This is the twelfth album from US sludge metal legends Crowbar.
In an ideal world Crowbar whould need little introduction. The band have been toiling away producing some of the absolute best song-based sludge metal since the early nineties, and have managed to not only amass a huge discography of great songs and albums, but have done so while basically carving their own path through the metal landscape. Continue reading “Crowbar – Zero and Below (Review)”
This is the fourth album from Swiss post-hardcore/metal band Abraham.
Abraham craft eight post-hardcore/metal soundscapes with layered compositions and multifaceted songwriting. The obvious starting point for comparisons would be a band like Neurosis, but with added elements of bands like Knut, Deadguy, and Botch. Continue reading “Abraham – Débris de Mondes Perdus (Review)”
KYOTY are an post-metal/sludge band from the US and this is their second album.
KYOTY, (or Keep Your Opinions to Yourself), are an instrumental act that have an atmospheric approach to music, taking in styles such as post-metal, post-rock, and sludge, combined with an industrial edge. Gathering together nine songs that were released over the 2020 isolation period, along with a new track exclusive to the album, this is a 70-minute work of rich evocative soundscapes. Continue reading “KYOTY – Isolation (Review)”
This is a split between two blackened doom bands – Nathr, who are from Norway, and Ordo Cultum Serpentis, who are from Mexico/South Korea.
Nathr open the split with the 19-minute track The Burial. Continue reading “Nathr/Ordo Cultum Serpentis – Shadows Crawl – Split (Review)”
This is the debut album from Kurokuma, a doom/sludge band from the UK.
Both times that I’ve encountered Kurokuma, (2016’s Advorsus and 2019’s Sheffield’s Best Metal Bands Vol. 1), I’ve liked what I’ve heard, and now it’s finally time for their long-awaited debut album to see the light of day. The band have been slowly gathering Continue reading “Kurokuma – Born of Obsidian (Review)”
Celeste are a French blackened doom/sludge/hardcore band and this is their seventh album.
This is the follow up to 2017’s Infidèle(s), which I enjoyed a great deal. Clocking in at 41 minutes, this is on the shorter side for a Celeste album, and Assassine(s) finds the band focused and sharp. Continue reading “Celeste – Assassine(s) (Review)”
Fit for an Autopsy are a deathcore band from the US and this is their sixth album.
Both 2017’s The Great Collapse and 2019’s The Sea of Tragic Beasts demonstrated Fit for an Autopsy‘s superiority when it comes to deathcore. The band are just doing better things with the style than most other ostensibly similar bands out there. With that in mind, expectations were high for Oh What the Future Holds. Continue reading “Fit for an Autopsy – Oh What the Future Holds (Review)”
Apes are a grindcore/hardcore band from Canada and this is their latest EP.
I really liked 2017’s Lightless, and I can’t quite believe it’s been so long since it came out. Lullabies for Eternal Sleep is well-received by yours truly, and I hope there’s even more where this came from, lurking in some underground bunker somewhere, ready to explode into the world. Continue reading “Apes – Lullabies for Eternal Sleep (Review)”
This is the latest EP from French death metallers Barús.
I enjoyed 2015’s self-titled EP, as well as 2018’s Drowned, so when it appeared Fanges was always destined for my playlists. Although billed as an EP, there’s actually an album’s worth of material for some bands here – 34-minutes spread out over two large tracks. Barús play atmospheric death metal with progressive and dissonant elements, and on Fanges they range wider and more freely than they have done before. Continue reading “Barús – Fanges (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”
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