Black Hole District is french doomsters Monolithe's tenth album and marks yet another step in the band's musical and conceptual development. There is a narrative structure to the album, with the story taking influence from science fiction sources such as Blade Runner and Dark City. The story's protagonist, living on an Earth that faces annihilation due to the Moon having left it's orbit and falling inwards towards the planet, discovers, by a convoluted series of events, that he is in reality an android, not a human and this discovery looks set to cost him his life as the powers-that-be seek to terminate him for his knowledge.

The band have always made a "thing" of the track timings on their releases, which ties into their concepts, with Black Hole District's ten tracks alternating between one-minute instrumentals and exactly ten-minute long main tracks. Thankfully, as is always the case with the band, the specificity of the track timings doesn't feel forced and they never feel over-extended or truncated to accomodate these timings. I have a feeling that the band see themselves as storytellers every bit as much as musicians nowadays and, to this end, they have incorporated even more progressive elements into their music to the point where the progressive and the doomy are now held in perfect balance. This balance allows them the freedom to convincingly weave epic science-fiction tales without compromising on the inate heaviness of death doom metal, which is still, despite all the progressive flourishes, the heart and soul of Monolithe's sound.

A new element they have brought in, presumably specific to this story, is 80's style synths, in particular they have used the Yamaha CS-80 popularised by Vangelis, who is particularly influential here, especially (but not exclusvely) on the one-minute interludes which act as intros to the five main tracks, each one sounding like a snippet from the Greek's Blade Runner soundtrack. They have also brought in guest vocalist Frédéric Gervais of french progressive black metallers Orakle to provide clean vocals alongside new guitarist and vocalist Quentin Verdier's deathly growls, which gives the album a nice textural variation, vocally. Alongside the vocals a number of spoken word sections serve to advance the story and act as introductions to the events of the main tracks.

All this is the vision of the main man behind Monolithe, guitarist and keyboard player, Sylvain Bégot, who is the person solely responsible for all the band's songwriting and lyrics since their earliest days. I think that Sylvain's single-minded control of the artistic input imparts a cohesive consistency to Monolithe's output that may have become diluted by more diverse inputs. It has been obvious since the first album that, similarly to Ivar Bjørnson with Enslaved, Bégot's vision has always been beyond the boundaries of the genre conventions within which he works, even as he has no wish to completely set those conventions aside. He has now become exceedingly effective in how he weaves the doom and progressive aspects together and produces legitimately progressive doom metal as a result, with very few peers in the field. He is now able to convincingly produce a cinematic version of doom metal, that is able to impart the emotional and atmospheric highs and lows of great cinema. The poignancy of the closing track, "Those Moments Lost in Time", for example, is heart-wrenching, despite the heavy, looming main riff, as it references the Blade Runner death scene of Rutger Hauer's Roy Batty.

Black Hole District may not be unrelentingly heavy enough for some death doom acolytes, but for doomsters who love a cinematically conceptual tale, musically well-told with exemplary musicianship and songwriting then Monolithe are very much at the head of the pack. Although Blood Incantation will take all the plaudits for 2024 in this field for their new album, I don't think anyone should dismiss Black Hole District's claim to progressive extreme metal's science fiction concept album of the year.

From Finland, Counting Hours are making some of the best gothic doom metal I've heard this decade. Each song on The Wishing Tomb has a superb atmosphere and melancholy. The vocals are very engaging and very memorable, and the harsh death vocals serve as accentuation instead of being the records focal point. Compositions manage to remain tuneful throughout the project as they modulate between the guitar and vocal leads. The Wishing Tomb does not meander either; this is still doom metal, but even then, Counting Hours keep songs concise and on topic, even the longer tunes like "The Wishing Tomb" and "This Well Of Failures." Production is pristine with a fruitful bass with its own independence from the power chords of the guitar. And the synths act as accents to an already solid foundation instead of overwhelming the entire mixing of the album. I know there isn't that much to say about The Wishing Tomb, but it encompasses nearly everything that I love about gothic doom metal and I can't believe it took me this long to hear it.

Best Songs: Timeless Ones, All That Blooms (Needs To Die), The Wishing Tomb, No Closure, This Well Of Failures

The 80s thrash tsunami occurred mostly in the US, the UK, and Germany, but one band from Brazil has propelled that country into the scene. Sepultura brought Brazilian thrash metal forward with albums Beneath the Remains and Arise. Though longtime thrash fans were turned off by their switch to groove metal in Chaos A.D. and the more Korn-ish nu metal of Roots. After that, frontman Max Cavalera quit the band, followed by his brother drummer Igor a decade later. The band has continued to stay active, all the way up to this year (as of my review), when they started a farewell tour that will last until 2026. I actually hadn't experienced an entire Sepultura album, not even during my ultimate Pit test a couple years earlier, until now. Although it's unusual to start with the band's possible final album before retiring, let's hear what they got in Quadra!

More often than not, when a thrash band tries to relive their 80s era of destruction and mayhem, it doesn't reach the same glory as that era. However, the thrash sound in this album has been given more modern depth, and whether or not you've only heard one of Max Cavalera's other projects like Nailbomb or Soulfly beforehand, you can't resist the tribal heaviness of this band now led by top-notch vocalist Derrick Green. Bassist Paulo Jr. and guitarist Andreas Kisser have kept the band going throughout their history, heating things up with the riffing and shredding. And we have the rocket-powered drumming of Eloy Casagrande, who didn't stick around for the farewell tour. Quadra is an album of 4 different 3-track sections that practically pay tribute to their different eras. I'll name them after 4 of the classical elements; the "Thrash Fire", the "Groove Earth", the "Progressive Water", and the "Melodic Air".

The "Thrash Fire" section kicks off with the blazing epic opening track "Isolation", where an orchestral march leads into high-speed chaos. "Means to an End" blasts through with the thrash/groove metal of The Haunted, though the verses remind me of the heavier tracks by Demon Hunter. "Last Time" is filled with relentless shredding.

The "Groove Earth" section starts with "Capital Environment" which can go progressive and deathly without going far into the stylistic territory of, say, Job for a Cowboy. More groove-ish riffing can be found in "Ali". That, along with marching beats and bellowed vocals, brushes aside the shredding leads without losing too much melody. Stomping in again with that groove is "Raging Void", with lots of mid-tempo rage and none of the nu metal tomfoolery.

The "Progressive Water" section begins with "Guardians of Earth", as orchestral/choral sounds rise just like in the opening tracks of the first two sections, evolving into an epic progressive groove/thrash fest. It's only surpassed by the progressive thrash instrumental "The Pentagram", one h*ll of a journey that can be considered the Quadra Crusade. "Autem" is once again as progressive as Waltari, though sometimes it has the more melodic yet deathly verses of Mercenary. The other two tracks in this section still reign in the progressive throne though.

The "Melodic Air" section is introduced with the acoustic title instrumental. The rest of this section has two melodic heavy metal/hard rock tracks that are so unlike the other 3 sections. "Agony of Defeat" is a soft while still heavy power ballad, like a metallic Led Zeppelin. Far From Alaska vocalist Emmily Barreto guest appears in the "Fear, Pain, Chaos, Suffering", though her vocals don't really sound powerful compared to Derrick Green. The song is a bit underwhelming, and I prefer the other track in that section.

Sepultura's career has made it up to album #15 with Quadra. Anyone who has enjoyed Sepultura since before their move out of thrash 30 years ago will find something to love, and those who came here for progressive energy and/or earthly groove will be in luck. This blend of thrash and groove is similar to Slayer's final album Repentless, only lightyears better and more progressive. I think Quadra can win back earlier Sepultura fans while also bring newcomers who have spent time with music from bands like Machine Head and Gojira. The possible final offering from these Brazilian thrash masters shall be worth it for any metalhead!

Favorites: "Isolation", "Means to an End", "Raging Void", "Guardians of Earth", "The Pentagram", "Agony of Defeat"

As a diehard fan of the most extreme end of metal, there are often found to be releases that offer a lot of appeal to me that would no doubt have your average metalhead questioning my sanity. Where the music is so intense that it teeters on the edge of no longer being music & the experience is more about the undying worship of metal music in its purest form than it is about catchy hooks or memorable riffs. Legendary Melbourne war metal outfit Bestial Warlust are one such band for me. From the moment I first heard them on late-night metal radio shortly after the release of their 1994 debut album "Vengeance War 'Till Death", I knew that this was an artist that held a deep understanding of the rush I received from the most underground metal imaginable, a character trait that could only be earned through a dedicated background in the global tape trading scene. I very quickly picked up a dubbed copy of the album from one of my trading buddies & caned it for the remainder of that year, often returning to it in the future whenever I felt like indulging in the most extreme of the extreme. I was already aware of Bestial Warlust's precursor band Corpse Molestation through their 1992 "Descension of a Darker Deity" demo tape but I'd quickly see myself seeking out anything else I could find in that space too, resulting in a few more crudely recorded cassettes that I received universal enjoyment from. "Vengeance War 'Till Death" would go on to be highly influential in the global war metal scene, as would its follow-up in 1995's "Blood & Valour", so I count myself as being lucky to see Bestial Warlust play live a number of times during the middle of the 1990's. Their shows were always an experience, often being more about the concept than the music as their sound would regularly test the capabilities of your average venue's sound system & end up sounding like an immense wall of white noise. Still... each time I return to Bestial Warlust's debut album it takes me straight back to that wonderful period of musical discovery I undertook in my late teenage years.

Bestial Warlust's debut album was recorded at Studio 001 in Carlton, Melbourne in December 1993 & January 1994 with producer Scott Horne who wasn't anyone in particular when it comes to metal music. This is interesting because I'd imagine it would have been an incredible challenge for an extreme metal novice to reproduce this music in a palatable format on tape. I mean how would they even know where to start? But to Horne's credit, he's done a wonderful job of it here in harnessing the band's incredible violence & energy with the balance of riff intelligibility & white noise being just about perfect. Joe Skullfucker's guitar solos sound suitably over the top & the vocals of front man Damon Bloodstorm (Abominator) are unbelievably confronting & savage, taking the listener down into the very pits of Hades. Bestial Warlust's lineup was a little different to the one that had produced the three or four Corpse Molestation cassettes with drummer Marcus Hellcunt (Vomitor/Gospel of the Horns) having replaced Rick Zrna who had appeared on the last few demo tapes. Hellcunt produces one of the most relentless displays of blast beats you'll ever hear too, a trait that would go on to become one of Bestial Warlust's calling cards too.

Bestial Warlust's sound is the very epitome of the war metal subgenre, perhaps even being the most suitable point of reference when defining the term given that it's about as war metal as war metal gets. I mean, just listen to the classic intro to "Holocaust Wolves of the Apocalypse" & tell me that you can't picture the wolves all in a line at the top of a snow-covered hill, preparing for the onslaught that is about to ensue. And when those super-intense blast beats take off you can almost smell the bloodshed with Damon's vocals becoming the ring-leader for some of metal's most horrific slaughter scenes. In fact, I have to reiterate what a wonderful exponent of his craft Bloodstorm is actually because his vocals are just about the most evil thing I've ever heard in my life &, when combined with the psychotic Kerry King-on-speed guitar solos, I consistently find myself receiving maximum metal jollies. Much of the material on the album was drawn from the Corpse Molestation tapes with "At the Graveyard of God", "Holocaust Wolves of the Apocalypse", "Heathens" & "Dweller of the Bottomless Pit" all being known to fans of the underground before the band's change of moniker. The way they're presented here is spectacular though & shows clear evidence of a band that knows their sound well & are hellbent on shoving it down the global metal scenes throats in the form of a huge demonic goat phallus. As someone that values extreme metal as a concept & a lifestyle as much as I do a style of music, "Vengeance War 'Till Death" represents a clear celebration of everything that the tape trading scene stands for. It's as shocking as it is unapologetic, both characteristics that give this style of music an additional edge.

Look, I'm not saying that "Vengeance War 'Till Death" is the perfect metal album because it's not. There are a couple of tracks that are much less successful than the best material with both "Hammering Down the Law of the New Gods" & "Storming Vengeance" being more acceptable than they are exceptional. The less impressive moments generally come when the riffs don't coalesce as well with the drumming, seeing things descending into the chaos that this band tend to flirt with. But when Bestial Warlust get things right there are few exponents of the war metal sound that can match them. Just check out album highlights like "Dweller of the Bottomless Pit", "Holocaust Wolves of the Apocalypse" or "At the Graveyard of God" (one of the greatest achievements in extreme metal ever put to tape & the best closer ever for this genre in my opinion) for examples of what this niche sound can achieve if it's placed in the right hands. Many people are probably unaware of this but the Australian scene has been just as influential on the creation & subsequent direction of the global war metal scene as any other location in the world. Those lucky enough to be in the know will tell you that our signature sound is a chaotic blending of the death metal, black metal & thrash metal with a clear understanding of how to produce that with maximum underground credibility. Bestial Warlust is the result of these young dudes having been raised in that scene with the influence of local bands like Sadistik Exekution, Martire & Slaughter Lord being as clear as that of Canadian war metal godfathers Blasphemy.

"Vengeance War 'Till Death" should be essential listening for fans of the war metal genre. It's really that important a record in what followed. I'm thankful that I've been able to separate the fact that I harbour a deep dislike for guitarist K.K. Warslut from my enjoyment of this record following a drunken night out with Deströyer 666 some time in the mid-90's as it would have been a real shame to allow that to tarnish what is essentially of pinnacle of Australian extreme metal. The highlights may carry this album but they're so unanimous in their ability to break down my defenses that I have no alternative but to give in to the demonic assault that is thrust at me with unmatched barbarity.

For fans of Sadistik Exekution, Blasphemy & Conqueror.

Red Circuit are back with 2009's 'Homeland', which follows in the same vein as their 2006 debut, with the only notable difference (though not entirely noticeable) being a new guitarist, a new bassist, and a much more polished sound in both songwriting and production.

What we have here is some high-quality melodic metal. Sometimes referred to as progressive metal, Red Circuit's music lacks the over-ambitiousness often associated with the genre, and instead focuses on hooks and catchy choruses. Full of breathtaking guitar work and tasty keyboard melodies, 'Homeland' is an incredible album that demonstrates why progressive metal doesn't always need to be 20-minute songs with 16/9 polyrhythmic time changes.

As on their previous album, despite overflowing with excellent musicianship, the main focus of the album is vocalist Chity Somapala, who's powerful and soaring voice really gives the band its own identity. And with only one song exceeding the five-minute mark (and only by mere seconds), each track here is short and sweet, without needing the repeated number of listens progressive metal songs usually require. This is best evidenced in songs like 'Homeland', 'Absinth', 'See the Light' and 'Canonize Your Sins'.

'Homeland' is a strong sequel to a strong debut. Catchy, heavy, and not a filler song in sight. A must-have for any metal fan looking for that hidden gem that never gets the recognition it deserves.