This is the second album from UK metallic hardcore band Ithaca.
Following on from 2019’s very enjoyable The Language of Injury, They Fear Us contains 35 minutes of new material from Ithaca.
There’s a greater diversity of material on this album than on Continue reading “Ithaca – They Fear Us (Review)”
Wake are a Canadian extreme metal band and this is their fifth album.
The development between Wake’s 2018 album Misery Rites and 2020’s Devouring Ruin was impressive. Both are great records, but Devouring Ruin saw the band take big steps forward, moving their filthy grindcore into expansive blackened extreme metal waters. So what does Thought Form Descent bring us? Continue reading “Wake – Thought Form Descent (Review)”
This is the fourth album from US doom/sludge metallers Behold! The Monolith.
It seems like an age ago that it came out, but 2015’s Architects of the Void stood out from the crowds that year, (and made it into my year end list), and I had wondered if we’d ever hear from the band again. They’ve now reappeared though, and with a new singer to boot, to bring us 46 minutes of new material. Continue reading “Behold! The Monolith – From the Fathomless Deep (Review)”
Idol Throne are a heavy metal band from the US and this is their debut album.
Combining thrash and power metal, with a touch of progressive metal, The Sybylline Age contains 61 minutes of prime metallic heft. Traditional heavy metal is augmented with thrash metal muscle, neoclassical flourishes, and power metal flair. These elements are distributed across the album to Continue reading “Idol Throne – The Sibylline Age (Review)”
This is the second album from UK sludge/post-metallers Conjurer.
This much-anticipated lab of heaviness is the 53-minute follow up to 2018’s punishing Mire.
A contemporary blend of sludge and post-metal, with elements of doom, hardcore, and progressive metal, Páthos takes the sound that Mire did so well and pushes it further, expanding on its core heaviness with a greater range of textures and emotions. It’s like a vicious nest of crushing riffs has been smashed together with a multifaceted collection of rich soundscapes, and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. Continue reading “Conjurer – Páthos (Review)”
This is the second album from Spiralist, a solo post-metal act from Portugal.
Eternal Recurrence is an interesting album that’s hard to easily pin down when it comes to genre. Post-metal is probably the most obvious tag, but then there’s also a blackened aspect to parts of it. It has a pretty blatant progressive side too, sometimes, very 70s sci-fi in feel. There are also elements of doom and industrial that can be heard in places. I’m going to stick to the post-metal appellation and be done with it, but just know that the artist behind Spiralist cares not for producing easily categorised music. Continue reading “Spiralist – Eternal Recurrence (Review)”
This is the second album from US extreme metal band Kardashev.
Kardashev have an unusual sound that consists of a mixture of shoegaze and deathcore, to which elements of black, progressive, atmospheric, and post-metal have been added. This is then all rolled into an atypical contemporary package that lasts 60 minutes. Post-deathcore, maybe? Either that, or deathgaze, as the band style themselves.
This is the fifth album from French progressive black/death metallers.
Helioss play a hybrid style of black and death metal that has progressive influences and symphonic aspects. Across 62 minutes Contre ma Lumière delivers a multifaceted album of atmosphere, aggression, and majestic grandeur. Continue reading “Helioss – Contre ma Lumière (Review)”
This is the third album from US post-metal band Astronoid.
Combining post-rock, shoegaze, ambient, and progressive metal into a compelling and contemporary post-metal framework. Radiant Bloom is a 46-minute journey through mysterious cosmic realms, where unusual and awe-inspiring sights and plentiful. Continue reading “Astronoid – Radiant Bloom (Review)”
This is the fourth album from progressive/stoner metal band Druids.
After very much enjoying 2016’s Cycles of Mobeum, 2017’s Spirit Compass, and 2019’s Monument, I knew I wanted to check out Shadow Work as soon as it saw the light of day. Continue reading “Druids – Shadow Work (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 