This is the thid album from US black ‘n’ roll band Funeral Chic.
Following on from 2018’s Superstition, Roman Candle brings us a different band with a different sound. With ten tracks and a duration of 36 minutes, the album has less songs than Superstition, but is four minutes longer. Continue reading “Funeral Chic – Roman Candle (Review)”
False Gods are a doom/sludge metal band from the US and this is their second album.
Neurotopia contains eight tracks, (seven originals and a doomified Integrity cover), for a total of 50 minutes of material. False Gods play a compelling brand of doom and sludge metal that also benefits from elements of hardcore. Continue reading “False Gods – Neurotopia (Review)”
This is the debut album from Nicolas Cage Fighter, a metallic hardcore band from Australia.
The promo blurb states that Nicholas Cage Fighter combine “ruthless hardcore, late 90s metal and death metal influences”, which sets the scene nicely for the 37 minutes of material on The Bones That Grew from Pain.
Imagine a mixture of Hatebreed, Pantera, and the groovy aspect of bands like Thy Art Is Murder and Decapitated, and you’ll have a rough idea of where Nicolas Cage Fighter are coming from. They specialise is music that takes the metallic hardcore style from the 2000s and adds in more contemporary influences.
The music is full of energy and muscular heaviness. These songs are designed for the live arena, but are well-written enough to survive outside of their natural environment. Crushing breakdowns, heavy riffs, and roared vocals are the main order of business, and Nicolas Cage Fighter know their trade well. The songs are heavy, angry, are catchier than you might expect, and are just plain fun to listen to.
I like the inclusion of ambient, melodic, and atmospheric elements into the band’s brutal sound. These are only small enhancements to the songs and only appear at select moments, but they add value nonetheless. I also really like the singer’s vocals. They’re well-performed and varied enough to hold interest.
The Bones That Grew from Pain sits nicely next to recent records by Malevolence and Cage Fight. If you are looking for an album to hit the gym to, or just something to go and break stuff to, then this is for you.
A highly recommended slab of crushing heaviness.
This is the fifth album from US progressive rock band Oceans of Slumber.
I really liked 2018’s The Banished Heart, but 2020’s self titled was something even more special, making it on to my end of year list. I wasn’t sure how Oceans of Slumber could top their last album, and I’m pleased that they haven’t tried to; as you may have noticed, I’ve tagged this as a progressive rock album, rather than Continue reading “Oceans of Slumber – Starlight and Ash (Review)”
Wake are a Canadian extreme metal band and this is their fifth album.
The development between Wake’s 2018 album Misery Rites and 2020’s Devouring Ruin was impressive. Both are great records, but Devouring Ruin saw the band take big steps forward, moving their filthy grindcore into expansive blackened extreme metal waters. So what does Thought Form Descent bring us? Continue reading “Wake – Thought Form Descent (Review)”
Panzerfaust are a Canadian black metal band and this is their sixth album.
It was with high expectations that I turned to Panzerfaust‘s new record, and I have not been disappointed. I admit to apprehension when I saw that there were no less than four tracks tagged as interludes. However, only three of these are really interludes, (one is a 6-minute instrumental), and while none of these three are really essential, they’re not complete wastes of space like most interludes are. Regardless, The Suns of Perdition – Chapter III: The Astral Drain is still an exceptional album, so let’s get to it. Continue reading “Panzerfaust – The Suns of Perdition – Chapter III: The Astral Drain (Review)”
This is the eighth album from Swedish blackened thrash metal band Witchery.
Witchery always tend to release an enjoyable record, (such as 2016’s In His Infernal Majesty’s Service and 2017’s I Am Legion), and their latest one continues this trend. Five years since their last album, Nightside, (which features members of bands such as The Haunted, and Lik), is a 36-minute concept album. Continue reading “Witchery – Nightside (Review)”
This is the fifth album from US avant-garde black/death metal band Imperial Triumphant.
After 2020’s Alphaville, any Imperial Triumphant release is going to be much-anticipated, and now we have it; 55 minutes of new material in the form of the warped, mutating Spirit of Ecstasy. Continue reading “Imperial Triumphant – Spirit of Ecstasy (Review)”
This is the second album from UK post-metal act The Ever Living.
The Ever Living combine alternative, electronic/industrial, and post-metal together into 43 minutes of material on Artificial Devices, resulting in a textured, immersive collection of tracks. Continue reading “The Ever Living – Artificial Devices (Review)”
Fellowship are a symphonic power metal band from the UK and this is their debut album.
I love a good power metal album, but I also find I’m constantly disappointed by it, as I’m not easily pleased with the style. Not so with The Saberlight Chronicles – this is a first rate slice of the good stuff. Fun, ridiculously positive and over the top, and packed with great tunes, Fellowship have massively impressed. Continue reading “Fellowship – The Saberlight Chronicles (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 