This is the fourth album from US metal/deathcore band Enterprise Earth.
Enterprise Earth walk a line between modern death metal, deathcore, and metalcore, and on The Chosen the band deliver a whopping 71 minutes of meaty material for listeners to get their teeth into. Continue reading “Enterprise Earth – The Chosen (Review)”
Yes, it’s that time of year again! 2021 gave us some very, very good metal, and I feel honoured to have been able to have listened to as much of it as I have done. There are some notable absences, (for me at least), from the below list, but there’s just not enough time or space for everything, dammit!
2020 was a very blackened year for me; I listened to a lot of black metal, and the list for that year reflected that. At the start of 2021 I decided I’d consciously try to ensure I cast my net a bit wider again, reconnecting more deeply with some of many other styles of metal that I enjoy. 2021’s list reflects this. However, I’ve still ended up with much more of a black metal presence in the list than I was initially expecting. What can I say? I’m a sucker for all of the myriad blackened flavours of the style. However, there’s also a lot of other stuff here that I hope you’ll dig into and enjoy too. I felt that there was a notable absence of grindcore in 2021, as well as some of the more extreme styles of doom. What do you think?
I hope you enjoy perusing some of my favourite records from this year, and I hope you find something new to tickle your fancy. What’s your number one this year? Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2021”
This is the debut album from post-metal/sludge band No God Only Teeth.
No God Only Teeth play a characterful style that mixes together sludge and post-metal, with elements of post-rock and crust. The band take an emotive approach to their material, forging dark soundscapes from the various subgenres. Continue reading “No God Only Teeth – Placenta (Review)”
This is the debut EP from one-man sludge metal band Flowers of Flesh.
The artist behind Flowers of Flesh knows a good malevolent riff when he rips one out of someone’s spine. The EP starts with exactly one such riff, but it isn’t the only example to be found within these 24 minutes. The music is filthy blackened sludge metal that’s ugly and foul, yet contains some unexpected elements of light and feeling hidden amidst the carnage. Continue reading “Flowers of Flesh – Flowers of Flesh (Review)”
This is the second album from US extreme metallers Cave Bastard.
2018’s The Bleak Shall Devour the Earth was a record I enjoyed, so I was keen to catch up with what the band were offering in 2021. Continue reading “Cave Bastard – Wrath of the Bastard (Review)”
This is the second album from US stoner metallers Mother Iron Horse.
Under the Blood Moon contains 37 minutes of riotous fun and escapist storytelling. Mixing stoner metal with sludge heaviness, Mother Iron Horse’s music is easy to like; the band just want to party hard and crush some skulls with their sludgy stoner metal, what’s not to like? Mother Continue reading “Mother Iron Horse – Under the Blood Moon (Review)”
This is the debut album from French doom metal band Indigo Raven.
Featuring a member of Mourir, Indigo Raven deliver 43 minutes of doom on Looking for Transcendence, (including bonus track, a Mazzy Star cover). The promo blurb states that the “trio’s sound emerges from the Peaceville Three’s influence with a modern sludge approach”, and this is a suitable description of what you’ll find on this album. To this I’d also add a certain 80s pop sensibility that makes for songs that stick in the head. Continue reading “Indigo Raven – Looking for Transcendence (Review)”
This is the fourth album from US sludge metal band Kowloon Walled City.
It seems like a long time since Grievances saw the light of day in 2015. The band have now returned with Piecework, their shortest and most refined album to date. Continue reading “Kowloon Walled City – Piecework (Review)”
A Thousand Sufferings are a Belgian blackened doom band and this is their third album.
I’ve enjoyed seeing the development of A Thousand Sufferings over the years. Starting with 2015’s sludgy Burden, and then on to 2018’s increasingly blackened Bleakness, the band made a good impression. It’s now 2021 and we have Stilte; the synthesis of black metal and doom has reached its logical conclusion, and the 41 minutes of material on this new album is the band’s richest and most engrossing so far. Continue reading “A Thousand Sufferings – Stilte (Review)”
Kehlvin are a progressive hardcore band from Switzerland and this is their third album.
Holistic Dreams contains 35 minutes of material. Kehlvin’s style is a progressive form of hardcore that also has post-hardcore and sludge metal flavours in it. For lack of a better description, imagine a mix of Knut, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Mastodon, and that will give you a rough starting point for Kehlvin’s sound. Continue reading “Kehlvin – Holistic Dreams (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 