Hardcore – Page 16 – Wonderbox Metal

Nicolas Cage Fighter – The Bones That Grew from Pain (Review)

This is the debut album from Nicolas Cage Fighter, a metallic hardcore band from Australia.

The promo blurb states that Nicholas Cage Fighter combine “ruthless hardcore, late 90s metal and death metal influences”, which sets the scene nicely for the 37 minutes of material on The Bones That Grew from Pain.

Imagine a mixture of Hatebreed, Pantera, and the groovy aspect of bands like Thy Art Is Murder and Decapitated, and you’ll have a rough idea of where Nicolas Cage Fighter are coming from. They specialise is music that takes the metallic hardcore style from the 2000s and adds in more contemporary influences.

The music is full of energy and muscular heaviness. These songs are designed for the live arena, but are well-written enough to survive outside of their natural environment. Crushing breakdowns, heavy riffs, and roared vocals are the main order of business, and Nicolas Cage Fighter know their trade well. The songs are heavy, angry, are catchier than you might expect, and are just plain fun to listen to.

I like the inclusion of ambient, melodic, and atmospheric elements into the band’s brutal sound. These are only small enhancements to the songs and only appear at select moments, but they add value nonetheless. I also really like the singer’s vocals. They’re well-performed and varied enough to hold interest.

The Bones That Grew from Pain sits nicely next to recent records by Malevolence and Cage Fight. If you are looking for an album to hit the gym to, or just something to go and break stuff to, then this is for you.

A highly recommended slab of crushing heaviness.

Outright – Keep You Warm (Review)

This is the second album from metallic hardcore band Outright.

Described in the promo blurb as a mix of Walls of Jericho and Slayer, this is as good an introduction as any to Outright’s sound, (I’d also throw in a bit of Capra too, as a more recent reference point). Continue reading “Outright – Keep You Warm (Review)”

Antigama – Whiteout (Review)

This is the eighth album from Polish grindcore band Antigama.

I always enjoy hearing Antigama, as no matter what they’re doing you know you’re going to at least get a good base level of quality (see Meteor, The Insolent, and Depressant as good examples). Continue reading “Antigama – Whiteout (Review)”

Mantar – Pain Is Forever and This Is the End (Review)

This is the fourth album from German blackened metal act Mantar.

This is the follow up to 2018’s The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze, (if you ignore the band’s cover album from 2020), and contains 41 minutes of new material. Pain Is Forever and This Is the End is the next logical evolution of Mantar’s sound, bringing a more direct song-focused approach to the music, while Continue reading “Mantar – Pain Is Forever and This Is the End (Review)”

Vomit Forth – Seething Malevolence (Review)

This is the debut album from Vomit Forth, a death metal band from the US.

Vomit Forth play brutal death metal that’s punishing and unforgiving. Across a very compact and lean 29 minutes the band deal out death and carnage to all that come before them. Continue reading “Vomit Forth – Seething Malevolence (Review)”

Candy – Heaven Is Here (Review)

Candy are a hardcore band from the US and this is their second album.

I do so enjoy music that’s violent and punishing, and Candy’s scathing mix of industrial, metal, and hardcore is exactly that. Across 30 minutes the band demonstrate that they’re very capable in all of these arenas. Continue reading “Candy – Heaven Is Here (Review)”

Conjurer – Páthos (Review)

This is the second album from UK sludge/post-metallers Conjurer.

This much-anticipated lab of heaviness is the 53-minute follow up to 2018’s punishing Mire.

A contemporary blend of sludge and post-metal, with elements of doom, hardcore, and progressive metal, Páthos takes the sound that Mire did so well and pushes it further, expanding on its core heaviness with a greater range of textures and emotions. It’s like a vicious nest of crushing riffs has been smashed together with a multifaceted collection of rich soundscapes, and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. Continue reading “Conjurer – Páthos (Review)”

Knoll – Metempiric (Review)

This is the second album from US grindcore band Knoll.

Metempiric is a 34-minute shot of feral adrenaline. It is rare I come across grindcore these days, and even rarer for it to be good. It’s a great style when done right, and a lazy, boring one when not. Suffice to say, Metempiric is one of the best grind releases I’ve heard in what seems like forever. Continue reading “Knoll – Metempiric (Review)”

Heart Attack – Negative Sun (Review)

This is the third album from French thrash/heavy metallers Heart Attack.

Described in the promo blurb as “the lovechild of Gojira, Machine Head and early Metallica”, this is a decent starting point for approaching Negative Sun. Across 45 minutes, (including a Genesis cover as a bonus track), Heart Attack unleash a mix of old and new thrash/groove/heavy metal, (with a touch of hardcore), and do so with passion and charisma. Continue reading “Heart Attack – Negative Sun (Review)”

Cave In – Heavy Pendulum (Review)

Cave In are a US post-hardcore/rock band and this is their seventh album.

Following on from 2019’s Final Transmission, Heavy Pendulum is somewhat of a different beast to their last album. Whereas Final Transmission was short, (31 minutes), fragile, and emotive, reflective of the effects of tragedy and loss, Heavy Pendulum is long, (71 minutes), has greater range, (though still emotive), and more reflective of the band’s varied discography as a whole. Continue reading “Cave In – Heavy Pendulum (Review)”