INTERNAL DECAY Demo 2022 These black and white covers, however cool the artwork is, all seem to melt into one another as band’s strive for that old school demo feel. This debut demo from Chicago, Illinois-based Internal Decay has a rather horrible, clanking drum sound at times – I’m assuming it is programming, but I […]

CRITICAL DEFIANCENo Life Forms Unspeakable Axe (2022)Rating: 8/10 No Life Forms is the second full-length release from Chilean thrash act Critical Defiance, and like many albums it’s a long-awaited post-pandemic outing – although it’s one I have a few issues with, mostly in the vocal department. South America is usually a continent that’s bang on […]

VORLUSTLick The Flesh Transylvanian Recordings (2022)Rating: 8.5/10 The album cover art to this debut full-length is sure to get your attention and I believe the sound of the band will too. Vorlust is a rather maniacal bunch from Oakland, California and I recall them from being involved with the wonderfully entitled Pisskrystals split EP with […]

INHUMAN CONDITIONFearsick Listenable Insanity (2022)Rating: 7.5/10 I’ll probably get flayed, hung, drawn, quartered and, more gruesomely, trolled for liking this more than Massacre. Buy hey, we all have opinions, and for me Inhuman Condition’s second full-length platter is full of gruesome goodies. Bolstered by the excellent artwork by Dan Goldsworthy, Fearsick remains a juggernaut of […]

MAULSeraphic Punishment Redefining Darkness / Gurgling Gore (2022)Rating: 8/10 Seraphic Punishment is the debut full-length album from Fargo, North Dakota-based Maul, and one of those long awaited death metal records from a band that has until this point spent its entire career throwing out split projects, demos and singles. In my opinion though it’s good […]

JACK STARR’S BURNING STARRSouls Of The Innocent Global Rock (2022)Rating: 9/10 I hold the one and only Jack Starr responsible for some of the dodgiest heavy metal album covers in the 80s; Rock The American Way (1985) anyone? However, the guitarist also has a place in my fiery metal heart, dazzling me in bands such […]

NUCLEAR TOMBOffer Your Life EP Self-released (2022)Rating: 7/10 This Baltimore, Maryland-based quartet – which formed over ten years ago – dabbles in a rather abrasive and at times progressive thrash style which is laced with a death metal coating. For me, the combo sits somewhere between Voivod and Pestilence which I also noticed in the […]

ASSAULTA Blind Eye Self-released (2022)Rating: 7.5/10 I do wish modern thrash acts would come up with more original monikers, but as it stands this is still a snappy and exuberant debut full-length from this young bunch from Cleveland, Ohio. This eight-track platter comes speeding out of the blocks like it’s hungry and keen to show […]

MOLDEREngrossed In Decay Prosthetic (2022)Rating: 7.5/10 Engrossed In Decay is the second full-length album from Illinois tribe Molder, and as expected it continues to mash together the filthy drudgery of Carcass with an Obituary-styled vocal sneer. Molder has always been less swampy than a lot of bands doing the rounds, but they remain a rather […]

HYDRAUnknown Gods Self-released (2022)Rating: 6.5/10 Well, would you believe it, this is the same band who released three demos between 1988 and 1991 before seemingly disappearing up their own arses. However, some confusion probably arises when looking up the Ancona, Italy-based band’s history, because in 1993 two founding Hydra members were playing with the similar […]