BLOODRITUALDo You Believe Bitter Melody (2024)Rating: 8/10 When I first saw the cover art of this album I expected a traditional metal opus or something “stoner” fuelled, but lo and behold this is a crossover thrash album although some of the riffs are slow and heavy. The band behind it hails from Greensboro, North Carolina […]
ROTTEN CAVERN Profound (2024) Spain has just coughed up this formidable death / doom duo who go by the names E (vocals) and P (all instruments). Profound is Rotten Cavern’s debut offering and features a trio of tracks sandwiched between an intro (‘Gates’) and an outro (‘Denouement’). ‘Grim Ritual’, ‘Black Procession’ and ‘Corpse’ traipse with […]
DESECRATOR OF ICHORApex Nocturnus Self-released (2024)Rating: 7/10 Just look at that front cover, it screams “bestial war noise” or something to that effect. Daubed in dark red and black design, Apex Nocturnus is a grim blast of thick, cloying air ridden with toxic particles that act as barbed vapours in the lungs. This is the […]
RIDERS OF ROHANWith Hope Or Without… EP Crypt Of The Wizard (2024)Rating: 8/10 Like extras from some J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy, Gothenburg, Sweden-based hard rockers Riders Of Rohan return to the shire with more The Lord Of The Rings obsessed tales. To an extent the band has remained in that hard rock style where one moment […]
WRØNGAcid Burns EP Self-released (2024)Rating: 7/10 Here is a release that reminds me of one of those early 90s extreme metal bands that cleverly fused together grinding death metal and ashen, industrial flair while remaining bleak and suffocating but with a hardcore sludge stance. Acid Burns is an EP that’s been constructed on choking fumes, […]
SLAUGHTERROREndless Lust For Gore EP Noble Demon (2024)Rating: 6/10 Considering the quality of the Finnish death metal scene this four-song debut EP from Helsinki’s Slaughterror – consisting of Okko Solanterä (vocals), Saku Moilanen (guitar) and Juuso Turkki (bass) – is rather bog standard. Endless Lust For Gore has a strong late 1990s / early 2000s […]
TRAVELERPrequel To Madness No Remorse (2024)Rating: 7/10 Back with a cosmically crap album cover, the Calgary, Canada-formed metallers Traveler return with their third full-length studio album to attempt to enchant my eardrums. They succeed, partly, because it’s a rather airy opus boasting crystal clear baritone vocals and a sound that’s tighter than the lycra I […]
MORTA SKULDCreation Undone Peaceville (2024)Rating: 7.5/10 Since 1990 Wisconsin, Milwaukee-based death metallers Morta Skuld has entertained but never moved out of the genres second division. Even with those early demos and 1993’s debut album Dying Remains, the guys never quite hit my sweet spot. Even so, I’ve remained loyal to the band and believe that […]
MICK MARSThe Other Side Of Mars 1313 / LLC / MRI (2024)Rating: 7.5/10 Legendary ex-Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars has provided some of the greatest riffs ever; slick, crunchy yet criminally underrated metallic creations that became the soundtrack to my teenage years and beyond. After escaping the circus of his former band, Mars has finally […]
SKYRMISHERViolent Onslaught Self-released (2024)Rating: 7/10 This German five-piece began life in 2013 as Incurable before changing their name in 2018. Since becoming Skyrmisher they have released an EP, Extractor Hood, in 2019 and now this debut full-length album. The strikingly bad cover art conceals a very contemporary thrash / death outing that does grow on […]
