Reviews

This Present Darkness

(Un)Worthy

Shining

Swallow the Sun

This album shows that even as veterans, the band didn’t play it safe or rely on familiar formulas. Instead, they boldly mixed the raw bite of Metal and guttural vocals with moments of delicate piano and vulnerable, clean singing. It’s a striking contrast that shouldn’t work—but it does. The heaviness feels even more intense because of the tender, atmospheric sections, and the band demonstrates masterful control in balancing these elements. Each track flows with purpose, proving they’re still willing to take risks and evolve without losing their signature intensity.

Surgical Vicissitude

Castrated

When every role in Spinal Tap is cranked up to eleven, the result can quickly and easily become heavy metal mashed potatoes.

Elective Amputation

Spawned From Hate

It seems every song plays out as if someone took a small group of musician’s that had never met each other before, brought them all into a studio and said, “Hey. Do a death metal.” And this album is what they did.

Resurgence

Adelon

Progressive Technical Death Metal band, ADELON, started as a joke about ten years ago in […]

Requiem

Laudare

This is art, in one of its purist forms, and the band has genuinely put their collective talent into their craft, of that much I am sure. My biggest concern with a band this uncommon is finding a market for them. Some Metalheads have very open minds, and like me, search and embrace the uncommon. Others, not so much. But I am encouraging those of you who connect with unique offerings to give this album a chance, because it has a lot to offer.

Retaliation

Ulvehunger

What started off as a promising album in terms of some unusual elements eventually descended into another Black Metal album that didn’t provide any distance between itself and thousands of other albums in the genre. That was disappointing to me.

A Dream Within a Dream

Maysnow

The album did have a dreamy quality to it as the band described, and you can tell that the musicians poured every bit of heart into their craft. The one main criticism I have is the overall direction of the album, it just wasn’t clear to me. Then again, Progressive music can leave the listener hanging out to dry, because it beguiles you to use all of your senses, and questions can linger.

Mond

Soror Dolorosa

This album drips with ‘80s nostalgia, weaving lush synths and pulsing drum machines into every track. The melodies have a neon glow, but beneath the shimmering surface lies a deep sense of melancholy. With layers of electronic textures and atmospheric pads, each song taps into a longing for something lost—love, time, or connection. The album feels like the soundtrack to a dream you can't quite escape, blending the energy of retro electronica with the quiet sadness of heartache and reflection.

The Feast of Human Vices

Carrion Throne

From the Chicago wasteland comes a vile brutal slam death that is fetid with putrid thick riffs, disgusting vocals that are coated in a heavy tone with relentless drums

Echoes Of Annihilation

Ancient Entities

Spawing from the upper midwest hotbed that is the Milwaukee underground metal scene come a new group with a heavy putrid sound of pure death.

Nigredo

Eye Of The Golem

First, they beat you over the head with relentlessly long riffs and thunderous drums. Next, they pummel your senses into a chaotic whirlwind of distortion and noise. Then, just when you think you’ve survived, they drag you through a pit of endless desperation that leaves your brain feeling like mush. Finally, they leave you in a desolate wasteland of sound, where melody and meaning have long since withered away, and all that remains is a hollow, echoing void.

Diana's Day

Fourth Dominion

"Diana’s Day" by ”FOURTH DOMINION” is a captivating Gothic Metal album enriched with post-punk and darkwave influences. From the energetic opener "Bloodstains", to the mythologically infused "Lilim", the album expertly balances brooding atmospheres with sharp, punk-driven energy. Standout tracks like "Goetia" weave esoteric themes into haunting melodies, while ”Tormenta Purgatoria" sounds with acoustic elegance, blending gothic melancholy with melodic intensity. Impeccably produced and richly composed, this album is a must-listen for fans of gothic metal, offering a deeply immersive and haunting musical journey.

Disharmonic Variations

Xasthur

”XASTHUR”’s "Disharmonic Variations" is a hauntingly hypnotic journey through depressive Black Metal. The album, fully instrumental, weaves dissonant yet captivating melodies, immersing the listener in a world of atmospheric tension. Tracks like "The Beginning of a New End" and "Mirrors Made of Misery" blend acoustic elements with the ethereal and chaotic, offering moments of meditative reflection amidst the dissonance. Though the production occasionally lacks clarity in its more intricate sections, the album excels in creating a dark, introspective soundscape, cementing it’s place as a master of depressive Black Metal.

III

Uprising

With a new emerging fanbase that keeps on growing, and an expanding style, Black Metal has seen its subgenres multiply in recent years to fill many gaps that were left behind by the historical greats. UPRISING’S “III” perfectly gathers up the discarded pieces and merges them with the modern genre.

Hell Walker

Tyraels Ascension

Hell Walker by name, Hell Walker by nature, this album pulls you through the thorny fire pits from deep within the demon's cave and never lets you go.

Spleen & Goad

Iron Monkey

If you are not familiar with IRON MONKEY and you either have a sensitive disposition, or if you are depressed or even worse, I would advise you to stay away from “Spleen & Goad”. This is everything but happy music, this is as oppressing as I feel is humanly possible.

Jeopardy Room

Nasty Savage

All the ingredients that make "Jeopardy Room" into the NASTY SAVAGE area of expertise are there. Nothing is run of the mill bog standard Thrash, no, it has all kind of twists and turns.

Nature’s Cadence

The Flight of Sleipnir

The metal underground has more dark corners than you ever imagined and in one of them lurks THE FLIGHT OF SLEIPNER. Their latest album, “Nature’s Cadence,” speaks to your brain and your heart, but ultimately to your wandering metal spirit.

Spiritual Archives

Aivvass

I want to believe that AIVVASS, the mysterious German occult band, emerged from the center of a pentagram chalked onto a cold stone floor during a Thelematic ritual, but instead of swallowing the souls of their summoners, they instead headed to a recording studio and began laying down Atmospheric/Neo-Folk/Doom occult metal for the listening pleasure of metalheads across the world.

Full Circle

Sweet

I have to issue a warning first: I will be extremely prejudiced when typing this review, as THE SWEET were one of the first musical crushes I had in the first half of the seventies, together with MUD, THE RUBETTES and SLADE. That is right, we are talking over 50 years ago!

Magna Pestilencia

Abysmal Winds

All in all, ABYSMAL WINDS have crafted a death metal album with an incredible atmosphere and a DIY production job that works in their favor. While not a bad album by any means, there just isn’t enough here to really blow me away. There has been A LOT of great death metal albums this year. As this year marches ever forward to its own death, the competition is fierce and “Magna Pesilencia” , while solid, is missing that special factor to make it stand out in the crowd.

Razors Edge (The 1988 & 89 Demos)

TAZ

I was quite disappointed in the sound of this TAZ album. Until I read the bio, and it actually is a rerelease of the 1988 and 1989 demos the band made. All of a sudden the quality of the record made a lot of sense.

Unbreathable

Ad Patres

All in all, even with a few years between releases and a couple of new members, AD PATRES hasn’t skipped a beat and their core sound remains intact. “Unbreathable,” solidifies the band’s legacy and moves them forward at the same time.

Inside The Sickened Mind

Thrasherwolf

I am very much in awe of what I hear, and even though the band isn't breaking any new ground, they are making me enjoy the path they are following right now. And if I have anything to say about it, I would advise any record company to get off their lazy arses and sign THRASHERWOLF a.s.a.p..

Heem

Zwart

The Black Metal these guys play is very, very old school. This is pure Black Metal without any frills, fills or spills. As straight as an arrow and as deadly as sin. And darker than the absence of light.

Split EP

Faal / Verbum Verus

It's never easy to review a spilt EP, as there are at least two bands with different styles that are interacting with each other. In the case of FAAL and VERBUS VERUS, we have two Dutch bands that have been put together, and the message on the back of the sleeve is that this all has been done 'In Memory of Pascal Vervest'. He was one of the guitarists in FAAL and is on the songs that you hear on this split EP.

Meltdown

Axehead

Although AXEHEAD is not one of those bands that will get your heart racing or your blood pressure rise to dangerous levels, they will provide you with enough ammunition to be able to vent whatever emotion that needs to come out. And that is what music is all about, isn't it?

I Am Chaos

Chaos Unleashed

I will have to get to the CHAOS UNLEASHED songs next. They are furious, very much in your face and extremely effective. They don't enter your ears in a subtle way at all, no, they are shot in their with maximum force. You had better be prepared for a full on assault on your senses, as that is what you are getting.

Worms

Rötual

Rötual is a Death Doom band from Ottawa, Ontario, and their debut EP, "Wörms," is a […]

Let the Fury Rise

Bloodorn

Extreme metal or power metal? Why choose when Bloodorn from France gives you both? Led by Nils […]

Sing to Me, Sweet Void

Ascian

The Doom sound was more pronounced that the Post sound for me, but that didn’t take away from me enjoying the album. Some of the cleans were a bit pitchy, but you can’t deny the power of the gutturals, tearing hope to pieces in front of your eyes.

Darrkh…It Is!

Aiwaz

Much of their sound is steeped in the Doom genre, but there are also elements of hope mixed in with the despair. What I find tickled me most about the album was how heavy the emotional impact of the vocals was on their sound.

Nordic Gothic

Cemetery Skyline

The album opened up a sense of wonder with music that I haven’t felt for some time. The songwriting duo of Markus Vanhala and Santeri Kallio was as strong as Mikael’s vocals. The songs were beautifully executed, and many of them were very moving. It just left me with a sense of warmth and satisfaction.

Zetra

This album is a captivating fusion of retro 80’s nostalgia and contemporary intensity, where every track feels like a neon-lit ride through a dark cityscape. The music features a retroactive aesthetic and anthemic choruses that echo the best of a bygone era. Beneath this nostalgic veneer lies a heavy and modern edge—a fierce undercurrent of powerful riffs and aggressive production that makes each song feel fresh electrifying. It successfully captures the spirit of rebellion and adventure that defined the 80s, while pushing the boundaries of modern rock, and is filled with heart, hooks, and undeniable drive.

Heartwind III

Heartwind

Heartwind is a Swedish hard rock band that was formed in Stockholm in 2017. The […]

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Reviews

This Present Darkness

(Un)Worthy

Shining

Swallow the Sun

Surgical Vicissitude

Castrated

Elective Amputation

Spawned From Hate

Resurgence

Adelon

Requiem

Laudare

Retaliation

Ulvehunger

A Dream Within a Dream

Maysnow

Mond

Soror Dolorosa

The Feast of Human Vices

Carrion Throne

Echoes Of Annihilation

Ancient Entities

Nigredo

Eye Of The Golem

Diana's Day

Fourth Dominion

Disharmonic Variations

Xasthur

III

Uprising

Hell Walker

Tyraels Ascension

Spleen & Goad

Iron Monkey

Jeopardy Room

Nasty Savage

Nature’s Cadence

The Flight of Sleipnir

Spiritual Archives

Aivvass

Full Circle

Sweet

Magna Pestilencia

Abysmal Winds

Razors Edge (The 1988 & 89 Demos)

TAZ

Unbreathable

Ad Patres

Inside The Sickened Mind

Thrasherwolf

Heem

Zwart

Split EP

Faal / Verbum Verus

Meltdown

Axehead

I Am Chaos

Chaos Unleashed

Worms

Rötual

Let the Fury Rise

Bloodorn

Sing to Me, Sweet Void

Ascian

Darrkh…It Is!

Aiwaz

Nordic Gothic

Cemetery Skyline

Zetra

Zetra

Heartwind III

Heartwind

Latest Reviews

Destructive Elite Terror