ZAUMOracles I Hate (2014)Rating: 8/10 A sprig of mystery surrounds this debut album from Canadian duo Zaum. According to the press release, “Kyle Alexander McDonald (frontman of the 3-bassed doom band Shevil) is the vocalist and plays bass via a monolithic custom stereo FX creation layered with sitar textures and synth, while Christopher Lewis (frontman […]
PROFETUSAs All Seasons Die Svart (2014)Rating: 8/10 As the opening strains of the church organ begins, I feel as though I’m wandering through ashen, crooked tombstones on an autumnal eve, merely accompanied by the dying embers of a rustic October bonfire and a carpet of orange leaves. Yep, Profetus is a doom metal band to […]
VALLEY OF THE SUN Electric Talons Of The Thunderhawk Fuzzorama (2014) Rating: 6/10 With an album title like Electric Talons Of The Thunderhawk, it wouldn’t surprise me if this bunch of rockers had spent too much time getting baked under the hot sun they speak of in their stoned moniker. Emerging from the cosmic cradle […]
PILLORYEvolutionary Miscarriage Unique Leader (2014)Rating: 8/10 Not to be confused with the Canadian thrashers of the same name, this Boston, Massachusetts-based act plays technical death metal; y’know, the sort that drains fluid from the brain, freezes the blood in the arteries, breaks the neck in one swoop and carves up the intestines with its complexity. […]
INCANTATIONDirges Of Elysium Listenable (2014)Rating: 8.5/10 I’ve never forgotten the dark days of when Pennsylvania’s Incantation raped my ears with their 1992 debut Onward To Golgotha. Sure, it may have reeked of that twisted Morbid Angel-style of evilness, but it was another hefty arrow to be added to the genre’s already burgeoning quiver. Through thick […]
URIAH HEEP – Can’t Take That Away Anthony Morgan June 2014 Uriah Heep (l-r): Dave Rimmer, Russell Gilbrook, Bernie Shaw, Mick Box and Phil Lanzon Outsider – the June 2014 effort from English rock outfit Uriah Heep, and 24th studio full-length overall – was cut in January at Liscombe Park Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. Naples, […]
ARCH ENEMYWar Eternal Century Media (2014)Rating: 4/10 Well if ever there was a band that drifted over my head with a majority of their releases then it has be Arch Enemy. Having formed in the dire pots of the mid-90s when the only “metal” band around seemed to be those high on melody and polished […]
QUESTIONDoomed Passages Chaos (2014)Rating: 8/10 Hidden under the shade of a rather bland moniker come Mexican death metallers Question. Having formed back in 2010, this quartet has only produced a couple of demos previous to this debut nine-track outing. If this rather raw offering is anything to go, however, then this bunch of extreme metalheads […]
DAY OF DOOMThe Gates Of Hell Lavadome Productions (2014)Rating: 9/10 If you feel like having your soul battered for 45 minutes or so then look no further than the third full-length release from Long Island, New York-based death squad Day Of Doom. This trio has been cracking skulls since 2000 and will appeal to anyone […]
NORSEPest EP Self-released (2014)Rating: 8/10 Australia seems to be producing some fine extreme metal bands of late and Norse is another unholy bunch, having just released their new EP Pest. Now, I’ve heard some truly grim death-laden black metal over the years, but this new six-track EP is one I’m having difficulty prising from the […]
