continue reading “Re-Buried – Flesh Mourning (Review)”
This is the second album by Ba’al, a blackened post-metal band from the UK.
I’ve been looking forward to this. 2017’s In Gallows by Mass introduced me to Ba’al’s brand of post-metal, but it was on 2020’s Elipsism where the band truly came into their own, developing a post-black metal framework for their post-metal that was hugely impressive. Last year’s EP Soft Eyes, a quality collection of songs, merely whetted my appetite for more, which we are now gifted with in the form of the 62-minute The Fine Line Between Heaven and Here. Continue reading “Ba’al – The Fine Line Between Heaven and Here (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 