Enslaved are a Norwegian progressive black metal band and this is their sixteenth album.
Following on from 2017’s E and 2020’s Utgard, Enslaved return once more with Heimdal, 48 minutes of progressive black metal. Or, probably more accurately, blackened progressive metal. Either way, Heimdall essentially continues the path that Utgard started upon, breaking new ground, while still keeping a firm eye on where the band came from. Continue reading “Enslaved – Heimdal (Review)”
This is the debut album from US one-man black metal band Theophonos.
Rising from the ashes of Serpent Column, the music of Theophonos is a nightmarish mixture of twisted black metal and abrasive hardcore fury. Continue reading “Theophonos – Nightmare Visions (Review)”
Insomnium are a Finnish melodic death metal band and this is their ninth album.
I loved 2016’s Winter’s Gate, and 2021’s Argent Moon was pretty damn good to, so I knew that I wanted to check out what Anno 1696 had to offer. Across 50 minutes of material Insomnium once again treat us to a feast of metallic might. Continue reading “Insomnium – Anno 1696 (Review)”
The Enigma Division are a progressive metal band from Ireland and this is their debut album.
Brought to us by ex-members of Xerath, The Enigma Division is a 65-minute epic of progressive metal. Continue reading “The Enigma Division – The Enigma Division (Review)”
Dust Prophet are a US doom/stoner band from the US and this is their debut album.
One Last Look upon the Sky delivers 54 minutes of charismatic music. A sandy mix of stoner, doom, psychedelic, and progressive rock/metal, Dust Prophet provide the listener with a warm and gritty example of the style. Continue reading “Dust Prophet – One Last Look upon the Sky (Review)”
Mask of Prospero are a modern metal band from Greece and this is their second album.
Hiraeth provides a 41-minute contemporary blend of progressive metal, djent, and metalcore. Continue reading “Mask of Prospero – Hiraeth (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”
Although I’d ideally love to be able to conduct hard-hitting, in-depth interviews, who has the time these days? In lieu of this, I’ve thrown together the below question template, hopefully to gather some interesting and informative results, without taking up too much of anyone’s time.
Hi, everyone! I’m Marco “Mark” Bravi, keyboardist, lyricist and co-producer of italian-swiss prog band Virtual Symmetry. Continue reading “Standard Interrogation Techniques: Five Questions for Virtual Symmetry (Interview)”
This is the debut album from Hei’An, a progressive metal band from Slovenia.
Imago is a long album. With a duration of 69 minutes there’s a lot of material here, (86 minutes with the Slovenian versions of three of the tracks included). Thankfully Hei’An’s progressive metal is wide-ranging enough that it is up to the task of filling this time nicely. Continue reading “Hei’An – Imago (Review)”
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”
Wonderbox Metal 