RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://erstwhilebm.bandcamp.com/album/ancient-steel I became aware of this melancholy black metal duo not that long ago thanks to the brilliant and ever-reliable Regimental Records who released the Steeling of a Soul album by Erstwhile on CD. This 3-track EP is hauntingly effective and drenched in an impressively solemn atmosphere that is underlined and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://carthus.bandcamp.com/ It’s raining independent debuts here at ER so, after the British death thrash groovers Lokust now comes the Australian progressive melodic death metal folk quintet Carthus with Images Of Tyranny²⁰²³ released on July 21st just 3 years after formation. What stands out the most are the band’s extraordinary skills…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.6lokust.com/ Since heavy metal was arguably invented in the United Kingdom, and, specifically in England, it’s been fascinating to watch the Americans “hijack” it and arguably make it better but then observe the Britts emulate that previously emulated music in pursuit of their own sound. This complex conclusion I’ve reached…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://facebook.com/DescentIntoMaelstromBand/ Although I had never visited the dodecaphonic metaller’s Andrea “Bigna” “Maelstrom” Bignardi’s independently released (later also on Maculata Anima Records) debut Descent Into Maelstrom’s eponymous²⁰¹⁷, Bignardi handling everything as a sole member after the 2016 conception, I liked the sophomore Iconoclasm (released on Maculata Anima Records in 2019 and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://medevil.bandcamp.com/ The Canadian progressive power thrash metaller’s debut Conductor Of Storms²⁰¹⁶ was already a fiercely original record although the influences were also quite easy to point out. I thought what made Medevil original was their approach to metal: they clearly loved it and were inspired by it but it wasn’t…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.infernaltenebra.com/ I’ve either never had or haven’t had in a while a close 5.5/6 which ended up a 5/6 in the end, subsequent revolutions to clarify the matter failing to deliver. The Croatian melodic death groove metallers Infernal Tenebra’s pre-pandemic predecessor As Nations Fall²⁰¹⁶ was an easy 5/6 but not…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://necropanther.bandcamp.com/ Yet another melodic death metal release on my plate, the Coloradan quartet featuring Paul Anop (guitars, vocals), Joe Johnson (guitars), Marcus Corich (bass), Haakon Sjoegren (drums), is actually quite a genre hopper on their 4th (after the eponymous²⁰¹⁶, “Eyes Of Blue Light”²⁰¹⁸ and “The Doomed City”²⁰¹⁹ with a couple…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.kingkraken.co.uk/ What a lovely and most welcome surprise this infinitely heavy and thunderous metal opus by the brilliant UK outfit King Kraken is. If Black Sabbath, Clutch, Corrosion of Conformity, and early Soundgarden all had a jam together, it would sound somewhere along the lines of MLCXXX, which is obviously a seriously…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://splitimage.bandcamp.com/ Metal albums about mental illness are hardly unique but each album is unique in the way each artist conveys the message, that is, sounds the alarm that mentally ill people feel increasingly estranged from society which ironically is not that normal to boast superiority over them. As one of…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://osserp.bandcamp.com/ 4.5/6 The Spanish death metal artillery known as Ósserp released this highly intense and pulverizing slab of apocalyptic darkness not that long ago, and there is plenty of reason for you to get excited about this vile fucker. Weaving traits and elements from black metal and grind into the fierce…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.tyrantsofchaosband.com/ Some say that in the constant pursuit of reinventing itself heavy metal is losing its roots. I don’t know if there’s any truth to that but I do know that it’s cool to listen to just a bare bones no frills heavy metal record akin to old Iron Maiden…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://fallandresist.bandcamp.com/ Truly it has been some time since I’ve heard something that opens that “doggone this is some excellent Gothenburg melodeath” drawer and these Aussies came out just in time with their 2nd EP (after “Buried Beneath”²⁰¹⁶ EP and “Fading Cinders”²⁰¹⁸ LP), “Darkness Of Now”. The drawer opens already on…
