The real highlight on this album is easily Michael Gonçalves (Replicant, Windfaerer). His vocals are absolutely unhinged, giving him a demonic edge that works so well in this style of music. His rabid shrieks, howls, and moans are reasons why it’s easy to come back to the album time and again. A few shrieks to cure the mid-week blues.
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Hexvessel – Polar Veil Review
Polar Veil caught my attention simply by breaking the ice with distorted guitar in its first preview track. Hexvessel has used this before (and its members are no strangers to Metal), but Blackened Doom Metal was really not something I expected to hear from these guys. Not just another Black Metal Monday.
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Massen – Gentle Brutality Review
A hazard of venturing into deeper waters of dissonance and the more extreme ends of Metal is that these genres have a hard time impressing on that end as they have to balance melody and heaviness. Despite this I still enjoy melody, groove and selectively catchy material but drift away from things that mix in overt aspects of Pop melody. Bands like Massen are instantly fighting an uphill battle for my interest, then. But impressively, this Belarus duo bring some serious skill to the format. Massenive skill.
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Ixias – Compulsive Trance Review
Compulsive Trance, after all, is a god damn mess. But in this frenzy of mouth noises that might have lyrical poignance, Ixias manages to find a careful, if not readily obvious, flow between tension and release. Our Being of Extreme Punctiation tells us about his love for trance. Wait what?
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Anubis Gate – Interference Review
Interference arrives after a mildly interesting covers album and six years of Anubis Gate-less space, leaving Metalligator apprehensive. Yet the new songs sees them trying some new things and puts a finger on how unique they are in the overly polished progressive metal scene. Polished, but perfect?
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Garoted – Bewitchment of the Dark Ages Review
Garoted was a completely unknown band to me prior to listening to their newest album, and I’m glad I picked this up. Featured prominently on […]
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Pupil Slicer – Blossom Review
Pupil Slicer’s debut, Mirrors, was a jagged burst of Grinding Mathcore (complemented with tastefully picked Electronica influences) that caught my ear for its neurotic character. Come 23, my expectations for a follow-up are unfortunately high for more of the same ilk. Blossom is not Mirrors, that much is clear. Will this release be able to blossom into its own thing?
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EABS meets Jaubi – In Search of a Better Tomorrow Review
Not too long ago EABS pianist and bandleader Marek “Latarnik” Pędziwiatr guested with Jaubi for their 2021 debut Nafs at Peace. And now, with the number of performers on In Search of a Better Tomorrow far exceeding that prior collision, this international crew looks to spread the good word of Jazz through the guise of their united regional tongues. Jazz on Jazz flexing is not a crime.
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Sagen – Roots of Proctor Review
While Deathcore in expression and production, Roots of Proctor is more Death Metal in technique. This might not seem like much but this marks a crucial difference in that Sagen show that they are not one of the Deathcore bands that rely on breakdowns to save every song. So in the absence of many breakdowns, what makes it worth your time?
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Crypts of the Unknown: Capilla Ardiente – The Siege
