ALBUM REVIEWS

RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS

  • BLUT AUS NORD – Hallucinogen

    France’s mysterious Blut Aus Nord have been releasing quality atmospheric/ambient/avant-garde black metal since 1994 (the golden age of black metal), growing through various evolutions of sound and direction. Mostly known for their outstanding ‘Memoria Vetusta’ and ‘777’ trilogies, there have been a few adventurous missteps (2006’s ‘MoRT’ and 2007’s ‘Odinist’) but also some true successes…

  • FALLEN FOREST – Demo II

    The Finnish duo named Fallen Forest, which is inspired by ancient nature and life, released their first limited-edition demo tape via the Lost Armor label not that many months ago, but it did not quite manage to capture my imagination or pique my interest that much.   However, this latest endeavor of theirs is much…

  • ARX ATRATA – The Path Untravelled

    In atmospheric black metal the emphasis can be on either atmospheric or black, but this one-man British band succesfully merged both aspects with equal strength at Emperor-ic level on this 2nd album, while adding a strong melodeath of 1999/2000 Dark Tranquillity, with excellent results. Arx Atrata’s sole member, a multinstrumentalist/vocalist, Ben Sizer, created the atmospheric…

  • PATRICK HUMPHRIES – Rolling Stones 69

    Numerous books on the timeless and seemingly never-ending rock ‘n’ roll institution that is the Rolling Stones have seen the light of day and the quality of them varies quite a bit. I am therefore utterly pleased to announce that “Rolling Stones 69” by skilled author Patrick Humphries is a splendid and hugely impressive piece…

  • JAN AKKERMAN – Close Beauty

    This upcoming record by the legendary virtuoso Jan Akkerman is a highly anticipated one in that it has been eight years since he released his previous studio output, but I must admit that I had expected something a little more exciting and musically rewarding than “Close Beauty”. This twelve-track offering falls somewhere between jazz rock,…

  • SINGULARITY – Place of Chains

    Some things just don’t fit together. You can’t put a square peg in a round hole and you can’t put a lipstick on a pig. Apparently, not so with fusion of technical death and neoclassical symphonic black metal, which this Arizonian act makes abundantly clear on their 2nd album, with excellent and highly impressive results.…

  • AKANDO – Attack from Ambush

    Akando’s ten-track offering entitled “Attack from Ambush” is something quite special and different in the sense that it thematizes and revolves around Native American history – and it does so by means of melodic death metal (with a few thrash metal influences thrown into the fiery mix for good measure). Following the atmospheric spoken-word introduction…

  • ZEIT – Drangsal

    The German black/doom metal metal outfit named Zeit (i.e. “Time”) unleashed this six.track full-length assault of theirs not that long ago via their own channels, and I must say that this turned into a rather cool surprise. “Drangsal” is a competent piece of work and is as raw as it is murky, and there is…

  • CREPUSCLE – Heavenly Skies

    Symphonic melodic death metal is a genre where talent and skill, no matter how great, are seldom enough. On their 2nd album the Californian powerhouse shows all of the above in abundance and the songs are very good but, with precious few exceptions, Crepuscle 2019 is a one trick power metal pony. Crepuscle, named after…

  • FORMICARIUS – Rending The Veil Of Flesh

    Symphonic black metal had its hayday in the 90s when bands such as Emperor, Dimmu Borgir and Cradle Of Filth ruled the metal day. The likes of Carach Angren and, to a lesser degree, The Black Dahlia Murder, built up on this legacy for their own stylings. This British quintet draws from both schools with…

  • WEEPING SORES – False Confession

    If you think that everything has been growled and played in doom death meet the New York trio Weeping Sores who prove that there are paths previously untaken, they know of them, and they travel them with apparent ease, finesse, harmony and emotional impact already on their debut album.  This incredible trio of New Yorkers…

  • INADREAM – No Songs for Lovers

    The musical collective from Bochum known as INADREAM took me by surprise as the album artwork led me to believe that these guys were a Gothic outfit or perhaps a more electronically inclined rock band of sorts, which makes no sense at all now that I really think about it, but the fact of the…

  • 1349 – The Infernal Pathway

    You’ve already seen the score, so let’s just cut to the chase; The Infernal Pathway is not just a good 1349 album, it is a really good 1349 album. TIP manages to bring together elements from every era of the band’s discography, and somehow ends up feeling somewhat concluding in doing so. The album brings…

  • ARMAGEDDON DEATH SQUAD – Necrosmose

    French quartet Armageddon Death Squad specialize in pummeling old-school death metal with a raw vibe and a vile feel to it. Well, actually, it is not all-out old-school as there are a number of slightly more modern and technical touches to what these fuckers do too, but the bottom line is that this foul opus…

  • WOUNDVAC – The Road Ahead

    It is not easy to break through in a genre overcrowded with similar sounding acts and this Arizonian grindcore quartet proves it on their 4th EP, a heavy and pulverising collection of similarly paced and sounding riffs of hardcore, death and thrash origin split into separate tracks, a major problem with majority of grindcore releases.…

  • DARKMOON WARRIOR – Angels of Dirt – Beasts of Rebellion

    The German outfit Darkmoon Warrior offers unpolished and murky black metal of the most vile and loathsome kind – just the way you sickos out there like it! This is as raw and pounding as they come, but there is more than meets the eye to this unholy affair. The majority of riffs are catchy…

  • HAUNTER – Sacramental Death Qualia

    Ever since Opeth abdicated their progressive death metal throne with the 2011 "Heritage" the likes of In Mourning and Barren Earth sought to reseat it. With their 2nd opus this Texan trio merges the 1995-1998 period with Gorguts, Deathspell Omega and Immolation, as a challenge to all concerned, for one of the most complex, difficult…

  • WINTERFELL / CINEASTRE – Songs From a Time Forgotten

    Cineastre (Germany) was just something that I stumbled on quite recently while browsing for releases pertaining to said genres, and as it turns out, I have found myself listening to this raw and atmospheric output a lot during my early and often-times solitary shifts at work. Each project brings two compositions to the table with…

  • V – Led Into Exile

    Sludge/doom/post-hardcore/post-metal is a genre meld which can yield highly interesting compositions or it can merely highlight its creators’ ability to do so without putting it in notes. This latter reality is of this Swedish ensemble’s 2nd album, which feels grossly understated whether or not this was the original intent. The quartet formed in 1994, in…

  • COME BACK FROM THE DEAD – The Rise Of The Blind Ones

    In the new wave of old school death metal, as we would call the bands inspired by old Death, Obituary and Paradise Lost and Bolt Thrower, which often include the Swedish death metal (i.e. Dismember, Entombed, Grave, Unleashed), there’s a constant supply, which this Spanish quintet is yet another decent example of. Come Back From…

  • FORMICARIUS – Rending the Veil of Flesh

    British black metallers Formicarius unleashed this grim and melodically rich affair of theirs just a few weeks ago, and if you dig the more symphonic and frostbitten avenue of said genre, this 9-track opus might just be for you. The emphasis is quite clearly on atmosphere and diversity, which entails that this horde moves back…

  • METALLICA – «S&M2» FILM REVIEW

    METALLICA «S&M2» FILM REVIEW Last night (October 9) marked the worldwide premiere of Metallica’s latest endeavor, the highly anticipated "S&M2" collaboration to mark the 20th anniversary of the semi-legendary 1999 shows with the San Francisco Symphony orchestra. The film was billed as a "one night only" event with thousands of cinemas and movie theatres all…

  • CLOUD RAT – Pollinator/Do Not Let Me Off The Cliff

    If you look at the cover of this, the grindcore Michigander’s 4th album, thinking that this must be a typical genre release in the vein of Brutal Truth, Converge, Napalm Death, Nasum or Norma Jean, with songs shorter than an average orgasm and occasional brilliance, think again. There’s more than meets the eye with this…

  • GREVIA – Misophonic

    If you look at the cover of the very first recording from this Sicilian grindcore/death metal ensemble thinking that this must be a typical grindcore/death release in the vein of old Misery Index, Napalm Death and Nasum, with songs shorter than an average orgasm and occasional brilliance, you’d be right. Take pre-Misery Index Dying Fetus…

  • FLYING COLORS – Third Degree

    I must confess that this is my first encounter with the hugely skilled Flying Colors featuring such heavyweights as drummer Mike Portnoy (Winery Dogs, ex-Dream Theater), guitar-wizard Steve Morse (Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs, ex-Kansas), keyboard-maestro and vocalist Neil Morse (Transatlantic, ex-Spock’s Beard), bassist Dave LaRue (Dixie Dregs, ex-Joe Satriani), and vocalist Casey McPherson (Alpha Rev,…

  • WITCH VOMIT – Buried Deep In A Bottomless Grave

    The 2nd album from the Oregonian death metallers brings a barrage of flawed old school death metal in the vein of old Morbid Angel, Immolation or Carcass with a slight modern touch, plus the inconsistent production additionally spoils the fun. Formed in 2012 as a duo of Tony "Tempter" Thomas (guitars, vocals) and Vincent "Filth"…

  • EMPYREAL – My Own Living Hell

    The story of the hard-hitting German ensemble known as Empyreal is an interesting and inspiring one. Following the release of their “Psalms of Forlorn Hope” EP back in 2017, the band received heaps of well-deserved praise from fans and critics all over, and 2018 saw them make the trek to the awesome Norwegian extreme metal…

  • ORM – Ir

    The Danish epic black metaller’s 2nd full lenght is a work of relentless brutality of early Dimmu Borgir or Enslaved and magnifiscent melody of Dissection, combining fantastic musicianship and flawless execution with near perfect songwriting, for one of the best genre offerings this year. Orm (Danish for serpent), is a Copenhagen-based quarted consisting of Simon…

  • WARCRAB – Damned In Endless Night

    The third album from the British sludgecorer’s engages with very good songwriting chops of Malevolent Creation High On Fire for a record of impenetrable overwhelming darkness. Already, with the best and the most pertinent logo on the market, Warcrab arrests your attention, formed but 9 years ago. It took them 3 years to independently release…

  • BLACK STONE CHERRY – Black to Blues Volume 2

    As much as I like the first installment of the “Black to Blues” series by the renowned Black Stone Cherry (there is a review of it elsewhere on these pages), this new one comes across as more confident (and perhaps even a tad groovier too) compared to its predecessor. More importantly, “Volume 2” is more…