Vinny's Reviews

There are very few albums nowadays that I can recall track by track in my head.  The fact that ‘Heartwork’ still plays through my memory some 26 years after I first heard it is testimony to it being a big part of my metal journey and also the catchy nature of the songwriting.  I get that it is a departure from previous direction and that for many it was a step too far away from the more familiar sound of the band, but “Heartwork” was still a strong metal record and still recognisable as Carcass regardless.

My rating of 3.5 stars really only reflect my transition towards their earlier material as I have aged.  “Heartwork” gets less rotation than “Symphonies...” or “Reek...” do, but at the same time will always have that element of nostalgia present to give it a solid rating.  Whether it is the energetic start to the title track or the chop n chug of “No Love Lost” or even the spiralling maelstrom of “This Mortal Coil”, there’s still variety on this record.

As a melodic death metal album this just about has enough edge still to cut the mustard with my more extreme tastes. Often it gets criticised almost as an album that let the band down in some way, but I don’t think that is fair as it still stands up as a successful turn of direction for Carcass as well as being a defining record for the melodic death metal movement.

'Rituale Satanum' stands up as a glorious exploration of how true aggression can be ported onto an audible format with pure aplomb and genuine heartfelt hatred. Some of the riffs on show here are truly demonic and when coupled with those rasping and harsh vocals make for great effect on one of BM's most under-rated releases.  The melodic elements whilst not always as obvious to the ear are there in the background like some dark, melancholic tidal current that churns up sightless, shrieking beasts in it's waves.

From the menacing spoken word to 'Intro (The Summoning)' we are instantly into the scathing guitar that opens 'Sota valon jumalaa vastaan" which straight up lashes away at the listener for its entire duration.  'Night of the Blasphemy', whilst no less intense in the delivery, offers that melodic element to give additional structure to the chaotic riffing and blasting.  'Christ Forever Die' with its more measured approach to the track offers a well-paced build to the track whilst losing none of the looming threat built so far over the first three tracks.  The hatred and vitriol for the icon of the subject matter from the track title is obvious as ever in the vocals here.  They act like some scorching wind that you could envisage peeling the flesh from the face of the holy one just by virtue of the wickedness behind them, spat like acid onto the face of the crucified man.  I find that the instrumentation and arrangement of the song actual temper the vocals really well also.

One of the real successes of 'Rituale Satanum' is that whilst it remains unrelenting in delivery it never feels like a drain to listen to in one sitting.  Rampant BM records like 'Battles in the North' or 'Pure Holocaust' do lose me at times despite my enjoyment of them.  I think the unexpected moments such as the lead work on 'Towards the Father' keep things interesting and challenging without showing any dip in the fury on display.

The big build up to 'Saatanan varjon synkkyydessä' feels like the start of some epic heavy metal track but soon becomes that familiar slaughtering paced frenzy, yet there's great structure to pace the track out to retain some of the majesty built in the intro to the song, to bridge the chaos in between solid start and finish sections and add a funereal set of keys to finish.

My favourite track on the album is 'Baphomet's Call', it has an almost easy feel to how it drops around some light riffing into an almost foot tapping pace.  It plays like some old rock track given the Satanic treatment with it's death metal like layered growls midway through.  'The Flames of the Blasphemer' is just as harsh as the track title indicates but again makes great use of melody to manage the flow of the track.  There's also an almost NWOBHM feel to the pace here as well, although the return of the funereal keys soon stamps sufficient atmosphere on proceedings to remind me that this ain't no Diamond Head record.

The final two tracks work superbly to give a almost grandiose ritual(e) feel to the closing part of the record.  The solid drumming of 'Blessed Be the Darkness' and demented shrieks of the vocals that share space with spoken word recitals midway through the track weigh a dense atmosphere to proceedings.  By the time we get through the closing (and title) track with its slow pace there's a real sense of finality and closure, like as a listener we have been through some torrid and yet positively memorable experience.

If you have been paying attention to my musings in The Pit Clan Challenge then you won't be surprised to find that I have given this record four stars.  It characterises that rabid and vicious thrash metal that I enjoy so much and only the fact that some of the production work on this is truly terrible (as in beyond being able to simply be considered kvlt or cool) then a full five stars would have been easily awarded.

For sheer lack of fucks given the album scores about a ten at least, this is a record forged out of complete abandon of compromise.  It starts off relentlessly and ends up the same without once letting up.  Every aspect to it feels bestial and evil in the most primitive sense.  Whether it is the menacing vocals with their sneer of derision and mocking undertone, the bashing fury of those drums or even the manic strumming of the bass underneath the charging dual guitar attack, it all has a fee for antediluvian values throughout.

Considering the band started out some six years before recording this by just playing Priest, Maiden, Sabbath and Crüe covers, what they eventually got to transcribe to record was far removed from their covers days.  This is crude and unrefined music for ears of fans who genuinely don't care too much for compositional excellence or song writing prowess.  Each track has one intention, to rip your fucking face off!  And they do it, eight times in a row.

As I mention above, the main issue here is the production job sounds terrible.  Notwithstanding the fact that it kind of suits the ideal in so many ways it is too obvious even for my extreme metal scarred ears for me not to notice.  Instead of charging the energy in the record it kind of blunts it a little bit although I still get multiple lacerations after each spin of this record.

Blessed Are The Sick" is still as relevant now as it was 20 + years ago, with its sonic wizardry, beefed up guitar sound (when compared with its predecessor at least) and the furious thunder of Sandoval on the drum kit driving forward this beast of a record. The complimentary lead work of Richard and Trey (Richard and his more melodic moments to temper Trey with his swarming, chaotic and sonic shredding) works superbly and you get a real sense that this is band much improved ability wise from their previous outing.

The maturity is evident and the whole package has a more serious edge to it with the album artwork grotesque and twisted like the sound of the considerably darker music within. The intro is a perfect opener with the almost engine like noise of some hellish machine made from crying children and grinding bones being revved up to floor the accelerator and destroy all in its path. By the time it gives way to opener proper "Fall From Grace" you are sat bolt upright waiting for the assault to happen and your are not going to be disappointed as the track smothers you in glorious low end marauding DM.

The build up to the title track is varied with each track managing to stand out as individual points of brilliance. The fury of "Brainstorm", the sudden slowed technique of "Rebel Lands", the horror film soundtrack keys of "Doomsday Celebration" and the frantic pace of "Day Of Suffering" all cement the foundations of the stairway up to "Blessed Are The Sick/Leading The Rats". The title track is a slower but epic descent into the bowels of Hades themselves the bottom end of every note pulling you further down into the darkness before the flutey ending adds a bestial cherry to the top of the hellish cup cake!

The title track acts a central pin for the whole record, it is not that this is the peak of the album as what follows it is just as intense and powerful as the rest of the album so far, but the title track does exactly what it is supposed to. It is the pillar running through the atmosphere, direction and experience of the whole album. This brings me on to the structure of the album as a whole, the already mentioned intro starts things off perfectly but the changes of pace are brilliantly scheduled, the haunting beauty of "Desolate Ways" with its picked acoustic strings is like a beautiful woman with an underlying darkness lay in field of scarred and twisted corpses and it stays with you long after the album has finished. "In Remembrance" is the perfect ending to the album, an acknowledgement that although the chaos is over things won't be the same again as a result of it.

It is hard to quite put into words the monstrous fury of Ulcerate. The difficulty largely lies in the fact that for every bludgeoning riff, hammer blow drum hit or swirling wall of noise that the New Zealanders strike the listener with, there's a remarkable amount of deftness and skill in the calculations they invoke to deliver their assault.

There were times when I listened to "Vermis" (the predecessor to "Shrines..." for the uneducated reader) and that precision was off, albeit very minutely. The vocals for example on the bands 2013 opus felt some how lost in the mix and at times there was a sense of not actually being aware whether they had begun or not. They are some of course who thought this a clever use of the mixing desk to create that folly deliberately, but for me the storm of Ulcerate's sound needed that extra bit of definition vocally to turn a great album into an absolute classic.

Thankfully, here on the band's fifth full length offering, the vocals are prominent and whether you deem them visceral or based on intellect they are very much a centre piece of "Shrines Of Paralysis". Yeah, there's occasion when they do go under the churn of riffs, drums and bass but thankfully these are rare and do not distract. 

As well as Paul Kelland's lyrical exploits being a point of particular note, the listener cannot miss the frankly fucking amazing performance of Jamie Saint Merat on the drums. They are powerful, punishing and utterly fucking relentless. The clever bit being that every other instrument is allowed to breath around them without any one detracting from the other. In a tornado of sound like the brand that Ulcerate stir up to say you can pick out the bass is testimony to their technical excellence at not just performance but at actual songwriting also.

Hoggard's riffs are of course merciless too. They are like being stabbed by a surgeon, with each slash designed to incapacitate whilst also make you nod in complete appreciation. There's geologists probably queueing up to take abrasivity tests on Ulcerate's riffs and they know the scores will be off the motherfucking chart.

Things get off to an explosive start with opening track "Abrogation" as it bursts out of the speakers like a soul of hell clawing for freedom from the burning fury of Hades itself. As "Yield To Naught" continues in much the same vein it is here I first start to note the clever use of melodic components of the tracks. These are there most of the time but instead of being drowned out by the thunderous roar of the band in full throttle, they are more marshalled by the riffs and percussion as if being constantly reminded of their place even though they are key still amongst all that is going on. Throughout the pulverising violence of the bodily harm inflicted you are never far from an atonal stab or dissonant tranquility as they bob atop the tide of the endless churn.

To have all that going on must require an almost military precision as never does anything seem confused or chaotic. Even at their most furious Ulcerate show clarity of structure and planning. The title track with its progressive build and eventual unleashing of all living fury proves this point perfectly.

One thing that is obvious throughout is the layering of the experience. "Extinguished Light" is like unwrapping a gift and finding exploding candy in each layer, each variety giving a different flavour and texture experience to the last.

To sum up "Shrines Of Paralysis", it is like an in depth documentary on the mechanics of Technical DM. As well as exploring the intense fury of emotions involved, it takes opportunity to delve into the skillset required, demonstrating along the way a work of real dark art done by true masters of the genre.

Last time Ulcerate and Gorguts released an album in the same year was 2013 and they both blew me the fuck away, with "Colored Sands" edging "Vermis". In 2016 they've reversed it for me. "Shrines Of Paralysis" is nowhere near as dense as "Pleiade's Dust" in content and style but it takes the raw emotion of the genre and hones it into an explosive, purposeful and memorable DM experience.

Behind every great man, there's a great woman. Behind every camped up, shape throwing, garrulous Black Metal vocalist there's a great song writer. Both of these statements are true, except the second one actually does not commend Abbath as being the imaginative, creative and artistic driving force behind Immortal. This is blatantly obvious if you have heard his solo pop/rock record of a couple of years ago.

What "Northern Chaos Gods" does is essentially pull off one of the best tattoo removal jobs in the history of "I Love Sharon" ink stains on most truck drivers (married to a woman called Rose) arm's being obliterated by lasers. Despite a big character no longer being present on this record, I don't for one second miss Abbath. Demonaz and co manage to put out an album that sounds so much like Immortal of old you could be forgiven for crying "Fake News!" at every mention of the turmoil and split between the founding members given the music is as strong as it has been in some while.

Demonaz even sounds like a more in control albeit slightly more subdued Abbath. But it isn't the vocals that will get you sweating like a blind lesbian in a fishmongers. Nope, IT'S THE FUCKING RIFFS MAN!!!!!! It is genuinely like getting twatted by an octopus for 42 and a bit minutes, listening to this record. Utterly relentless in their delivery, Immortal just pummel away at you, occasionally throwing an atmosphere building intro before thundering off on hoofed steed to epic landscapes such as "Where Mountains Rise".

There's no Judas Priest or Iron Maiden esque dip in output here in the absence of their established frontman here. Demonaz and Horgh have - to put it in layman's terms - just picked up and ran with the established format. Don't get me wrong, it isn't anywhere near the quality of "At The Heart of Winter", although it does piss all over "All Shall Fall". Think of it as being the record "Damned In Black" could have been as a better precursor to the great "Sons of Northern Darkness".

They have a song called "Blacker of Worlds"!!! I mean what grown man with the mind of a pubescent boy doesn't think that is cool as fuck??? If the start of closing track "Mighty Ravendark" doesn't bring you out in goose pimples, you're dead inside. Fist pumping, neck snapping metal right here folks.

Glen Benton is 51. Fuck I feel old now too. Deicide are 30 years old (32 if we count the Amon era). Album number 12 from the fathers of Florida death metal is a strong effort considering yet another change of personnel has occurred. It is bye-bye Jack Owen, hello Mark English of Monstrosity fame taking up guitar duties and ironically I like "Overtures of Blasphemy " a lot more than Monstrosity's effort this year.

Whilst it can never make the "beast of a DM record" title I would give to the debut or"Legion" for example, "Overtures..." is entertaining. Whether it is the melo-death passages that litter the streets and alleyways of this record or the more familiar sacrilegious blasting fury of Deicide at their (old) best, there's plenty to balance the experience over these 12 tracks. Take "Seal The Tomb" for example, it goes immediately for the jugular, relentlessly chugging riffs alongside Benton's usual demented growls only to be tempered by menacing and interesting leads and sonics that carry the song along well. Listen once to this track and it is in your head for literally days after.

Then there's the vehemence of the lyrics of "Compliments of Christ" were you can feel the spittle from Glen's lips splattering your ears as he spews forth the vitriol he is best known for. "Anointed in Blood" opens like a lead jam session recorded mid flow before developing into a hellish gallop of fiery hooves, again perfectly completed by some well placed and well timed leads.

This is were Morbid Angel went wrong with "Kingdoms..." safe DM with little if any attention paid to the sonic wizardry of their sound. Take a leaf out of Glen's book Trey!

It is clear that this is no nonsense DM that  still has enough equal measure of extremity and assured and unapologetic attitude to hold it's own against most of the DM records released this year. It is not perfect by any means. I lose it on more than one occasion if I am honest ("Crucified Soul of Salvation" in particular hits my 'standby' button really nicely) and it is a couple of tracks too long making for an almost excessive feel to the running time. Whilst it is a well paced record there's definitely some "filler" present. But for any turkeys in here there is still thankfully the brilliance of tracks like "Consumed by Hatred" to snap you back to attention. "Flesh, Power, Dominion" is one of the strongest things Deicide have ever put to tape btw.

There's life in the old dog yet it seems. In terms of original members only Phil Fasciana remains in the ranks of Malevolent Creation now and after the passing of Brett Hoffman last year you could almost forgive fans for thinking the curtain had fallen on Malevolent Creation. The fact is that whilst "The 13th Beast" reinvents no wheels it does exhibit the sound of a band in the throes of something of a regeneration phase. There's nothing tired sounding here, no dull interludes to build unnecessary atmosphere. As soon as the spoken word intro to "End the Torture" finishes it is straight up thrashing death metal until the very end, some 11 tracks later.

Although all debuting in the Malevolent full length stakes here, the 3 musicians that join Fasciana on this record are all clearly capable and qualified purveyors of their art form. Again, I highlight that this is not far above your average DM record yet it is so assured and solid you can easily forgive it to some degree. Lee Wollenschlaeger gives a good acquittal of himself as an established and competent vocalist, filling Hoffman's shoes nicely. Phil Cancilla is a machine on those skins, blasting his way across the soundscape yet also using the percussion well when the occasional let up in the pace permits. Fasciana and Wollenschlaeger work well together to keep the chug of the riffs motoring along whilst Gibbs plonks, twangs and rumbles his way through every track, allowed to be heard in the mix and show his variety without ever showboating. For a band together for only 2 years as a four piece they sound tight and committed.

There's no metal fan worth the denim their patches are sewn onto that doesn't look at that album cover and mouth a "fuck me, dude!" I mean, come on, it is fucking awesome. Like a more ornamental Predator head on a ghostly green background. I love it when album covers are matched by the content of the record inside, and whilst there are obviously some shortfalls here, still in the main "The 13th Beast" delivers. When they keep the track length short and succinct, Malevolent Creation are at their best. "The Beast Awakened", "Agony for the Chosen" and "Knife at Hand" all kick serious ass. By the same token "Born of Pain" at nearly 7 minutes long doesn't really do anything or go anywhere to justify the length attributed to it.

Overall, I would have preferred a shorter record. At 11 tracks the band cover a lot of ground in under 50 minutes but not all of it really needs treading. That withstanding, never does it get grating and still the accessibility factor remains consistent enough to forgive the extra excursions present.

Whilst listening to Year of the Cobra, I found myself debating how difficult it must be to be in a two-piece drum and bass doom combo.  I mean there must be a lot of pressure on the bassist to start with.  How much do you yield to the temptation to play it like a rhythm guitar, or perhaps go the opposite way and use the bass to create dense atmospheres like Bell Witch? On YotC, Amy manages a bit of both.  She carves out some bone-jangling riffs for sure, yet she also gives us enough bottom end to thicken up proceedings nicely on the tamer sections, when the beefier riffs are on the back burner.  You can sense the same dilemna with the drums of course.  Do they take precedence over the bass or simply play along in support of the four strings?  Again, like his wife, Johanes finds a good balance here.  As unremarkable as his performance maybe, the presence he brings cannot be underestimated.

Of course, Amy also has responsibility for the vocals.  Her dreamy, stoner/psychedelic style works in great contrast to her heavier bass work.  The vocal performance on album closer 'Prayer' stands out in particular with its very personal and sentimental traits making for a deeply heartfelt display.  It is not often a doom track manages to invoke emotion in me, but I genuinely fought back tears when listening to that song.  As the album highlight for me, it is a shame that such beauty is quite isolated here.

With some sense of inevitability perhaps, YotC suffers to a degree of a lack of variation.  Tracks such as 'Alone' lose me completely, and no matter how many times I play the record, I cannot tell you how 'Sleep' sounds.  Stronger tracks like opener '...Full Sails', 'War Drop' and 'Daemonium' are sufficient to rescue the record from the lower end of the scoring spectrum.  Like I said at the top of this review, tough gig this two-piece doom set up and unfortunately it shows here.

If they have achieved nothing else, Pothamus have introduced me to a new instrument in the Shruthi Box, an instrument predominantly used in Indian classical music.  It is deployed here on single, ‘Ykavus’ where it adds a droning presence to proceedings.  Fortunately, this is not my only take from Abur, although it is a distance away from my usual diet, it is still a very entertaining record.  There is still some familiar features to compare with the backdrop of my usual listening habits, but the duration of this record in the main is time spent away from my comfort zone.  The sludge tag it has on Metal Academy has some relevance most certainly, but it is the post-metal tag that fits the majority of the record better.  On top of this though, there are those hints of drone as well as a sense of Middle Eastern infusion.

After a few listens through to Abur with the tribal percussion and dense atmospheres, coupled with echoing chants and expansive keys, it is obvious that a lot of thought has gone into the record.  Whilst it might not have an immediate argument for frequent revisits (this very much a mood record) it is a very professional sounding yet artistically endearing album.  Where the band are most definitely skilled is in the ability to combine multiple elements on one track, not necessarily blending them, just very capable at arranging them.  The title track absolutely feeds off the atmospherics before breaking off into some of the denser sludge content present on the album.  When in full flow, the atmosphere here is reminiscent of an Akhlys album, minus the horror of course.

I cannot fight the haunting and ethereal charms of Abur.  It is such an accomplished sounding album that is in many ways a shame that it only fits a more serious mood.  I will come back to this album when I feel enclosed or suffocated by my existence.  When I am sensing my boundaries are the same four walls far too often and I need reminding of how far outside of my comfort zone I can actually go.  This is where Pothamus will come into their own for me, occupying the same ‘open when needed space’ as Russian Circles, Wardruna and Forndom.

Orkalet (the main man behind Häxkapell) is a talented fella with a fascinating background in choral singing – working with Erik Westberg one of the greatest choir conductors in the world - who also uses a process of meditation-induced psychography, or automatic writing to write his lyrics. Basically, the guy writes his lyrics and doesn’t even recognise he’s written them. He can switch these states on at will which makes me think that the lyrical content of Om jordens blod och urgravens grepp could well be written by spirits from another realm. As well as the above, Häxkapell also utilises the services of Oraklet’s wife, Ida for violin, viola and her voice.

As you would expect then, this record is a transcendental affair. With progressive elements sat alongside conventional black metal fare, there is real depth to what Oraklet delivers here. The more pagan/folk elements compliment his baritone vocals perfectly, creating a wholesome and earthy sounding experience. The violin and viola create a classical style of atmosphere to the familiarly grim and gnarly black metal music also. Add in acoustic sections, choral passages and near epic, sweeping elements also and you soon know that you are in for a treat with Häxkapell’s sophomore release. The downside for some maybe that there is a loss of the traditional coldness to the sound that diehard fans of bm would harken for. The sound is hardly warm like say Hellenic bm would fashion in the traditional understanding of such a description, it’s more comforting even though the genuinely desolate and morbid elements are still plainly on show.

The baritone vocals do not always land as well every time they are used and for me there are a couple of occasions where compositionally things are off in general but there are never any moments that make me reach for the skip button. At worst, some tracks seem to suffer from minor issues in terms of a lack of balance. In short, there are occasions where I want a little more black metal in all honesty. These moments are infrequent enough to stop me dropping the rating into the lower part of the range, at the same time however they hold it back from an outstanding score.

My high hopes for Kryptan’s debut full length are certainly met by the horrific edge to album opener ‘The Unheard Plea from Thousands of Broken Hands (Intro)’. The pleading voice in the background of the track sets off the old nerve-endings into a jarring frenzy immediately. The intro track then drops into the first proper track on the record and those guitars certainly make their presence felt early on. However, it does not take long for things to start to unravel. The drums remain audible but unintrusive throughout and as a result come across as lacking in power. By comparison the bass is virtually non-existent in the mix, which instead sees the synths, guitars and vocals get centre stage.

The main issue I have with Violence, Our Power though is the vocals. Whilst not horrendous by any means, I do question their suitability on more than one occasion. There are obvious Behemoth comparators in terms of the vocals, especially when the vocalist here deploys a kind of strained shouting style (‘The Miracle Inside’) which is not a bad thing, but I just do not feel that Alexander Högbom has the pipes for it to be honest. On the more grim, black metal style vocals he is fine, but this attempt at variation sounds a tad amateur to my ears.

This strained description is applicable to the whole record in all honesty. It strikes me that the music is being forced through something to get to the unappealing outcome we are presented with. The mix just sounds off to me, like it is stopping me getting at the true content that the band intended to share. My experience somehow feels muted and like I have constantly missed something. I do not sense that they are any artist capability issues here, just a not too kind mix job. That withstanding I still do not believe that the vocals fit the direction of the band overall. Stick to bm croaks guys, you sound much better.

2025 has seen me take the unusual step of tracking new releases for at least two of my clans. The Fallen and The North between them are keeping me highly entertained as it happens, and it seems that my usual reluctance to seek out new music had little grounds for the burnout I feared would occur. The real bonus though is the discoveries I am making. In the past three weeks or so, I have picked up on some real gems, with Norway’s Nachash being one such discovery. It is not unusual to find a black metal band from Norway that I like of course, however this trio blend a crude mix of thrash, speed and black metal that reminds me of both modern and classic reference points. There is just as much Bathory in here as there is Mortuary Drape for example. There is a warmth to the sound that reminds me of Varathron at times though. Equally, I could see these boys slugging it out with Nekromantheon or Condor in terms of the more recent examples of the sound explored here.

Eschaton Magicks manages to pummel the old ears consistently well for over forty-minutes. Showing a punk bounciness to some of the percussion at times, this is an album for any thrash/speed metal fan who likes a darker take on things. It unapologetically sticks to a quickly established blueprint, using guitar melodies to maraud the listener. Despite those Varathron vibes and the melodies described above, Eschaton Magicks still possesses a coldness all of its own. Whilst there most certainly is not any icy atmospheric black metal here, the coldness comes from the oppositional stance that the band postures with here. It feels like a punk album as well as occasionally sounding like one.

I enjoy the immediacy of this record, as well as its honesty to be able to stick to what it does best. Everything is clear in the mix without loss of the murk that you would expect from such a record in this sub-genre. You can hear the bass just as well as the drums, guitar and vocals. Each component part contributes to the urgent tempos and the overall threat of the record. Do not be fooled into thinking that this is a collection of three-and-a-half-minute blackened speed metal tracks though. We have some tracks here that go over the six and eight-minute mark. The band know how to write solid songs and can maintain their energy for as long as required. Listen to the high-speed rumble of the bass on ‘Death’s Mordant Blaze’ as it dances over the top of the drums and guitar, showing there is some real rattle and hum behind the sound (not a U2 reference though). Nachash have produced a real treat here on their second album. No sophomore slump here folks.

I cannot pretend to be a big CoF fan. Other than Dusk…and Her Embrace, The Screaming of the Valkyries is the only other album of theirs that I have listened to in the last thirty years. Somehow, I find I like the idea of CoF more than I like the actual reality of CoF. Gothic metal is not a go to sub-genre for me by any means, and so as the band moved away from their initial melodic and then symphonic black metal sound my interest levels (which were not particularly high to begin with) soon began to wane. It is unexpected then that I am sat here about to write a review of their latest album as it plays on what must be its sixth spin in the last three days.

To my ears, to start off with at least, The Screaming of the Valkyries does not introduce itself as an entirely gothic metal record, certainly not as I would expect gothic metal to sound anyway. The opening two tracks are up-tempo and full-frontal attacks of metal. Full of power and promise as opposed to pomp and haughty posturing as I expected. There is even some fantastic lead work to get lost in also. All in all, ‘To Live Deliciously’ and ‘Demagoguery’ make up a great start for the album. Everything sounds well balanced; instruments are all audible in the mix that does them all sufficient justice.

However, The Screaming of the Valkyries peaks far too early as it turns out. That is not to say that the rest of the album is terrible by any means, but it does lack the immediacy that was promised by the opening two tracks. Whilst I completely acknowledge that ‘The Trinity of Shadows’ is well written; it just does not measure up to what precedes it and seems to herald the start of a mediocre section of the album for the next five tracks. It is not until ‘Ex Sanguine Draculae’ that things pick up just in time for triumphant album closer ‘When Misery Was a Stranger’.

As a result, there is a real sense of lost potential on CoF’s sixteenth album. For an album that is so well performed and deftly written, I feel like I should be getting more from the nine tracks than I do. The long-term fan will have a different view, I am sure. However, for me, the record falls short by not playing to its opening strengths and extending that footprint throughout the album.

I have been spinning this one for a few weeks now.  Each time i feel like I have the meaure of it, I chnage my mind.  The enchanting blend of black metal and death metal keeps me coming back regardless.  Not that this combination is anything new by any means, but for all its flurries of keys and gang chants, Lost Legacy never comes across as pompous or grandiose.  It still feels earthy and unafraid to its sinew and bone.  Whilst it retains a lot of melody, this is not a record that you could easily pigeonhole as being simply melodic black metal.  Arguably a black metal record with a hefty dose of melodic death metal for good measure, the album uses the death metal elements to hone the intensity of the black metal experience.

It is riffier tracks such as 'Amanita Muscaria' that take on a blackened speed metal vibe. The melodicism here sounds almost an organic by-product of the speed influence as opposed to any notes released by the black metal element.  The croaky vocals leave the listener in no doubt where the band's heart truly lies though.  I liken the band's sound to Necrophobic, with the threat that they could tear off into Aura Noir territory at any moment (they don't btw). Tracks such as 'Samhain' are nasty slabs of riffing black metal, spliced with dazzling leads to add to the entertainment.

Sometimes though, I do find myself wanting the album to pick up on the intensity stakes.  'Inside The Wickerman' needs a little more than the skant tremolo against the drums treatment.  Often, I feel what is missing is some Spectral Wound style blasts to really hammer home the impact of the album.  That having been said, Lost Legacy still stacks up as a good black metal record.  Although it misses the quality of the Gràb or Grima releases this year (it is a different style of bm in fairness to Regnum Noricum) it packs enough punch to get four stars from me.

Truly atmospheric black metal all too often strays dangerously close to 'gaze' territory for my liking.  It is as if the true art of some serene and icy cold black metal, cloaked in dense atmosphere has been lost at times.  I can't pretend that some of the notes on Sacred Sound of Solitude would be out of place on an Alcest record (nobody is perfect) but the thought process overall here by Bloodbark appears to be very much orientated around black metal still.  If, like me, you schooled yourself on atmo-black via any of the Memoria Vetusta records by BAN, then Bloodbark is most definitely for you.  The snow here is pristine white, the air is clear and the atmosphere holds a density behind these endearing images.  The music still has a charge to it, a vibrancy to the tremolo that reminds me of some of Grima's album from this year also.  You would be hard-pushed to call this one a classic by any means and it certainly lacks the variation of Nightside by Grima, yet this record still possesses a charm all of its own.

Very little is known about Bloodbark.  The band chooses not to disclose details of the members - even shying away from confirming the geography that they are native to.  None of that really matters though as there is enough of an air of mystery to Sacred Sound of Solitude to keep me interested without having to speculate about how is responsible for the music.  It is clearly performed by capable musicians who know their way around the atmospheric and post-black metal scene.  As such they are able to create haunting music that fills the space you are listening to it in.  The BAN reference is most certainly valid but there's also nods to Summoning in the mix here to boot.

Where SSoS falls short is that it never truly gets beautiful.  It hints at the surreal appeal that winter landscapes can offer but those swan-like qualities never feel like they have become fully formed.  The clean singing and spoken word aspects to the vocals are a bit dull in all honesty and I think this is because they are not shrouded in enough mystery like the rest of the instrumentation around them.  In a way they are almost too obvious for their own good.  As I am listening through on my seventh or eighth visit to the record, I am now starting to sense that 'gaze' element more.  However, this is by no means of a threatening level to the more bm elements by any stretch and although the rating is not in the higher end of the spectrum, it is still a record that stands out from the pack in 2025 so far. 

Wren is one of the most unmetal sounding band names that could be picked really. One step up from Sparrow or Dunnock I suppose but still leans heavily on the lame side of the bird world. Whilst it may not be the most threatening name in the world metal, Wren does fit the atmospheric sludge of this London four piece as they explore a vast and dense landscape across their third album, Black Rain Falls. Foraging through punishingly slow riffs, flitting between ethereal density and atmospheric ecosystems and nesting in the rafters of the solid structures of the seven tracks on offer.

Describing themselves as a ‘blackened noise band’ (at least according to the Spotify bio anyway) could not be further from the truth, as there is no noisy element to this record. The agonising pace of album highlight, ‘Toil in the Undergrowth’ is testimony to how captivating atmospheric sludge is. By the time the first riff lands we are three minutes into the track. Those hoarse and tormented vocals heralding the arrival of the track proper perfectly as that riff crashes in behind them. This album is full of Neurosis and Isis influences, and as a result had me hooked from the off. Songs feel like they are expanding even though there is little in the way of variation to suggest this is naturally the case. Any progression is deliberate and measured, feeling organic and unforced.

Tracks often end feeling like very little has happened in the way of change once the established format has been engineered, but still, I get sense of total satisfaction from the majority of what is on offer here. The interlude in the middle of the record feels a bit out of place though, even though it does in some ways introduce the dense, bassy opening of ‘Metric of Grief' nicely. Album closer ‘Scorched Hinds’ is one of the more obvious Neurosis sounding tracks, with its shifts and swells accompanied by chiming guitar notes that remind me of Kowloon Walled City. There is a lot to like in the simplicity of Black Rain Falls and it stands out as one of my happier new finds in The Fallen clan of late.

After many years of them floating around the periphery of my black metal sphere, dropping multiple albums in their wake that somehow did nothing wrong yet at the same time also brought nothing remarkable to the table either, I think Grima have finally come of age on the sixth album, Nightside.  That’s a bold statement to open any review with I know, but the fact is that Nightside is an absolute triumph of atmospheric black metal.  It is well written.  It is thoughtfully composed.  Heck, even the normally sub-par artwork of Girardi is actually almost passable this time around.  Once again we have a bayan (accordion) successfully incorporated into proceedings, and without it turning the whole album into folk-fest either.  Safe to say, I am rather smitten with Nightside.

I think what stands out most for me on the album is how mature it sounds.  This is a band who can layer different instrumentation into a perfectly complimentary arrangement.  That bayan never once sounds intrusive.  It is tempered perfectly by the tremolo riffs and balanced well in terms of atmospherics with the keyboards of Valentina Astashova.  When it does get sole playtime it manages to add welcome depth to the track (the end of Skull Gatherers).  But the expected instruments also put in a great shift.  A mention must go to the subtle yet effective work of guest drummer Vlad Yungman, who like Morbius and Villhelm is also of Ultar fame.  The drums are never a blasting frenzy, yet are interesting and in total keeping with the pace of each track.  The tremolo riff is strong here, complimented by strong melodies and leads also.  As I say, it is all so beautifully arranged to make tracks such as Impending Death Premonition take on such a haunting, ethereal mood just by this clever use of aggression and melody.

I might still be unconvinced by the tree masks gimmick but I can see well past this for the first time with Grima.  Nightside adds so much credibility to the band for me that I feel their aesthetic no longer is my main focus.  Whilst it is nearly fifty-minutes long, the album does not feel bloated, despite its largely consistent track format and staying true to the atmospheric tag for all ten tracks.  The passion here is clear, as is the ability to hone that into coherent and effective songs.  This might be the bands peak, but it is a a real treat nonetheless.  More please.

Liverpool (UK) based black metallers, Ninkharsag caught my attention with their sophomore, The Dread March of Solemn Gods back in 2021. Claiming four well-earned stars for their efforts on that one, the future looked promising for what started out as a one-man project back in 2009 and had since grown into a four-piece band. Their brand of charging, rampant melodic black metal, instantly brought the likes of Dissection and Sacramentum to mind. Coupled with some Watain-like intensity, the sound of Ninkharsag soon found favour with these ears.

This EP nicely scratches my Ninkharsag itch as I wait for the next full-length. Continuing their themes of ancient history, magic and occultism, The Black Swords of Winter is a raging torrent of melodic black metal that ticks more than enough boxes for me over the six tracks on offer. Suitably opened by a moody and atmospheric intro track, the EP soon picks up the pace and barely lets up for the next twenty-two-minutes. Muhammad Candra’s artwork absolutely represents the icy content that lies within. As the flames of the dragon on the cover suggest, any burn here is a cold one.

It is nice to find a band in my local area that are forging a solid path through a ton of (mostly) unremarkable black metal releases so far this year. The nods to the Swedish bands mentioned above never feel like unbridled worship and they retain a freshness to the sound, like new life is somehow being breathed into a tried and tested formula. Looking forwards still to the next full length offering, if they can keep this standard up, it should be another winner.

I was around some thirty albums into a black metal in 2025 discovery trip this week and if I am honest, I was starting to despair. Other than a couple of brief glimmers of hope which I will save the detail of for some further reviews, I was starting to think that 2025 was going to be a barren year. Now, there are a couple of caveats to that initial view, the first being that in general I make no effort to stay on top of new releases. Secondly, I am solely going off the new bm releases added to MA, so there will inevitably be gaps at whatever point of the year I bother to look since we cannot possibly capture all releases in these output trigger happy days that we live in. Anyway, after sitting through two of Drowning the Light’s five albums they have released so far this year, and wondering why the hell I was bothering, I finally landed on German duo, Gràb (German for “grey/old”).

I have listened to a lot of black metal over the years and the albums that I hold in high regard all exude passion for their artform. In a sub-genre that champions the minimalist approach it is easy to become lost in a sea of raw, primitive and yet utterly emotionless music. There is absolutely a time and place for that, however with where I am at in my bm musings nowadays I like to hear some heart in what I am listening to. Luckily for me, Gràb are full of passion for what they do. Yes, the melodicism helps no end here. That smattering of doomy atmosphere also does much to enhance the experience. But at the very core of Kremess is the undeniable presence of musicians revelling in what they love doing and in turn letting the listener revel in the majesty of the music they produce.

The Bavarian lyrics may be completely undecipherable to me, but it does not matter one bit. I feel I can still connect with the whole experience of Kremess regardless. There is a lot going on instrumentally here as well. With viola, flute and dulcimer all being deployed alongside keyboards, guitar, bass and drums, Kremess offers a real gamut of instrumentation. Yet nothing is ever allowed to override the core bm offering of the band’s sound. As eclectic as some of the instrument choices may seem, they are cleverly deployed and incorporated into the overall aesthetic. Gràb know how to write songs, and it shows in abundance here.

Produced by Empyrium’s Markus Stock, the members of Empyrium contribute light touches to parts of the album. The choral elements Thomas Helm adds on Im Hexnhoiz (A Weihraz-Gschicht, Kapitel Oans) and Deifeszeig add real depth to both tracks with the former being one of the standout moments on the album for me. It would be easy to get fooled by the slightly amateur (yet still somehow charming) artwork on the album cover that this is a base bm record that will be full icy atmospherics, and do not get me wrong, they are there. However, Kremess possesses a majesty to the grim musings that make up the eight tracks on offer. My initial fear that it was too long at fifty-five minutes was soon dispelled as the arrangement of the album is just as top notch as the content.

Triumphs such as Vom Gråb im Moos (A Weihraz-Gschicht, Kapitel Zwoa) at the midway point of the record and on album closer Dà letzte Winter, make the duration seem more than worth it. This record ends as strong as it starts, something which I rarely feel listening to new music nowadays. Hands down the best release of 2025 so far, Kremess restores my faith in black metal amidst the slew of gazey, avant garde releases (who needs samba black metal??) that was starting to seem the norm so far this year. It does of course also set the bar high from here on in.

The gritty and gnarly style of groove metal that Prong play on album opener, Another Worldy Device is like an oddly melodic punk track in some ways.  The clinical riffing plays on through most Prong tracks I have heard and makes me think of Helmet a lot of the time, except Prong possess a more potent infectious essence than Helmet, with the added exception being that Tommy Victor and co are also much more experimental.  Cleansing is the album where the electronic experimentation meets the more familiar riff patterns.  Whatever element is present however, the overall sense of Prong simply writing some of the least complex yet still delicious tasting industrial groove metal is impossible to shake off the old tastebuds.

Even the absolute overkill of attention that Snap Your Fingers… gets seemed justified when you don’t visit that one track over and over again.  It is a track that rings true to the “less is more” mantra.  That having been said it is One Outnumbered that stands out as my favourite track on Cleansing.  The abrasive nature of the industrial elements are tempered well by clever pacing that whilst clearly creating something of a void in terms of power at times, somehow do not dilute the venom behind the messaging.  Prong are the proverbial grinning assassins here on album number four.  A seemingly clean production job actually exacerbates the muckier tones of the music, that industrial grime somehow smeared across the album as opposed to being wiped away.

It does not always work however.  Out of This Misery lacks punch and suffers from a loss of regimenting in the songwriting that epitomises the earlier tracks on the record.  In fact, it soon became clear just how front-loaded Cleansing is.  As we drop into a more Machine Head style groove in the second half of the record, tracks soon start to sound whimsical in nature and lacking in form.  I am not sure what the intent was behind Not of This Earth but it is far and away the most throw away of the tracks available here.  The balls are still around in places but the earthier elements all but disappear all too soon on Cleansing, ruining that early promise in favour of unnecessary experimentation.

After over five decades of drugs, crime and doom, Bobby Liebling returns with a whole new line up, some ten years after Pentagram's last album.  Although I do not follow Pentagram releases, (in fact, I lost track right after their self-titled debut if I am honest) something about that vibrant artwork caught my eye and I thought to myself that if the content of the album was anywhere near as focused as the cover art then this could be a real treat.  As it turns out, I am more than half correct.  There are some absolute bangers on this record.  Although I had not caught any of them as singles the three tracks that came out prior to the album release are all strongly written affairs.  The opening track, Live Again certainly lives up to its billing as with the new line up in full flow, Pentagram sound just as good now as they did forty or fifty years ago.

Touching on psychedelia, stoner rock, hard rock and classic rock alongside the more doom-laden side to proceedings Lightning in a Bottle is actually quite a varied affair.  Full of lyrical absurdities ("I spoke to Death last night, he wore a nightmare gown, and when I spoke your name, he turned his eyes down to the ground" - from "I Spoke to Death") and widdling solos, all performed to a backdrop of solid and consistent percussion, I found this record way more interesting than I expected.  The artists Bobby has recruited might have their moments of mistiming here and there (which somehow is just acceptable) but overall they have put together eleven consistent tracks.  Unafraid to play with pace and tempo, the band create a distinct feeling of balance over the album.  Starting off with the previously praised opening track, Live Again and then closing the album with the deliciously doomy Walk the Sociopath, Pentagram have managed to achieve a complete album experience here.

Whilst not flawless, all the tracks belong here and bring something unique to the table.  Whether it is the spiralling, fuzzy chaos of Lady Heroin or the solid and direct punch of Thundercrest, most tracks leave a mark for me as I have listened through the album a few times today.  Above all else, I am impressed with how good Liebling sounds.  The guy is 71 for fuck's sake!  On here he puts in a shift that belies any stereotypes linked to his age.  Energetic, reflective and even outright thoughtful, Liebling gives a truly stellar showing here.  Props also to guitarist Tony Reed who manages to mark his own identity on the record whilst still somehow staying true to the Pentagram sound at the same time. The bonus tracks on the digital version are not essential and of the main listing I can genuinely only call out I'll Certainly See You In Hell and Solve the Puzzle as being the items that should have been left on the cutting room floor.

Well, this was a neat little find as I went through the feature releases this month.  My usual excuse of not having the time to listen to much of the releases was left to one side by virtue of this being an EP.  That twenty-one minute run time was perfect for me to perform a few smash and grab raids on Contra iglesia y estado on breaks between work calls and it even accompanied a few workouts this past week also.  What kept it on such frequent rotation was the obvious passion for their art that Dekapited clearly have.  As thrash metal continues to be viewed with that regurgitated/retro lensed glasses on, it is clear that this band are just out for the fun of it.  High energy levels with a consistent and scathing attack make for a very entertaining experience indeed for me.

Laden with Sepultura and Sodom vibes, Contra iglesia y estado does little to reinvent the wheel, and it is stronger as a result of this in my book.  I cannot point to any weak tracks on here, even though the overall rating still sitting below a five star mark does mean that I equally cannot flag this EP as being truly remarkable overall.  However, what is here is powerful sounding stuff.  The blows hit with a consistent level of force and are certainly not pulling any punches as they rain down on the listener.  The ferocious form of Chilean thrash that we have come to know and love (well me at least) from the likes of Critical Defiance and Ripper is certainly coursing through the veins of Dekapited as well.

The appeal of this EP for me is its earthiness.  It sounds like a true reflection of the band.  Never tryingto be something that they are not, Dekapited here simply play the music they love and provide a fine celebration of thrash metal at its best.  Short, sharp and succinct whilst being delivered with a hell of a level of grit this leaves me full of promise for further exploration of their discography.  My only reservation is how they make this style of balls to the wall intense thrash metal interesting across a full length release, but I guess I will have to wait and see.

Six years ago, Barshasketh released their fourth full length album (s/t) and I sat looking at it everytime it played, unable to fathom why I kept coming back.  A few critical listens later (three years worth to be precise) and I finally settled on a four star rating for the Mgla influenced melodicism and Sargeist-like chaos of the album.  Come 2025 and Barshasketh have me in pretty much the same position with album number five.  I have been listening to Antinomian Asceticism for about three weeks in all (even plugging in some earphones for some rare close time with it) and will be the first to admit that I am very much on the fence with it still.  It is not like there is not much to like here, even during the first track I am already reminded of Aosoth (one of my favourite French bm bands).  As the album goes on, those Sargeist vibes are strong again and I even get a hint of Akhlys in the music here (one of my all time favourite bm acts).

Despite these pleasing outliers, I still have all these splinters in my buttocks from this fence.  Whilst there are most definitely bits that I do not like (those chants are a little too verbose for me - bordering on over-demented, if such a term exists), Antinomian Asceticism has some absolute bangers also with the likes of Lebenswelt Below and Charnel Quietism both doing a superb job of ensuring that the middle section of the record is a real high point.  Yet, it lacks any memorability for me.  Spectral Wound do a far better job of letting melodicism rule the day and write better songs as a result of it for me.  In a way, whilst I acknowledge that Barshasketh overall is a very different band in style and approach, they are still a bit lost on me I am sorry to say

When the album finishes, I have no desire to revisit it; almost as if it is too arcane in nature for me to justify the reward for the effort I put in to try and figure it out.  As tightly played as it is (these guys know how to play) and as meaty as the production job makes it sound this time around, iteration number five of Barshasketh still presents a challenge for me.  In many ways, I want to like it a lot more than I do and maybe the repeated plays throughout the next few years that I dedicated to their previous album will eventually glean a similar outcome in terms of the rating, however for now I just cannot fully get to grips with Antinomian Asceticism.

Very much a tale of two different listening experiences in the same week, A Pathway to the Moon has had a bumpy old ride with me this week.  The first run through was as a result of a late night exploration of new releases on Spotify as I struggled to sleep in a hotel.  In that scenario the rich tapestry of melodic guitars and gazey vocals, soothed my soul sufficiently to send me off on a peaceful sleep.  By no means a backhanded compliment to Unreqvited, this was a good first experience in that particular circumstance.  The second listen through was done in the car driving along a picturesque section of motorway in the north of England.  Again, this was a positive experience. The lushious instrumentation was the perfect accompaniment to the rolling hills of the landscape I was passing through.  My thoughts turned to listening experiences with the likes of Saor as those soaring leads and expansive soundscapes took me back to my early explorations of that group.  It is rare that I find myself being able to make such a connection between my surroundings and the music in my ears at the time, let alone find an album to be so endearing to me under two very different scenarios.

I know what you are thinking now, dear reader.  Why is this rating showing a paltry 2.5 stars if he loves it so much?  The fact is, outside of sleep impaired lucidity and breathtaking scenery, A Pathway to the Moon is repetitive to the point of being boring.  When listened to in the isolation of trying to appreciate the actual album content it is hard not to feel cheated in that the same ideas are just being repeated over and over again.  Tracks more or less are just built the same, using the same notes it sounds like, and as much as I cannot deny that this is really well performed stuff, clearly written by a very capable artist, the performance level is marred by the lack of variation in style.  There is, of course, something to be said for establishing a blueprint and sticking to it.  However, truly great albums need to work at a very basic level first of all.  Before A Pathway to the Moon can be (correctly) acknowledged for its ability to work in the tenderer moments of one's surroundings it needs to be putting down roots, and unfortunately there is little to get entangled with when you look past the aesthetics of the album.     

The overall experience is a little akin to meeting someone whom you believe at first engagement to be really exciting or possessing a large degre of intrigue about their character, only to find after a few minutes that they are just regurgitating the same script that is clearly well rehearsed.  Whilst I cannot go as far as to say Unreqvited are a fake, the interest levels lack much in the way of magnetism to truly keep them an interesting concept.

Knocked Loose need to calm the fuck down and learn how to write some actual songs. That was my gut reaction to the first full play through of You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To. Despite having the track Don’t Reach for Me already on my workout playlist, the full album did not possess the same level of immediacy for me. After multiple listens, I have tempered my initial reaction somewhat. Whilst I cannot pretend to be overly enamoured with the record, I can acknowledge that there is more here than just the furious ranting I heard upon my first listen.

As bizarre as it sounds, the album needs to be listened to fully understand it. Being fooled by the spurious nature of the tracks into thinking that this is just music to batter your head into with little need for focus or attention was a mistake for me. The sub-genre tag that Saxy mentioned of “beatdown metalcore” certainly fits the billing mind. There is little covert activity over these ten songs and the delivery is as rampant as the sub-genre billing suggests. For me at least, that level of consistency needs to be recognised. Picking up such a level of intensity and rarely letting it falter makes for a challenging listen, but it also shows a lot of heart. Listen enough times and you will hear the variety in the tracks though and be able to see beyond the slamming fury of the band overall. They are brief, but there are lulls in the chaos (actual pacing in fact) that somehow do not detract from the primitive intensity of the record.

This is not to say that YWGBYST is not without its flaws. I cannot cope with more than thirty minutes of those vocals, no matter which day of the week it is. They are without doubt the most one-dimensional aspect of Knocked Loose and soon get into “grating” status as they dominate the record far too much. This is a shame, as Knocked loose have much better qualities in the instrumentation itself. But the solid percussion and jarring riffs just get trodden on all too easily by those vocals which are too memorable for all the wrong reasons.

I guess there’s no real surprise to any of the Metal Academy regulars that I am not in love with Knocked Loose. If they genuinely could write more material like the closing track on the record, then we would probably get along better at least. Oh, and change vocalist of course.

Having been a one time elitist, “all core is shit” type (until a few years of MA was under my belt at least), the metalcore world still occupies a very rare level of content in my listening habits.  On paper at least, metalcore should not be that alien a concept to me.  That combination of hardcore punk and the extreme elements of metal is a sum that I should have no problem with the outcome of.  I don’t mind hardcore punk and I obviously love me some extreme metal.  However, I think that true combination is not there in most of what I hear from the sub-genre, all too often getting infused with other elements that aren’t necessarily as advertised.  Enter Sorcerer’s 2024 album, Devotion.  This absolutely fits the above described blueprint perfectly.

Sorcerer are angry.  Not “my Mom took my Game Boy off me because I called her fat” angry though.  More of a gnarly level of pissed off that wouldn’t sound out of place on an Agnostic Front record.  Devotion is a real middle finger to the world type of album that certainly gets things off its chest whilst still deploying a strong ear for melody and pacing as it goes along.  Simply put, I could put Devotion on all day (in the right mood) and not need to change the record.  It possesses a level of angst that somehow is not intrusive, a sort of “getting on with it in the background whilst I do my ironing” kind of vibe.  Occasionally I am more engaged with it more than I am others because I too hate relationships/people in general (for example).  As it stands Devotion has been on everyday for about three weeks.  In the car, on the beanie earphones whilst in bed, in the office whilst I continue to battle the corporate monstrosity that I work for and even whilst gaming of late (this would make a healthy addition to the radio in GTA in particular I think).

My (largely untrained) ear picks up elements of Converge (whose You Fail Me album got a revisit off the back of listening to this Sorcerer record) and I am also reminded a lot of the gnarlier aspects of some crossover thrash that I have heard over the years also.  The energy levels are high for pretty much all of the record yet as I mentioned above, there is some care, some level of thought and attention to Devotion also.  Closing track Someone Else’s Skin, for example, starts off with a scathing almost bm tremolo sounding riff before veering into more familiar punk territory, settling into those crossover moments nicely again for me.  However, by the end of the track we have gone through some almost tender moments of reflection and contemplation, giving the track a real wholesome feel.  The photograph on the cover of the album is probably one of the best representations of what actually lies beneath.  Battle-hardened, wounded and ugly as fuck music with the tenderness of those tears on the soldiers face suggesting the depth I have been able to describe.

Following on from the success of Limbo, Portuguese black metallers, Gaerea continued that rich vein of form into Mirage some two years later, with the latter release achieving a full, five-star rating from me in 2022. Pipped to the post of AOTY for that year only by the might Messa with Close, Gaerea continued to show a great panache for performing some richly melodic and yet intensely focused black metal, even landing them the title of my favourite modern black metal band. Somehow during 2024 I lost complete track of the band and I subsequently missed Coma being released altogether. I do recall hearing the single, World Ablaze however and feeling underwhelmed which may have subconsciously thrown me off the trail of the album.

After a few listens through Coma there are a couple of points of note. The riffs sound like they have more bite than on previous releases and the trill factor of the tremolo seems to have increased also. This seems largely due to the addition of Sonia Schuringa on second guitar after Guilherme Henriques added vocal duties on top of his string responsibilities following the departure of original vocalist Ruben Freitas. The melodies seem to resonate stronger throughout the tracks this time around, creating something of a wall of melody that sits behind the pounding percussion and more aggressive vocal sections.

The change of vocalist has beefed up the sound of Gaerea in some regards, with a death metal style complimenting the blackened intensity of the guitar as well as providing a nice juxtapose to the more clean, post-metal elements. Yet in some way, Coma feels tamer than what has gone before it. It is as if this album is an experiment in to just what direction Gaerea will turn next as their career progresses, exploring those “post” elements whilst dialling up their vocal delivery, certainly hints that creativity flows strongly through the band’s veins. In doing so though, the delivery seems to be off this time around. For me at least, Coma is a frontloaded record. Once I get past the title track at the halfway point, I struggle to remember much of what I hear. I only remember Wilted Flower because it feels one of the most overtly “post” tracks here, with its whispered vocal section drifting dangerously close to “gaze” territory.

None of this makes Coma a bad record. I would argue you would struggle to find as creative and ambitious sounding band in black metal as what I hear over the fifty-minutes run time of this record. Whilst it is too early to be crying phrases such as “identity crisis”, Gaerea are evolving, and the direction might not be for all. For now, there is still enough quality on this album that covers black metal, blackened death and post-metal without alienating me.

There is a lot for me to like about Excursion Demise.  In theory at least, those clear Demolition Hammer and Dark Angel influences postively kick down the front door as the album announces its own arrival with a an intensity level touching on nuclear.  Everything is frenzied more or less from the off (well once the fade up of the intro lapses), and with a vocal style that I always feel sounds like the lyrics are tripping over the music in some clumsy yet somehow with a rhythmic relationship to the music, things look promising for Invocator early on.  The drums also show a welcome presence on the opening, title track.  Not technical as such, but interesting enough to be able to mix it up whilst hitting a consistent level of power at the same time, against a mix that does not necessarily sound like it wants to help them at all.  I am unsure though as to why the band elected to put in a thirty-two second track instead of just using it as an intro to what they bill as track number three, yet to me it is all clearly one track??  It is not a massive issue but is certainly an early annoyance.

Strong start though it has, Excursion Demise suffers badly from a poor production job on the guitars.  The riffs are lacking any power in the mix at all,  playing at times as if they are black metal riffs, such is their lack of meat.  Conversely, the sonic chaos that I would describe the lead work as being offers a much more scathing and memorable experience for me.  It is like the guitars got recorded on a different day inside a barrel with just a couple of holes in it, whilst the rest of the instruments and vocals got done in a studio proper.  Whlst I can still put the album down as being overall a suitably frenzied and frantic experience for my metal tastes, the rhythm guitar does ultimately detract from my otherwise positive listening experience here.  Only on the excellent The Persistance from Memorial Chasm comes close to being able to overcome these production struggles but if ever there was a case for a remix of an album, Excursion Demise is top of the list in my book.

Still, for me to find an album of this style from the 90's that I had never heard of before (although I recognise their sophomore, Weave the Apocalypse from programming the playlist) is a good enough treat.  There are not many albums of this intensity that I discover on a frequent basis.  Just as I thought I had swept the decks clean of most decent thrash metal releases from back in the day, Ben churns one up as a feature release to keep me on my toes.  I just wish the quality of the production, matched the quality of the music.  Whether a conscious effort or not (I doubt it was conscious) it is the main thing that keeps Excursion Demise away from the higher scores range.

Based on Darkthrone’s last three albums, I should love It Beckons Us All. I absolutely lapped up Astral Fortress, Eternal Hails and Old Star, affording two out those three ratings of over four stars. This methodology of what I saw described in one review as “radical egocentrism” or “artistic freedom”, whereby Fenriz and Ted just do whatever the fuck they like has served them well in my book. It has produced some earthy sounding metal that stands out in the modern era like a sore thumb when compared to the more polished elements of metal music nowadays. For the record, I have no problem with any degree of egocentrism if produces true sounding music like Darkthrone have done over the last five years or so.

I recall that I may even have gone as far as to suggest that I may like modern Darkthrone more than I do the early black metal incarnation of the band. In terms of memorability, the last three albums shade most of the early-mid 90’s stuff for me, even if there is an argument to say the quality has dipped over recent years (and of course there is an element to say that it is supposed to have dipped). The fact is though, my love affair with latter day Darkthrone has come to an end with It Beckons Us All. Despite multiple listens and an acknowledgement that there is nothing far removed from previous releases on this latest offering, I just cannot get into the record. Perhaps there is something to be said for continuing to tread a well-trodden path before the scenery goes from being interesting to just lots and lots of fields – although that does not feel like a fair reflection of the sound of the album.

I can hear all the riffs in here that virtually infect your brain from the start of the record. That familiar crusty edge to things still retains enough cvlt points to keep the tracks constantly dunked in necrofilth and even the doomier aspects continue to grow across the album. Yet somehow, It Beckons Us All just does not speak to me as well as its predecessors. The change is with me, most definitely. Darkthrone have not necessarily put a foot wrong, more I am just no longer on the same path as them. As with most love affairs, it was great while it lasted though.

Apparently, the guys in Noxis hate being referred to as a technical or progressive death metal band. This is strange really when you consider the amount of technicality and odd time signatures in their music, for a band who want to focus on how death metal they really are at their core, this can be a tough sell. Assisting with the latter part of that sentence though is the amount of head bobbing riffs they can muster and the extensive level of groove that gets applies to them as well. On Violence Inherent in the System, whatever their motivations and influences, Noxis take the listener on a fantastic exploration of the foundations of death metal whilst being unafraid to add modern and even avant-garde touches.

You cannot fail to be sucked into this record if you like Cryptopsy, Demilich or Adremalech. In an age where death metal suffers from endless regurgitation of the old school sound, it is not always sufficient to simply extend the already well-established bloodline that started in the 90’s. Unless, you are super tight at playing your weapons of choice, which Noxis most certainly are. Enter current Nunslaughter drummer Joe Lowrie. Described in an interview as being a “cyborg” by his bandmates, he gives a strong performance across the ten tracks that make up the record. Now, he is no Saint Merat (we even get straight up d-beat drumming on the title track), and he doesn’t need to be given that this is a very different sound to the expansive soundscapes of Ulcerate. However, when coupled with Kirsch’s bass work (which is top notch) the two instruments become a singular unit almost, pulling and pushing tracks in different directions. This creates lots of opportunity to put those riffs front and centre, something that Dylan Cruz manages to achieve fantastically. That groovy riff that opens Torpid Consumption is real “get your eyes back on the road” moment, and the album is simply littered with such occasions (such as the title track) that make you stop whatever you are doing and put more of your attention onto Violence Inherent in the System.

That bass does come across as too placed on some occasions though; notwithstanding the fact that Kirsch clearly has free reign to do whatever he wants, it sounds like he does not need to go as far as he does sometimes. It does not necessarily confuse things but certainly adds a bit of bloating in places. I have heard the clarinet and horn solos on the appropriately titled Horns Echo over Chorazim several times and after swinging between “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?” and “actually this works” I find myself in the latter camp most of the time, even though I am not usually a fan of such intrusions.

This record caught me off-guard. Laid up in bed with a raging chest infection and suddenly out of Xmas activities I had much unexpected time to listen to some 2024 releases, and Noxis have been an absolute curve ball for me. They would certainly make top three on my year end list but are unlikely to remove Ulcerate from the top slot. However, as I said above, this is a very different album to Cutting the Throat of God, and one that holds its own in the world of modern death metal whilst still being able to display a very healthy set of roots in the past.

Portland’s Vitriol may have adopted a band name that instantly screams deathcore or metalcore at least, but a listen to any of Suffer & Become and you will soon find that they something else altogether. This album is a dense and chaotic explosion of death metal; probably the best modern death metal I have heard this year outside of the mighty Ulcerate. Make no mistake, there is A LOT going on here. The multitude of parts that layer Suffer & Become take some digestion most certainly (here, multiple listens are needed folks) and at times I do find myself looking for space to breath and absorb this raging torrent of death metal.

Clearly put together by accomplished artists, the contributors to this album come from a varied palate of metal experience. The drums from a brutal death metal background, the guitars are more deathcore (yet Steve Jansson of epic doom outfit, Crypt Sermon fame guests on track three) with supremo Kyle Rasmussen showing his agility on leads and riffs alike. That is not to say that the experience of the riffs on the album is them being deathcore sounding. Whilst there most certainly is a hint of it somewhere, as a band Vitriol have a huge amount of Hate Eternal influence here alongside the grindcore sounding aspects of Cattle Decapitation (thankfully minus the horrible vocals of the latter band). With nods to Nile, Morbid Angel and Cryptopsy, the group allow a healthy platform of death metal staples to shape Suffer & Become. The solo work is some of the best I have heard in a long time. I have lost count of how many death metal albums I have heard over the last five years alone that are sadly redundant in the lead work department. Rasmussen and Ellis are fucking beasts though. Think Morbid Angel at their Altars… or Blessed… best (minus a lot of the swarming chaos) and you are on the right track.

Confidence feels high on this record and the inclusion of an instrumental track in the exact middle of the record shows this. In an otherwise manic riffest of a record, some clean strings are quite striking in their arrival, especially given their off-kilter tuning. This track too ends up a nefarious mass of riffs which introduces the second (and for me better) half of the record.

For the front end of the album, Vitriol appears to be setting pace only. From Weaponized Loss onwards is where they truly hit their stride, however. This track is the first one where the chaos gets some order applied to it, some discernible structure alongside those diving, blackened melodies that works to a truly overwhelming effect. As the backend of the album continues, tracks seem to grow in stature; that earlier confidence seemingly taking on new heights of assurance making this part of the album the domineering force. In some regards, this gift could be considered a curse as if the whole of the album matched the virility of the last five tracks, then we would have a real contender for album of the year here. As it happens the first half of the record feels unfulfilled by way of comparison.

The clear highlights of the record for me are the final two tracks. Both, I Am Every Enemy and He Will Fight Savagely see the band finally pull all that potential promised on Weaponized Loss and hone into perfect death metal music. Bearing in mind that this is their sophomore release, the potential for Vitriol to grow into a modern death metal behemoth feels tangible and wholly realistic. If they can maintain a stable line up then these guys could well be unstoppable come album number three.

My relationship with Katatonia has been distant at best. As documented in my review of their debut, it took many, many moons before I finally got to grips with it. In terms of the rest of their discography, well, I was approaching it at the same pace that I had the debut until recent life events led me to look for some music with a little more of an emotional connection to reflect my strife. Soon, The Fall of Hearts was not only on consistent rotation, but it more or less immediately adorned a spot in my vinyl collection.

I do not often listen to alternative metal, and although I get the connection here, still I do not feel The Fall of Hearts is necessarily justified of this tagging. Playing as a progressive rock record in the main, the album is certainly not my usual bag of extreme metal listening. Its more challenging aspects are still what draw me in though. That awkward structuring that forbids catchiness without sacrificing memorability is a welcome inclusion for me. Similarly, the expression of feelings, without the grandiose and minus the tedium is an honest share that I can acknowledge and respect in equal amounts. There are still some big riffs in here that inject real depth into tracks, often unexpectedly. A solemn and yet obvious bass presence also has great effect on proceedings, keeping the mournful and sorrowful themes of the album true against a background of solid if not all that remarkable drumming.

Vocally, I should not get on with Jonas Renke’s vocal style, having a usual disdain for clean vocals sung by a less than tuneful vocalist. However, his monotone style with those occasional harmonies that only half work is well suited and only adds to my enjoyment. The lyrics are what speak to me more however in terms of their content, seeped heavily in themes of uncertainty and turmoil, Jonas’ vocals only seek to enhance the appeal for me. I was not looking for something soulful, more the need was for an honest, rawer expression without the instrumentation necessarily leading this for once.

Suffice to say that this album struck the correct chord with me at the perfect time, standing out from the wealth of other music I was going through at the time to try and find some connection with. There truly is no greater feeling than finding such a record and on reflection I can honestly only say that this has happened on a handful of occasions over the years. Getting on for nearly forty years of listening to music, this has been a very unexpected yet incredibly rewarding find.

Supergroups largely suck as a concept. Adrenaline Mob start out stronger than most others by they had drum aficionado Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater in the line-up and long serving Symphony X vocalist Russell Allen front and centre. Oh, and a couple of guys from Fozzy (meh). On paper then there was the promise of something interesting at least. Inevitably though, what is on paper is much better than reality, and this most definitely the case with Adrenaline Mob.

For a start, I don’t like Russell Allen’s, straining whilst having a poo style of vocals at all. They fall short of any operatic/epic metal standards and are by far the most annoying aspect of the record. When these guys were all sat round having a beer and going “Hey man, we should record an album together!” at least one of them should have gone “Hang on, do we actually fit together?”. As a result of missing this simple sense check, this album lacks any coherent form or substance. Allen’s vocals take the groove metal prowess of the group and dumbs it down to some indifferent (pun intended – read the tracklisting) mish mash of heavy metal vocals over some potentially interesting riffs and rhythms.

Considering I have zero time for Fozzy, Rich Ward does a great job alongside Mike Orlando on the guitar front. Great leads get pulled out of what are otherwise laborious and poorly conceived structures that are let down largely by a very tame and underwhelming vocalist. Can you write groove rock? Well, no in all honesty. This does not stop the mindless pop/country/rock of All on the Line getting an inclusion here though. Evidence of predictable ego playing an unwelcome from a bloated bunch of metal “celebs”?

For his part, Portnoy is as good as you would expect him to be. I doubt he breaks sweat here though and I cannot help but think of the image of him pounding the skins with one hand, whilst the other sips from coffee cup, the rest of the band looking like they have run a marathon to keep up with him as they puff hard, chests wheezing and faces all ruddy.

Somewhere after the aptly named Hit the Wall, I drifted into a coma in all honesty. It is arguable to me that this is even metal in some parts but I care so little about this album and all the layers of cheese that accompany it (even Lzzy fucking Hale gets an appearance, FFS) that the Hall of Judgement nomination can stay untouched.

As if the excessive snare drum of St. Anger era Metallica needed any further reminders of why such overuse of the instrument was a poor idea, it is worth noting that Acid Drinkers already went down that cul-de-sac five years before Lars and co. ever put stick to skin. It is not that this is even the main issue with High proof Cosmic Milk either. That list is near endless for me. Dull song structures that tickle alternative tentacles far too often (even for a groove metal record), horrible production that makes the whole thing sound sterile and borderline lifeless, vocals that constantly sound like they are straining to be heard when in fact they are already far too clear in the mix…I could go on, but I won’t.

According to other scribe son the internet, this album is a departure from the band’s usual conventional thrash metal sound, and it seems that the trend of venturing out of that familiar pen into the groove metal stall just across the farmyard was being followed by this quartet of Poles just like seemingly many long-standing trad thrash bands before (and after) them.

Unfortunately, Spotify offered up the bonus track version of this album when I searched it and, not content to simply numb my mind with their own material the band butcher Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival. A truly awful discovery right here folks.

Searching through groove metal over the past twelve months or so has churned up a mixed bag of releases. Crossing into core, death metal and of course thrash metal, the journey has been one that has broadened my horizons from my personal (and seemingly insular) belief that the genre consisted of Pantera and (early) Machine Head as its brief contribution to the metal world before it was consumed by the arrival of nu metal. Hitting a search on Metal Academy for releases in the genre up to 2020 pulls fifteen pages of results containing household names such as Anthrax, Overkill, Decapitated, Lamb of God as well as at least three bands containing one or more of the Cavalera brothers.

By the time Quadra was released, both Max and Igor were no longer in Sepultura. Andreas Kisser and Paulo Xisto were the only long-standing members left (although I often smirk at Paulo’s status under that banner given, he played nothing on Schizophrenia, Beneath the Remains or Arise). With the now familiar voice of Derrick Green fronting the band and Eloy Casagrande starting his third album on the drum stool, Quadra had a stable line up and this shows in abundance on the record for me. Kisser was always lauded as a great guitarist back in the day and I never really got onboard with that sentiment if I am honest. Yet on Quadra I find his work is consistent and versatile. That slightly detuned solo on Capital Enslavement could have really been butchered I sense, but despite it risking teetering on the brink of plain amateur, Kisser carries it off nicely. Likewise, his riffing maybe a little too familiar, resulting in some sense of there being a lack of variation across the riff and rhythm sections of Quadra, but it is entertaining enough when the vocals and song structures add the necessary depth to the album that is at times lacking.

The above having been said, Quadra may not be my favourite Sepultura release. But having heard everything up to an including Chaos A.D. on a consistent basis over the years, Quadra is the most interesting release from the band to my ears. The thrash metal elements are sparse, and the groove metal takes more of a centre stage. This is no bad thing. Based on my groove metal exploration to date, I would say Quadra is one of the better releases I have heard. Within these progressive structures there is no loss of the urgency I would seek in the tempo of the record. The orchestration of tracks like Guardians of the Earth are done against an obvious metal backdrop and blend well. The crowning glory of the album is without question for me the well-balanced, Agony of Defeat. Here the choir arrangement is professionally done to add depth to the tack, giving it a sense of the epic. Bestial Devastation fans need not apply.

I prefer this record to Roots, an album that whenever I have attempted to delve into has resulted in some horrible combination of confusion and disappointment. Indeed, I would go as far as to say that I prefer Quadra to pretty much anything Max and Igor have put out since they departed the band. If, like me, you had assumed Sepultura’s better releases where behind them after 1993 then you would be mistaken. This is not Arise or Beneath the Remains, it is something else altogether, and whilst it will never trump those two it is still a very strong release based on its own merits.

Black Curse follow up their 2020 debut with another slab of blackened death metal that displays the pedigree of the band members who perform this unholy racket. For a quick update, Black Curse have members of Khemmis, Primitive Man and Spectral Voice. An eclectic if not consistent range of metal music is gathered here yet the music itself could not be more basic in all honesty. Here be the realm of no fucks to be given and Black Curse are right in their sweet spot inhabiting such a space. With all the best elements of Teitanblood, Grave Miasma and a smattering of Revenge and Archgoat for good measure, Black Curse have grown into a real tour de force come record number two.

For performing with sheer abandon alone, Black Curse get a five-star rating. The wall of noise that underpins their sound is a swarming entity that envelopes all in its path. The whole record sounds like it was recorded in the bowels of the earth itself, erupting from its core like volcanoes spewing utter despair and blatant disregard for life. The chaos is so tightly contained it borders on being overwhelming. The music swirls around your head like taunting demons, undertaking pretty much the same dizzying exploits as they fly into your ears, disorientating your senses.

To infer that Burning in Celestial Poison is nothing more than pure, blunt-force trauma to the head metal is unfair a reflection as this feels a very calculated level of clawing stealth. These five tracks make for a complete experience. Without checking the lyrics, I would go as far as to say there is something of a concept at play here (technically tracks 4 and 5 are one song – according to the booklet anyway). If it is a rampant blackened death metal journey you are after to close out 2024 then look no further folks. However, do not think this as simple an offering as you might first think.

As far as melodic death metal albums go, I have found a lot more time for Goliath than I would normally afford anything else from this sub-genre. Having never seen the appeal of Kataklysm from any of my previous connections with their discography (was Sorcery really that good guys??) it was odd that I ended up drawn in on their fifteenth outing. It could be that the more groove metal moments are slightly more relevant given my ongoing exploration of that sub-genre via the Clan Challenge. Tracks like Gravestones & Coffins, with its infectious riff is one of the standout tracks for me on this record but there is nothing remarkable about any aspect of Goliath overall.

After multiple listens, I have concluded that Goliath is a bit dull. However, I still find myself coming back to it, as if the background music qualities of the record somehow cannot be denied. Having taken the time to try and understand which primitive aspect of my musical nature the record appeals to, I realised that the record is nothing short of a riff-fest. Upon my sixth or seventh listen it dawned on me that the record has no lead or solo work whatsoever. Its ten tracks rely solely on chugging and groovy riffs backed by a solid if not unremarkable percussion section. With a clumsy vocal delivery to boot, Goliath is a classic smash and grab melo-death album.

Those stabbing riffs that permeate the verses, (keeping the momentum going very well it must be noted still) give way to rolling slabs of groovy and sometimes less urgent moments that somehow manage to be relevant even when they appear to be slightly out of time on occasion. I would suggest that the lack of thought around pacing is one of the albums weaker points overall. When they do get it right (Bringer of Vengeance) it works well but it is inconsistent at best throughout the record.

To go more than three tracks on any melo-death album is an achievement for me but to last for ten without their being any solo work is just a bridge too far for me. Goliath plays as a record that tells me nothing about the band. It is ten tracks that mostly sound the same and what little glimpses of variety I do get are just not doing anything to separate Kataklysm from the rest of the field. It is memorable and slightly addictive but for all the wrong reasons in the end.

Progressing through the clan challenge for Groove Metal sees me arrive at one of the more inconsistent bands I have experienced over my time listening to metal. After their debut album, Poland’s Decapitated dropped right off my radar with Nihility and The Negation doing nothing to further the promise offered on Winds of Creation. Over a career that saw the band suffer immeasurable tragedy and move from their more traditional technical death metal sound to a more groove orientated direction in later years, Decapitated have gained very little of my attention since the early noughties.

Anticult landed on my radar before the clan challenge brought me here though, with Kill the Cult appearing on a workout playlist earlier this year and finding itself becoming a mainstay track for most of my kettlebell sessions. The rabid yet rhythmic style of that track was a good indicator of what to expect from the album overall. Although I would argue that there is nothing remarkable about Anticult in terms of being a classic by any means, it does offer a consistency that avoids pedestrianism largely due to the vicious and seemingly tireless energy levels that are deployed in abundance.

The old Decapitated sound is still here (Anger Line) amidst the more groove orientated sections. Closing track, Amen sounds like a Nile track – albeit never lives up to their sense of the epic by any means it must be noted. Part of Anticults success is that it does not allow the groove elements to be at the expense of the death metal strains of the record. Death metal is the core structure still with groove metal applying the fixtures and fittings if you like.

Anticult misses out on higher score because as solid as it maybe it never gets exciting. I have no desire to revisit it immediately after most plays, even with raging moments like One Eyed Nation still present in my brain. Whilst Kill the Cult continues to help me push various weights around, the album overall leaves me satiated yet still looking for a bit more somehow.

It is virtually impossible to underline importance of Obituary in terms of them being my gateway into death metal some thirty plus years ago. If your first taste of a death metal vocalist is John Tardy on Slowly We Rot, a man who rarely used actual words to express his vocals then you were pretty much guaranteed to be either repulsed and run straight back to your Iron Maiden LP’s or be so drawn in that there was soon no way back from the path you had been dragged down. As the years have rolled by, watching other stalwarts of the early nineties’ scene fade away, I would argue that although they do not have a flawless discography, Obituary are still consistent performers of death metal who have a lot more in their arsenal other than those glorious first two records.

Hence my nomination of World Demise for the October feature release. I feel like the internet has talked endlessly about the first two Obituary albums and much of the discography is an almost presumed failure by comparison. Although I accept that World Demise does not match those classic outputs from 1989 and 1990, it still possesses enough identity to standout in the grander scheme of things. This was a slower paced Obituary, shed of its more scathing skin of old with a more socio-political bluntness being deployed instead. When Tardy sneers that he really does not care on the opening track, you believe him, 100%. Backed by his brother’s solid drumming and the superb bass of the late Frank Watkins, John could not ask for a better set of backup weapons to his unique and newly legible vocal attack.

Despite, the slower pace, the more focused lyrics and general stripped back nature of the record, it is still quintessentially Obituary. Those riffs from Peres and West are as familiar as ever and if you allow yourself to get lost in them, you could just as easily be listening to the debut album all over again. World Demise ultimately lacks any truly standout moments though. Despite its solid musicianship and altered direction that they carry off well enough, it does tend to plod in places. The loss of that dense atmosphere left a few cracks uncovered and those snippets don’t land well when they try including them. The best example here being that shifting effect on Splattered which I think is one of the worst errors of judgement in the history of the band.

These quibbles are just that though, nothing earth shattering when taken in the context of the whole record which is a solid slab of death metal. Give me World Demise over Tales From The Thousand Lakes or Blasphemy Made Flesh from the same year.