Metalligator likes A Blaze in the Northern Sky as much as the next reptile or person (Transilvanian who-now?), but with the opinion that Darkthrone albums are always hit or miss, despite their charm, will it really beckon the gator?
Read moreInter Arma – New Heaven Review
Since diving into their body of work, fantastic experiments like the one-song prog excursion The Cavern speak of a restless band with a thirst for exploring. Both the hazy desert feel of Sulphur English and the at times show-off nature of The Cavern are important to New Heaven, as it turns out. New Heaven shocks from its first seconds by throwing its most dissonant foot forward in a jarring and feverish outburst. Welcome to dissoheaven.
Read moreNuclear Tomb – Terror Labyrinthian Review
To get my thrash kick, I often have to look outside the genre to albums that merge a thrash influence into the band’s work, such as with Paladin, Hammers of Misfortune or Vektor. Not to be forgotten, Voivod were way ahead of the game in this regard, and they are relevant to newcomers Nuclear Tomb in just how much this band looks backward. Is our Gator looking forward to a good dose of atomic riffage?
Read moreHamferð – Men Guðs hond er sterk Review
Several of us at The Goat Review are fans of Hamferð and had Támsins Likam up high on our yearly list back in 2018, before the blog existed. Big changes to a band’s sound are naturally risky, as hearing it as a fan, what you liked about a band might simply be gone, washed away in the ever-shifting tides of the modern metal scene. Maybe the real lister is the friends we’ve made along the way.
Read moreIn Vain – Solemn Review
In Vain have always been a strange band. The degree to how extreme their blackened death metal outbursts can be is something that goes above the usual melodeath market. So sit down for a Norwegian weenie roast with our Metalligator and find out whether Solemn still serves hot.
Read moreCrypts of the Unknown: Bergraven – Det Framlidna Minnet
Join us as Metalligator reminisces on Bergraven’s 2019 release Det framlidna minnet. Oh, never heard of it? Well here in the Crypts we specialize in the unknown, the uncelebrated, and the uncovered, no matter how recent or distant. We can’t keep all our dirty little secrets… Yeah, these dusty dips may not be perfect, but how would you know?
Read moreLocrian – End Terrain Review
The post rock and post black metal landscape is one that I’ve often had trouble exploring because of its barren conformity and over-reliance on distant peaks. With my preference for active music, the reaching for crescendos across large distances carry very little appeal, yet Locrian speak to me in a subtly textured voice. Bring on the post-itivity!
Read moreSuffer – Grand Canvas of the Aesthete Review
Grand Canvas of the Aestethe sees no love lost on Carcassian Heartwork-isms thickened with the slime of grooves straight out of Morbid Angel’s Domination. When these two styles mix together successfully like the rasping vocal cadence over the grand death metal groove, Suffer may free you from this mortal coil. But do they earn a death (metal) certificate of success?
Read moreDionysiaque – Diogonos Review
Doom metal that is really progressive tends to be rare, and music bearing this tag will usually refer to a single outside influence that doesn’t make much of a mark on the whole. But Dionysiaque’s Diogonos is something different, without a doubt.
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