Metal – Page 220 – Wonderbox Metal

Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2020

Almost every year I think about how challenging it is to compile a definitive best of list, and how subjective it is, etc. Although that’s still true for this collecting of albums, this year, however, has been easier than most. 2020 has been heavy on the black metal for me. It’s been my most reviewed genre, in all its myriad permutations, and this is reflected in the below list.

For the longest of times the bands in positions 5 and 6 vied for top position, but then October and November happened. All of a sudden, unexpectedly, these two months unleashed a wealth of quality, and stole the top four positions in a rampant display of blackened supremacy.

I hope you enjoy the below recommendations of mine and find something new to obsess over. Let me know how you get on.

Let’s dig in… Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2020”

Pillory – Scourge upon Humanity (Review)

This is the third album from one-man US death metal band Pillory.

Across 64 minutes, the artist behind Pillory batters and bewilders the listener with an onslaught of technical death metal. Scourge upon Humanity clearly won’t be for everyone, even just from that description alone, Continue reading “Pillory – Scourge upon Humanity (Review)”

Haunted Cenotaph – Abyssal Menace (Review)

This is the debut album from Polish death/doom metal band Haunted Cenotaph.

Abyssal Menace contains 41 minutes of gloomy old-school death metal. With a hefty amount of doom metal elements, and a Celtic Frost influence, this is an enjoyable listen for anyone that wants to explore OSDM that has a different perspective on the genre than that of many of the band’s contemporaries. Continue reading “Haunted Cenotaph – Abyssal Menace (Review)”

Ilsa – Preyer (Review)

Ilsa are a sludge metal band from the US and this is their sixth album.

Ever since I first heard – and loved – 2012’s Intoxicantations, I’ve been a big fan of Ilsa. Across another two full-lengths – 2015’s The Felon’s Claw and 2018’s Corpse Fortress they haven’t let me down, and they don’t seem to have done so Continue reading “Ilsa – Preyer (Review)”

Heads for the Dead – Into the Red (Review)

This is the second album from Heads for the Dead, an international death metal band.

2018’s Serpent’s Curse was a great record, so this new one is much-anticipated. Into the Red contains 47 minutes of horror-themed old-school death metal, and the album has been worth anticipating; this is a crushing record that deserves much attention. Continue reading “Heads for the Dead – Into the Red (Review)”

Heretical Sect – Rapturous Flesh Consumed (Review)

This is the debut album from US black metal band Heretical Sect.

Heretical Sect’s sound combines blackened ferocity with doom misery. Specifically, traditional black metal and 90s death/doom. It’s a combination that works well, yielding some gruesome rotten fruit over the course of six grim tracks. Across Continue reading “Heretical Sect – Rapturous Flesh Consumed (Review)”

Demoniac – So It Goes (Review)

This is the second album from thrash metal band Demoniac, from Chile.

The core of what Demoniac do on So It Goes is razor-sharp hyper-aggressive thrash metal. Bursting with jagged riffs, pierced with molten leads and solos, and crowned with barbed vocals, it’s clear that Demoniac know a thing or two about this sort of music. Continue reading “Demoniac – So It Goes (Review)”

Despite the decent-sized discography of Profanity, this is my first encounter with them other than their 2014 EP Hatred Hell Within. The EP was enough to ensure that I checked out this album when it appeared, (although it Continue reading “Profanity – Fragments of Solace (Review)”

Tag: Metal