Entheos are a progressive death metal band from the US and this is their third album.
Entheos play a technical and progressive form of modern death metal. Time Will Take Us All offers 40 minutes of complexity and intricate delivery. This is then melded with the melodic strands of modern death metal as well as the Continue reading “Entheos – Time Will Take Us All (Review)”
This is the fifth album from Scottish death metal band Man Must Die.
Man Must Die play technical death metal and The Pain Behind It All is a 41-minute assault of vicious riffs, sharp technical blows, and blunt force extremity. If you’re a fan of bands such as Decapitated, Dyscarnate, Cattle Decapitation, Beneath the Massacre, and Misery Index, then there’s much here to enjoy for you. Although, as we’ll see, there’s more than just death metal here. Continue reading “Man Must Die – The Pain Behind It All (Review)”
This is the debut album from Australian death metallers Hormagaunt.
Although In the Flesh quietly oozed into life at the end of 2022 I couldn’t resist its mouldy charms, so here we are. Get ready for a 31-minute trip into the foulest and nastiest death metal swamps. Continue reading “Hormagaunt – In the Flesh (Review)”
This is the debut album from Australian death metal band Ashen.
Ritual of Ash is a 38-minute monster of a death metal album. Ashen spend their time on this record carving their way through the killing arenas of the style to appear triumphant and covered in blood by the end of it. The album snarls with Swedish death metal groove and roars with USDM intensity. A few other death metal styles can be heard here and there too, making for a collection of tracks that are easy to replay and enjoy. Continue reading “Ashen – Ritual of Ash (Review)”
So here we are again. It’s December, and year end lists are flying around like shrapnel. Due to the inherent subjectivity of music it’s always interesting to see what people have made of the preceding year.
For me, I made a concerted effort to drag myself away from the depths of black metal’s always-enticing abyss to spend some more time with other genres and styles that I also love. I said something similar last year, but I feel this year I was more successful in achieving that end. Of course, I still love black metal, still listen to it constantly, and you’ll still find some great examples of the blackened arts in the list below.
2022 was a strong year for death metal for me, and I enjoyed more death metal bands in a deeper way than I have done for some time. In every year there are standout releases, but I felt this year the standard was raised throughout. Possibly I was simply more receptive to it. Either way, you’ll find more death metal-related acts, and in higher spots, in this selection than you’ll have seen in my lists for a while.
As with last year, grindcore was largely absent from my year, disappointingly, as was hardcore. Additionally, the sort of lengthy, ugly, abyssal doom that I love so much has been largely lacking too. It’s all probably out there somewhere, but I didn’t catch it.
The top two spots this year are both claimed by albums/bands/styles that I simply could not have predicted would be at the pinnacle of my list by the year’s end, (one of the bands I hadn’t even heard of in January). I hope you enjoy these excellent records even half as much as I do.
Lastly I just want to say a big thank you to any and all that might read this site. It’s only a small endeavour, and I do it purely for the love of all things METAL and to support bands that I enjoy in whatever minor way I can, but if this is you, a heartfelt thank you for enduring my scribblings.
On to it! Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2022”
This is the debut album from Kassogtha, a death metal band from Switzerland.
rEvolve contains 62 minutes of modern death metal that’s shot through with progressive influences, melodic death metal streaks, and metalcore muscle. It is a engaging mix of modern metallic styles, resulting in an album that ranges from harsh brutality to soaring choruses, atmospheric heaviness, and emotive richness. Continue reading “Kassogtha – rEvolve (Review)”
This is the debut album from international death metallers Obsidious.
Containing current and ex-members of bands such as Alkaloid and Obscura, Obsidious play a form of progressive/technical death metal that melts faces, but does so with an epic hook. Continue reading “Obsidious – Iconic (Review)”
This is the third album from US death metallers Carrion Vael.
Carrion Vael play a modern form of death metal, and within this they combine the technical and melodic styles into a 39-minute juggernaut of an album. Continue reading “Carrion Vael – Abhorrent Obsessions (Review)”
This is the second album from Aronious, a death metal band from the US.
I listened to and enjoyed 2020’s Perspicacity far more than I expected to, so when Irkalla appeared I was keen to explore it. Two things struck me about the band’s new release before I’d even pressed play – the first was the difference in length, (Irkalla‘s 41 minutes/8 tracks vs Perspicacity‘s 59 minutes/13 tracks), and the second was the significant lineup changes, including a new Continue reading “Aronious – Irkalla (Review)”
This is the second album from Australian death metallers Altars.
Ascetic Reflection contains 40 minutes of warped death metal. As a rough outline of the band’s sound, take a base of Morbid Angel and then add in elements of bands like Gorguts, Artificial Brain, and Ulcerate. Then know that that these lazy comparisons do nothing to prepare you for the journey that Ascetic reflection offers. Continue reading “Altars – Ascetic Reflection (Review)”
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