First Fragment – Gloire Éternelle (Review)

First Fragment - Gloire ÉternelleThis is the second album from Canadian technical death metallers First Fragment.

2016’s Dasein was a notable album, one that I have kept returning to over time, much more than I initially thought I would. The band’s jaw-dropping skill and impressive delivery stuck with me, so I viewed their new release Gloire Éternelle with some excitement before it finally reached me. Continue reading “First Fragment – Gloire Éternelle (Review)”

Sunless – Ylem (Review)

Sunless - YlemThis is the second album from Sunless, a death metal band from the US.

2017’s Urraca was a very notable and enjoyable release for me, even making it into that year’s end of year list. Progressive, technical, dissonant, avant-garde, psychedelic, and many other high-brow-esque appellations, Urraca was a multidimensional gateway to forward-thinking heaviness from a band who clearly knew their art well. Continue reading “Sunless – Ylem (Review)”

Archspire – Bleed the Future (Review)

Archspire - Bleed the FutureThis is the fourth album from Canadian technical death metallers Archspire.

Greatly anticipated after 2017’s highly regarded Relentless Mutation, Bleed the Future is another ferocious slab of unstoppable tech death mastery. Archspire spend 32 minutes showing the world very precisely why they are considered by many to be top of the technical death metal pile. Continue reading “Archspire – Bleed the Future (Review)”

Sulphurous – The Black Mouth of Sepulchre (Review)

Sulphurous - The Black Mouth of SepulchreThis is the second album from Sulphurous, a death metal band from Denmark.

The Black Mouth of Sepulchre gives us 37 minutes of death metal, the sort that leaves burn marks, congealed blood, and dark shadows wherever it goes. Sulphurous’ style is rooted in old-school death metal, but layered with a cloak of darkness and malignant, menacing mood. The music has a fierce technical component, which increases the number of killing ways it has fourfold. Continue reading “Sulphurous – The Black Mouth of Sepulchre (Review)”

Atræ Bilis – Apexapien (Review)

Atræ Bilis - ApexapienThis is the debut album from Canadian death metal band Atræ Bilis.

Across 32 minutes of brutal darkness, Atræ Bilis explore various expressions of heaviness via roaring death metal. Continue reading “Atræ Bilis – Apexapien (Review)”

Cognizance – Upheaval (Review)

Cognizance - UpheavalThis is the second album from UK/Austrian death metal band Cognizance.

Despite enjoying Cognizance’s early work, (such as Inquisition), I somehow managed to miss out on the band’s debut album Malignant Dominion. As such, when Upheaval appeared, lest I miss out again, I greedily took it to one side and hungrily devoured it. Continue reading “Cognizance – Upheaval (Review)”

Vulvodynia – Praenuntius Infiniti (Review)

Vulvodynia - Praenuntius InfinitiThis is the fourth album from South African death metallers Vulvodynia.

After 2016’s Psychosadistic Design and 2019’s Mob Rules, it’s great to once more be exposed to Vulvodynia’s brand of deathcore-laced brutal slamming death metal. There’s a whopping 57-minutes of violent content on Praenuntius Infiniti. Although I was initially concerned about this, as that length is a bit of a push for this sort of punishing material, it turns out that the band have done their best to make good use of the time. Continue reading “Vulvodynia – Praenuntius Infiniti (Review)”

Æpoch – Hiraeth (Review)

Æpoch - HiraethThis is the latest EP from Æpoch, a Canadian progressive death metal band.

This EP delivers 19 minutes of Æpoch’s modern progressive/technical death metal assault. Laced with black and thrash metal elements, (but less than previously), and powered by melodic might, Hiraeth is a short but satisfying hit of metallic aggression. Continue reading “Æpoch – Hiraeth (Review)”

Dominicide – The Architecture of Oppression (Review)

Dominicide - The Architecture of OppressionThis is the latest EP from UK death/thrash metallers Dominicide.

This four track EP has a duration of 24 minutes and showcases Dominicide’s brand of modern metallic assault. The music mixes death and thrash metal, while also incorporating at various points across the EP elements of deathcore and even symphonic enhancements. Continue reading “Dominicide – The Architecture of Oppression (Review)”