It’s once more time to catch up with some of the best metal releases of the past month. Check out the albums below and let me know which one your favourite is. Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of July 2019”
Tag: Melodic Death Metal
Carnifex – World War X (Review)
This is the seventh album from Carnifex, a US death metal band.
2016’s Slow Death was a real treat for fans of modern death metal, blending catchy songwriting with blackened melody and orchestration to produce a really enjoyable collection of songs. Although it contained elements of deathcore, as does this new one, Carnifex aren’t really a deathcore band these days – they’re far too melodic and have too much else going on, much to their credit. Continue reading “Carnifex – World War X (Review)”
Kavara – Weathered & Lost (Review)
Kavara are a Canadian melodic death metal band and this is their debut album.
This is sharp, energetic, melodic music that takes influences from a number of death metal avenues, and then sprinkles engaging melodies over everything quite liberally. Continue reading “Kavara – Weathered & Lost (Review)”
Haze of Summer – Stuzha (Review)
This is the second album from Russian post-black metal band Haze of Summer.
I enjoyed 2017’s Znoi, and on the band’s new release we get a further 33 minutes of melodic post-black metal. The album follows on from Znoi, even down to the tracklisting, which picks up where the last one left off. Continue reading “Haze of Summer – Stuzha (Review)”
Amon Amarth – Berserker (Review)
Amon Amarth are a melodic Death Metal band from Sweden and this is their eleventh album.
This is the follow up to 2016’s hideously enjoyable Jomsviking, and once again Amon Amarth have done themselves proud. Continue reading “Amon Amarth – Berserker (Review)”
Allegaeon – Apoptosis (Review)
This is the fifth album from US death metallers Allegaeon.
This is the eagerly awaited follow up to 2016’s Proponent for Sentience, and what a follow up it is. Apoptosis ramps up the band’s impact to maximum and delivers an extremely impressive record. Continue reading “Allegaeon – Apoptosis (Review)”
Children of Bodom – Hexed (Review)
Children of Bodom are a melodic death metal band from Finland and this is their tenth album.
My relationship with Children of Bodom up to this point can be summarised like so –
- Hatebreeder (1999) – Wow, yeah! Such a damn good album. I really like this band.
- Hate Crew Death Roll (2003) – The band just continue to get better!
- Are You Dead Yet? (2005) – Oh no. What happened here? It’s okay I suppose, but not really my thing.
- Halo of Blood (2013) – Not too bad, but not too good either.
And now we have Hexed. Yes, there are other albums too, in addition to the ones mentioned above, but you get the general idea.
Hexed contains 45 minutes of rocking melodeath, which consists of ten new tracks and, curiously, a reworking of an older song, (Knuckleduster). My verdict? It seems Children of Bodom have returned to the quality levels of the late 90s/early 00s. Yes, you read that right.
Prominent, expressive keyboards work wonders with the material. Songs that are catchy and memorable tear out from the music like bladed predators scything through the airwaves. Old school rock and metal elements are captured in the band’s electrifying songs, especially in the melodies used. Aggressive, energetic, and melodic, Hexed is full of good tunes and confident attitude.
I’m impressed. I’m very pleased to say that the band sound revitalised, despite how much of a cliché that probably comes across as. The album art suggested something along these lines when I first saw it, but the music firmly backs it up.
Hexed is Children of Bodom’s best album in years. I feel like I’ve rediscovered an old friend.
Soilwork – Verkligheten (Review)
This is the eleventh album from Soilwork, a veteran Swedish metal band.
Soilwork’s eleventh album mixes melodic death metal with fat grooving riffs and a hard rock sensibility that sits at the heart of the band, allowing them to straddle the worlds of metal and rock quite effectively. Having said that, it should be clarified that the rock aspects of this album are mainly hidden underneath a firmly metal veneer; they inform, without overpowering. Continue reading “Soilwork – Verkligheten (Review)”
Solium Fatalis – Genetically Engineered to Enslave (Review)
This is the fourth album from Solium Fatalis, a US death metal band.
Here we have 43 minutes of tasty and aggressive melodic blackened death metal. That may be a bit of a mouthful to say, but the music of Solium Fatalis rolls freely from the speakers and is quite easy to enjoy. Continue reading “Solium Fatalis – Genetically Engineered to Enslave (Review)”
Depths of Hatred – Bloodguilt (Review)
Depths of Hatred are a Canadian death metal band and this is their latest EP.
Here we have 22 minutes of Depths of Hatred’s brand of punishing intensity. Mixing together multiple strains of death metal with some decent character and a professional recording, the band’s modern attack is easy to recommend. Continue reading “Depths of Hatred – Bloodguilt (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 