Loathe – I Let It in and It Took Everything (Review)

Loathe - I Let It in and It Took EverythingThis 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)”

Monthly Overview – the Best of January 2020

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 – To Dull the Blades of Your Abuse (Review)

Leeched - To Dull the Blades of Your AbuseLeeched 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)”

Abstruse – Submerge:Ritual (Review)

Abstruse - Submerge RitualThis is the fourth album from Abstruse, an experimental rock project from Greece.

Well, there’s a lot going on here. This is music that refuses to be just one thing, and exists as a constantly-shifting mass of musical styles and content. Amazingly, Submerge:Ritual works with this well, and doesn’t come across as disjointed or a failed science experiment. Continue reading “Abstruse – Submerge:Ritual (Review)”

Kontagion – Kontagion (Review)

Kontagion - KontagionThis is the second album from Polish industrial metallers Kontagion.

Following on from their 2015 album [R-!-E]elentless and 2017 EP KO[R-!-E], Kontagion present us with 48 minutes of industrial metal on their latest outing. Continue reading “Kontagion – Kontagion (Review)”

Monthly Overview – the Best of November 2019

What an unreasonably strong month for metal releases November was! Be assured, this list could have been much, much bigger. Let’s see what made the cut… Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of November 2019”

Strigoi – Abandon All Faith (Review)

Strigoi - Abandon All FaithThis is the debut album from UK death metal band Strigoi.

Brought to us from the guitarist of Paradise Lost, rising out of the ashes of his Vallenfyre project, he’s joined on Srigoi by members of both bands, (one of which is also an ex-member of Extreme Noise Terror), giving us 44 minutes of engaging and individual death metal. Continue reading “Strigoi – Abandon All Faith (Review)”

Lord Mantis – Universal Death Church (Review)

Lord Mantis - Universal Death ChurchLord Mantis are from the US and play Blackened Sludge Metal. This is their fourth album.

2014’s Death Mask was a tortured nightmare of evil sludge, pretty much as foul as the style gets. Five years later the band have returned, infecting the world with 44 minutes of new material that’s as virulent and as nasty as ever. Continue reading “Lord Mantis – Universal Death Church (Review)”

Cloud Rat – Pollinator/Do Not Let Me Off the Cliff (Review)

Cloud Rat - Pollinator Do Not Let Me Off the CliffThis is the fourth album from Cloud Rat, a grindcore band from the US.

In my humble opinion Cloud Rat are one of the most forward-thinking, talented, and innovative grindcore bands out there, although simply labelling them grindcore is misleading and constricting, as their work frequently features so much more than your standard grindcore fare. Releases such as Qliphoth, and their various splits demonstrate this amply. Continue reading “Cloud Rat – Pollinator/Do Not Let Me Off the Cliff (Review)”

Uniform & The Body – Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back (Review)

Uniform & The Body - Everything That Dies Someday Comes BackThis is the second album from Uniform & The Body, a collaboration between industrial rockers Uniform and experimental metallers The Body. Both are from the US.

I haven’t reviewed Uniform before, but I like 2018’s The Long Walk. As for The Body, you can see some examples of my appreciation for their work here, here, and here. Continue reading “Uniform & The Body – Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back (Review)”