Fetters are an industrial metal band and this is their debut release.
This is death industrial that firmly slants towards the industrial end of the spectrum. The music never lets up in its quest to spread utter darkness across the land. Continue reading “Fetters – Sicken (Review)”
This is the second album from Polish industrial metal band Kontagion.
Kontagion play industrial-tinged cybermetal, taking influence from the earlier of strains of the Fear Factory virus, and morphing itself into an altogether darker and more feral breed via some early Slipknot/Mushroomhead influences and a touch of Godflesh, (of which there’s a cover version here of Crush My Soul).
This really does have a late 90s/early 00s feel Continue reading “Kontagion – [R-!-E]lentless (Review)”
This is the third album from Subliminal Fear, an Italian metal band.
This is modern metal that takes its primary influences from a combination of the cybermetal styles, (Fear Factory, Mnemic), and melodic groove metal, (Soilwork, In Flames, etc.), alongside a pinch of djent and industrial.
With this in mind, the band operate in the more commercial realm of the style, rather than on the heavier end as some bands do when incorporating these influences, (for the most part at least; that’s not to say the band can’t be heavy or more extreme when they want to). The songs work well in this context though, with the band’s clean vocal harmonies being Continue reading “Subliminal Fear – Escape from Leviathan (Review)”
Crowhurst are from the US, and are an extremely prolific band with lots of noise/experimental/etc. releases. Their self titled album from 2015 was especially of interest, as it was essentially a pure black metal album, and a very good one at that.
Fast forward a year, and they have now released II. This continues the black metal theme started by their previously mentioned album, only this time with a wider scope and with industrial/sludge aspects, as well as contributions from members Continue reading “Crowhurst – II (Review)”
Caïna are a black metal band from the UK. This is their seventh album.
What do you get if you combine raw black metal with industrial and dark ambient? You get Christ Clad in White Phosphorus.
The ugly, intense black metal parts are my favourite bits of this album, as they rage with an underground fury and intensity the likes of which most bands only aspire to. It’s not all about Continue reading “Caïna – Christ Clad in White Phosphorus (Review)”
This is the second album from VIII, an Italian black metal band.
VIII have produced an ambitious release that spans 50 minutes across three sprawling, ugly tracks. This is not an album for people who like polished, shiny music. Oh no. This is the sound of dying, decay and forgotten dreams.
Decathexis sees the band playing raw, underground black metal with a mean, dispirited edge. Alongside the Continue reading “VIII – Decathexis (Review)”
Wolfpack 44 are an industrial black metal band from the US. This is their début album.
This is a side project between members of Kult of Azazel and The Electric Hellfire Club, featuring guests from such bands as The Electric Hellfire Club, (again), Demonic Christ, Dark Funeral and Coven.
The Scourge is an album with a lot going on, and the band manage to Continue reading “Wolfpack 44 – The Scourge (Review)”
This is the second album from this Slovakian industrial death/doom band.
Now this is an interesting release.
0N0 combine the industrial, death metal and doom genres together, creating an album that has aspects of all weaved into its genes.
How to classify this? Well, extreme metal is the easy cop out, and as these things don’t ultimately matter that much, I suppose that will do. Industrial death/doom is more specific, of course, but there we are.
Think of the something like Continue reading “0N0 – Reconstruction and Synthesis (Review)”
This is the début album from US industrial Metal band Surgical Meth Machine.
Headed up by none other than Ministry’s Al Jourgensen, this is 40 minutes of mostly speed and aggression, just the way we like it.
Kind of taking what Ministry did only ramping it up to the nth degree, this is the sound of an artist unburdened by expectations of past achievements and just plain going for it.
Continue reading “Surgical Meth Machine – Surgical Meth Machine (Review)”
This is the fifth album from US Sludge band The Body.
This is a complex album with a multifaceted, layered sound. The Body are not your average band and consequently No One Deserves Happiness is not your average album.
Industrial Sludge Metal is an apt description of the band’s output, although this barely describes the monstrous creation that the band have unleashed on the world with this work.
Electronics and Metal meet in a way that is fused at the very core of the music, revealing a collaboration that you might never think possible. Certainly it’s out of reach of the talent of most bands who attempt to combine electronics and guitars.
This is an album full of bleakness, isolation and despair. The sense of melancholy and hateful abandonment is strong, with the music absolutely reeking of complex negative emotions and the utter failure of all human contact.
Harsh, needle-thin vocals are sometimes joined by ethereal female cleans, which ratchet up the emotional content to almost unbearable levels.
This is a hard album to describe in many ways; although there is a massive amount of things going on here, it’s more the emotional resonance of the music that’s difficult. No One Deserves Happiness seems to easily and swiftly evoke all of the feelings of negativity, discomfort and nostalgic loss that you’ve experienced your entire life. It’s an extremely powerful listen because of this and at the end of its 48 minute journey you feel hollow and spent.
After listening to this, it’s hard to disagree with the album name.
Wonderbox Metal 