OCCULTUMIn Nomine Rex Inferni Old Temple / Strange Aeons (2018)Rating: 8/10 There’s a peculiarity in hearing the vocals of Occultum’s Gavron, and however much I try to take this Polish black metal release seriously I just can’t help but think of numerous cartoon characters as those wild warbles filter through the black, despondent haze of […]
SKYGLOWThousand Years Of Terror Grotesque Sounds / Inverse (2018)Rating: 9.5/10 Well, well, well, what do we have here? Starting out as Eyes Of Skyglow, this two-piece act – Alexander Mokin (vocals) and Sergey Stepanenko (guitar and bass) – has evolved into Skyglow, an impressive progressive death metal act out of Moscow. The single ‘Sacred Self-Deceit’ […]
NIGHTBEARERStories From Beyond EP Unholy Fire (2018)Rating: 6.5/10 North Rhine-Westphalia is the German region that has given birth to Nightbearer and their debut EP. A quintet of songs are offered in a style that can best be described as Swedish-tinged German death metal, so be sure not to confuse these guys with the watery metalcore […]
SVARTKONSTDevil’s Blood Trust No One Recordings (2018)Rating: 8.5/10 What more could you want from an album cover? Skull, flickering candle, musty books and a black backdrop. Although hailing from Sweden, this is not the same Svartkonst band responsible for the 2015 Farsot EP. Instead, what we have here is a fantastic black / death offering […]
FATES WARNING Release ‘Live Over Europe’ Album June 29th, 2018 American progressive metal group Fates Warning issued live album Live Over Europe on June 29th, 2018 through InsideOut Music. Live Over Europe consists of live recordings captured during a January 2018 European headlining run in support of July 2016 affair Theories Of Flight, the recordings […]
CRYSTAL VIPERAt The Edge Of Time EP AFM (2018)Rating: 7/10 Can’t say I’m a fan of the cover art courtesy of Andreas Marschall, but I guess it does give one a good inkling as to what to expect with the latest release from Katowice, Poland-based act Crystal Viper. Like a throwback to the glorious yet […]
MUTILATETormentium Iron Bonehead Productions (2018)Rating: 9.5/10 I’ve heard a lot of band’s since the late 90s try so desperately to sound as if they were around in the 80s and early 90s. Such worship can often affect a band to the point that their obsession to nostalgia somehow makes their sound rather false. But every […]
LENG TCH’E Unveil Music Video For ‘Redundant’ Track June 29th, 2018 Belgian deathgrind group Leng Tch’e have filmed a music video for the track ‘Redundant’, which can be viewed below. The band commented: “‘Redundant’ has quickly become one of our absolute favourites to play live. So, when the time came to pick the next music […]
LILLA VENEDALilla Veneda Via Nocturna (2018)Rating: 9/10 From the underworld of Wrocław in Poland comes an intriguing bunch whose sophomore outing has something of the grandiose about it. Lilla Veneda – named after a Polish drama written in 1839 by Juliusz Słowacki – have, and rather to my surprise, snuck up on me with what […]
NONEXISTIn Praise Of Death EP Mighty Music (2018)Rating: 7/10 Providing melodic death / thrash is Nonexist, a Swedish band who so far has issued three full-length albums. The first – Deus Deceptor – emerged way back in 2002, although the band would split two years later and then reform in 2011. This new EP sees […]
