Reviews written by: Colin McNamara

Reviews

Litost - Pathos

<p>Litost hail from Spain, and “Pathos” is their 2nd full length album right along the lines of their debut, “Ethos.” Following a similar approach with a few more surprises, one should not take this black metal releases lightly or think it is going to be a raw ‘kvlt’ affair (like Judas Iscariot) or an overly dramatized black metal symphony (like th...

19/04/2023

Ars Notoria - Chronicles

<p>“Chronicles” is the debut full length from French solo Death Metal band Ars Notoria. Headed by Antoine Grasser since 2017 who has been part of other acts like Beyond the Void, which was formed more recently, listeners are going to get a bit more of technical side of what they’ve heard from Grasser in the past and compared to other projects he ha...

18/04/2023

Astarium / Fire Messiah - Split

<p>Here we have 2 black metal bands but very different sounds. The first is Astarium from Russia, headed since 2005 solely by Sin. Sin creates a more symphonic atmospheric black metal similar to a mix of very early Cradle of Filth mixed with early Satyricon. Expect a very wintery feel with the croaked vocals, buzz saw guitars, and landscape of lush...

16/02/2023

Epidemic Scorn - Destrumanity

<p>Face stomping death metal is what one gets when hearing the 6th album from Germany’s Epidemic Scorn, “Destrumanity.” A mix of mid paced to slow death metal similar to that of Kataklysm meets early Insomnium. There is a lot of melody involved among the heaviness such as on the track ‘The Day After Tomorrow.’ Then there are the more straightforwar...

15/02/2023

Wendigo - Темный Ритуал

<p>Wendigo is a rather interesting band as there is almost no information out there on them. A mix of what one could call thrash sludge, the music is all over the place with anywhere from a country western feel to it mid paced thrash with progressive elements. Almost all in Russian there is a bit of a language barrier but every track seems pretty d...

13/02/2023

Obscuris - A Sinister Coming Into This World

<p>“A Sinister Coming Into This World” is the debut full length release headed by blackened death metal group, Obscuris. Hailing from the Netherlands, this 2 man band led by MD on drums and MV on vocals, guitar, and bass unleash a freight train of non stop fury that is a mix of 1349 meets Cannibal Corpse with little room for melody or soft moments....

08/02/2023

Mother Of Graves - Where The Shadows Adorn

<p>“Where The Shadows Adorn” is the debut full length from Indianapolis U.S.A. based Mother Of Graves. A melodic death doom outfit, this five piece creates a sound that is well balanced and crafted in the vein of Rapture or the likes of Katatonia’s “Brave Murder Day.” The sound is dark and depressing but surprisingly clean and melodic at the same t...

18/01/2023

Atrocia - Contamination

<p>France’s Atrocia seem to have stepped up their game with their third album “Contamination.” Determined to not come off as a Vader clone, these guys seem to have added more death metal into their style vs the typical death thrash hybrid. With a new guitarist at the helm, one can really tell the difference between this album and the last. The musi...

04/01/2023

Aviscerus - Visceral Depths

<p>7 years later since their EP back in 2015, Australia’s Aviscerus finally unleash their debut full length for listeners to enjoy. Fans get a heavy dosage of melodic death metal mixed with groove metal in the vein of Darkane meets Truent for some rather mid paced simple, but engaging music. ‘Guidance’ kicks things off with a rather repetitive chug...

04/01/2023

Exordium Mors - As Legends Fade And Gods Die

<p>After 8 years of quiet, New Zealand’s Exordium Mors is back with their second full length album. 5 artists under monikers, these guys have quite an arsenal of music here with a mix of technical death metal, black metal, and even thrash. The album is full of depth and variation so each track is engaging with plenty of twists and turns with clear...

04/01/2023

Selfgod - Born Of Death

<p>Selfgod is a one-man death metal group from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania in the USA. Headed by Serge Streltsov of Dreadeth and Haxxan, two more black metal tinged bands, this project allows him more to explore of his Slavic heritage and mythology and less of the more trivial anti-Christian/ pagan black metal tropes that the other bands do. Like a lot...

04/01/2023

Toadeater - Bexadde

<p>Toadeater are a post black metal band from Germany and “Bexadde” is their third full length album. Only 4 tracks it seems like more an EP, but the band has been pushing their epic boundaries ever since their debut, and here the felt less was more with some of their longest tracks to date. The album may seem like it will be quick, but it is not....

04/01/2023