This is the debut album from French modern metal band Vestige.
To give a flavour of the sort of hybrid style that Vestige play, the promo blurb states that Janis is for fans of Deftones, Alcest, Loathe, and Sylvaine. In practice, this means a modern metal blend of post-metal and black/shoegaze. This results in songs that are highly atmospheric, yet also song-focused. Continue reading “Vestige – Janis (Review)”
This is the debut album from US solo metalcore band Scene Queen.
Now for something a little different. The artist behind Scene Queen offers up a clash of metalcore and chart music that’s shockingly good. It almost doesn’t need stating that this is not the sort of thing I gravitate to normally, but this is simply too good to pass up; as soon as I gave it a chance, I knew it had me. Continue reading “Scene Queen – Hot Singles in Your Area (Review)”
This is the debut album from UK sludge/post-metal band Urzah.
The Scorching Gaze contains 42 minutes of material delivered in a charismatic hybrid metallic style. Urzah combine elements of sludge, post-metal, progressive metal, doom, and hardcore/metalcore into an exemplar of heaviness that feels timeless. Continue reading “Urzah – The Scorching Gaze (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)”
Alpha Wolf are an Australian metalcore band and this is their third album.
I thoroughly enjoyed 2020’s A Quiet Place to Die, as well as 2022’s split with Holding Absence The Lost & the Longing, so more new material from Alpha Wolf is very well-received. I dislike the album art, but ignoring that, what do Alpha Wolf have in store for us this time around? Continue reading “Alpha Wolf – Half Living Things (Review)”
This is the third album from Venues, a modern metal band from Germany.
2018’s Aspire was good, but 2021’s Solace was where Venues really came into their own. The more I listened to it, the better it got, and it’s still a record that’s great when you want anthemic and catchy modern metal.
Now we have Transience, so let’s dive in. Continue reading “Venues – Transience (Review)”
Defocus are a German metalcore band and this is their second album.
Following on from 2021’s In the Eye of Death We Are All the Same comes There Is a Place for Me on Earth, bringing us 32 minutes of aggressive new material. Continue reading “Defocus – There Is a Place for Me on Earth (Review)”
This is the fifth album from US death metal/deathcore band Enterprise Earth.
2020’s EP Foundation of Bones was a solid introduction to the band for me, but I really enjoyed 2022’s The Chosen. Yes it was too long, but I really liked the band’s ability to combine deathcore and death metal with a range of different ideas and influences to create something above the norm for the style. Two years and a new singer later, and Enterprise Earth have returned with Death: An Anthology, which delivers 59 minutes of new material. It has not disappointed. Continue reading “Enterprise Earth – Death: An Anthology (Review)”
This is the debut album from Balsam Grove, a post-hardcore band from the US.
You’re Safe Here contains 40 minutes of material brought to us by ex-members of Caves of Glass. Whereas that mighty band played a distinct brand of multifaceted post-metal, Balsam Grove’s music is a post-hardcore mix of punk, screamo, and metalcore. Continue reading “Balsam Grove – You’re Safe Here (Review)”
Here’s a tasty show that I knew I wanted to catch. Both Viscera and Cabal are extremely well-regarded at Wonderbox Metal, so this was one for me to not miss. It was, however, one of the less well-attended gigs I’ve been to in a while. A shame, but it’s other people’s loss, as this was a damn good night out. Continue reading “Cabal/Viscera/Vexed/Lifesick – Rebellion, Manchester – 16/01/24 (Live Review)”
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