Tombstoner – Victims of Vile Torture (Review)

Tombstoner - Victims of Vile TortureTombstoner are a death metal band from the US and this is their debut album.

Now here’s one I’ve really been looking forward to. 2020’s Descent to Madness was seriously good, and I’ve only grown to love it even more over time. On Victims of Vile Torture, we once again get a feast of old-school death metal, played with a modern edge that incorporates elements of grind, hardcore, groove, and thrash metal. The music combines all of the above elements into a roaringly good collection of tracks. Continue reading “Tombstoner – Victims of Vile Torture (Review)”

Truth Corroded – Bloodlands (Review)

Truth Corroded - BloodlandsThis is the sixth album from Truth Corroded, an Australian death/thrash metal band.

Truth Corroded serve up over 40 minutes worth of extreme metal on Bloodlands. The band’s style mixes skull-cracking brutality with razor-sharp thrash metal. This is music to simultaneously get smashed up and lacerated by. Continue reading “Truth Corroded – Bloodlands (Review)”

Wingless – The Blaze Within (Review)

WinglessWingless are a Polish metal band and this is their second album.

So strongly do I associate Poland with death metal, than upon seeing the album cover of The Blaze Within I immediately jumped to that conclusion with Wingless. Well, you know what they say about books and their covers… Continue reading “Wingless – The Blaze Within (Review)”

Tenth Amendment – Conviction (Review)

Tenth AmendmentThis is the second album from this US Metal band.

Tenth Amendment play modern Metal with groove and aggression. Back in the 90s when this kind of thing was just called either Metal or Hardcore rather than groove Metal or Metalcore, (usually due to how the band looked more than anything else), bands like Pantera, Fear Factory, Machine Head, Merauder, Skinlab and Pro-Pain we all staples of my CD collection, and Tenth Amendment very much remind me of that time.

Coming across as a combination of the aforementioned bands, we get song-based aggression with an industrial undercurrent that leans towards the heavier end of the spectrum. The album is very riff-based and there’s a purity of intent inherent in this kind of approach.

Continue reading “Tenth Amendment – Conviction (Review)”

Systemhouse33 – Regression (Review)

Systemhouse33Systemhouse33 are a Metal band from India. This is their latest album.

Their previous release Depths of Despair was an enjoyable, albeit brief, romp through all things heavy and modern, and Regression continues the theme but ups the stakes.

At a slightly longer 30 minutes in length, the band have further refined their blend of modern Metal and Metalcore/Hardcore/Death Metal influences into a potent blend of muscular aggression.

The singer has a harsh snarl that fits well with the music and doesn’t allow for any compromise. He plainly means business and I like what he’s selling.

The songs chug, rumble and bludgeon their way through the playing time and there’s a decent amount of catchy riffs and heavy melodies involved.

Although I liked Depths of Despair this is an all-round more cohesive, focused and superior release; perfect for when you want some heavy, crushing, upbeat, groove-based music. Without too much extremity, but also without going the other way into commercial, sanitised waters, Systemhouse33 have hit the right spot and Regression is actually a positive move forward.

For fans of Lamb of God, Meshuggah, Whitechapel, Skinlab, Machine Head, Testament, Merauder, etc.