Vinny's Forum Replies

Primitive Man - "Observance" (2025)

Primitive Man vocalist and guitarist, Ethan Lee McCarthy recently described the figure in the artwork for the bands fourth full length album as being indicative of him holding onto a snake that represents his struggle with depression and how for some days, he must hold onto that snake to stop it from getting out of control. If you needed any introduction to OBSERVANCE, then that’s about the best summary for what awaits us all on the seven tracks the Denver trio have committed to tape. Anyone who has caught sight of the disturbing video to lead track ‘Social Contract’ will have had a sneak peek into the truly horrendous view of the world that Primitive Man have. Their latest album does nothing to enlighten that outlook, despite it being billed in some quarters as their most positive album to date. Make no mistake folks, artistic flourishes aside, this is ugly music for equally ugly times.

The seemingly unfathomable depths of the cavernous vocals of ELM echo around the empty abyss of ignorance, division and hatred present in many of our societies today. Once again deploying noise alongside the sludge and doom elements, OBSERVANCE sounds like a modern record. It emits a sense of being written against a backdrop of real-world problems, and of that real world being oppressive and lacking any visible semblance of goodwill. The jangling guitar for the first three-and-a-half-minutes of ‘Devotion’ sounds like an extended noise rock intro that runs for a torturous period. For some listeners this might go on for too long, but it’s almost inescapable presence is representative perhaps of the things may of us cannot hide from. Broken relationships in broken neighbourhoods in a broken society.

Embracing OBSERVANCE is perhaps the only way to truly be able to pass any judgement on it. It is genuinely like the snake that ELM describes, except for the listener this is not something for us to hold any sense of control over. I can connect with the imagery, just as I can the music and as such, OBSERVANCE is already on a solid footing within a matter of just a couple of tracks. Like the Mares of Thrace album, LOSS from earlier this year, even though I cannot in all honesty allude to experiencing on a personal level much of what makes up the content of these tracks, despite these cultural, social, political and emotional differences, I attain the human sense of their importance to Primitive Man and their wider audience.

Credit must go to the performance of drummer Joseph D. Linden. His patterns follow their own free will for most of the record. If anything, it is the riffing consistency that provides traceable rhythm on the album. Often when listening to the album, I have found myself playing some kind of cat and mouse game with the drums. Expectant of a hit, only to be caught out by another less than predictable expanse of percussion. For a band who base a lot of their impact on repetition, this is truly an unexpected twist. I cannot neglect to pass comment on the importance of bassist Jonathan P. Campos either. His rumbling and brooding bass is the real underlay to the hellish textures on which OBSERVANCE treads. The “new” elements of melody and lighter tones are not as obvious to me, having never listened to a full-length from PM before this. I would be lying if I said that they standout for me, even after multiple listens, as being noteworthy. That is not levelled as a criticism either, more as a reflection of how well everything does fit together on the album.

A lengthy album justifies a lengthy review it seems. There is a sense that OBSERVANCE has lots more to it that I could describe but, in the end, there is no getting away from how gloriously bleak it is. Although I would hazard a guess that for some this barrage of hopelessness would be too much, I doubt anyone familiar with PM is coming to this record expecting spade after spade of positivity.

From ‘Natural Law’:

With the holiest gasoline in the sea

I will burn their ships down

A prayer of hatred, a spell of revenge

4.5/5

Heteropsy - "Embalming" (2025)

Japanese doom death merchants, Heteropsy (interestingly meaning relying on the observations of others who have previously examined something) have only released EPs to date. Embalming is their first full length after five years of existence. Based on the four listens I have now completed with the record, those five years have been well spent, honing and developing a potent sounding death metal sound that embraces a multitude of influences. Often, they will switch up styles mid-track, exhibiting a degree of skill in doing so very cleanly. They aren’t many modern death metal bands kicking about that can deliver what Heteropsy do, let me tell you.

Upon first listen, I was unsure of there being much in the way of doom death credentials. I located very quickly the Swedish death metal crunch in the riffs, obviously. What I did find myself wondering was if they were cloning fellow countrymen, Coffins. If I am honest, I have very little experience of Coffins and so I am spinning a few of their tracks whilst I write up this review. Similarities exist, yes. However, there is no cloning happening here to my ears at least. I am impressed by the variation on show during Embalming more than anything. It is much more than just a doom death record with some nods to Swedish death metal. There is a distinct heavy metal vibe to some of the leads (as early on as the intro track in fact) and the quartet’s palette stretches to incorporate frantic death metal on the likes of ‘The Sodomizer’, a true doom death trudge on ‘Asphyxia’ before sharing some exquisite Autopsy squall on the same track also.

The band describe their sound as “mourning death metal”, a mix of their favourite death metal sounds. Whatever the moniker is that is being adopted to describe their sound, Heteropsy know how to blend their influences superbly. Whilst overall I sense their pacing is less laboured than Coffins, they can still conjure up transcendental guitars on my album highlight, ‘Memento Mori’ as well as creating a superb atmosphere during the build-up on ‘Methadone’, combining slow picked strings and white noise to great effect. The album artwork is the only real area of concern of me but that shaves nothing of the rating here. The scores are kept away from perfection by a couple of tracks that seem to meander a bit. ‘Seventh Damnation’ takes its sweet time to get going and even when in full flow, still seems to flounder somewhat. Album closer, ‘Old Friends’ heralds equal, unrealised promise too unfortunately. Still, for a debut record, there is plenty to marvel at.

4/5

 https://metal.academy/forum/13/thread/483?page=9#topic_24578 a whole thread dedicated to this very topic.

The easy answer is to check out the monthly Metal Academy clan playlists which is where our members already nominate the tracks they're enjoying from each clan.

This obviously, it's one of the main features of the site after all.

Hi Ben, please could you add the latest release from Stworz, U Śmierci na Komornem.

If I were to give anyone an album that personified the very definition of funeral doom in my opinion, I would point them to this record. Quite unexpectedly it has become one of my favourite funeral doom albums that I have heard during my still relatively short tenure in The Fallen clan. What Tides of Awakening captures superbly is atmosphere. When I play the opening track, ‘Coalescent of the Inhumane Awareness’ it creates pictures of a dense fog or mist, seeping into all the parts of my life I am uncomfortable or unhappy with, shrouding them in a dense shroud of calming, almost sensual melancholy that acknowledges their prowess but refuses to let them have prominence at this time. That haunting guitar melody seeps through in the background, adding threat and menace to proceedings.

This therapeutic effect was entirely unexpected going into the album and I do not doubt that this is probably an experience that is isolated to myself only. It is great though when an album connects with you, especially when you least expect it to and it causes you to reflect on your wider existence as well as being able to enjoy the quality of the performance as well. Now, it matters not to me that the drums have only a minor presence on the album. I would go as far as to say the album would not work anywhere near as well if they were more prominent in the mix. They act somehow as an additional atmospheric effect, which is not something that I thought I would ever say to describe the sound of drums. It is the vocals that have the largest impact for me though. They are well balanced in the mix, retaining presence without spilling over into dominating proceedings. Whilst they may be the focus of my attention, they are still very much a component part of a much bigger machine.

Whilst it would normally be a problem for me, the fact that I cannot distinguish between tracks works for me here as I am utterly enthralled from the off. It plays best, in my head at least as a singular track experience with only the final track having that more ambient style that separates it from the pack. You can all just leave me here having my own private therapy session with this month’s The Fallen feature release. See you all in December. Maybe.

4.5/5

I had surgery today to repair a hernia and I will never underestimate how lucky I am to have private medical insurance.  The care I received today was outstanding.  Predicting a rough day tomorrow but at least I am back in my own bed tonight.

I must say Sonny, this is a sterling funeral doom metal album.  I was completely speechless once the opening track started and I am on my third listen in 24 hours right now as I type this.  I will definitely be adding a review for this one in the coming days.

Just as an example of how many fuckers will try to rip you off nowadays, I have been trying to get a reasonably-priced copy of this for ages now and saw one on Discogs for 23 Euros, so dipped in for a look and the guy selling it wants to charge 100 Euros for shipping - from Norway to the UK. Alongside tales of scalpers buying up tickets for the forthcoming Iron Maiden tour (and many others), so they can sell them back to real fans at extortionate prices it makes my damn blood boil.

That's fucking ludicrous.

Got through this yesterday over the course of the day and picked up a few takeaways in Krux, Dvvel, Virgin Black and (a reminder to spend more time with) Indian.

Had my interest piqued by that Amenra track, which was unexpected as I usually skip them, but there was something desperate about the vocals on it that kept me onboard.

Even though I picked it, I am still caught out by that Blood Vulture track every time I listen to it by how catchy and infectious it is.  Having Kristin Hayter on it is a bonus too.

Not for me, Dawn of Winter (just sounds like the vocalist is taking the piss) and The Fall of Every Season was a little too melodic for my tastes.

Already reviewed this in my bm round up this year:

Where does black metal stop? I mean just how much more black metal needs to be reproduced in the old school means and sound before the world eventually loses interest and we of the black kvlt retire to our holes and listen to A Blaze in the Northern Sky, In the Nightside Eclipse or De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas for the rest of our days? I jest of course. I have no desire to see the culmination of one of the most important metal movements of my lifetime at any point soon. However, even the most devoted corpse paint wearer must concede that there is a lot of black metal out there, and that a lot of it sounds the same. What is refreshing, even if only now and again is when we get to hear some slight deviance into a new angle, or a new direction. A combination of styles that does not sully the conventional grimoire of black metal yet does offer some enticement or enrichment of the style beyond tremolo riffs and ghastly vocals.

Enter Warmoon Lord. Now do not get me wrong, you can instantly draw any number of influences on Warmoon Lord’s sound with just a few listens to Sacrosanct Demonopathy. Whether it is the symphonia of Emperor, the scathing attack of Behexen or the melodic trappings of Sargeist, it is all pretty much worn on the sleeves of Janne and Juuso. But what is also obvious, even from the opening instrumental ‘Warpoems & Tragedies’, is that there are nods to the wider heavy metal world. That opening track for example reminds me a lot of Iron Maiden. Seemingly adept in equal amounts with both riffs and keys, the album chimes and chops at the listener. Those galloping riffs again recall the NWOBHM/trad metal plod of years gone by whilst the keys add the own lavishing of majesty and grandeur, breeding a sense of arrogance across the very confident pacing of the tracks.

The ghastly rasps of Juuso firmly keeps the mindset in the black metal camp though. The vocals have a delirious tone to them, bordering on howls at times which work well in contrast with the slower, more atmospheric moments also. Tracks such as ‘A Hungering Yoke’ explore the full gamut of Warmoon Lord’s armory, deploying atmospheric keys, frantic riffing, rhythmic riffing and icy cold vocals across its mere five-minute run time. Taken as a whole experience, Sacrosanct Demonopathy is quite a positive sounding black metal record. Not blue skies and rolling green fields by any means. No, I look at the artwork for the previous release from the duo (Battlespells) and I get the sense of the smug pleasure that army of evil knights as they march away from the burning buildings, past a river turned red with blood. In short Sacrosanct Demonopathy feels good in the sense that you have just fucked shit up in an epic way, defeated an enemy or conquered a long-standing civilisation. As a record, it carries a crude sense of achievement.

I normally do not like too much symphonic elements to my metal, but the balance struck here between the instrumentation (except for the drums which do get a bit lost at times) makes for a rewarding experience. Tracks such ‘Uncreation’s Dragon’ are simply too well put together to argue with, the keyboards only grow the epic nature of the music from my standpoint. This is going to be high on my year end list I sense. The drums are the only let down for me in what is an otherwise great listening experience.

4.5/5

December will be the last playlist of the year for The Pit, so suggestions from clan members by 15th Nov please (40 mins max).  One submission is accepted from non-clan members also.

Here you go, Sonny:

Sadistic Intent - "Dark Predictions" (from "Resurrection", 1994)

Proscription - "Behold a Phosphorescent Dawn" (from "Desolate Divine", 2025)

Carcinoid - "Morbid Curse" (from "Encomium to Extinction", 2025)

Ataudes - "La Desgracia" (from "Tempus edax rerum", 2025)

Revocation - "Confines of Infinity" (from "New Gods, New Masters", 2025)

Abraded - "Menticide" (from "Ethereal Emanations From Chthonic Caries", 2025)

Décryptal - "Flétrissement" (from "Simulacre", 2025)

Kontusion - "Endless Horror" (from "Insatiable Lust for Death", 2025)

Meth Leppard - "Idiocracy" (from "Gatekeepers", 2025)

For December please, Sonny:

Tombs - "Granite Sky" (from "Feral Darkness", 2025)

Wolvennest - "Burial" (from "Procession", 2025)

Gloombound - "An Eternity of Complete Acquiescence" (from "Dreaming Delusion", 2025)

Hexvessel - "Nights Tender Reckoning" (from "Nocturne", 2025)

Lo-Pan - "God's Favourite Victim" (from "Get Well Soon", 2025)

Here's my review:

I think it was possibly Knife’s debut album from 2021 which would mark the last time a speed/thrash metal record showed enough vigour and intensity to make me stop and take notice. For all the talk of regurgitation of old ideas, themes, styles and genres in modern metal, it is the likes of Vulture who give me the assurance that, if done well enough, the old-school can be worshipped and not come off as simple plagiarism. Whereas their fellow countrymen in Knife deploy a blackened edge to proceedings, Vulture are all about the shrieking, banshee wailing style of speed metal that you would associate with the likes of Razor or Exciter. Perhaps bordering on the power metal elements of Agent Steel also along the way, these Dortmund residents certainly know how to wear their influences on their sleeves.

Above all else, Sentinels is fun. It’s 80’s horror flick style album cover perhaps denotes a band with serious intent and I am not intimating for one minute that Vulture are a goofy band, more that they approach their art with a genuine enthusiasm, a passion that bleeds into their music. Leads soar over galloping riffs, vocals pierce the ears of anyone within a mile radius, yelled from lungs that swell with pride as they sing each lyric, and all the while the drums “thunk” along in the background. Never coming across as having much in the way of venom or bite, the drums are the most understated instrument on the record, to my ears at least. However, this is not necessarily a criticism as I think the production job does the sound real justice overall. Clean without being overproduced, the album has an atmosphere of a band playing live almost.

This is not my first venture into Vulture. I gave their 2019 album, Ghastly Waves & Battered Graves a four-star rating back in August of that same year, and I find Sentinels to be in the same ballpark of the ratings, albeit that I sense a step up in quality of musicianship, certainly in the leads department at least. I am not a massive fan of the hi-pitched vocals that are used here, although my tolerance of them during my listen through of this record was surprisingly good. It is the fiery riffs and blinding leads that reign supreme over the record for me though. The inclusion of an instrumental at track seven seems a bit of an odd choice if I am honest, and I struggle to fight the feeling that it is little more than filler, despite its best efforts.

Leave me with tracks such as the rampant ‘Death Row’ and I am much happier though. In fact, the section of the album that follows ‘Der Tod trägt schwarzes Leder’ is probably the stronger part for me. There certainly feels like an uptick in the quality for me over this backend of the record at least. Keep flying the flag for the old school fellas, it is appreciated.

3.5/5

Hi Ben, please could you add the latest release from Afsky, the excellent Fællesskab.

Hi Ben,

A few additions if you could please on your next available round up:

Bands

Kaeck (Netherlands)

Releases

Kold (Denmark) "Det falmede håb" 2025

LVTHN (Belgium) "The Devil's Bridge" 2025

Morild (Denmark) "Disse fugle får ingen at se" 2025

I don't know who programmes this list, or if they accept submissions from non-clan members but I would like to propose the below track for the next list if possible, please:

Staind - "Confessions of the Fallen" (from Confessions of the Fallen, 2023)

Hi Ben, could you add US deathcore / prog metallers Ænimus please. In truth I only ask because I want to rate the cover of their 2019 Dreamcatcher album!

Hi Sonny. The band and album are already on the site.

https://metal.academy/releases/42235

In fact, you already rated the album cover 4.5 stars.

Cheers,

Ben.

You know what Ben, I really made an effort to look for it on the site, but couldn't see it anywhere. Must be because of the way the name is written.

Yep, a copy and paste job for the difficult ones is what I do as I too get caught out.

Got on to this tonight and there's some good stuff on here again  Great tribute to Tomas, I had no idea he was in Lock Up until tonight.  Fuck the Facts and Ecchymosis were a real treat and I will be checking out both albums off the back of this list.  Glad to see my favourite Brujeria release represented as well.

Never been a fan of Fallujah really but that track was okay actully, but that Warmen track got skipped more or less as soon as those keys started (sorry Andi).  Highlight of the list was without question that Replicant track, I am already familiar wih that album, and think it is a bonafide banger.  Good to see Abhorrence in there as well as something obscure in Byatis. Not so much a fan of Vale of Pnath it should be said.

Rauhnåcht - "Zwischenwelten" (2025)

As the Burzum chimes grow heavier on 'Der Spalt zwischen den Welten' ('the gap between worlds') there is a sense that Rauhnåcht's fifth full length has arrived. I am very much a fan of that particular trait from the Filosofem album, so any use of that sound can only be a good thing in my book. For a band/artist that is advertised as pagan black metal, it was a bit of a surprise to hear ambient chimes, yet it fits the track aesthetic perfectly. There are other influences on show as well, such as the illusions of grandeur of Summoning or the earthy fortitude of Drudkh.

Zwischenwelten (‘between worlds’) is music for times of adversity. Acting as a balm with its soothing atmospheres yet also providing strength and hope in the chants and resonating tremolo riffs. As an album it has a succinctness in how it plays for just under forty-minutes, as if the artist is taking brief respite from some daily labour to share tales of mysticism and dark fantasy. As the album artwork alludes to, there is a darkness to the album that dress its contents as a warning, a collection of tales of what exactly it is that lurks in that gap between worlds; without ever stating which worlds are being spoken about.

Although less direct in approach than Drudkh, the timbre of the guitar matches on track such as ‘Naturgewalten’ (‘forces of nature’) as it builds up to full speed. Cleverly applying atmospherics in the vacant space around the instruments is well done. As with the album overall, the pagan/folk elements are obvious but never intrusive and as such Zwischenwelten feels like a more conventional black metal album than at first expected. I think the release is only let down by the fact that it lacks any genuine standout moments though. There is no raging intensity that takes the breath away at any point, nor any passages of true ethereal beauty to reflect upon either. Closing track ‘Alleinsamkeit’ comes close with its choral vocals and melancholic leanings but still comes up short in the long run.

3.5/5

Got through the list his afternoon in between work calls and created a new tab in my master catalogue Excel document for recs from the monthly playlists by clan.  This month I will be taking away the following records to check out:

High on Fire  - Blessed Black Wings

Ophis  - Spew Forth odium

My Dying Bride  - A Line of Deathless Kings

Familiar with pretty much all of the rest of the list, and have no time for Within Temptation.  Nice to hear Messiah Marcolin in a different band though and they impressed me enough to stick with the whole track but trying to keep my recs list to three albums given the large quantitiy of music I get through each month already.

I am not into my TV nowadays.  You’re more likely to find me watching restoration projects on YouTube (Rexstorer being a personal favourite right now) or reading a book.  Sort of did the Netflix/Prime/Disney+ thing to death for a few years.  Mobland with Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan was the last thing I watched and it was superb.  More of that and The Gentlemen and I would watch those.

Lamp of Murmuur - "Heir of Eclipital Romance" (2020)

It has take me a while to catch onto LoM. This one-man black metal project sees high praise regardless of where I look and last night, whilst revelling in the glorious fury of Storm Amy to remind us all of our place on this planet, I watched a couple of USBM documentaries with this guy being called out on both.  Whilst I have high hopes for the new album, based on the single that is out currently at least, I have found this debut to be inferior to Saturnian Bloodstorm from 2023, yet not without its merits.

I like how the majority of the similarities come from other contemporary bm acts as opposed to just endless second wave worship (Immortal and Mayhem aside - those yodellingvocal moments are pure Attila, "De Mysteriis..." worshp to my ears).  This makes for an interesting album that sounds modern whilst still firmly nodding to the old ways. It has an enduring, ever-forging direction to it.  The atmospherics seem to grow as the album presses on, culminating with the Dead Can Dance cover at the end of the record.

Embracing rawness alongside melodicism to much success, Heir of Eclipital Romance is a strong debut album that sets out the stall of LoM well enough I feel.  It is a tad too long in hindsight, which could be put down to over-exuberance on the artists part.  Credit where it is due though, I enjoy the record enough as the start of my (chronological) LoM journey.

3.5/5

I have been spinning this a few times this week and I am yet to make it through a full sitting in one go as I keep putting it on when I climb into bed and then fall asleep (more of a reflection on how quickly I drift off when I hit the hay as opposed to any scourge on the entertainment value of the record).  What I do like about it is how it captures the violence of black metal and yet still is able to shroud it in that atmospheric hue that we have all come to know and expect of Wintherr (which differs from how Sonny hears it - which is what makes the reviews here so interesting for me, how different people perceive records and hear different things is fascinating to me).

Update due to me having to nominate a last-minute Infinite feature release in Saxy's place:

THE FALLEN: SONNY, Vinny

THE GATEWAY: ANDI, Saxy

THE GUARDIANS: SONNY, Karl, Andi

THE HORDE: VINNY, Sonny, Karl

THE INFINITE: SAXY, Andi

THE NORTH: KARL, Vinny, Sonny

THE PIT: VINNY, Sonny

THE REVOLUTION: ANDI

THE SPHERE: ANDI

REMINDER: Please submit your feature releases to Ben before the end of the month and have your feature releases' threads ready to be posted in the first one or two days of next month. I can't always do these last-minute nominations, so if you miss the deadline, you'll lose your slot.

Andi, my understanding is that we only need to submit to Ben if the release needs adding to the site.  Ben has told me there’s no need to give him submission details.

I recently got back in the BC thang after a hiatus.  Daniel has covered most of what I was going to say, however I like it stillas a platform for all music and have made some good idscoveries over the years by browsing other users collections.  My collection can be located below.

https://bandcamp.com/stiffncold

Recent purchases:

Drape - Beautiful Glorious Death Throes

Khaos Aura - Thornbringer

Axis of Light - To the Great Unbearing North

Kveldstimer - The Cursed Oak

Altar of Woe - The triumph of malignant narcissism

Hi Sonny for Nov please:

Blood Vulture - "Entwined" (from "Die Close", 2025)

Faetooth - "Hole" 9from "Labyrinthine", 2025)

Goya - "In the Dawn of November" (from "In the Dawn of November", 2025)

Paradise Lost - "Salvation" (from "Ascension", 2025)

Cosmic Reaper - "Parasite" (from "Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned", 2025)

I started off with the intention of owning all Paysage d' Hiver releases on vinyl.  I got to Schattengang then got completely sidetracked.  I did not enjoy Im Wald at all, just could not get my head around it's appeal and just switched it off each time I tried and so I never got onto Die Berge.  Now I look I missed his other 2020 release also Im Traum.  I may try and get back on track with Geister.  Got a night in a hotel tomorrow with work and need a good excuse to not linger at dinner with my colleagues.  Headphones packed.

Hi Sonny, mine for November please:

Der Weg Einer Freiheit - "Eos" (from "Innern", 2025)

Destruction Ritual - "Washed Away Sins" (from "Providence", 2025)

Medieval Demon - "Raging Lord of the Deeps" (from "All Powers of Darkness", 2025)

Autrest - "Ruins of the Lost" (from "Burning Embers, Forgotten Wolves", 2025)

The Jesus Lizard - "GOAT" (1981)

I've been dipping into some noise rock related albums and artists this past week as I am getting a little worn out by new releases and metal in general.  Don't feel confident enough yet to be able to write a full review but this has been a standout release from the few I have sampled.  Got onto Big Black "Songs About Fucking" last night and also flirted with The Jesus and Mary Chain "Psychocandy" the night before but that one was not my bag.

Tornekrans - "Silent Whispers Echo from Forbidden Realms" (2025)

My reach into the underworld of raw black metal stretches further than ever before in 2025. Tornekrans from Norway are proof of this with their rampant charge of black metal that whirrs violently at the listener across ten tracks that rarely let up for breath. I stumbled my way to this one-man project after discovering Khaos Aura earlier this year and being the naturally inquisitive type that I am, my research soon directed me to other projects band members are involved with. Torkus, who does everything in Tornekrans, unleashes his debut full length following his demo from last year. Clearly worshipping at the altar of 90s second wave, he crashes and bashes his way through the album with the fury of Gorgoroth on crack.

This is a record steeped in the stench of that dank scene. Attacking each track with a seemingly inexhaustible level of enthusiasm, Torkus leaves me in no doubt of his intentions on Silent Whispers Echo from Forbidden Realms. There are no whispers or silence for that matter on the record, just echoes from forbidden realms. They come in waves, constantly. Like a hideous undead army of evil spirits, they just keep coming. Attack after attack makes for an unrelenting experience. Zombified warriors, drunk on their hatred and vitriol for the living just hack and slash away at all in their path. A record that is not for the faint of heart, Silent Whispers Echo from Forbidden Realms is a furious expulsion of black metal played against a pagan/folky backdrop.

The croaking harshness of the vocals slices through the wall of tremolos and percussive chaos, and they do elevate what are otherwise simple song structures. Nobody is coming to raw black metal for its complexity of arrangement and so this format works well enough. Whilst I am sure some will find this too frantic an experience, I cannot help but admire the approach. Unwavering and perhaps unnerving it may well be, but at the same time it stays true to the aesthetic it sits in. The folk instrumental that opens the album is the only respite you get folks, it is hell for leather from track two onwards.

4/5

I am quite into my history nowadays and this 525 page monster of a book is my current read.  McLynn likes his detail and spends most of chapter 1 talking about the harshness of the climate of Mongolia and how the nomadic peoples had to basically live in two different places depending on whether it was summer or winter in order to survive (due to farming requirements), so I am expecting this book will need a lot of my attention to get through.

Hi Ben, could you please add the latest album from Cosmic Reaper, "Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned"?

Abmut - "Sempiternal Realm of Solitary Spirits" - 2025

Some Chilean black metal (should pique Sonny's interest).  Big Darkthrone influence which is by no means a criticism.  Can only find it on YouTube (and I can still never embed a YouTube video on the site).

As I indicated in my forum post summarising the feature release this month, if I look at Sinmara’s discography, they have never quite topped their debut album. For me the capture of dissonance and atmosphere is rarely exemplified as well as it is across Aphotic Womb. What really stands out is that in creating such a vibrant sound, the band never once let much in the way of light into their songs. As the album title suggests, this is a creation grown in the darkest of wombs, utterly devoid of light. Taking all the best parts of Deathspell Omega, Carpe Noctem and Svartidauði the band make a real European mix of black metal sounds, incorporating elements that also remind me of Irish bm crew Slidhr and even Mgla in the album’s mellower transitions. For an album with so many moving parts it could easily sound like instruments are falling over one another as the layers overlap, yet there’s none of that cumbersome nature present on the album, in fact it is one of the most deftly played dissonant bm records of the 2010’s.

The band clearly take great pride in their attack on Aphotic Womb and there is a real sense of them owning the songs in the fullest sense of the term. Without creating any sense of restraint, they manage each of the tracks so diligently that it is hard not to see their pride in the delivery of their art. Album highlight for me is ‘Shattered Pillars’ with its riffs jittering across the track in glorious shimmering dissonance. In fact, some of the lyrics on here sum up the experience of the album perfectly:

“A cluster of storms

Breathing through wormhole mazes

Feeding gaping jaws the bitter waters of nausea

To harvest the foul seed and rape the crops of life

The demented ancestry of nebulae afar”

The album feels like that cluster of storms, with each track creating that maze as they are performed. There is something foul underlying in the music of Sinmara here, something wicked that barely makes the effort to stay hidden. That strong Ulcerate sound to the guitars on ‘Shattered Pillars’ is one of the reasons why I love this track. The New Zealand dissonant death metallers had only just released the might Vermis the year before Sinmara dropped their debut. Whilst percussively speaking there is a clear difference, the similarity in the guitar sound is undeniable.

Two instrumental tracks on your debut are a bold move, especially with one opening the record, yet Sinmara pull it off for me on both occasions. Working well on the two-disc vinyl version (I am guessing as I only have a digital version of the release) these tracks herald the arrival of each disc to the turntable with a sense of drama that never quite strays into the realm of epic. The harshness of Iceland’s landscape certainly comes through on Aphotic Womb, that unrelenting, heaving nature to the guitars sounds particularly symbolic in comparison. The album sounds like a vast and desolate landscape; possibly invoking images of a mass larger than its country of origin itself at times.

4.5/5

Man, fuck cancer.

If you look in my Spotify playlists, you’ll find one titled “Workouts”. Fittingly I use this for my kettlebell and free weight exercise sessions, and I would say approx. 80% of the content is deathcore or metalcore. This is something of a revelation for someone who up until around three years ago had heard virtually zero of such music, in fact I had intentionally looked to avoid it for most of the two sub-genre’s existence. Whilst this by no means makes me an expert on such styles of metal, I figure that I am at a reasonable enough level of maturity with this music to pass the occasional comment on The Revolution clan feature release.

As Blood Runs Back have a sound that I instantly find jarring as they deploy that djenty style of riffing that reverberates throughout the track and then there’s the big bloopy and mathy leads that run riot over proceedings. ‘Hesper Prynne’ has the makings of great Meshuggah worship but blows it by just piling more things on top of one another. This track is then followed by instrumental track ‘Pouring Reign’ which just feels like pointless musings really. By this point I am missing some of the big, rhythmic riffs that I use to fuel my workouts. What constitutes as breakdowns here (and I genuinely like a good breakdown) feels just more like a fake slowing of the pace where something else happens. There are moments like on ‘The Brighter Side of Suffering’ when the album sounds a little more on point than on other occasions, but this is still a bit too tame for me.

For me, As Blood Runs Black lack cohesion, bobbing around a little too much on the waves of their own farts in the bath water. I am aware as I type this that I am commenting on a scene that I do not entirely understand and so I am trying not to sound disingenuous to what I am listening to. To put it in grown up terms, the record is too melodic and lacks consistent punch. Tracks such as ‘Beneath the Surface’ start off with such promise but soon end up sounding more or less like every other track on the record and after a while (a short while), this just grates on me.

2/5

Well, Sadistic Intent like their splits and EPs, don’t they? I count no fewer than four EPs and three splits in their discography that goes all the way back to 1988 (if you include the demos). Spurious in their output, these Californians play a death thrash style of death metal that recalls Possessed (whom both Cortez brothers played with 2007-2010, alongside guitarist Ernesto) at times but equally they are just at home playing Morbid Angel-esque out and out death metal. With such a healthy background of putrid death thrash in their veins, Sadistic Intent are clearly well-versed in their satanic and occult tendencies.

Their EP from 1994, Resurrection finds them in fine form. The opening riff on ‘Dark Predictions’ has an almost Swedish death metal crunch to it. That marauding lead only adds to the tension the track invokes. Taking a big old run up to get to the vocals, this track is the standout on the release for me. Full of dark energy and blistering intensity and really brings out the Morbid Angel comparison with all the swirling lead chaos.

This sophomore EP was their first major release in four years, but Sadistic Intent do not sound like a band who had been stood around leaning on their instruments since 1990. Although the production leaves a lot to be desired, the instrumentation possesses a primitive yet still cultivated edge to it. It is not that anyone is trying to be showy, but the band can play well and with a lot of heart. They sounded like a determined death metal band on this record, and I personally hear that fortitude in droves on the release and top marks to them for the effort alone. It might only be twenty-four minutes long but Resurrection is entertaining from start to finish and a really exciting feature releases for this month.

4/5

I have never listened through an Imperial Triumphant record but I always imagined it would sound exactly like Sonny described it.

These Teutonic thrashers just don’t want to quit, do they? As we push into the middle of the 2020’s Sodom, Tankard, Kreator and Destruction continue to work on new material long into their careers, all of which now span beyond forty years. Whilst I am sure we could very easily dig out many turkeys from the backlog of records over the past four decades, it is hard not to admire the tenacity and resilience of any band that still sounds as committed to their artform as Sodom still do. Look, it would be remiss of me to suggest that The Arsonist is another Agent Orange. It is not of the same calibre and peak albums in a bands career are usually moments in time, specific to circumstance, influences and a good old lavishing of fate too.

The Arsonist is however probably the best Sodom record I have heard since Decision Day in 2016. It possesses a vigour that most other releases in the thrash world have lacked, based on my limited and often quickly tired listening experiences in 2025 anyways. There is a sense of great fortitude to this record, sounding like a record made by a band from their sheer dogged determination to just keep pushing on regardless of what the clock or calendar may say. Whilst it may lack any truly remarkable moments, The Arsonist burns with an intensity that belies the age of the participants. Scathing thrash attacks like ‘Trigger Discipline’ are what Sodom have based their career on, and it is good to see that fire in their bellies still. Tom sounds as pissed off as ever and the rest of the band miss no beat whatsoever.

At nearly fifty-minutes, it is a bit on the long side. When I am sat listening to some of the less well-arranged tracks like ‘Gun Without Groom’ this lengthiness seems to grate a little more during those minutes that so easily could have been left in the studio for a future compilation of B-sides and rarities. As I said earlier on in the review, my interest in thrash metal has been limited to but a few records this year and so The Arsonist is hardly jostling for position in a packed field of quality participants. However, it stands out for just being true to the style we know and love from Sodom and it further cements an already solid legacy. Whilst it may not be flawless, the same roots are showing in 2025 that were visible in 1982.

3.5/5

Here you go Sonny:

Mörtual - "Divine Monstrosity" (from "Altar of Brutality", 2025)

In Flames - "December Flower" (from "The Jester Race", 1996)

Kanonenfieber - "Z-Vor!" (from "Z-Vor!", 2025)

Baest - "Colossus" (from " Colossal", 2025)

Nile - "The Burning Pits of the Duat" (from "Annihilation of the Wicked", 2005)

Demigod - "Tears of God" (from "Slumber of Sullen Eyes", 1992)

Phrenelith - "Conquering Divinity" (from "Desolate Landscape", 2017)

Brodequin - "Diabolical Edict" (from "Harbringer of Woe", 2024)

Hi Ben, a couple more please:

Golgata (Sweden)

Latest from Hermóðr "The Beholder"

Tornekrans (Norway)

Making the most of my day working from home, as well as getting through The Fallen playlist, I also ploughed on through The North one as well.

A bit more of a challenging listen for me this one once Sühnopfer kicked in and then Waidelotte too.  I actually sat through the Deafhaven track without skipping it, but it was not my most comfortable moment.

Thankfully the likes of Gorgoroth, Primordial, Krallice, Emperor and Satyricon kept me focused.

I got through this today whilst working from home.  Strong list this month, one of my favourite ones of recent months.

Highlights were, Thou, Yob, Alunah, Black Sheep Wall, Monolord and Worm.

I am still on the fence with the new Paradise Lost tracks and could not get my head around the vocals on Mourning Dawn.  But otherwise had a good ole time listening through this month.

Hi Sonny, for October please:

Monolord - "The Bastard Son" (from "No Comfort", 2019)

Windhand - "Tanngrisnir" (from "Grief's Internal Flower", 2015)

KVLL - "Blood to the Altar" (from "Death//Sacrifice", 2020)

Conan - "Dying Giant" (from "Horseback Battle Hammer", 2014)

Horn of the Rhino - "Weight of Coronation" (from "Weight of Coronation", 2010)

September 2025

1. Onslaught – “Power from Hell (2025 re-recording)” (from “Origins of Aggression”, 2025)

2. Sodom – “Trigger Discipline” (from “The Arsonist”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

3. Kreator – “Coma of Souls” (from “Coma of Souls”, 1990) [Submitted by Sonny]

4. Death Angel – “Truce” (from “Relentless Retribution”, 2010) [Submitted by Sonny]

5. Heathen – “Undone” (from “The Evolution of Chaos”, 2010) [Submitted by Sonny]

6. Sacrifice – “Underneath Millennia” (from “Volume Six”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

7. Coroner – “Renewal” (from “Dissonance Theory”, 2025)

8. Sacrilege – “Lifeline” (from “Behind the Realms of Madness”, 1985) [Submitted by Sonny]

9. Necrodeath – “Graveyard of the Innocents” (from “Into the Macabre”, 1987) [Submitted by Sonny]

10. The Haunted – “Warhead” (from “Songs of Last Resort”, 2025) [Submitted by Shadowdoom]

11. Invicta – “The Morning’s Light” (from “Triumph and Torment, 2023) [Submitted by Saxy]

12. Sijjin – “Horrific Distortions” (from “Helijjin Combat”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

13. Parkcrest – “Impossible to Hide” (from “And That Blue Will Turn to Red”, 2019) [Submitted by Sonny]

14. Drain – “Stealing Happiness from Tomorrow” (from “…Is Your Friend”,2025)

15. Necromaniac – “Daemonomantia” (from “Sciomancy, Malediction & Rites Abominable”, 2025)

16. Aggressive Perfector – “Devil’s Bastard” (from “Havoc at the Midnight Hour”, 2019) [Submitted by Sonny]

17. Hellcrash – “Inferno Crematörio” (from “Inferno Crematörio”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

18. Gallower – “Bubonic Breath” (from “Vengeance and Wrath”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

19. Byzantine – “The Clockmaker's Intention” (from “Harbringers”, 2025)

20. Alien Weaponry – “Mau Moko” (from “Te Rā”, 2025)

21. Inhuman Nature – “Possessed to Die” (from “Greater Than Death”, 2025)

22. Heaven’s Gate – “Hail Mary” (from “Tales from a Blistering Paradise”, 2025)

23. Warfield – “Appetitive Aggression” (from “With the Old Breed”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

24. Sexmag – “Smród palonych dusz” (from “Sexorcyzm”, 2025)

25. Phantom G.D.L. – “Dark Wings of Death” (from “Tyrants of Wrath”, 2025)

26. Tyrannosatan – “Astronomicon” (from “Babylons Skräck”, 2025)

27. Torturer – “Intro (Arachnophobia)” (from “Oppressed by the Force”, 1992) [Submitted by Sonny]

New Hooded Menace due 03rd October.  Two tracks up for streaming are okay. Heavy PL vibe of course but digging the 90's death metal album cover more than the tracks if I am honest.

Hi Ben, could you please add Australian doom/sludge outfit, KVLL to the site?  They have one album from 2020, Death//Sacrifice (and it's a fucking banger).

Aldaaron - "Par-delà les cimes" (2025)

I have a project list in my office for sub-genres I need to conduct a deep dive on. Pagan black metal is one item listed there as I have very little, formal knowledge of the sub-genre. When I come to a release that is tagged as “pagan” on the Metal Academy site I instantly think of folk metal, then I quickly remember that is a different thing. At least I think it is? Anyway, I won’t let the study of the tag take over the whole review, but if pagan black metal has more of what Aldaaron offer on Par-delà les cimes then I will be taking that deep dive sooner rather than later. The title of the album translates as “how pagan black metal differs to folk metal”. No, wait that’s wrong. “Beyond the Peaks” is the correct translation and the album is dedicated to their fallen comrade Thöl who covered bass duties in the band 2010-2012. Sadly, he passed away in 2022.

The album caught me off guard in two aspects if I am honest. Firstly, its potent aggression is vivid and striking from the off. The harrowing scream that starts album opener ‘Antediluvian Prophecies’ is an early taste of the venom of Aldaaron have coursing through their veins. The second item that was unexpected is how atmospheric and expansive the sound is here. Beyond those earthy tones there are soaring tremolos and majestic melodies that loop up into the air around them. Although the release has a thirty-six-minute duration, there are only four tracks here and with a couple of them stretching over the ten-minute mark it is important that the main duo of Ioldar and Voldr create some enchantment to these tracks. Thankfully they achieve this in bundles.

The choral passages are unobtrusive and befitting to the aesthetic of the album. Spaced well apart from the blackened material that drive the tracks in the main, these more ethereal sections are a clever contrast option. The charging tremolo of tracks such as ‘Chants d’hiver et de solitude’ are a joy to behold. Add into this mix, the thoughtful production job that allows each instrument some space to be heard. The vocals are superb throughout, with their ghastly edge creating atmospheres all of their own. The way you can pick out the bass on the final track, ‘Under the Icy Sky, Memories Fade Away’ is pleasing on the ear and the soaring lead work only adds to the allure of the track. A superb discovery, if not a little too short overall.

4/5