Jinjer – Duél (Review)

Jinjer - DuélThis is the fifth album from Ukrainian metal band Jinjer.

I haven’t caught up with Jinjer since their 2016 album King of Everything, so this new album seemed like a good place to see how the band are faring in 2025. It turns out, very well indeed. Duél is a keeper. Continue reading “Jinjer – Duél (Review)”

Phrenelith – Ashen Womb (Review)

Phrenelith - Ashen WombThis is the third album from Phrenelith, a death metal band from Denmark.

Following on from 2021’s Chimaera comes the 39-minute monstrosity Ashen Womb. This is absolutely hideous stuff, from a band that apparently just keep on improving. Phrenelith have unleashed something truly malefic here. Continue reading “Phrenelith – Ashen Womb (Review)”

Tayne – Love (Review)

Tayne - LoveThis is the debut album from Tayne, an industrial rock band from the UK.

Love contains 31 minutes of industrial rock/metal, taking a variety of influences and using them to create something quite charismatic. Tayne’s music is easy to enjoy if you like your tunes to consist of multiple component parts, all joined together with skilled vision. Continue reading “Tayne – Love (Review)”

Relics of Humanity – Absolute Dismal Domain (Review)

Relics of Humanity - Absolute Dismal DomainThis is the third album from Belarus death metallers Relics of Humanity.

It’s been a while since 2019’s Obscuration came out; a devastating EP that left me hungry for more. Alas, there was no more to be had, at least not until now. So, after six years, and with a change in singer, can the 2025 version of Relics of Humanity still hold their own in the death metal killing arenas? Continue reading “Relics of Humanity – Absolute Dismal Domain (Review)”

Lay Waste – Savage Rebellion (Review)

Lay Waste - Savage RebellionLay Waste are a grindcore band from the US and this is their debut EP.

I’m going to try to listen to more grindcore this year. It’s a genre I love, but has been a bit thin on the ground for my tastes for the last few years. With that in mind, I randomly came across Lay Waste on Bandcamp, so here we are with my first new grind listening experience of 2025. Continue reading “Lay Waste – Savage Rebellion (Review)”

Label Roundup: Avantgarde Music – Selvans, Skaldr, and Void of Hope (Reviews)

Wonderbox Metal gets sent a lot of new music, (which is great), but there’s no way that everything can get covered unfortunately, (which is not so great). This column hopes to redress this balance, if only slightly, by taking a look at a handful of releases that a record label has recently sent out that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks.

Surprisingly, I haven’t done one of these columns since 2022! I was genuinely shocked when I realised this recently. So, it seemed like the perfect time to revisit it, and to get caught up on some of Avantgarde Music‘s releases. This is a label I rate highly, and never seem to get enough time to adequately cover, so here’s three new albums all seeing the light of day on January 31st 2025. Continue reading “Label Roundup: Avantgarde Music – Selvans, Skaldr, and Void of Hope (Reviews)”

Better Lovers/Frontierer/Greyhaven – Academy 3, Manchester – 19/01/25 (Live Review)

Better Lovers Frontierer Greyhaven - Academy 3, Manchester - 19.01.25

Now this is a lineup. All three bands I’d go and see in their own right, let alone all touring together. Tonight I feel like I’m in for a real treat. Morale is high as I enter the Academy 3, and it’s about to get a whole lot of busy. Continue reading “Better Lovers/Frontierer/Greyhaven – Academy 3, Manchester – 19/01/25 (Live Review)”

Harakiri for the Sky – Scorched Earth (Review)

Harakiri for the Sky - Scorched EarthThis is the sixth album from Austrian post-black metallers Harakiri for the Sky.

Harakiri for the Sky always seem to deliver albums that are lengthy, but rewarding. 2016’s III: Trauma, 2018’s Arson, and 2021’s Mӕre were all notable records in this regard. Now, with the arrival of Scorched Earth, have Harakiri for the Sky continued this trend of quality album releases? Continue reading “Harakiri for the Sky – Scorched Earth (Review)”

The Great Old Ones – Kadath (Review)

The Great Old Ones - KadathThe Great Old Ones are a French black metal band and this is their fifth album.

It’s been six long years since 2019’s Cosmicism, but we finally have some new material from The Great Old Ones. I thoroughly enjoy their work, (also check out 2014’s Tekeli-li and 2017’s EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy), so greedily consuming Kadath as soon as I could was always going to happen. Continue reading “The Great Old Ones – Kadath (Review)”

Vyre – Voidserpent (Review)

Vyre - VoidserpentVyre are a German progressive black metal band and this is their fourth album.

I’ve enjoyed watching Vyre develop their sound, from the post-black metal of 2014’s The Initial Frontier Pt. 2, to the increasingly avant-garde stylings of 2018’s Weltformel. Which brings us to Voidserpent, a new album that offers us 42 minutes of new material from this expressive and interesting act. What have they done this time around? Continue reading “Vyre – Voidserpent (Review)”