RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/malignancy Malignancy is quite possibly one of the most inhuman and raw-sounding musical documents that I have come all year, and I am perfectly okay with that, thank you very much. The guitar tone is akin to slime and immediately establishes an atmosphere that can only be described as utterly unpleasant.…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/the-monolithic-cult-of-death Leave it to Godz ov War to unearth some of the most captivating underground acts and releases and bring them to light – a case in point being this incredibly dynamic and consistently interesting 35-minute output by Deamonolith, which is as unearthly and disquieting as they come. Blackened death metal…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://replicant.band/ Most of the time a reviewer generally agrees with others on the quality of reviewed material, differing but in a slightly lower or higher score or a few subjective details, but, every once in a while, one has to stand out from the pack and call an album average…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/the-glorious-persecution The Turkish casket removers known as Persecutory are back with a stellar new output, namely this 3-track EP titled The Glorious Persecution, and it marks their finest hour yet in terms of songwriting and atmosphere. Raw and slime-soaked black metal coupled with pulverizing death metal is the name of the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.dellanovaband.com/ This is a rather interesting British outfit that came about during the pandemic, and which falls somewhere between alt. rock and grunge with an original twist. Crafted and composed by main man Alex Bowmer, these eleven melodically strong compositions possess an experimental quality that sets them apart from much else…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://onceupontheend.bandcamp.com/ One of the most interesting and innovative melodic death metal bands in recent memory, the French quartet is even uniquely named, Once Upon The End. After one EP and one full length, plus a change of vocalist, they have independently released (yet promoted by Imperative PR) another EP, the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://burndowneden.de/ Yahweh God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, so that he does not reach out his hand and ALSO take of the tree of life and eat, and live forever….” So Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://motherofallofficial.bandcamp.com/ Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy s@#t we don’t need…We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.dewolff.nu/#/news Just by listening to this joyous and uplifting record I could have sworn that these gentlemen originate from the Deep South of the US, but the fact is that Dewolff hail from the Netherlands. Nevertheless, such is the authenticity and conviction with which these chaps churn out their passionate tunes,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://borknagar.com/ For one of the three major Norwegian black metal institutions, next to Emperor and Enslaved, Borknagar have comparatively only briefly dealt pure genre, from their 1994 inception through the eponymous¹⁹⁹⁴ and, maybe even the now legendary The Olden Domain¹⁹⁹⁷, only to deviate into then unknown and uncharted territory with…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://kornmo1.bandcamp.com/album/v-rjevnd-gnsnatt I am rather fond of this talented act’s previous records and find them engaging and beautifully crafted affairs that balance the epic and the intimate in a splendid manner. Vårjevnsdøgnsnatt is their fourth opus and sees them taking their instrumental symphonic prog to new heights in terms of sheer melodic…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://deceptionnorway.bandcamp.com/ A few reviews back, I had the pleasure to review the latest album from the Norwegian death metal stalwarts Blood Red Throne, Nonagon²⁰²⁴ as well as a chance to give my first 6/6 in a long time. Their new vocalist, Sindre Wathne Johnsen, is the founder of another Norwegian…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://donner.bandcamp.com/album/the-van-gennep-gap Being rather infatuated with this entity’s debut effort, namely the evocative Hesitant Light from 2021, I had high hopes for White Willow mastermind Jacob Holm-Lupo’s latest creation under the Donner moniker. Now that The Van Gennep Gap is out and I have had the opportunity to properly immerse myself in…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://whitewillow.bandcamp.com/album/storm-season-remaster Storm Season, the fourth full-length journey by renowned prog outfit White Willow, was recently remastered by the group’s very own Jakob Holm-Lupo, and the sparkling new edition will see the light of day in mid-December thanks to the good people at Karisma Records. Did I mention that it will be…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: Review by Raynier Swiegers Now this is Death Metal! With top-notch production, exceptional sound quality, striking artwork, and outstanding musicianship, this EP is a true masterpiece. The classical guitar intro and outro are simply brilliant – a perfect way to kick off a blistering Death Metal EP. The vocals, like the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://www.benighted.fr/ The French purveyors of (currently) death metal grindcore have been around since the dusk of the last century but are getting only tighter and better as if in spite of their name, Benighted, which means “pitifully ignorant or in a state of contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance” or “overtaken…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://wizrd.bandcamp.com/album/elements The musically gifted and delightfully adventurous Norwegian rockers named Wizrd released a stunning debut album titled Seasons back in 2022, and ever since then I have been looking forward to its follow- up. Elements will arrive in early December and let me tell you straight up that this could very…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://the–verge.bandcamp.com/album/the-verge The latest release on the lovable Is It Jazz? Records is a proper tour de force in every conceivable way and a dizzying yet incredibly cohesive output that harbors a raw, authentic power unlike anything else that I have come across. This musically tasty and elegant yet highly explosive…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://whitewillow.bandcamp.com/album/sacrament-remaster The third album by renowned prog rockers White willow, namely the one entitled Sacrament, was recently given an all-analogue boost and remastered by main-man (and musical mastermind) Jacob Holm Lupo, and new life has definitely been breathed into this already evocative creation. Originally released back in 2000 to great acclaim…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://yobrepus.bandcamp.com/album/a-rhizome-revolution-part-1-2 I was thoroughly taken with A Rhizome Revolution Part 1 when that came out roughly seven months ago as it was an emotionally demanding yet perfectly accessible and rewarding listen that managed to transport the listener elsewhere and leave a lasting impression. The textures and motifs the band so effortlessly…
