With their debut, Aftryk, Danish band Vægtløs promise a mix of power and delicacy, grip and release, packed within four tracks that comfortably traverse the realms of black metal, post metal, and post rock. And though its namesake translates to “imprint,” does Aftryk do enough for you to remember its cause?
Read moreDeath Killer – Total Destruction of the Entire Universe Review
The severely titled Total Destruction of the Entire Universe approaches the genre with a metal mindset somewhat divorced from the industrial metal scene, meaning Death Killer do not sound like an industrial band wanting to do monotone metal, rather a metal band wanting to do weird industrial. Missing out on this album would be a grave mistake.
Read moreThis Week In Metal, 2024 Week 6
Another week, another round of metal reviews in the bag. Words are tough, so we assembled the highlights. And if you want to read the latest reviews for the new offerings from Madder Mortem, Dissimulator, Spiritual Deception, Spectral Voice, Vitriol, and Drowned, you can do that too!
Read moreDrowned – Procul His Review
Drowned play a blend of primarily death metal mixed with some doom metal elements that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Spectral Voice or a Mortiferum album. But how does this all come together? Semi-drowned?
Read moreVitriol – Suffer & Become Review
I wasn’t too impressed with Vitriol’s debut full length in 2019, as it lacked memorable songwriting, and the production sounded off. The glow-up this band has had in the nearly five years since has been immense, as the sophomore album not only defies the dreaded sophomore slump, but kicks it to the ground, punches it in the face, and kicks it a couple more times for good measure. Suffer & Read This Review & Become.
Read moreSpiritual Deception – Semitae Mentis Review
There is nothing wrong with deathcore per se, but many reviewers cannot help but be frustrated at how often it gets packaged as something else to broaden its marketability. Spiritual Deception operate under the guise of being a progressive or even technical death metal band, but it might take a bit more than that to trick our Goat.
Read moreSpectral Voice – Sparagmos Review
Sparagmos is the Dionysian rite of tearing something asunder, be it animal or sometimes human, followed up by the consumption of the flesh. It’s fitting that Spectral Voice, the thicker, meaner counterpart to Blood Incantation, return after seven years with their sophomore full-length designed to tear you apart and leave you a mangled corpse. Pick yourself up love, it’s really not that bad.
Read moreDissimulator – Lower Form Resistance Review
It riffs. The amount of times an album has been explained to me with just these two words is staggering. The quality of “having riffs” is enough for many a metalhead, thrashers in particular, to fall in love with an album. That said, Dissimulator riffs. But is that all?
Read moreMadder Mortem – Old Eyes, New Heart Review
We’re lucky to have Norway’s Madder Mortem, as they embody the word progressive to a fault, never doing the same thing between any of their albums. You can always recognize a Madder Mortem song, yet not point to a stale formula in its construction. This is the mark of a band that writes progressively rather than chasing trends. Be the change you want to see!
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