Reviews

Morax - The Amulet

Morax

I have racked my brain about which bands you can compare him to, and there are enough, but I will have to mention that comes to mind all through the album, which is DIAMOND HEAD. You will regularly feel that that is who you are listening to, and as far as I’m concerned that is a huge endorsement. But please don’t compare the two, as MORAX has a very different feel, a lot darker.

Faster Than Death

Hirax

Here we go again, another album by HIRAX. Well, I do say that “Faster Than Death” is a full length, but that is because it houses nine songs. The fact that the total playing time is 21:54 minutes makes me wonder whether I am getting this right. As the band hasn’t sent any information with the music and cover, I look it up in The Metal Archives, where I see it classed as a full album. Okay then.

Erasure of Color

Aversed

The band is clearly talented, and their compositions are tight. They can hit you with a one-two punch of hardened belligerence, especially in the vocals, or they can take a step back and let the melody flow when they need to. Some of the transitions in and out of these competing passages can be bold, even stark however, and I wish some of them were just a bit smoother.

Valediction

Ofnus

OFNUS’ “Valediction,” is a fantastic album that balances all the against the grain elements of black metal with ideas that will appeal to people who normally avoid the genre.

Serpent Deverounment

Maceration

MACERATION’s “Serpent Devourment,” is just as good, if not better, than their previous two albums and it’s going to establish them as a very constituent force in the scene.

Lemmon Lintu

Mastord

This was a solid listen for me, but too many of the songs fell into the same somber category, and I would have liked to have heard the band take a few more chances, maybe some change of pace songs even. I enjoy somber music, but this was just a bit too much.

Avenger

Wildness

Wildness from Stockholm Sweden were formed in 2014 by drummer and song writer Erik Modin […]

When Yesterday Comes

Alien

Alien were formed in Gothenburg Sweden and have been part of the hard rock scene […]

Eschaton Magicks

Nachash

"Eschaton Magicks" is as stately and dark as its cover—Death riding atop a skeleton horse flanked by skeleton, winged warriors, a suit of broken and empty armor at the horse’s hooves. Victory and death all on one image. A must have for extreme metalheads.

Arimortis

Necrodeath

"Arimortis" is the NECRODEATH’s 14th and last album—a perfect final power chord to mark the end of a stunning career.

Live in France

Wings of Steel

Releasing a “Live” album with only one full length album under your musical resume is usually not the normal progression in a bands catalogue, but that’s just what WINGS OF STEEL have done with their latest self-release “Live in France” capturing the raw and electric energy from their inaugural 2024 European tour.

Eclipse

Frogg

The band is immensely talented, and their musicianship registers off the charts. Some constructive criticism? Some of the songs sound too sterile and technical for me. The little snippets of melody are very well done, and if they would let some of them linger a little longer, they would have more of an impact. Still, this is an album that every Metalhead should hear, for the technical brilliance alone.

Life Death And Miracles

Plastic Drop

Good Hard Rock from Italy.

Within The Viscera

Neckbreakker

NECKBREAKKER deliver an album which is driven by solid Death Metal riffing, crushing basslines, and relentless drumming. The overall sound is aggressive and spine-chilling with some groovy twists

Underneath

Ylisia

The debut album of YLISIA is a mix of symphonic and melodic Metal with darkness and melancholy in the melodies. Highlight of "Underneath" are the excellent vocals.

Something to Pierce

Sadist

At its core, this is Technical/Progressive Death Metal, and the best part of the album is the surprises. When you are eating bowl after bowl of fiber cereal and suddenly bright colored fruit and chocolate appear, it’s a welcome addition to breakfast. They also come at unsuspecting times, and sometimes the connections are odd and even jarring. Although some of the songs were a bit sterile, this is uncommon music.

The Rituals of Resilience

Voidfallen

And impressive Finnish Melodic Death Metal album is what is offered here! Take it!

Chrysalis

Throne Of Roaches

Crossing Old School Death Metal with Melodic Death Metal under a modern tack, this quartet seems to be opening new ways.

When Society Crumbles

Pyrrhic Salvation

A fine Technical Death Metal EP is what this North American act offers. Taste it!

Todschick

Nachtblut

Wow, what a lovely mix between Dark Metal with Gothic Rock influences!

Abur

Pothamus

Some albums merely sound dark; “Abur” embodies darkness. It is a sonic ceremony of suffering, an invocation of pure malevolence channeled through sound. It feels less like listening to music and more like being dragged into an ancient rite, one where the air is thick with smoke, the ground is soaked in blood, and unseen horrors lurk just beyond the firelight. This is evil personified in music—a relentless plunge into madness, ritualistic torture, and sacrifice, with no hope of escape. By the time the last notes fade into the void, it leaves the listener only the echoes of torment, the feeling of having witnessed something they were never meant to hear.

Live at Budokan

Helloween

The German Lords of Power/Heavy Metal shows on this live album that they're one of th best live acts of Metal today!

Black Star

Armory

A fine 2-tracks EP from this Swedish Speed/Heavy Metal quintet.

Récits d'Automne et de Chasse

Cercle du Chêne

Although it was a good album, too many of the songs sounded similar to one another. If the band could find a way to break some of them up, it would go a long way to the improvement of the album. But it was an enjoyable listening experience for me.

Soaring

“Soaring” is an album that ascends, stretching its reach beyond earthly constraints, but it does so with an overwhelming sense of sorrow and fury, like the way fire rises into the sky, or the way storms carve their path across the sky. It is the relentless pursuit of something greater, something just beyond the reach of human hands.

Krásno

Besna

This is an album of is an album of extremes—where seething hatred meets tragic melody, where chaos gives way to mournful introspection, and where a deep-rooted despair is counterbalanced by a raw, unyielding resilience. But there is no passive resignation here—only fury, only defiance. The drumming pounds like war, the riffs cut like blades, and the vocals spit venom at the very foundations of oppression. There is a sense that even if the world is doomed, even if every system is built on a foundation of injustice, there is still something worth fighting for.

Noctambulist II: De Droom

Noctambulist

Few albums manage to walk the razor-thin line between ferocity and elegance as masterfully as this. With a soundscape that embraces the raw, unrelenting aggression of Black Metal while intertwining it with haunting, melancholic melodies, this album carves out its own space in the genre’s ever-expanding sonic wilderness. This is an album for those who crave Black Metal’s icy rage but also seek something more—something layered, something emotional, something that lingers long after the final note has faded into silence. In its perfect equilibrium of savagery and sorrow.

Dry Soil

Adrift

What makes “Dry Soil” particularly striking is its ability to be both suffocating and hypnotic. After all these years, the band hasn’t just continued their trajectory—they’ve sharpened their vision, refining their sonic nihilism into something even more potent. “Dry Soil” doesn’t just reflect the exhaustion of a world pushed to its limits; it embodies it. A crushing, thought-provoking testament to the never-ending conflict between survival and self-destruction.

Punishment

Crown Magnetar

This was one of the most punishing Deathcore EPs that I have ever heard. The band took what was done before them, multiplied it by four, and shoved it down your throat like bitter medicine, and it burned all the way down to your stomach.

Vampire Witch Reptilian Super Soldier (from Outer Space…

Gentle Beast

Yeah, this was a cliché album when it comes to the subject matter, and they make no bones about it. But let me clear that it was also a real banger, and something I enjoyed it quite a lot. They have a simple honesty with themselves and that’s how they approach their music. No bones, no fucks given, just good music.

Grey Mountain

There aren’t too many unique Metal bands out there these days, but count GREY MOUNTAIN as one. At is core, I would describe it a combination of Death and Doom Metal, but with a hearty side helping of surprises. Sometimes the surprises are tasty morsels of melody for example. I applaud them for thinking outside of the box and pulling it off.

Sonsuza Dek Bir Gece

Fragmentary Solid Abyss

All in all, this is a decent little album but it would better resonate with me if there was more focus on full length songs than the shorter instrumentals.

The Abysmal Womb

Moondark

Ultimately, MOONDARK’s “The Abysmal Womb,” is a solid album but doesn’t stand out enough to keep my attention for more than a few songs at a time.

A Sonication

Obscura

The challenge with Tech Death bands is making music that isn’t overly sterile, and finding ways to supplant melody in places where the listener might least expect them. OBSCURA have done that with “A Sonication.” The heavier elements keep the album weighted and powerful, and they rule, but the band tempers them with majestic moments of melody.

Beyond The Wall

Fifteen Stitches

Good, but can be better.

The Prime Dread

Dreadmask

“The Prime Dread” is based on a well-tried melodic Death Metal approach embedded into a dark melodic framework, epic chorus parts with grim and melancholic melodies

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Reviews

Morax - The Amulet

Morax

Faster Than Death

Hirax

Erasure of Color

Aversed

Valediction

Ofnus

Serpent Deverounment

Maceration

Lemmon Lintu

Mastord

Avenger

Wildness

When Yesterday Comes

Alien

Eschaton Magicks

Nachash

Arimortis

Necrodeath

Live in France

Wings of Steel

Eclipse

Frogg

Life Death And Miracles

Plastic Drop

Within The Viscera

Neckbreakker

Underneath

Ylisia

Something to Pierce

Sadist

The Rituals of Resilience

Voidfallen

Chrysalis

Throne Of Roaches

When Society Crumbles

Pyrrhic Salvation

Todschick

Nachtblut

Abur

Pothamus

Live at Budokan

Helloween

Black Star

Armory

Récits d'Automne et de Chasse

Cercle du Chêne

Soaring

Soaring

Krásno

Besna

Noctambulist II: De Droom

Noctambulist

Dry Soil

Adrift

Punishment

Crown Magnetar

Vampire Witch Reptilian Super Soldier (from Outer Space…

Gentle Beast

Grey Mountain

Grey Mountain

Sonsuza Dek Bir Gece

Fragmentary Solid Abyss

The Abysmal Womb

Moondark

A Sonication

Obscura

Beyond The Wall

Fifteen Stitches

The Prime Dread

Dreadmask

Latest Reviews

Imagined Deformation