Maybe it’s the climate or something in the air or having all those lakes to stare into while brooding about the inevitable decay of flesh—Finland screams metal. Whatever it is, Altar of Betelgeuze got a full dose. They’ve routinely described themselves in the past as stoner doom meets death metal and hitting play on their third album, Echoes, reveals this is still the formula. Betelgeuze, Betelgeuze, Betelgeuze!
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BRUTALISM – Solace in Absurdity Review
BRUTALISM seem like they are committed to making quality brutal death metal. The band knows how to groove and how to construct riffs and manages to walk the tightrope between skronky technicality and groove with ease. But will our resident goat find solace in this brutal death metal?
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Venomous Echoes – Split Formations and Infinite Mania Review
Morbid Angel, Howls of Ebb, Esoctrilihum, Portal and Ulthar all are imitated during individual sections of Split Formations And Infinite Mania and Venomous Echoes usually do so in a tasteful manner, straddling the line between inspiration and pastiche overall rather successfully. I have heard all of this better elsewhere, but the combination and variety is pleasant, even at the risk of turning into needle drop death metal.
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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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Suffer – 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?
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Cancervo – III Review
Everyone has a to do list. Mine includes the item “listen to more doom metal”. That’s why when I saw we had promo from a stoner doom band named Cancervo, I stuck my hand up. Did Anti-Peat end up happily stoned?
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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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Saturday Night Satan – All Things Black Review
All Things Black is more early Ghost than The Devil’s Blood and more Scooby Doo than it is The Omen. Something about the songs can be quite catchy and a lot of it sits in guilty pleasure territory. Deplorable or delicious, or both?
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Dionysiaque – 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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Crypts of the Unknown: Incubator – McGillroy the Housefly
