Nile – Wonderbox Metal

Nephren-Ka – From Agony to Transcendence (Review)

Nephren-Ka are a French death metal band and this is their third album.

The return of Nephren-Ka sees them bring us a new lineup, (including a new singer), and a few more blackened influences. Other than that, we’re once again in for a brutal ride of Dune-flavoured death metal. I loved 2013’s The Fall of Omnius and 2017’s La Grande Guerre de L’Epice, and now From Agony to Transcendence looks set to inflate my already high impressions of this superlative band. Continue reading “Nephren-Ka – From Agony to Transcendence (Review)”

Akhenaten – The Emerald Tablets of Thoth (Review)

Akhenaten are a death metal band from the US and this is their fourth album.

Akhenaten play a hybrid style of black and death metal that’s been spiced up with Middle Eastern folk influences. The music brings to mind a cross between aspects of bands such as Nile, Melechesh, Arallu, Orphaned Land, Rudra, Septic Flesh, and the like. In other words, bands that use their extreme metal for more than simple brutality. Continue reading “Akhenaten – The Emerald Tablets of Thoth (Review)”

Eximperitus – Šahrartu (Review)

Eximperitus, (full name – Eximperituserqethhzebibšiptugakkathšulweliarzaxułum), are a death metal band from Belarus, and this is their second album.

Eximperitus play technical death metal delivered with occult trappings, resulting in a 39-minute journey into an extremely high quality and well-defined world. If you’re a fan of bands like Nile, then this is definitely one to check out. Continue reading “Eximperitus – Šahrartu (Review)”

Spectrum of Delusion – Neoconception (Review)

This is the second album from Spectrum of Delusion, a death metal band from the Netherlands.

Neoconception features 44 minutes of technical/progressive death metal. The promo blurb states that “Neoconception will strongly appeal to fans of groups such as Spawn of Possession, Suffocation, Obscura, Defeated Sanity, The Faceless, Blotted Science, and Nile“. Hard to argue, although I’d also add groups like Gorod, Beyond Creation, and Aronious. Continue reading “Spectrum of Delusion – Neoconception (Review)”

Nile – Vile Nilotic Rites (Review)

Nile are a US death metal band and this is their ninth album.

On Vile Nilotic Rites Nile return with a new lineup and a new approach to songwriting. There’s a greater cohesion in how the band members work together, and subsequently how their instruments and vocals fit with each other, meaning that the songs on this new album are very high quality. Nile sound focused and hungry. Continue reading “Nile – Vile Nilotic Rites (Review)”

A Vile Desolate Sands Tour – Nile/Hate Eternal/Vitriol/Omophagia – Manchester Club Academy, 24/09/19 (Live Review)

Tonight’s entertainment comes in the form of a first-rate death metal bill. Let’s dive in! Continue reading “A Vile Desolate Sands Tour – Nile/Hate Eternal/Vitriol/Omophagia – Manchester Club Academy, 24/09/19 (Live Review)”

Gravefields – Embrace the Void (Review)

Gravefields are an international death metal band and this is their second album.

Previously known as Dirtyprotest, this band have now benefited from both a change of name and a change of sound. Whereas the band’s debut album – Hellstorm – was essentially a Swedish death metal affair, Embrace the Void is a wider-ranging beast. Continue reading “Gravefields – Embrace the Void (Review)”

Gorgon – Elegy (Review)

Gorgon are a symphonic death metal band from France and this is their second album.

Symphonic death metal shouldn’t work, and mostly doesn’t. Elegy is different, however.

Imagine Orphaned Land if they were powered by death metal; this is my simplistic, overall Continue reading “Gorgon – Elegy (Review)”

Atrocity – Okkult II (Review)

This is the tenth album from German death metallers Atrocity.

Atrocity have had a varied career, with probably as many different incarnations and eras to their name as Paradise Lost. Okkult II finds the band in one of their darker, more brutal moods. Continue reading “Atrocity – Okkult II (Review)”

Pandrador – Śmierć Baldura (Review)

This is the debut demo from Pandrador, a death metal band from Poland.

Śmierć Baldura contains three songs, along with an intro track, and lasts 13 minutes in duration. Continue reading “Pandrador – Śmierć Baldura (Review)”