This is the fifth album from US progressive death metallers Contrarian.
New Contrarian! Cast your mind and ears back over Polemic, To Perceive Is to Suffer, Their Worm Never Dies, and Only Time Will Tell, and you’ll find a band that has never released a bad album. I have a long-running soft spot for this band, but one that’s well-deserved. Contrarian are the sound of pure satisfying enjoyment in progressive death metal form. Continue reading “Contrarian – Sage of Shekhinah (Review)”
This is the seventh album from French death metal band Gorod.
It has been a while since I caught up with Gorod, (2015’s A Maze of Recycled Creeds), which is definitely my loss. Now that we have The Orb, it’s time to rectify that. Across 42 minutes, (including a cover of a song by The Doors), Gorod showcase exactly what they’re made of and why they are so highly regarded in technical and progressive death metal circles. Continue reading “Gorod – The Orb (Review)”
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)”
Anachronism are a death metal band from Switzerland and this is their third album.
Meanders combines elements of the dissonant, progressive, and technical styles into a 33-minute behemoth of brutal exploratory soundscapes. If you’re a fan of bands such as Gorguts, Ulcerate, Artificial Brain, and Ad Nauseam, then this is for you. Continue reading “Anachronism – Meanders (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”
November has a track record of producing some very strong metal records, and it seems that the November of 2022 is no different. Bask in the glory of the below metallic offerings! Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of November 2022”
Dystopia A.D. are a death metal band from the US and this is their second album.
Dystopia A.D. play a progressive/melodic form of death metal that’s ripe with creative flourishes and potent melodies. The band combine meaty brutality, sharp aggressive speed, and choice riffs, with piercing melodies, rich atmosphere, and progressive Continue reading “Dystopia A.D. – Doomsday Psalm (Review)”
Veilburner are a black/death metal band from the US and this is their sixth album.
I last reviewed Veilburner back in 2016 with their third album The Obscene Rite, so it’s about time that I did another one of their releases the justice it deserves by taking a closer look at their new material on VLBRNR. Continue reading “Veilburner – VLBRNR (Review)”
This is the debut album from US black metal band Skythala.
Boreal Dispair offers discerning listeners 57 minutes of avant-garde black metal, which is a really simplistic way of describing a work that’s the complete opposite of simple. Continue reading “Skythala – Boreal Despair (Review)”
Lamentations are a Singapore/US death metal band and this is their second album.
Featuring members of Tómarúm and Monotheist, Lamentations play progressive death metal, and Passion of Depression provides us with 57 minutes of exotic material to explore. Continue reading “Lamentations – Passion of Depression (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 