ALBUM REVIEWS

RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS

  • DAMAGE S.F.P – Damage S.F.P

    Veteran Finnish thrash metallers finally get a chance to release their debut album after 30 (!) years of existence, with a fairly unique blend of Testament/Exodus/Death Angel riffery and classic Megadeth/Anthrax leads, but their songwriting is too inconsistent for such a long standing outfit. Damage S.F.P album is a bit of a mess. The band,…

  • NARBELETH – Indomitvs

    The Cuban black metal force that is Narbeleth unleashed this intensely old-school 7-track record via Folter Record quite some time ago and in case you have yet to pick up on it, allow yours truly to remind you why this is a pretty damn solid offering that is worthy of your time. One man black…

  • HEART OF A COWARD – The Disconnect

    The British groove/deathcore/metalcore ensemble’s 4th installment is a familiar if enjoyable experience, with its Slipknot and mid era Soilwork riffing on top of supermelodic Linkin Park/latter In Flames nu metal choruses but the album is too formulaic to really stand out from the pack of similar wolves.  The quinted featuring Kaan Tasan (vocals), Carl Ayers…

  • THE COMMITTEE – Memorandum Occultus

    Here is yet another relatively old release by Folter Records that showed up in the mail box lately – this time it is "Memorandum Occultus" by the international black metal outfit named The Committee. Let us run through this one quickly as it is not exactly newsworthy anymore as such, but then again, I do…

  • VANANIDR – Road North

    The Swedish melodic black/death metal one man construct of Anders Eriksson’s, Vananidr’s 2nd album, inspired by the 90s staples such as Emperor’s "Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk", Dimmu Borgir’s "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant" or Opeth’s "My Arms, Your Hearse" leaves very little to complain about. Vananidr was actually born as Synodus Horrenda in 2010, out…

  • TRYGLAV – Night of Whispering Sounds

    Tryglav is a Croatian black/death project of one man, Boris Behara, formed in 2018, "Night…" his very first recording to date. The music oscilates somewhere between Dissection (melodic brutal black) and Hypocrisy (melodic midpaced death) but not as ambitiously drawn as either one. According to Encyclopedia Metallum, while alone in the studio Boris hires four…

  • KULT – The Eternal Darkness I Adore

    A most unholy and downright evil atmosphere permeates this blasphemous offering by Italy’s Kult and more often than not, it attains a trance-like aura that is as captivating as it is loathsome. The song material feels so ugly and disgusting that you will want to take a shower after having listened to it, which is…

  • FLYKT – Charnel Heart

    The Swedish entity named Flykt was conceived roughly three years ago and this 8-track debut offering of theirs consists of fast-paced and intense black metal with heaps of tremolo-picked melodies and grim riffs to it. What let’s this album down is not so much its lack of originality and musical identity as it is a…

  • THRASH LA REINE – La Foi, La Loi, La Croix

    Canadian thrashened heavy metal sung entirely in French? Why not, when it’s so well done and so freshly sounding with influences ranging from Anthrax through Megadeth and Trivium to Iron Maiden, with outstanding musicianship and excellent songs. On their second EP, Renaud Baril (guitars/vocals) Anthony Domm-Bélisle (bass) and Guillaume Leblanc (drums), thanks to Jon Asher/Asher…

  • FLUB – Flub

    Flub is a new project of former and current Alterbeast live members, vocalist Michael Alvarez (also Rivers Of Nihil) and drummer Jared Klein, and the Alterbeast influence is clearly present in this technical death metal/deathcore ensemble completed by Eloy Montes (guitars/programming) and Matthew Mudd (bass). The music and vocals are heavily reminiscent of The Black…

  • MICK O’SHEA – The Sex Pistols Invade America – The Fateful U.S. Tour, January 1978

    The skilled author that is Mick O’Shea published this excellent account of the legendary Sex Pistols’ 1978 trek across the US not that long ago via McFarland & Company Inc., and this is most definitely a must-read for anyone with an interest in both the aforementioned band and punk rock in general. The Pistols were…

  • BURIAL HORDES – ΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ ΑΙΩΝΙΟΣ (Τhe Termination Thesis)

    The Greek purveyors of impenetrably dark and murky black/death metal known as Burial Hordes released this evocative and at times riveting 6-song opus of theirs via Folter Records late last year and is a force to be reckoned with. Sound-wise the fouls-spirited hymns that constitute the record veer towards old-school death metal, but the venomous…

  • EMBRACE OF DISHARMONY – De Rervm Natvra

    This Italian ensemble Encyclopedia Metallum just categorizes progressive metal but there’s so much black and death metal on "De Rervm Natvra" that they can be rightly called progressive black/death metal. The music oscillates somewhere between Opeth, Borknagar and Dimmu Borgir with that Arcturus’ "La Masquerade Infernale" avant-garde weirdness to boot. The songs are well-written for…

  • HALPHAS – Dawn of a Crimson Empire

    "Dawn of a Crimson Empire" by the relatively new black metal outfit (they had only existed for a couple of years when they released this record) from Germany that is Halphas is another output from late 2017 that Folter Records mailed our way lately. Even though it may no longer be considered newsworthy as such,…

  • CORPUS CHRISTII – Delusion

    The Portuguese masters of morose black metal released this mighty impressive slab of bleak music back in 2017, but for some reason none of us at Eternal Terror Live picked up on it back then, so consider this a short, retroactive review, if you will. In honesty though, the physical promo did not show up…

  • DEATHTALE – The Origin of Hate

    Following a moody and somewhat mellow introductory track entitled "The Dark One", the Austrian horde that is Deathtale launch into their sharp and pummeling brand of death/thrash without any let-up in terms of energy or aggression for roughly 40 minutes. There are even a number of hard- and metal-core influences scattered throughout the disc too.…

  • DEATHCRUSH – Megazone

    Upon reading the name Deathcrush I expected devastating death metal, but this fairly unique Norwegian construct featuring Linn Nystadnes, Vidar Evensen and Pelle Bamle (with no revealed assigned instrumental duties) rather belong to mid-to-late 80s with the clear synth/pop of early Depeche Mode or Eurythmics, on one hand, and to the 90s industrial of Ministry…

  • OF FIRE – Dräparen

    Crushing and rumbling death with metal with a huge amount of groove to it is what these ugly Swedish fuckers named Of Fire offer. To phrase that differently, big riffs and even bigger choruses that are bound to smash your face in and pounding drums that will inevitably break your bones are what you have…

  • CONCRETE FUNERAL – Ultimum Judicium

    You get a concrete funeral when some very evil men put you feet first in a bowl full of liquid concrete, wait for it to dry and cast you in a lake or river, or, better yet – when they cast you whole alive into a concrete house foundation base and stir it up, smoothening…

  • GLASSING – Spotted Horse

    Glassing is a physical attack using a glass or bottle as a weapon. It’s also a Texan post-hardcore/metal ensemble which can get as poppy as it can get black metal. On this, their 2nd full length, the trio of guitarist Cory Brim, vocalist/basist Dustin Coffman (try to say that fast and not think of "Rain…

  • THE NOCTAMBULANT – The Cold and Formless Deep

    US horde The Noctambulant are about to unleash this rather fierce and punishing wall of ugly sound appropriately entitled "The Cold and Formless Deep", and if bands such as Naglfar and Necrophobic get your dick hard, this is most certainly a record that you do not want to pass up on. There is a melodic…

  • WHITEMOUR – The Devil Inherits the World

    Words such as bombast and precision constantly come to mind whenever I listen to this enjoyable and varied slab of blackened death metal by Finnish combo Whitemour. Imagine a cross between Behemoth, Morbid Angel, and Ragnarok, but do not forget to add a touch of Chton and a dash of Melechesh to the venomous brew…

  • Jordan with Cathi Unsworth – Defying Gravity – Jordan’s Story

    "Defying Gravity" by the multi-talented artist Jordan and author Cathi Unsworth is something else entirely. Not only is this superb piece of literature incredibly fascinating in that it offers a vivid account of the British punk rock movement and a compelling insight into its inner workings and how its main players operated and interacted with…

  • DEPRAVED MURDER – Manifestation

    Right from the very name I smelled trouble. Is there murder which is not depraved? These Indonesian brutal death metallers could have come up with a more exciting moniker, although, this one interestingly matches the excitement I get from listening to "Manifestation" – like being slowly drowned in a moderately foul-smelling pool of excrement, not…

  • BLOOD RED THRONE – Union Of Flesh And Machine – Daniel ‘Død’ Olaisen series

    The 2011 "Brutalitarian Regime" was a step down from the excellence of "Souls Of Damnation" but the 2013 eponymous was an attempt to recover, with better songwriting and melody. It came, again, with some significant changes. The vocalist Osvald "Vald" Egeland left and was replaced by more guttural Ingve "Bold" Christiansen, while bassist Ole "Bend"…

  • ARS VENEFICIUM/ULVDALIR – In Death’s Cold Embrace

    Alright folks, what we are dealing with here is a 2-track split 7" vinyl release (a limited edition of course) containing material by Ars Veneficium and Ulvdalir. The former hails from Belgium while the latter is a Russian horde who has been around for nearly twenty years now. As to Ars Veneficium and their piece…

  • SPIRIT ADRIFT – Divided by Darkness

    On first contact this Arizonian doom metal band sounds little like doom but rather a traditional heavy metal band with doom influences. Having recorded 3 albums in 4 years of existence is pretty impressive on its own but on "Divided By Darkness" Spirit Adrift, despite wearing some of their influences on their sleeves (Baroness, Mastodon,…

  • EXTREMA – Headbanging Forever

    The roots of this Italian thrash/groove outfit actually go all the way back to the time of Metallica’s "No Life ‘Til Leather" when Diego Colombo and Stefano Bullegas formed Killdozer renamed Extrema in 1986, having replaced Diego with Tommy Massara. To date, Extrema released 7 albums, including "Headbanging Forever", now enjoying the expert promotion of…

  • RUPHUS – Ranshart (2019 re-issue)

    The ridiculously talented prog rock ensemble known as Ruphus spawned some brilliant songs and albums back in the glorious 70s and early 80s, and we should be grateful to the ever-reliable Karisma Records for unearthing and re-issuing those gems and making them available again. The band’s debut offering from 1973 entitled "New Born Day" is…

  • METTADONE – Rotten Flattery

    Nowadays it is getting increasingly difficult to come up with an effective heavy metal moniker. Sometimes it seems all the good names had been taken already. Enter Mettadone – not just an excellent sounding name but one which, when pronounced, suggests two different aspects of this Ukraininian death/doom metal ensemble. Indeed, Mettadone is an interesting…