Man Oh Man, Altered Dead. This duo, from Victoria BC, just dropped a serious banger. I was in the dark about them until this release. But, damn, "Returned To Life" (which is their 2nd full length) is a face melter. Before I get into this LP, I'll go on record saying that - if you consider yourself a fan of death metal and don't love this album, you...

28/04/2021

I'd seen the name, VoidCeremony, but had never heard them. Twan asked for a list of LPs I'd like to review and, luckily, he sent their debut LP "Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel". What a fucking banger! It made it's way into my top 5 of 2020. Formed in 2013, in Ramona, CA, this quartet has a few EPs to their name. Now they hav...

15/02/2021

Well, FUCK! I was stoked on Faceless Burial's first LP, "Grotesque Miscreation". Then word gets out they had a 2nd LP coming up. A track gets released and everyone in my circle, including myself, were fucking blown. This Aussie trio may have just dropped 2020's AOTY. So, let's get on it. 6 songs in total. Just clocking in 38 minutes, "Speciation...

03/11/2020

I remember seeing the name Cryptic Shift mentioned by some fellow heads as well as their Bandcamp page attached. I quickly checked them out and was very stoked to hear more. Twan sent me the album, "Visitations From Enceladus", to review and I've jammed this so many times. It's fucking killer! Cryptic Shift hails from Leeds, England and formed i...

20/08/2020

I started seeing the name Black Curse earlier this year. It was often followed by "AOTY". I had to hear it. I mean, shit, look at the list of bands the 4 members of Black Curse also play in. Talk about pedigree. Ok, so now onto their debut LP, "Endless Wound". Blasting off with the opener, 'Charnel Rift', is pure fucking filthy fury. That nasty...

26/07/2020

I was extremely unfamiliar of Bones when Twan sent tis EP to review. Nut I previewed maybe 30 seconds and knew I'd dig it. Oh, I do! Hailing from Antwerp, Belgium, Bones has been active since 2010, and unfortunately this is the first offering I've heard. But that means I can go back and check all their tunes. Stoked! Their most recent offering,...

22/05/2020

I'm way new to Ruin Lust. I did some research and saw these dudes, from New York, have been around since 2011. Not being familiar, I checked out their previous offerings. They were all shredders. Their upcoming LP, "Choir Of Babel", is a step above IMO. I feel the writing has improved, their sound has matured and this "cavernous" production fits th...

31/03/2020

Oakland's Vastum is BACK! YEOWWWW!!!! Their 4th LP, "Orificial Purge", is every bit as flawless as you'd expect. I mean, if you look at the never ending list of bands that these dudes play/have played in, you can only assume greatness. And that's what Vastum just delivered. Again. "Orificial Purge" begins big, stays big and ends big. Never letti...

06/12/2019

From Oakland, CA, Larvae has released a new skull crushing EP. "Necroptuary" is 3 songs clocking in at just over 21 minutes of top notch death/doom. For those familiar with their full length, "Grave Descent", you know what you're in for. This EP is a progression from their previous work. Better song writing as well as more epic. The recording it...

04/11/2019

Formed in 1988 (with a couple long breaks) Spain's Obscure is about to drop their first LP, entitled "Darkness Must Prevail". I went back and checked out their demos. They were definitely more trashy in the beginning but let's get to the new shit! This LP starts off with 'Curse Of My Race'. And damn, it starts BIG! Huge, heavy, pounding OSDM. Yo...

25/10/2019

Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Carcinoid is about to drop their first full length album - "Metastatic Declination" - on Memento Mori (CD) and Blood Harvest (vinyl). When the song 'Sorrow' began, I was stoked. Coming straight out of the intro track, it was crusty, unpolished, nasty....... But I've got to give an honest review. All, obviously,...

10/10/2019

I'm not gonna lie to ya, but I don't know much about Coffins. I know I know. I'd seen the name but honestly had never listened to them. With the announcement of the upcoming LP, I started seeing a lot of shares and mentions. One stating "Coffins is releasing the heaviest album of the year". Not sure if that previous quote is word for word, but ya g...

03/10/2019