This is the third album from Ukrainian post-black metalers White Ward.
2016’s Futility Report was a fine album, but when 2019’s Love Exchange Failure came along it really made its mark on the extreme metal landscape. Last year’s Debemur Morti teased us some new material, but now here’s the main event. So what does False Light hold for us? Continue reading “White Ward – False Light (Review)”
This is the latest release from Miserable Failure, (or MSRBLFLR), a French death metal/grindcore band.
This enigmatic act have been quiet since 2017’s Alone, (at least with this project), but now they’re back with the beautifully adorned Death March. Containing just one 22-minute track, (made up of three named movements), this is a welcome return from this talented group. Continue reading “Miserable Failure – Death March (Review)”
Soldat Hans are a doom band from Switzerland and this is their third album.
Es Taut came out of nowhere in 2018 and blew me away. Its multifaceted sound was as impressive and emotive as it was accomplished and well-delivered. No wonder it appeared high on my end of year list. Due to this, Anthaupt had a great deal of expectation placed upon it before I even heard a single second of its 66-minute duration. Continue reading “Soldat Hans – Anthaupt (Review)”
Messa are an Italian doom rock band and this is their third album.
It’s with great expectations that I turned to Close, having enjoyed both 2016’s Belfry and 2018’s Feast for Water so much. I have not been disappointed, I can assure you. Continue reading “Messa – Close (Review)”
Yes, it’s that time of year again! 2021 gave us some very, very good metal, and I feel honoured to have been able to have listened to as much of it as I have done. There are some notable absences, (for me at least), from the below list, but there’s just not enough time or space for everything, dammit!
2020 was a very blackened year for me; I listened to a lot of black metal, and the list for that year reflected that. At the start of 2021 I decided I’d consciously try to ensure I cast my net a bit wider again, reconnecting more deeply with some of many other styles of metal that I enjoy. 2021’s list reflects this. However, I’ve still ended up with much more of a black metal presence in the list than I was initially expecting. What can I say? I’m a sucker for all of the myriad blackened flavours of the style. However, there’s also a lot of other stuff here that I hope you’ll dig into and enjoy too. I felt that there was a notable absence of grindcore in 2021, as well as some of the more extreme styles of doom. What do you think?
I hope you enjoy perusing some of my favourite records from this year, and I hope you find something new to tickle your fancy. What’s your number one this year? Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2021”
This is the third album from So Hideous, a post-metal band from the US.
None but a Pure Heart Can Sing is only 32 minutes in length, but this duration comes with more ideas than many releases double the length. The album is a loose mix of styles and genres, taking an experimental and avant-garde approach to music that finds them combining pretty much all of the post- styles, (metal, rock, hardcore, and black metal), with a diverse non-metal array of genres such as jazz and classical. Continue reading “So Hideous – None but a Pure Heart Can Sing (Review)”
This is the fourth album from Plebeian Grandstand, a French black metal/hardcore/experimental band.
It’s been a while since the vicious malignant dissonance of 2016’s False Highs, True Lows, so how have Plebeian Grandstand spent the time? Mutating and growing, it seems. Continue reading “Plebeian Grandstand – Rien ne Suffit (Review)”
This is the debut album from Gold Spire, a death metal band from Sweden.
Featuring ex-members of the mighty Usurpress, Gold Spire contains 40 minutes of progressive death metal. In many ways this album is the next logical step on from Interregnum, which is great to hear as that was such a superlative album. Continue reading “Gold Spire – Gold Spire (Review)”
This is the debut album from Polish black metallers Misanthur.
Ephemeris offers a 56-minute journey into darkness. Spreading itself across a range of styles and genres, including post-black metal, dark ambient, noise, doom, jazz, and industrial, the album is a multifaceted collection of apocalyptic soundscapes brought to vibrant life by a talented act. Continue reading “Misanthur – Ephemeris (Review)”
This is the fourth album from one-woman black metal band Cicada the Burrower.
Corpseflower is an intriguing and engaging collection of tracks that mix jazz, post-hardcore, psychedelic rock, and post-rock into a 31-minute progressive/post-black metal framework that also incorporates elements of blackgaze and depressive black metal. Continue reading “Cicada the Burrower – Corpseflower (Review)”
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