Death metal nowadays covers so much ground as a tag. You have your classic veterans, modern media darlings, weirdos trying something totally different—all death metal! So where does Replicant fit into this? Well they’re more than just another skin job…
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Diabolic Oath – Oracular Hexations Review
Offering the listener a few seconds of respite before annihilating them with megalithic riffs, opener “Rusted Madness Tethering Misbegotten Haruspices” does a fantastic job setting the tone for the rest of the album: biblical-level annihilation. Riffs on riffs on riffs are the order of the day here! Needless to say, Cosmo is very excited about this one.
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Manasseh – Tunneling to Paradiso Review
Manasseh, a new dark ambient/folk project spearheaded by Patrick Brown (Herxheim, ex-Howls of Ebb), seeks to be a meditative piece that portrays a soundscape of someone digging down to paradise on their debut record Tunneling to Paradiso. But will this tunnel lead to auditory bliss or despondency?
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Acathexis – Immerse Review
For those going into Immerse and expecting a riff-driven black metal album, prepare to be disappointed. Acathexis has a unique sound that sets them apart from other black metal bands—a crushing, comforting cocoon of bleakness that completely and utterly envelops the listener. Explosively meditative for black metal bats?
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Vorga – Beyond the Palest Star Review
I was pretty excited when Vorga’s sophomore album was announced. Sporting another stellar cover art by Adam Burke, it looked to be a direct continuation of their debut. However, it seems that along the way, there were a few mishaps. Will their new output pale in comparison?
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Aberration – Refracture Review
Aberration specializes in caustic, spiteful blackened death metal that seeks to crush you into a paste over the runtime. The debut LP is akin to stepping up to bat for the first time, so, how far does Aberration knock the proverbial ball?
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Hadit – Metaphysical Engines Approaching the Event Horizon Review
When it comes to blackened death metal, a band needs to stand out from the rest of the crowd if it’s going to impress people given how saturated the subgenre has become in recent years. Enter Hadit. Will this Italian band travel far, or be swallowed by the blackened death metal hole?
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Sacrificial Vein – Black Terror Genesis Review
If there’s one style of extreme metal that I vibe hard with, it’s what I like to call “hell sounds”. At its roots black metal, death metal, or a combination, this soundscape also is also heavily infused with ambience to craft a nightmarish atmosphere. Brand new band Sacrificial Vein are fine purveyors of this blend of haunting music on their debut album Black Terror Genesis. It seems this spine chilling genesis has really enraptured our Cosmo, but by which trickery?
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Apogean – Cyberstrictive Review
Wasting no time with an intro piece, this album kicks off with “Bluelight Sonata”, which does a good job showcasing what Apogean does correctly: hooky, catchy riffs. Unlike their contemporaries in the tech death scene, this band focuses more on writing riffs than writing wanksterpieces. But is that enough to get a high score from the eggplant bat?
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Crypts of the Unknown: Blunt Force Trauma – Vengeance for Nothing
