USA Archives - Page 14 of 17

Exmortus – Necrophony Review

September 9, 2023September 13, 2023 Reviewed by Cosmo

Crammed full of guitar solos and Neoclassical wank, Slave to the Sword was one of the best and most-listened to albums for a High School-aged Cosmo. Now, nine years and two albums since that release, Exmortus returns fresh to Nuclear Blast with Necrophony after a couple releases on Prosthetic Records. Is this one to add to the list of Exmortus successes or does this signing to a major label signal a watered-down sound for a wider audience? Slave to the wank.

Review

Nuclear Power Trio – Wet Ass Plutonium Review

September 6, 2023September 5, 2023 Reviewed by Scuttlegoat No comments

A big part of the DNA of your average Shred band nowadays is inspired by the “Big Dick Lick” Shredders of the 80s. The Satrianis, Gambales and Vais of the world are the usual prototypes of this sound, but even more recently, guitar nerds (myself included) have been smitten by the wave of late 70s/early 80s Japanese Fusion Guitarists, including the race car aesthetics of Cassiopeia and the more laid back attitude of faux-Brasilian Surfer Boy Masayoshi Takanaka – a favorite in the house of Goat. High Octane Sega Genesis Metal.

Review

Mizmor – Prosaic Review

August 31, 2023September 1, 2023 Reviewed by Metalligator

A.L.N has until now built a fascinating tool-set of sounds with his Blackened Doom Drone project Mizmor. Albums like Cairn and Yodh stand out as unique for their ability to mix genres that one could think should be at odds with each other. Though the loss of faith has fueled these journeys, should we still place our faith in Mizmor?

Review

Horrendous – Ontological Mysterium Review

August 26, 2023September 1, 2023 Reviewed by Metalligator

Rather than being a clear evolution, Ontological Mysterium comes off as a gross mutation. The album cover preemptively states this as the three skinless faces of Horrendous’ logo have merged into something altogether darker. Red is the new black.

Review

Ixias – Compulsive Trance Review

July 1, 2023January 14, 2024 Reviewed by Trans-dimensional Being of Extreme Punctuation No comments

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?

Review

Oromet – Oromet Review

June 28, 2023October 23, 2023 Reviewed by Metalligator No comments

Running along to canon-ball the already big pile of Doom albums is Oromet, with their grand debut that seemingly came out of nowhere. Starting things off with a 22 minute song that sounds like an expanded version of Pallbearer’s style on their debut album Sorrow and Extinction, this band show that they are equally adapt at making such long songs. Slow motion cannon-balled.

Review

Sarmat – Determined to Strike Review

June 16, 2023December 26, 2023 Reviewed by Scuttlegoat No comments

After Sarmat’s debut EP surprisingly contained a Pokémon theme cover (and low-key blew my mind in the process), I had high hopes that the full-length would repeat this in a similarly sneaky way. Would other video game themes be covered, possibly similarly obscure ones? Gotta strike ’em all?

Review

Nithing – Agonal Hymns Review

June 13, 2023December 23, 2023 Reviewed by Scuttlegoat No comments

Nithing are a side and solo project by Vitriol’s drummer, Matt Kilner. Nithing could fall into a similar category as that band. That’s it. There’s Nithing more to say.