Unfleshing – Violent Reason (Review)

Unfleshing - Violent ReasonUnfleshing are a blackened crust band from the US and this is their debut album.

Violent Reason is a 25-minute snarling monstrosity of black metal, hardcore, crust, and grindcore. Unfleshing’s debut record is a beast. Continue reading “Unfleshing – Violent Reason (Review)”

Lifesick – Loved by None, Hated by All (Review)

Lifesick - Loved by None, Hated by AllThis is the fourth album by Danish metallic hardcore band LIfesick.

I enjoyed Lifesick when I saw them earlier this year supporting Cabal, so knew I wanted to check out the 34 minutes of Loved by None, Hated by All when it appeared. Continue reading “Lifesick – Loved by None, Hated by All (Review)”

Mastiff – Deprecipice (Review)

Mastiff - DeprecipiceMastiff are a hardcore/sludge metal band from the UK and this is their fourth album.

Both 2019’s Plague and 2021’s Leave Me the Ashes of the Earth were enjoyable slabs of ugly sludgy hardcore heaviness, so it’s great to have a new Mastiff album in our lives. Deprecipice contains 34 minutes of material, and sees Mastiff stepping up their game once more. Continue reading “Mastiff – Deprecipice (Review)”

Elder Devil – Everything Worth Loving (Review)

Elder Devil - Everything Worth LovingThis is the second album from US sludge metal/grindcore band Elder Devil.

Here we are then – 33 minutes of nasty sludgy grind to clear away the cobwebs. It’s not pretty, but it’s certainly brutal. Elder Devil know how to produce an engaging slab of aggressive hostility. Continue reading “Elder Devil – Everything Worth Loving (Review)”

Thørn – Inferno (Review)

Thørn - InfernoThis is the debut album from Thørn, a blackened crust band from Italy.

Inferno contains 36 minutes of anger, teeth, and crushing distorted intensity. Thørn’s blackened crusty hardcore is a shockingly good record. Continue reading “Thørn – Inferno (Review)”

Spill Your Guts – The Wrath It Takes (Review)

Spill Your Guts - The Wrath It TakesSpill Your Guts are a blackened hardcore band from China and this is their second album.

The promo blurb states the following bands as influences on Spill Your Guts – Turbonegro, Kvelertak, Trap Them,
Every Time I Die, The Bronx,
All Pigs Must Die, Refused, and Shai Hulud – and these serve as a decent starting point for approaching the 31 minutes of material that makes up The Wrath It Takes. Continue reading “Spill Your Guts – The Wrath It Takes (Review)”

Wear Your Wounds – Rust on the Gates of Heaven (Review)

Wear Your Wounds - Rust on the Gates of HeavenWear Your Wounds are a post-rock band from the US and this is their third album.

Featuring current/ex-members of Converge, The Red Chord, Cave In, Hatebreed, and Trap Them, don’t let these band names fool you – this might not be what you are expecting. Rust on the Gates of Heaven is not a hardcore supergroup. Rather, it’s a 53-minute journey into reflective post-rock waters, and has more in common with bands like Crippled Black Phoenix, Mogwai, Angels of Light, Russian Circles, and, yes, hints of Cave In, than any of the other bands listed. Continue reading “Wear Your Wounds – Rust on the Gates of Heaven (Review)”

Funeral Chic – Superstition (Review)

Funeral Chic - SuperstitionThis is the second album from US blackened hardcore band Funeral Chic.

Fourteen tracks of violent, foul, ugly blackened hardcore? Yes please! How could I resist? Continue reading “Funeral Chic – Superstition (Review)”

Wolf King – Loyal to the Soil (Review)

Wolf KingWolf King are a blackened hardcore band from the US and this is their debut album.

Ahh, this is precisely the kind of adrenaline shot you need when…well, whenever really. With the dark, invigorating energy that comes off this thing in waves you could power one of the cities of Hell, I’m sure. Continue reading “Wolf King – Loyal to the Soil (Review)”

Hell to Pay – Bliss (Review)

Hell to PayHell to Pay are a US hardcore band and this is their debut album.

Here we have 29 minutes of hardcore mixed with elements of metal, grindcore, death metal, and crust. About a third of the running time is taken up by the last track, leaving most of the other songs as Continue reading “Hell to Pay – Bliss (Review)”