I’ve decided to do something new for 2020 – a second End of Year list. If you’ve missed it, my standard, definitive best of 2020 list can be seen here, and is made up of albums I was lucky enough to get to review. However, this year I want to also highlight some of the many albums that I’ve enjoyed listening to, but for one reason or another never had the chance to review. So, consider this a complementary list of sorts to the main one. Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List EXTRA! – Best Non-Reviewed Metal of 2020”
Tag: Heavy Metal
Panychida – Gabreta Aeterna (Review)
This is the fifth album from Czech band Panychida, who play black metal.
I enjoyed 2013’s Grief for an Idol, and especially liked 2016’s Haereticalia – The Night Battles, so when it came once more to partake in a further round of Panychida’s brand of black metal, I couldn’t resist. Continue reading “Panychida – Gabreta Aeterna (Review)”
Jaded Star – Realign (Review)
Jaded Star are based in Greece and play melodic heavy metal. This is their second album.
Jaded Star play a mix of melodic heavy metal and power metal, and they do this very well. Realign is the follow up to 2015’s Memories from the Future, which I enjoyed as a particularly good example of the style. Continue reading “Jaded Star – Realign (Review)”
Auðn – Vökudraumsins Fangi (Review)
Auðn are an Icelandic black metal band and this is their third album.
Auðn play atmospheric black metal, and I like what I hear here very much. Theirs is a form of music that’s rooted in classical atmospheric blackness, but is not limited to the second wave by any means. This is a very contemporary release, despite its Continue reading “Auðn – Vökudraumsins Fangi (Review)”
Raging Speedhorn – Hard to Kill (Review)
Raging Speedhorn are a sludge metal band from the UK. This is their sixth album.
Hard to Kill is the follow up to 2016’s Lost Ritual, and it’s a beast of an album. Revitalised with a new lineup, including a new vocalist, (the band have two if you’re unfamiliar with them), the album is 33 Continue reading “Raging Speedhorn – Hard to Kill (Review)”
Spirit Adrift – Enlightened in Eternity (Review)
This is the fourth album from the US heavy metal band Spirit Adrift.
Up to this point, each Spirit Adrift album has been better and more developed than its predecessor. From 2016’s Chained to Oblivion, to 2017’s Curse of Conception, and then last year’s Divided by Darkness, this prolific Continue reading “Spirit Adrift – Enlightened in Eternity (Review)”
The Infernal Sea – Negotium Crucis (Review)
This is the third album from UK black metal band The Infernal Sea.
After 2015’s The Great Mortality, I’ve been really looking forward to this one. On Negotium Crucis The Internal Sea offer up a compelling cocktail of classic second wave black metal, with a few added ingredients to spice it up. This is a rawer album than its predecessor, Continue reading “The Infernal Sea – Negotium Crucis (Review)”
Cult of Lilith – Mara (Review)
Cult of Lilith are a death metal band from Iceland and this is their debut album.
After a decent wait, we finally have the follow up to the early promise of 2016’s Arkanum. Between the two releases the band have picked up a new singer and filled out to an entire band, so that only one member remains from that first EP. Mara is largely the sound of a new entity. Continue reading “Cult of Lilith – Mara (Review)”
Havukruunu – Uinuos Syömein Sota (Review)
This is the third album from Havukruunu, a Finnish black metal band.
Uinuos Syömein Sota contains 47 minutes of black metal mixed with elements of heavy metal and folk. Viking/pagan/folk metal, or blackened heavy metal, or some such version of these words, are all appropriate tags, but Continue reading “Havukruunu – Uinuos Syömein Sota (Review)”
Draghkar – At the Crossroads of Infinity (Review)
Draghkar are a US death metal band and this is their debut album.
I’m a big fan of Draghkar’s work, (here, here, here), and have really enjoyed watching the band develop over the years, from a one-man act, (see also Azath), to a fully-fledged band, (featuring the singer of Vastum, as well as musicians from other Continue reading “Draghkar – At the Crossroads of Infinity (Review)”
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