This is the second album from Japanese doom band Blacklab.
Taking a jagged, almost experimental approach to doom, Blacklab’s music is a curious fusion of Black Sabbath, Boris, and The Stooges. This is dark, raw, and peppered with hardcore and noise rock influences. Continue reading “Blacklab – Abyss (Review)”
This is the debut album from Shatter Brain, an Australian thrash metal band.
Featuring members of Voros and Alkira, Pitchfork Justice contains 40 minutes of bellicose metal. Blending thrash, hardcore, and sludge metal into a strong-tasting and satisfying concoction, this is a very impressive debut album. If you imagine Continue reading “Shatter Brain – Pitchfork Justice (Review)”
This is the debut album from US hardcore band Eye Flys.
Featuring a guitarist of Full of Hell, this is 25 minutes of stocky heaviness and charismatic hostility. Elements of hardcore, punk, sludge, and noise rock collide on Tub of Lard, leading to an enjoyable take on heavy music. Reference points for Continue reading “Eye Flys – Tub of Lard (Review)”
Calligram are a UK-based international blackened metal band and this is their latest album.
Calligram adopt a modern approach to black metal on The Eye Is the First Circle, mixing it with elements of hardcore to produce a set of dark songs that pierce the listener deeply and won’t let go. Continue reading “Calligram – The Eye Is the First Circle (Review)”
Based in the US, Irist are a modern metal band and this is their debut album.
Irist’s recipe is one that takes a wide range of influences and works them into a comprehensive modern metal framework. Loosely stated, Irist take elements of hardcore, thrash metal, and progressive/post-hardcore/metal, and hone them into song-based packages of metallic heaviness. Continue reading “Irist – Order of the Mind (Review)”
This is the eleventh album from US unconventional experimental metal band Today Is the Day.
I really, really enjoyed 2014’s Animal Mother, which was one of my favourite releases from this artist. As such, No Good to Anyone was much-anticipated, and had a lot to live up to. Thankfully, it’s one of Today Is the Day’s bests. Continue reading “Today Is the Day – No Good to Anyone (Review)”
Polaris are an Australian metalcore band and this is their second album.
The music on The Death of Me involves heavy aggression with melodic texture, and although it frequently combines the two, it also equally-frequently separates them. This results in an album that’s far more diverse than your average metalcore record, yet will probably mean that some people get Continue reading “Polaris – The Death of Me (Review)”
This is the second album from UK modern metallers Loathe.
Loathe’s music is based on a modern, contemporary vision of heavy music, and then added to by a wider set of influences. The end result is a multifaceted, textured album that spends 49 minutes exploring diverse and impactful soundscapes with the listener. Continue reading “Loathe – I Let It in and It Took Everything (Review)”
2020 beckons, and there’s new metal to be hungrily devoured. This January seems to have been better than the last one release-wise, with a wealth of good albums to choose from. I’ve picked seven below I’ve particularly enjoyed. Let’s see what you think of these… Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of January 2020”
Leeched are a UK hardcore band and this is their second album.
2018’s You Took the Sun When You Left was a violent shot of crushing heaviness and virulent foulness. The band have now returned, with 36 minutes of sonic extremity. And they don’t sound happy. Continue reading “Leeched – To Dull the Blades of Your Abuse (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 