Gränslandet – Denationalization (Review)

Gränslandet - DenationalizationGränslandet are a hardcore/sludge band from Sweden. This is their second album.

I liked 2016’s Solidium, so it’s good to have the band return to the fray with Denationalization. On their new record the band offer up 37 minutes of crusty hardcore mixed with doomy sludge. Continue reading “Gränslandet – Denationalization (Review)”

LINGUA IGNOTA – CALIGULA (Review)

LINGUA IGNOTA - CALIGULALINGUA IGNOTA is a one woman experimental artist, and this is her latest album.

Aided by a multitude of guests, (including members of The Body and Full of Hell), this is 66 minutes of beauty and brutality. This is an album that fits in no real category other than a loose experimental one. Peppered with noise, avant-garde, industrial, and post-doom/rock influences, this is music that largely belongs to the artist alone and defies easy categorisation. Continue reading “LINGUA IGNOTA – CALIGULA (Review)”

Monthly Overview – the Best of June 2019

Phew. After the metallic overload of the past couple of months, June was a bit calmer. Having said that, I have a great selection of releases for you to salivate over, and I still had to cut a few for the sake of brevity that are definitely worthy of inclusion. Anyway, it’s on with the show! Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of June 2019”

Hex – God Has No Name (Review)

Hex - God Has No NameHex are a Spanish death/doom metal band and this is their second album.

Hex are a band that play a base of death metal that’s been infused with doom. It is, in general terms at least, a mix of old-school bands such as Paradise Lost, Bolt Thrower, Behemoth, Hypocrisy, and Dismember, with a few others thrown in too. Continue reading “Hex – God Has No Name (Review)”

Murk Rider – Exile of Shadows (Review)

Murk Rider - Exile of ShadowsThis is the debut album from US black metal band Murk Rider.

Three enormous songs, with a combined duration of 82 minutes? Okay, I’ll bite.

An album of depth, both musically and thematically, Exile of Shadows is black metal in only one of its aspects, albeit a primary one. The band also occasionally incorporate apocalyptic sludge and stoner doom into their melting pot, as well as strands of classic heavy and speed metal. This curious, (yet effective), mixture means that Continue reading “Murk Rider – Exile of Shadows (Review)”

Flesh of the Stars – Mercy (Review)

Flesh of the Stars - MercyThis is the fourth album from US doom band Flesh of the Stars.

On both Hide and Anhilla Flesh of the Stars impressed me with their emotive brand of doom metal, and their progression over time. Now the band are back with this latest album that features 48 minutes of new material. Continue reading “Flesh of the Stars – Mercy (Review)”

Ancient Hostility – Ancient Hostility (Review)

Ancient Hostility - Ancient HostilityAncient Hostility are a Ukrainian/US black metal band and this is their debut album.

This is, on the surface of things, a second wave black metal album, full of the sort of misanthropy and hatred that you’d expect for something like this. Scratch the surface, however, (and by this I mean actually listen to it), and you’ll also find a bit more than the norm here. Continue reading “Ancient Hostility – Ancient Hostility (Review)”

Morass of Molasses – The Ties That Bind (Review)

Morass of Molasses - The Ties That BindThis is the second album from Morass of Molasses, a stoner rock/metal band from the UK.

The Ties That Bind is a hard rocking stoner metal album that combines elements of sludge rock, doom, and distorted blues into its style. Continue reading “Morass of Molasses – The Ties That Bind (Review)”