Wintersun are an extreme metal band from Finland and this is their fourth album.
Essentially a solo act backed up by some talented musicians, Wintersun’s latest record has been eagerly awaited for some time by many people in the metal world. It’s been seven long years since 2017’s The Forest Seasons, so let’s dig in and see what we have here on Time II. Continue reading “Wintersun – Time II (Review)”
This is the thirteenth album by Dark Tranquillity, a melodic death metal band from Sweden.
I last caught up with Dark Tranquillity on 2016’s very enjoyable Atoma, so really wanted to check out Endtime Signals. With 14 songs and 59 minutes of music, (including the two bonus tracks), there’s a lot of material here. Don’t be put off though, as Endtime Signals is Dark Tranquillity firing on all cylinders. Continue reading “Dark Tranquillity – Endtime Signals (Review)”
This is a split between Draghkar and Helcaraxë, both death metal bands from the US.
I missed this earlier in the year, but here it is now, and you’d better believe it’s worth your time to give it a few spins. I’m a big fan of Draghkar, so I couldn’t let this slide by without comment, (make sure you check out World Unraveled, split with Desekryptor, The Endless Howling Abyss, and At the Crossroads of Infinity). On this split with Helcaraxë both bands offer up one song. Continue reading “Draghkar/Helcaraxë – A Glorious Call in the Terrible Darkness – Split (Review)”
Summoning the Lich are a death metal band from the US and this is their second album.
Summoning the Lich throw a few different influences into a brutally tasty death metal blender, and shake it with great force. The end result is Under the Reviled Throne, which serves up 40 minutes of music that takes the melodic and technical death metal styles and soaks them in fantasy-soaked flavourings. Continue reading “Summoning the Lich – Under the Reviled Throne (Review)”
This is the third album from French one-man black metal band Inherits the Void.
Hot on the heels of last year’s The Impending Fall of the Stars, the artist behind Inherits the Void has returned with 44 minutes of new material with Scars of Yesteryears. Are you concerned about the lack of time between releases? Don’t be, as Scars of Yesteryears is a cracking album. Continue reading “Inherits the Void – Scars of Yesteryears (Review)”
This is the third album from Swedish black metal solo act Kvaen.
The name Kvaen hit the black metal underground hard with 2020’s The Funeral Pyre, and then followed this up in 2022 with The Great Below, which showed that the quality of the debut was no fluke. Another two years have passed, and now we have The Formless Fires. Do the 39 minutes of new music here still demonstrate a continuation of these quality levels? Continue reading “Kvaen – The Formless Fires (Review)”
This is the debut album from French black metallers Houle.
After thoroughly enjoying Houle’s 2022 debut self titled EP, I was pleased to see Ciel Cendre et Misère Noire appear. Houle deliver 45 minutes minutes of melodic black metal across this album, and the record is a scorcher. Continue reading “Houle – Ciel Cendre et Misère Noire (Review)”
This is the third album from US black metal band Oubliette.
I really liked 2018’s The Passage, and I can’t quite believe it’s been six years since that record. Now the band are back, with a refreshed lineup, (which includes the drummer of Inferi), and 39 minutes of new material in the shape of Eternity Whispers. Continue reading “Oubliette – Eternity Whispers (Review)”
This is the third album from French death metallers Ad Patres.
I loved 2012’s Scorn Aesthetics, and 2019’s A Brief Introduction to Human Experiments was an enjoyable slab of death metal too. Which brings us to Unbreathable, and the 38 minutes of carnage that it unleashes. Continue reading “Ad Patres – Unbreathable (Review)”
This is the third album from US death metallers Gatecreeper.
Gatecreeper are always a reliable source of crushing old-school death metal carnage. Both 2016’s Sonoran Depravation and 2019’s Deserted were solid slabs of heaviness, (I also really enjoyed their 2018 split with Iron Reagan), so checking out the 37-minute Dark Superstition was mandatory. Continue reading “Gatecreeper – Dark Superstition (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 