Stretching beyond melodeath’s greatest works is a long tail of releases that are banal, toothless, or some combination thereof. In theory, The Halo Effect’s roster of In Flames alumni fronted by Dark Tranquillity’s Mikael Stanne is great news for people hoping for more gems. But if you can hear their riffs from a mile away, how can their march be so silent?
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Onirophagus – Revelations From The Void Review
In hindsight, I should have paid more attention to the album cover. Paolo Girardi has represented the void’s revelations as being all eyes, tendrils, and what I believe is referred to in these parts as “patented space-bunghole”. It hints at a band going for a big, disturbing sound more than what is commonly remembered from the 90s doom-death scene. Never judge a void by its cover.
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The Cimmerian – An Age Undreamed Of Review
The promo describes The Cimmerian as a doom/thrash band, and given Peat regards regard those two genres as going in two opposite directions, he was really curious to see just how exactly that would work. Is this genre fusion or just another midlife crisis?
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Patriarkh – Prorok Ilja Review
For the uninitiated, this band’s original name was Batushka, or at least vocalist Bartłomiej Krysiuk tried to claim it was. But after a legal battle for the rights to the name Batushka, Krysiuk lost and was forced to rename his incarnation of Batushka. But he didn’t name it Bartushka. You might just like Prorok Ilja anyway!
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Lord Sin – Confessions Review
What has our fledgling staffer gotten themselves into this time? A bag of mushrooms? Oh for heaven’s sake… at least it’s the weekend…
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Thy Catafalque – XII: A gyönyörü álmok ezután jönnek Review
With a long and spicy Hungarian title, XII: A gyönyörü álmok ezután jönnek is by all counts a folk album. It uses folk music as a basis for its rhythms in bright and airy compositions, filled with a large variety of vocals. It’s also a metal album, which is what it presents as at first with the heaviest compositions landing in the first third of the album.
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Ulver – Liminal Animals Review
The opener on Liminal Animals sounds like a statement of fatigue in its lyrics: repeated words from previous songs, the nature of sound as “Moving objects / The music they make” all the while distinct eras of Ulver clash in intuitively written songs.
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Stenched – Purulence Gushing from the Coffin Review
From groovy rhythms to never-ending joy in the darkest riffs, Purulence Gushing from the Coffin feels like a celebration of death metal’s rotten core. The pacing of the tracks ensures no moment overstays its welcome, a rare achievement in this style. Praise gushing from the death metal loving bear.
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Mandroïd of Krypton – Cosmic Sarcophagus Review
Part of the joy of being a music reviewer is discovering new bands, because any new band could be your new favorite act. Are Mandroïd of Krypton one of the next greats, or should this sarcophagus be left to drift aimlessly throughout space?
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Crypts of the Unknown: Bergraven – Det Framlidna Minnet
