News, Reviews and Interviews
Heavy Metal Around the Globe
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO PREMIERE: Dødsferd – Back to my Homeland…my last Breath…
They are a raging alarm call of black metal might, in which Wrath shows himself to be at the height of his powers, even after all of these years and all of these releases.
EXCLUSIVE TRACK STREAM: Mule Skinner – Mule Bomb/Grenadiers
There is nothing soft about either track, though there is plenty of skill displayed in the mauling they give us.
FULL ALBUM STREAM: Deathvoid – Semaphore
This demo is a truly excellent example of creating meaning and emotion within objectively difficult music.
Esoctrilihum – Dy’th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath
Those with open minds and chaos in their hearts will rejoice.
TRACK STREAM: Jenn Taiga – King of Swords
Eerie, beautiful, powerful, meditative…all of these are appropriate descriptors for this spacey third track on Lunar Nocturnes and Esoteric Incantations.
TRACK STREAM: Mosara – Majestik
This is, I would say, first and foremost stoner doom, and it has a side order of prog mixed in as well, but it also carries that aura of sludge metal (or maybe Sludge Metal is more apt).
Cryptosis – Bionic Swarm
Band - Cryptosis Album - Bionic Swarm Country of Origin - The Netherlands Genre - Progressive Thrash Metal Release Date - March 26, 2021 Label - Century Media Records Author - Hayduke X Bionic Swarm is the perfect name for this album for a couple of reasons....
Omination – NGR
A rich sonic palette paints a deep experiential listen, full of strife and anguish. Though incredibly beautiful, NGR is also stunningly dark, and subtly horrifying.
Gonemage – Mystical Extraction
The album is sometimes spastic, and rarely sits still long, even in the slower parts. And yet it all flows so well together.
Lóstregos – Onde Calan Os Corazóns Ruxen As Pedras
I’m in awe of this album. It has grabbed me viscerally and thoroughly.
Darkgem – Luminous Hag
There is vibrant energy and a sense of immediacy to these tracks, probably due to the purpose of the composition.
Myrkgand – Old Mystical Tales
Dynamic pacing, well thought out composition, a strong vocal performance, and earworm riffing all contribute to making this an album well worth hearing.
Caïna – Take Me Away From All This Death
Through a kaleidoscopic filter of electronic doom and mayhem, he explores the dark side of life.
Capra – In Transmission
In Transmission is perhaps the most immediate album I’ve heard all year. I feel like I’m front row at a show and only years spent developing self control have saved my couch from being turned into kindling in a living room mosh session.
Creeping Fear – Hategod Triumph
Only thirty-six minutes long, you still feel spent when the last note fades, such is the might of this album.
Zebulon Kosted – Die Groot Korkodil Pieter Willem Botha
The reality is that it draws you into a trance with it’s droning rhythms, building tension and beauty slowly, Ghafur revealing more of this monster with each bile filled invective.
INTERVIEW: Gomgoma
Don’t do drugs. Do Bataille, instead.
Ossaert – Pelgrimsoord
So what’s the verdict? Simply put, while it languishes a bit in some places (mostly the latter half of track 3 and track 4), Pelgrimsoord seems to take the sound of Bedenhuis and capitalize on it by inserting a handful of really cool extras.
LABEL FEATURE: Sentient Ruin Laboratories
I can count on any Sentient Ruin release to be well crafted, challenging in some way, and aesthetically interesting.
TRACK STREAM: Necrogod – Bringers of Blasphemy
This entity is death metal in its purest form, angry and hungry, eager to feed.
Ringarë – Thrall of Winter’s Majesty
Thrall of Winter’s Majesty represents a unique entry in its collection of work: it is not a representation of the future of RINGARË, but is purely conceptual in its form and a reflection of times long gone.
Wrekan – Gevurah
There is really a lot going on here, yet the eight tracks remain (mostly) within the confines of Raw Black Metal as a distinct subgenre.
Varanak – Relics of Mourning
I press play, I am transported to some warm, dark, dangerous, and welcoming place, and then some indeterminate time later, I come slowly back to this world.
Void Angel – Winds From Paradise
This release has real riffs, played well, and yet retains that rugged feeling through production choices.
