Something draws our Goat to Bongripper. Something in his hooves demands revisiting their work and only with deep rooted meditation (sometimes with the aid of the very same herb that Bongripper seem to enjoy indulging in) can he find the reason why: it’s not weed. Or is it? Either way, the forecast is hazy.
Read moreVeriteras – The Dark Horizon
Half of Veriteras’ sound is very like Dissection with vicious yet hummable tremolo melodies layered over double-bass abuse. The other half owes more to the stated influences of early In Flames and Kalmah. But does that mean you half to enjoy it? Well if you like melodeath…
Read moreLocrian – End Terrain Review
The post rock and post black metal landscape is one that I’ve often had trouble exploring because of its barren conformity and over-reliance on distant peaks. With my preference for active music, the reaching for crescendos across large distances carry very little appeal, yet Locrian speak to me in a subtly textured voice. Bring on the post-itivity!
Read moreReplicant – Infinite Mortality Review
Death metal nowadays covers so much ground as a tag. You have your classic veterans, modern media darlings, weirdos trying something totally different—all death metal! So where does Replicant fit into this? Well they’re more than just another skin job…
Read moreDiabolic Oath – Oracular Hexations Review
Offering the listener a few seconds of respite before annihilating them with megalithic riffs, opener “Rusted Madness Tethering Misbegotten Haruspices” does a fantastic job setting the tone for the rest of the album: biblical-level annihilation. Riffs on riffs on riffs are the order of the day here! Needless to say, Cosmo is very excited about this one.
Read moreManasseh – Tunneling to Paradiso Review
Manasseh, a new dark ambient/folk project spearheaded by Patrick Brown (Herxheim, ex-Howls of Ebb), seeks to be a meditative piece that portrays a soundscape of someone digging down to paradise on their debut record Tunneling to Paradiso. But will this tunnel lead to auditory bliss or despondency?
Read moreBRUTALISM – Solace in Absurdity Review
BRUTALISM seem like they are committed to making quality brutal death metal. The band knows how to groove and how to construct riffs and manages to walk the tightrope between skronky technicality and groove with ease. But will our resident goat find solace in this brutal death metal?
Read moreVenomous Echoes – Split Formations and Infinite Mania Review
Morbid Angel, Howls of Ebb, Esoctrilihum, Portal and Ulthar all are imitated during individual sections of Split Formations And Infinite Mania and Venomous Echoes usually do so in a tasteful manner, straddling the line between inspiration and pastiche overall rather successfully. I have heard all of this better elsewhere, but the combination and variety is pleasant, even at the risk of turning into needle drop death metal.
Read moreAcathexis – Immerse Review
For those going into Immerse and expecting a riff-driven black metal album, prepare to be disappointed. Acathexis has a unique sound that sets them apart from other black metal bands—a crushing, comforting cocoon of bleakness that completely and utterly envelops the listener. Explosively meditative for black metal bats?
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