Culted – Vespertina Synaxis: A Prayer for Union & Emptiness (Review)

Culted - Vespertina Synaxis - A Prayer for Union & EmptinessCulted are an international blackened doom band and this is their latest EP.

I really enjoyed 2014’s Oblique to All Paths, and have been waiting for a new Culted release ever since. Well, now it’s here in the shape of this 27-minute EP. Boasting three tracks, Vespertina Synaxis: A Prayer for Union & Emptiness is a sinister exploration of Culted’s world. Continue reading “Culted – Vespertina Synaxis: A Prayer for Union & Emptiness (Review)”

Crimson Moon – Mors Vincit Omnia (Review)

Crimson Moon - Mors Vincit OmniaThis is the fourth album from US black metallers Crimson Moon.

This is the follow up to 2016’s Oneironaut, which I enjoyed so much that it placed on my end of year list for that year. Mors Vincit Omnia contains 54 minutes of music spread out over 8 tracks. This time the band’s mastermind has a main group of three, including himself, along with guest drums, (Aosoth/Antaeus), and several guest vocalists, (Absu, Archgoat, Demoncy, Kawir). Continue reading “Crimson Moon – Mors Vincit Omnia (Review)”

Witch Vomit – Buried Deep in a Bottomless Grave (Review)

Witch Vomit - Buried Deep in a Bottomless GraveWitch Vomit are a death metal band from the US and this is their second album.

Now this is the stuff. Featuring members of Torture Rack and Dagger Lust, I’ve long been a fan of the foulness that Witch Vomit unleash into the world. 2016’s A Scream from the Tomb Below and 2017’s Poisoned Blood were both underground gems of fetid old-school death metal, and Buried Deep in a Bottomless Grave is no different in this regard. Continue reading “Witch Vomit – Buried Deep in a Bottomless Grave (Review)”

Warcrab – Damned in Endless Night (Review)

Warcrab - Damned in Endless NightThis is the third album from UK death/sludge metal band Warcrab.

Scars of Aeons was a very enjoyable mix of sludge and death metal, so when I found out that this new album was on the horizon, I prepared myself accordingly. Damned in Endless Night is a bigger monster than Scars of Aeons was though, with double the tracks and a total duration of 52 minutes. Continue reading “Warcrab – Damned in Endless Night (Review)”

Aktaion – Above Empires (Review)

Aktaion - Above EmpiresThis is the third album form Swedish modern metal band Aktaion.

I’ve been a fan of Aktaion ever since their debut album Throne in 2015. They then followed this up with the improved The Parade of Nature a year later. The bigger gap between that album and Above Empires seems to have paid off, and the band’s third album truly sees them blossoming even bigger. Continue reading “Aktaion – Above Empires (Review)”

Gurthang – Ascension (Review)

Gurthang - AscensionGurthang are a Polish black metal band and this is their sixth album.

Ascension contains 57 minutes of textured black metal modelled on the second wave, but mixed with some more modern influences and enhanced with doom elements in places. Continue reading “Gurthang – Ascension (Review)”

Frantic Amber – Bellatrix (Review)

Frantic Amber - BellatrixThis is the second album from Swedish melodic death metallers Frantic Amber.

Boasting ex-members of Insision and Ice Age in their ranks, Frantic Amber play death metal that combines melody and brutality into songs that are well-written and tight. Continue reading “Frantic Amber – Bellatrix (Review)”

Killswitch Engage – Atonement (Review)

Killswitch Engage - AtonementKillswitch Engage are a metalcore band from the US and this is their eighth album.

Killswitch Engage are one of the larger, more recognisable names out there in the metal landscape, and I’m sure they need little introduction. Suffice it to say that they’re a big deal in certain circles. Continue reading “Killswitch Engage – Atonement (Review)”