Morbific deliver exactly what their aesthetic promises: nasty, groovy death metal perfect for foul moods. Their album Bloom of the Abnormal Flesh immediately establishes its territory with a warm, yet distinctly wet sound. Morbific by name, with one foot and a blast beat into the grave.
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Dawn of Solace – Affliction Vortex Review
Our Gator went into Affliction Vortex already side-eyeing it, having basically written it off before even hitting play. And yet Saukkonen’s melodic wizardry pulled him right back in. Again. Is this musical Stockholm syndrome?
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Tormentor Tyrant – Excessive Escalation of Cruelty Review
I would describe Tormentor Tyrant as a more restless Deicide that are more willing to fly off their mid-paced rails into red rage swings for your face. In short, expect Excessive Escalation of Cruelty to hit with the exact vibe that its album cover screams with its red dead rage as several faces of death metal history blend together.
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Ashen Tomb – Ecstatic Death Reign
Some albums grab you by the throat from the first note and refuse to let go until the very end. From the very first moments of Ecstatic Death Reign, Finnish death metal band Ashen Tomb unleash a massive sound that demands attention. And this Bear was ready to study it from the comfort of his forest den.
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Swallow the Sun – Shining Review
The deathly doom metal of Swallow the Sun used to be offset with moments of cold beauty and increasingly pop oriented vocal lines, that still managed to feel like a fresh breath visible in the chill air. This has been turned on its head on Shining, a move that in hindsight was well telegraphed over the last two albums the band put out.
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Octoploid – Beyond the Aeons Review
Somewhere deep in a Finish archipelago on a breezy and mild summer’s day a smorgasbord is taking place. At a wooden table surrounded by many Finns sits a metal loving bat. Looking more closely he has a huge grin on his face as 70s aesthetic sauce is dripping all over his chicken parm sandwich. Will you join him? Is this the sauce of the summer?
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Altar of Betelgeuze – Echoes Review
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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Death 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.
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Convocation – No Dawn for the Caliginous Night Review
My expectations were very high for this album, as they would be for any follow up in this band’s catalog. And yet again Convocation prove to be one of the best bands in the current Funeral Doom scene. So how exactly did this album leave Cosmo moonstruck?
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Crypts of the Unknown: Bergraven – Det Framlidna Minnet
