Ah, the split. The underappreciated release that can highlight potential up-and-comers, or showcase multiple bands that don’t bring anything interesting to the table. Sometimes, a split gets released and reveals the best of a band’s material. So where does this four-way split land? Pick your player.
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Lower 13 – Deception Review
For better or worse, Deception sounds like it stepped out of the time capsule of Monster Energy-era Metalcore from 2005-2008. For what it’s worth, the production on this album as well as the talent of the band members is present though. Don’t chug and drive.
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Obsidian Tide – The Grand Crescendo Review
I can hear the seeds of Obsidian Tide’s voice forming on The Grand Crescendo. That is not to say that the influences cannot be clearly heard on the album. On the contrary, the soft/heavy dynamic and transitions lean heavily on Opeth still, sometimes even sounding like direct quotes. Prog Monday, anyone?
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Arborescence of Wrath – Inferno Review
Arborescence of Wrath, a band adorned with members of Origin and Marduk, ventures into the realm of Technical Brutal Death Metal with their debut. Will their music soar above the sea of mediocrity, or drown into the pool of lacklustre blastfests?
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Seraphic Entombment – Sickness Particles Gleam Review
Even when Seraphic Entombment can´t break out of their own framework within a song, there is some slight variation and mood shift. Particularly the two shorter songs breathe some life into the album in how they seem faster and more riff oriented. Maybe some additional CPR is required.
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Terra Builder – Solar Temple Review
At its best, Solar Temple has some novel ideas: the title track combines a Morbid Angel sounding riff with Grindcore intensity and “Dead Celestial” features a tremolo riff throughout that works well with the forward charging groove. So at least you could say that they’re a good Trem Builder.
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Alkaloid – Numen Review
Alkaloid have not changed much of their formula of Morbid Angel meets Yes in 2023. New to the mix is a slight push towards Heavy Metal leads that crop up here and there, as seen in “A Fool’s Desire” that opens with some acoustics recalling Caprae Idolum’s Matches EP before mixing and matching Heavy Metal with Death Metal outbursts. It doesn’t have any viola da gamba though.
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Feral/Crawl – Made As Those Who Are No Longer Alive Review
“Where the Dead Flesh Whispers” is a perfect example of Swedeath I would like to hear more of, and if Crawl continue in this same Crust-meets-Grinding Death Metal vein for their upcoming album, it will be a worthwhile release. Feral, on the other hand… find out what grind Cosmo’s gears.
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Acausal Intrusion – Panpsychism Review
Acsual Intrusion seemed initially somewhat interesting. Their style of Dissodeath seemed to have an odd influence from the Brutal Death Metal realm, even if only in the production values, most notably the snare. Nulitas, the debut, was exciting on some level, but it never managed to worm itself into my rotation, and in hindsight, I must admit that the issues being present in this newest album have been foreshadowed right from the start. Homeopathic levels of creativity make Goat a dull boy.
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Crypts of the Unknown: Blunt Force Trauma – Vengeance for Nothing
