Phlebotomized – Clouds of Confusion (Review)

Phlebotomized - Clouds of ConfusionPhlebotomized are a progressive death metal band from the Netherlands and this is their fourth album.

Phlebotomized play a creative form of death metal that combines progressive structuring and ideas with melodic grace, technical skills, and moments of outright brutality. Across 47 minutes they craft a journey of texture and detail on an unconventional death metal canvas. Continue reading “Phlebotomized – Clouds of Confusion (Review)”

Legacy of Brutality – Travellers to Nowhere (Review)

Legacy of Brutality - Travellers to NowhereThis is the fourth album from Spanish death metallers Legacy of Brutality.

Legacy of Brutality play death metal that is backed up by melodic might. Theirs is a recipe that takes many well-used ingredients, but deploys them in ways that end up very tasty and satisfying indeed. Continue reading “Legacy of Brutality – Travellers to Nowhere (Review)”

Unearth – The Wretched; The Ruinous (Review)

Unearth - The Wretched The RuinousUnearth are a metalcore band form the US and this is their eighth album.

Following on from 2018’s Extinction(s), Unearth continue to deliver the metalcore goods. Their tried-and-tested brand of melodic death metal-meets-thrash-meets-hardcore is on fine fiery form, and The Wretched; The Ruinous is a very enjoyable 37-minute slab of old-school metalcore heaviness. Continue reading “Unearth – The Wretched; The Ruinous (Review)”

Vintersea – Woven into Ashes (Review)

Vintersea - Woven into AshesThis is the third album from US progressive metal band Vintersea.

Woven into Ashes contains 51 minutes of progressive extreme metal that should find favour with fans of bands such as An Abstract Illusion, Aversed, Dawn of Ouroboros, Kassogtha, Ne Obliviscaris, Oceans of Slumber, and Wintersun. Continue reading “Vintersea – Woven into Ashes (Review)”

Fires in the Distance – Air Not Meant for Us (Review)

Fires in the Distance - Air Not Meant for UsThis is the second album from US death/doom metal band Fires in the Distance.

Air Not Meant for Us is a 50-minute journey into melodic death/doom waters from Fires in the Distance, who feature an ex-member of Xenosis in their ranks. Continue reading “Fires in the Distance – Air Not Meant for Us (Review)”

Dawn of Ouroboros – Velvet Incandescence (Review)

Dawn of Ouroboros - Velvet IncandescenceThis is the second album from Dawn of Ouroboros, a progressive black/death metal band from the US.

Following on from 2020’s well-received The Art of Morphology, Velvet Incandescence brings us 46 minutes of new material from Dawn of Ouroboros, who feature members of Botanist and Cailleach Calling. Continue reading “Dawn of Ouroboros – Velvet Incandescence (Review)”

Omnicidal – The Omnicidalist (Review)

Omnicidal - The OmnicidalistThis is the debut album from Swedish death metallers Omnicidal.

The Omnicidalist spends 43 minutes blending both the chainsaw and melodic varieties of old-school Swedish death metal. Sounds tasty? It really is. Continue reading “Omnicidal – The Omnicidalist (Review)”

Demonstealer – The Propaganda Machine (Review)

Demonstealer - The Propaganda MachineThis is the fourth album from Indian one-man extreme metal band Demonstealer.

I enjoyed both 2016’s This Burden Is Mine and 2021’s The Holocene Termination, so it’s now time to catch up with the talented artist behind Demonstealer. This time he’s come with a large supporting cast, as he’s assembled an enviable amount of musicians to help him to achieve his metallic goals, (from Continue reading “Demonstealer – The Propaganda Machine (Review)”

Shores of Null – The Loss of Beauty (Review)

Shores of Null - The Loss of BeautyThis is the fourth album from Italian doom metal band Shores of Null.

I thoroughly enjoyed 2020’s single track album Beyond the Shores (on Death and Dying), so knew that I wanted to catch up with The Loss of Beauty when it appeared. Unlike its predecessor, this new album is divided into individual tracks, and delivers 55 minutes of material, (or 49 minutes without the bonus tracks). Continue reading “Shores of Null – The Loss of Beauty (Review)”

Frozen Crown – Call of the North (Review)

Frozen Crown - Call of the NorthFrozen Crown are an Italian power metal band and this is their fourth album.

With promo blurb that states Call of the North is for fans of Iron Maiden, Blind Guardian, Hammerfall, Dragonforce, and Unleash the Archers, it would be churlish not to check this out. I’m glad I did. Continue reading “Frozen Crown – Call of the North (Review)”