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)”
This is the fourth album from Ancst, a shapeshifting German metal band.
You’re never quite sure what you’re going to get from Ancst. Black metal, crust, hardcore, death metal, dark ambient – these are just genres to play with for the band, using and discarding styles and influences at will, depending on the needs of any given release or song. Which brings us to Culture of Brutality, a 35-minute, 20-track album that fuses deathgrind, metalcore, and hardcore into a monster of brutal heaviness. Continue reading “Ancst – Culture of Brutality (Review)”
This is the fifth album from Norwegian progressive metal band In Vain.
I really, really liked 2018’s Currents, so to my mind it has been far too long since we’ve heard from In Vain. Featuring 61 minutes of new music, Solemn is a grand affair, mixing together the band’s progressive/melodic death metal ingredients into a feast of tasty extreme metal. Continue reading “In Vain – Solemn (Review)”
This is the second album from US death metal band Veriteras.
Veriteras play melodic black/death metal inspired by the old-school Scandinavian scene of the 90s. The Dark Horizon is a 31-minute homage to this era, and boy does it get a lot right. Continue reading “Veriteras – The Dark Horizon (Review)”
This is the third album from Mexican death metallers Spit on Your Grave.
Arkanum provides us with 32 minutes of melodic death metal that showcases Spit on Your Grave’s considerable skills. This is my first encounter with the band, but they are clearly more than capable of competing in the death metal big leagues. Continue reading “Spit on Your Grave – Arkanum (Review)”
Darkest Hour are a US metal band and this is their tenth album.
It’s been a long time since 2017’s Godless Prophets & the Migrant Flora, but now Darkest Hour have returned. They’ve brought with them 41 minutes of scorching material in the shape of Perpetual | Terminal, and make no mistake, this has been worth the wait. Continue reading “Darkest Hour – Perpetual | Terminal (Review)”
This is the second album from Spanish death metal band Eternal Storm.
A Giant Bound to Fall is a much anticipated album in the land of progressive death metal. 2019’s Come the Tide was a very well-regarded album, so five years later, what have the Eternal Storm of 2024 delivered to us? Continue reading “Eternal Storm – A Giant Bound to Fall (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 