From Chile with Love March 1, 2015

Testimonia
by Animus Mortus

It’s rare that I find a group that would be equally as at home touring with Hopesfall as Taake. Sure, there are plenty of post-black outfits that inject some indie and hardcore ethos into their blastbeat-driven sound, but the pure spacey post-rock riffs of tracks like “Hyperbole of Senses” forego t...

Ferocious March 1, 2015

Consolamentum
by Ascension

According to the bandcamp page: "'Consolamentum' is a concept album, divided into 5 chapters, dealing with the spiritual journey and transformation of a human soul towards salvation." Out of context, this could be a description for some acoustic, hippy type stuff. I guess it could be...provided that...

Monotheist Meets Consolamentum March 1, 2015

Nothing But The Whole
by Emptiness

From the twisted mind of Enthroned, and equal parts Ascension and Tryptykon, Emptiness is a sick wonder to behold. Rarely is metal so simultaneously mellow and scathingly fierce at the same time. Riffs are slow dirges of echoey tremolo and minor chords sprinkled with perfectly sparing use of crunchy...

Sandstorms and Oases Feb. 27, 2015

Enki
by Melechesh

I am a self-admitted, total noob to Melechesh. Somehow it is 2015 and I had never heard a single album. Disgrace, I know. But don't go anywhere just yet. I find it useful to have both objective and subjective reviews of an album, and given that I have not yet been tainted by previous releases, my ou...

Move Over Moonsorrow Feb. 23, 2015

Mach Dich Frei
by Finsterforst

I listen to a lot of music, a good 5-8 hours a day. If I could, I would buy any decent album that passes my ears. But alas, I don't make that kind of money, and I have mouths to feed. As a result, I do a lot of weeding out through redundancy. With that in mind, I was less than enthusiastic going int...

Blackish, Punkish, Deathish Feb. 1, 2015

Flesh Assimilation
by Zom

Zom is a blackened death metal band from Colorado. Another tasty surprise from Dark Descent Records, it was the first one to catch my ear in 2015. If you liked what you heard from the last Malthusian EP and are dying like me for a full length release, this may help scratch that itch in the meantime....

We Are GODS! Feb. 1, 2015

Phenomena
by Within the Ruins

Do you like guitar shredding? How about time signature changes? Comic books? If you answered yes to all three of these, then this is the album for you. There are a number of likely reasons this album flew under the radar in 2014: the dismissive deathcore/djent/metalcore labels, the lack of marketing...

Mmm.. Reese's Jan. 31, 2015

From Parts Unknown
by Every Time I Die

Like the figurative peanut butter in my chocolate, someone has put Converge in my Every Time I Die. This should come as no surprise, given that From Parts Unknown is produced by none other than Kurt Ballou. A big fan of both groups for many years, I'll admit that I was excited at the prospect of thi...

Still Above the Rest Jan. 23, 2015

In Dreams
by After the Burial

I hate the term djent. It is a gross overgeneralization that creates a bias against plenty of strong musicians who just happen to favor the low end and focus on groove at times. While there are plenty of lazy, no-talent clowns falling into this category, I argue that After the Burial is one of the d...

You Win This Round, U.K. Jan. 18, 2015

Demons
by Bloodshot Dawn

Much like the opening moments of this album, I’m going to dive right in. As far as the production goes, this is very similar to what I heard on Aspherium’s Fall of Therenia. The mix is very heavy on the treble end with a highly compressed crunch to the guitar. I’d say it falls somewhere between Chil...

Ometh Orgasm Jan. 12, 2015

Rareform
by After the Burial

This review is in reference to the reissued, black and green version of the album. For those who do not know the difference, this version is the first to feature then-new and still-current vocalist, Anthony Notarmaso. His inclusion was a pretty big step forward for the band, as the previous vocalist...

Third Favorite Jan. 9, 2015

Hordalands doedskvad
by Taake

The consensus almost everywhere seems to be that this is not only the best Taake record, according to Best Black Metal Albums, it’s in the top 5 of all time (number 2 at the time of this writing). While I doubt many people here would agree with the latter, the reviews on this site still herald this ...

Bon Appétit Dec. 22, 2014

Spectres
by Bast

Alright, viewers. Today we are going to cook something a little different. You remember the Pate de canard en croute? Well this is going to be even more complicated than that. Get your ingredients ready, because dishing out a proper Bast Spectres takes a lot of them. Serves: Hundreds of hungry m...

Infectious Dec. 15, 2014

Lost Forever // Lost Together
by Architects

Emocore. Emo-metalcore. Post hardcore. Whatever you want to call it, it's not well liked in the metal community. Diehards regard it similarly to the layer of congealing fat that is to be scooped off and discarded from an otherwise tasty dish. Some hate the "whiny" or "nasally" vocals, others the oft...

It Will Make You Feel Dirty Dec. 5, 2014

Death Mask
by Lord Mantis

Grimy as hell. Thats the best phrase to describe this album. It just feels dirty and sick and dying. And its pretty awesome for it. If you take some of the slower, more droning Gorgoroth tracks from the 2000s and put them in a blender with Mastodon and Triptykon, youll come close to the sound here. ...

Line-up Change? Pshaw! Dec. 2, 2014

Dawn of the 5th Era
by Mors Principium Est

Part of me wanted to not like this album. I listen to so much music that my backlog of CD’s to buy is costing hundreds of dollars. The prospect of at least one band I like falling on their face and blowing it sadly gives me some relief. Darkest Hour saved me money on future releases…maybe someone...

Drown in Ashes Nov. 21, 2014

Monotheist
by Celtic Frost

Dreary, gloomy, doom. That about sums it up. This album is not a cry for help; it is genuinely going to kill itself. Slow, trudging distorted guitar chords, lots of grimy chug, flawless double bass. The production is done so well it’s like sitting in a dark cave listening to the band live. There are...

The Pinnacle So Far Nov. 10, 2014

Liberation = Termination
by Mors Principium Est

A lot of people will point to The Unborn as this band’s finest hour, but I disagree. While that album is excellent and a huge step up from the somewhat lukewarm, imitative Inhumanity; Liberation is the mastery of all previous elements. The biggest complaint many seem to have is the increased use ...

Suspenseful Oct. 21, 2014

The Satanist
by Behemoth

This is one of the most difficult albums for me to review. Everything about it is stellar to me, but I can’t quite put my finger exactly on the elements that make it so great. I encourage you to spend more time listening to the album rather than trying to glean the quality from my bungling words her...

Hope to See You in Hell Oct. 19, 2014

Tibi et Igni
by Vader

Holy hell. This is one of the best albums of the year, and in my top three Vader releases along with Litany and De Profundis. What makes it even better is that each of those albums has its own flavor: Litany for increased death elements, DP for thrash, and now Tibi Et Igni for its epic scope. 201...
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