UNEARTHLY RITESEcdysis Prosthetic (2024)Rating: 9/10 Unearthly Rites is another new Finnish act bursting not only with talent but a foul smelling mix of death metal and crust. Ecdysis is one of the nastiest slabs I’ve heard this year and has so many dirt-caked qualities from those rough vocals, the harsh bass lines, the gritty drums […]

CRAWLAltar Of Disgust Transcending Obscurity (2024)Rating: 7/10 I’m always confused when a band chooses a bland moniker that several other acts have already used. In this case, Crawl is a Swedish death metal posse that worships the HM-2 and d-beat styles, and where obvious comparisons can be made to Swedish legends Entombed alongside the likes […]

FMOld Habits Die Hard Frontiers (2024)Rating: 9/10 To celebrate 40 years in the business, UK rockers FM treat their fan base, young and old, to a 14th full-length studio album. Old Habits Die Hard is 50 minutes of warm, rich hard rock that cannot help but tune into a frequency of 80s nostalgia. The sprinkling […]

PHANTOM DISTRESSORPhantom Distressor EP Self-released (2024)Rating: 7/10 Here is some new thrash metal from Phantom Distressor, a five-piece hailing from Groningen in the Netherlands. With their self-titled debut EP the band brings six songs all epitomised by the openings riffs and scream on ‘Thrash Till We Die’. Riddled with clichés yet all good fun, the […]