Category Metal
IBliss- (((Unholy)))
IBliss- (((Unholy))) EPRelease date: 2023Apr28Label: Helter Skelter Productions/Regain RecordsRating: 5/5 IBliss hail from Malaysia and are described as being similar to Electric Wizard and Sleep. This release is in anticipation of an upcoming full-length. Flower ov Evil builds up slowly into downtuned riffs set against thumping drumbeats/sludgy bass. Unholy is beyond my comprehension. Imagine the […]
Candlemass- Sweet Evil Sun
Candlemass- Sweet Evil SunRelease date: 2022Nov18Label: Napalm RecordsRating: 5/5 Candlemass formed in Stockholm, Sweden in 1984. Wizard of the Vortex is a hell of a trad-doom stomper to start, followed by the melancholic soundscape of When Death Sighs. Devil Voodoo hits with solid riffs at a steady pace with the commanding vocals of returning original […]
Black Spell- Season of the Damned
Black Spell– Season of the DamnedRelease date: 2022Dec09Label: Regain RecordsRating: 4/5 Black Spell hail from Italy. Satanic Majesty throbs with pitch-black bass set in bleakness. Black Abyss draws one in with a low and dirty feel. Other tracks that stand out to me are Witches’ Brew (a sinister mid-tempo rocker), Season of the Damned (pays […]
Elder- Innate Passage
Elder- Innate PassageRelease date: 2022Nov25Label: self-releasedRating: 5/5 Over the past decade and a half, Elder have put out release after release of captivating music. It took me a few years to catch on and I’m excited about this new effort. Catastasis is a lush soundscape of lifting harmonies with breathtaking cuts at a steady pace. […]
Fulanno/The Crooked Whispers- Last Call From Hell EP
Fulanno/The Crooked Whispers– Last Call From HellRelease date: 2022Nov01Label: Helter Skelter Productions/Regain RecordsRating: 4/5 Split EP from Argentina’s Fulanno and The Crooked Whispers. Erotic Pleasures in the Catacombs (Fulanno) starts with an epic desert crawl for the first two minutes and draws you in with epic, unforgiving riffage. Fucking love it!. Cycle of Death is […]
Soul Glo – Diaspora Problems
Label: Epitaph Release Date: March 25, 2022 From the label: Diaspora Problems is only the beginning of what will undoubtedly be a bright future for Soul Glo, as well as a forecast for what the band is capable of musically. Hardcore punk is at the precipice of a sonic revolution as a higher variance of […]
Russian Circles – Gnosis
Label: Sargent House Release Date: August 19, 2022 Post-metal, especially instrumental, has become increasingly vanilla. However, Russian Circles stays grounded in visceral riff-mongering. The band brings power, intensity and nuance to each new record and remains a force to be reckoned with. Gnosis is a potent album in a genre plagued by boringness. Conduit rides a nasty-ass groove […]
BORIS – Heavy Rocks (2022)
Label: Relapse Records Release Date: August 12, 2022 From the label: “The legendary BORIS celebrate a 30 year career as one of experimental music’s mostforward-thinking, heavy, and innovative bands with the new album Heavy Rocks (2022).” This the third in the series of Heavy Rocks records which takes on ’70s rock and avant-garde, experimental, proto-metal screwballs. Seriously, when […]
OFF! – Free LSD
Label: Fat Possum Records Release Date: September 30, 2022 Hardcore supergroup OFF! has just released “A Heavy Punk Industrial Free Jazz Soundtrack Recording”. This is a “conceptual work of music that assails the ears and annihilates consciousness” that will be accompanied by a film by the same name. Time Will Come scraps the punk rock […]
Elektric Mistress – Chapter 99 (EP)
Label: Self-Released Release Date: June 17, 2022 High energy psychedelic heartache with some witchcraft! From the promoter: Channeling the energy of inspirations such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Pink Floyd, Halifax, Canada Elecktic Mistress is all about the groove with their face-punching psychedelic stoner rock firmly rooted in what has come before, but also […]
Our Dying World – Hymns of Blinding Darkness
Label: Self-released Release date: June 24, 2022 Our Dying World provides symphonic and melodic keyboard-oriented stylings on Hymns of Blinding Darkness. This record is a mixed bag. Everything We Know is Gone is a perplexing mix of killer guitar riffs and fantasy soundtrack music. The song both rocks and confounds with blazing melodic riffs that […]
Split Image – Torrent of Illusion
Label: Low Budget Productions Release Date: June 1, 2022 With a dash of thrash, punk, crust, and hardcore, Split Image possesses a unique sound that boasts familiarity through thrashy riffs, progressive, technical elements, and a solid nod to old-school hardcore. Torrent of Illusion packs a punch! The record deals with intense lyrical themes surrounding mental health and […]
Goblinsmoker- Sweet Paravoid
Goblinsmoker– Sweet ParavoidRelease Date: 2022Sep02Label: Sludgelord RecordsRating: 5/5 Over the years, I have listened to tons of bands that could be considered Black Sabbath tribute acts. Goblinsmoker hails from the UK. Sweet Paravoid plods hazily in its’ down-tuned glory, picking up in tempo towards the middle. I feel like I need another bowl. Take The […]
Spiritus Mortis- The Great Seal
Spiritus Mortis– The Great SealRelease date: 2022Sep16Label: Svart RecordsRating: 4.5/5 Spiritus Mortis hail from Finland and they are supposedly the first Finnish doom band. Puputan is a fast-paced banger to start it off. Death’s Charioteer plods with an emphasis on solemn vocals. I was pleasantly surprised by the nasty swagger of Martyrdom Operation, which continues […]
Mystic Charm- Hell Did Freeze Over (reissue)
Mystic Charm– Hell Did Freeze Over (reissue)Release date: 2022Aug26Label: Personal RecordsRating: 4.5/5 Mystic Charm hailed from the Netherlands and this is technically an extended reissue of their 2001 EP Did Hell Freeze Over. Did Hell Freeze Over (intro) unfolds in a sinister tone, leading into the down-tuned (or turned-down?) notes of Beyond the Darkside. Bloodshot […]
Dead Void- Volatile Forms
Dead Void– Volatile FormsRelease Date: 2022Sep15Label: Dark Descent RecordsRating: 4/5 This is the debut of Dead Void who hail from Copenhagen. Atrophy plods along at first, picking up in tempo with thunderous drumbeats. Sadistic Mind and Perpetually Circling the Void stand out due to their sinister undertones backed by a low growl and foreboding instrumentation. […]
The Sombre- Monuments of Grief
The Sombre– Monuments of GriefRelease date: 2022Aug19Label: Chaos RecordsRating: 3.5/5 The Sombre hail from the Netherlands and their sound is described as death-doom. From The Depths of Misery lives up to its’ name with a flicker of haunting harmony. Alone In My Desolation resonates with my own feelings of despair, which is almost too much […]
Temple of Void- Summoning the Slayer
Temple of Void– Summoning the SlayerRelease date: 2022Jun03Label: Relapse RecordsRating: 3/5 Temple of Void return with their newest full-length after 2020’s The World That Was, which was a solid death-doom record. Behind the Eye plods with a touch of sludge. Deathtouch is similar in tone with more emphasis on vocals. Other tracks that stand out […]
Helms Alee – Keep This Be the Way
Release Date: April 29, 2022 Label: Sargent House Helms Alee mixes sludge, noise, psych, prog, indie, math and more to create a unique and unmistakable product. Over the years this band has evolved and steadily grown. This record may their most experimental record to date. This record is intensely hypnotic. See Sights Smell Smells begins with […]
Cave In – Heavy Pendulum
Label: Relapse Records Release Date: May 20, 2022 From the label: Boston legends CAVE IN makes a highly anticipated return with their Relapse Records debut, Heavy Pendulum, their first full studio record in over a decade. Produced by Kurt Ballou at God City, Heavy Pendulum showcases everything that has long established CAVE IN as one […]
Danny Elfman – Big Mess
Release Date: June 11, 2021 Label: Anti- From the promoter: After releasing a series of singles over the past few months, Danny Elfman is announcing his first solo album in thirty-seven years today, titled Big Mess. A slow burning track, True faces down hopelessness and despair head on. Elfman’s vocals are gritty and growling here, […]
Famyne- II: The Ground Below
Famyne– II: The Ground BelowRelease date: 2022May13Label: SvartRating: 4/5 Famyne hail from Canterbury, Kent, England. This is the first time I’ve heard of them. Solid Earth crushes it with head-banging riffage, ala Black Sabbath. Opening of Gone is very familiar and the atmosphere is soft and melodic. Other tracks that stood out were Once More […]
Ghost- Impera
Ghost– ImperaRelease date: 2022March11Label: Concord/Loma VistaRating: 4/5 Ghost return with their long-awaited (at least by me) follow up to Prequelle. The track Imperium opens things on a soft note. Kaisarion moves with a punk-like feel in spots. Lyrics of Call Me Little Sunshine beckon one to embrace the morning star. Hunter’s Moon conveys the thoughts […]
Thūn- II
Thūn– IIRelease date: 2022Jul01Label: Eat Lead and DieRating: 4/5 Thūn is a collective featuring Jon Higgs and Hugo Wilkinson (MONSTERWORKS), James Knoerl (GARGOYL) and guest guitarist Karl Sanders (NILE). Their sound has been described as epic death metal. Where All Truths Lie delivers with a raw, sustained attack. Look to the Sea has an obvious […]
STÖNER- totally…
STÖNER– totally…Release date: 2022May06Label: Heavy Psych SoundsRating: 5/5 I fucking love STÖNER. This is their follow up to “Stoners Rule“(June 2021). If you’re familiar with Brant Bjork (Kyuss; Fu Manchu) and/or Nick Oliveri (Kyuss; Queens of the Stone Age), you can’t miss this one. Party March thunders out the gate to get ya in the […]
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