Swedish Death Metal – Wonderbox Metal

Ashen – Ritual of Ash (Review)

This is the debut album from Australian death metal band Ashen.

Ritual of Ash is a 38-minute monster of a death metal album. Ashen spend their time on this record carving their way through the killing arenas of the style to appear triumphant and covered in blood by the end of it. The album snarls with Swedish death metal groove and roars with USDM intensity. A few other death metal styles can be heard here and there too, making for a collection of tracks that are easy to replay and enjoy. Continue reading “Ashen – Ritual of Ash (Review)”

Ripped to Shreds – 劇變 (Jubian) (Review)

This is the third album from US death metallers Ripped to Shreds.

Featuring current and ex-members of bands such as Azath, Disincarnation, and Spinebreaker, 劇變 (Jubian) contains 36 minutes of meaty death metal heaviness. Continue reading “Ripped to Shreds – 劇變 (Jubian) (Review)”

Label Roundup: Grind to Death Records – Belarus Beaver, Eldprov, & Beyond the Catacombs (Reviews)

Wonderbox Metal gets sent a lot of new music, (which is great), but there’s no way that everything can get covered unfortunately, (which is not so great). This column hopes to redress this balance, if only slightly, by taking a look at a handful of releases that a record label has recently sent out that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks.

In this edition of this column we’ll take a look at Swedish label Grind to Death Records. It’s not a label I’m familiar with, so how better to get a good look at what they do than this? Besides, how could I resist a grindcore album about beavers… Continue reading “Label Roundup: Grind to Death Records – Belarus Beaver, Eldprov, & Beyond the Catacombs (Reviews)”

Maul – Seraphic Punishment (Review)

This is the debut album from US death metal band Maul.

Across 38 minutes Seraphic Punishment torments us with nasty death metal that will not only leave a bad taste in your mouth, but a rusty meat cleaver too. Savage and brutal, the band’s music offers a crushing display of murderous death metal carnage. The style mixes the classic Swedish style with equally classic USDM, to create a hybrid of the two that lacks the strengths of neither. Continue reading “Maul – Seraphic Punishment (Review)”

Entrails – An Eternal Time of Decay (Review)

This is the seventh album from Entrails, a Swedish death metal band.

A new Entrails album is always worth a listen. I enjoyed 2015’s Obliteration, 2017’s World Inferno, and 2019’s Rise of the Reaper, and An Eternal Time of Decay – with its 46 minutes of material – is no different. Continue reading “Entrails – An Eternal Time of Decay (Review)”

Demonical – Mass Destroyer (Review)

Demonical are from Sweden and this is their seventh album. They play death metal.

I always enjoy Demonical’s work, (check out 2016’s Black Flesh Redemption and 2018’s Chaos Manifesto), so new material by the band is definitely well-received. I never got the chance to review 2020’s World Domination, so now that we have Mass Destroyer I wanted to make certain that this oversight didn’t happen twice. Continue reading “Demonical – Mass Destroyer (Review)”

Sentient Horror – Rites of Gore (Review)

This is the third album from US death metallers Sentient Horror.

My long-standing love affair with old-school Swedish death metal has begun to wane in the last couple of years. Where I was once easily pleased, I am now much less so, and I seek the style out far less than I used to. However, Sentient Ruin’s Rites of Gore has rubbed me up the right way, so it Continue reading “Sentient Horror – Rites of Gore (Review)”

Cryptivore – Celestial Extinction (Review)

This is the debut album from Cryptivore, a one-man Australian death metal band.

Across 27 minutes the artist behind Cryptivore hammers into us his vision for old-school death metal. Taking influence from early Amorphis, Carcass, and Grave, Celestial Extinction is a mix of brutal Swedish death metal, moody melodic death metal, and feral grindcore. Continue reading “Cryptivore – Celestial Extinction (Review)”

Creeping Flesh – …And Then the Bombs Came (Review)

This is the second album from Swedish death metallers Creeping Flesh.

Creeping Flesh play old-school death metal that feels like it’s underpinned and powered by the classic Swedish style, but has an obvious love of Bolt Thrower that they then build on top of these sturdy foundations. The end result throws bands such as Hail Continue reading “Creeping Flesh – …And Then the Bombs Came (Review)”

Mass Worship – Portal Tombs (Review)

This is the second album from Mass Worship, an extreme metal band from Sweden.

The Mass Worship formula for delivering a crushing metal album is one of finding the best ratio of metal, death metal and hardcore. At the Gates, Meshuggah, and Mastodon are all mentioned as influences, and these help appreciate where Mass Worship are coming from. Continue reading “Mass Worship – Portal Tombs (Review)”