This is the fifth album from Finland’s black metallers Oranssi Pazuzu.
This is the follow up to 2016’s well-received Värähtelijä, which is a record that has only increased in my estimation over time. Now, across 50 minutes of multifaceted and highly textured music, Mestarin Kynsi is an album that I have little doubt in my mind will keep on giving for years to come as well. Continue reading “Oranssi Pazuzu – Mestarin Kynsi (Review)”
This is the second album from Azusa, an international progressive metal band.
Featuring current and ex-members of bands such as John Frum, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Extol, you know there’s a lot of talent and experience in Azusa before you even listen to them. Continue reading “Azusa – Loop of Yesterdays (Review)”
This is the second album by Shodan, a death metal band from Poland.
2016’s Protocol of Dying was a very memorable and enjoyable album, one that stood out for its quality and variety. Four years later the band are now back with Death, Rule over Us, containing 41 minutes of music that improves on their already capable style. Continue reading “Shodan – Death, Rule over Us (Review)”
Lots to choose from this month, so narrowing it down to just a handful of releases was not easy… Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of March 2020”
This is the debut album from Dawn of Ouroboros, a progressive black metal band from the US.
Combining elements of death, black, and progressive metal, this is a enchanting mix of the three that adopts a modern extreme metal approach to its highly engaging material. Continue reading “Dawn of Ouroboros – The Art of Morphology (Review)”
Based in the US, Irist are a modern metal band and this is their debut album.
Irist’s recipe is one that takes a wide range of influences and works them into a comprehensive modern metal framework. Loosely stated, Irist take elements of hardcore, thrash metal, and progressive/post-hardcore/metal, and hone them into song-based packages of metallic heaviness. Continue reading “Irist – Order of the Mind (Review)”
Neck of the Woods are a progressive metal band from Canada and this is their second album.
The Annex of Ire contains 40 minutes of modern, hybrid progressive metal from the band that enjoyably produced 2015’s Neck of the Woods and 2017’s The Passenger. Continue reading “Neck of the Woods – The Annex of Ire (Review)”
Neorhythm are a Russian metal band and this is their second album.
Here we have 45 minutes of progressive metal that takes elements of groove, technical, and death metal into its make-up. The band know how to handle the style, and Terrastory is effortless to digest and enjoy. Continue reading “Neorhythm – Terrastory (Review)”
Huntsmen are a US progressive metal band and this is their second album.
I really enjoyed 2018’s American Scrap, and it grew in my estimation over time too. At almost 80 minutes in duration this new album is almost double the length of the band’s first full length; Huntsmen are clearly not lacking in ambition. Driven by storytelling, Mandala of Fear takes the listener on a dystopian journey, one that has the musical ability to back up its concept. Continue reading “Huntsmen – Mandala of Fear (Review)”
Polaris are an Australian metalcore band and this is their second album.
The music on The Death of Me involves heavy aggression with melodic texture, and although it frequently combines the two, it also equally-frequently separates them. This results in an album that’s far more diverse than your average metalcore record, yet will probably mean that some people get Continue reading “Polaris – The Death of Me (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 