#incantation — Public Fediverse posts

New Jersey’s marshlands and hospital waste pits have long concealed one of America’s best death metal acts. Formed in 2000, Funebrarum leaked from the Garden State with a sound steeped in early 90s acts like Incantation and Immolation. Their Beneath the Columns of Abandoned Gods debut was a cavernous, monolithic ode to all things extreme and vile. Though it was crushingly heavy, there was a deft hand at work compositionally that made it all go down like greased tripe. It’s a classic of the death metal genre that, for whatever reason, never seems to get the respect it deserves. After 2009s excellent The Sleep of Morbid Dreams, the band went into a kind of extended hibernation, rising only occasionally to drop splits and EPs every few years, the last of which arrived in 2016. After 16 long years (and 10 of complete inactivity), they finally rise from the grave and deign to release a new full-length upon the world with Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence. The good news is that multi-instrument wizard Phil Tougas of Worm, First Fragment, EXXÛL, and 50 other bands is on board to provide extra fretboard-busting insanity. After such a lengthy absence, what can one expect from Funebrarum? Will their usual caveman cavern-core antics still feel as terrifying and oppressive in this new age of death? Let’s drag the Jersey swamps for answers and dead mobsters.

After an overlong intro that sounds like it was stolen from a late 90s symphonic black metal album, we get dropped into the title track, which starts out equally moody and ominous before eventually shifting into cavern-core pummeling and blasting. Once this occurs, references to Incantation and Cruciamentum are inevitable, but this is a mellower beast with a lighter vibe to the music, as a classic 90s death metal gallop surfaces again and again amid stretches of doom slog and hyper-blastery. Guttural death vox and crazed blackened screams dot the landscape, and newish axe Sam Osbourne (ex-Undergang) joins Phil Tougas in dropping classic death leads and exploring other melodic spaces when solo time arrives. It’s a convincingly heavy, dense song, and it feels fairly inspired. Some of the momentum gained here is lost during the nearly 7 minutes of follow-up “ša nagba amāru,” which opts for a doomier direction and ends up a bit less convincing and forceful despite some interesting guitar work and appropriately dark moods. A big moment arrives with “Into Dark Domains,” where some of the classic Funebrarum energy sparks into being. It offers nods to classic 90s death platters like Onward to Golgotha, and some pieces even remind me of early grind days Carcass.

“From Rotting Burial Shrouds” delivers an immediately satisfying, few-frills beat down of foaming-at-the-mouth caveman death, and I love it, but it makes me wish for more lead pipe intensity from the rest of the material. And while nothing here could be labeled as wholly bad or filler (minus the short mid-album interlude), not every song puts the pimp hand down and bashes my brain into mind jelly. Penultimate track “Turning the Stones of Torment” is fairly generic and doesn’t do much for me. The nearly 9-minute finale, “The Whispering Cathedral – Epilogue,” is also underwhelming. It has interesting moments and segments, but by the 6th minute, I’m ready to settle my bill and check out. At 49 minutes, Beckoning feels significantly longer, and there’s noticeable bloat on several tracks that weigh things down in unfortunate ways.

There’s a garbage truck full of raw talent involved in the making of this album, even without the contributions from Mr. Tougas. Charles Koryn (Ascended Dead, ex-Ghoulgotha) is an impressive drummer, and he supplies a steady stream of gallops, blasts, rolls, and fills that keep things moving and shaking. Daryl Kahan (ex-Disma) is a true throat terror, shaking the ground with phlegmy, repellent croaks, and harsh screams. He sounds very inhuman and very reanimated. Now add the Tougas factor, and the guitar work goes from wow to WOW. The man can play and play he does. The only criticism I’d make is that some of the fretboard gymnastics make the vibe shift from death metal to melodeath and cause the album to feel less rancid and diseased.

I wasn’t expecting to see another album from Funebraum, and while I’m happy to have it, I’m a bit let down that it doesn’t approach the heights of their established discography. It’s definitely good with very good moments, but after so long in the void of eternal silence, it’s hard not to expect MOAR. I suppose part of the problem is that what they’re doing here has now been done so many times before, so some of the shock and awe has worn off. Still, there are loads of quality noise to be found for the patient death heads. New Jersey still has some disgusting tricks up its sleeve after all, besides Newark. Worth a loud blast, then go and visit their early stuff post-haste.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Pulverized Records
Websites: funebrarum-death-metal.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/funebrarumofficial | instagram.com/funebrarum_official
Releases Worldwide: May 29th, 2026

New Jersey’s marshlands and hospital waste pits have long concealed one of America’s best death metal acts. Formed in 2000, Funebrarum leaked from the Garden State with a sound steeped in early 90s acts like Incantation and Immolation. Their Beneath the Columns of Abandoned Gods debut was a cavernous, monolithic ode to all things extreme and vile. Though it was crushingly heavy, there was a deft hand at work compositionally that made it all go down like greased tripe. It’s a classic of the death metal genre that, for whatever reason, never seems to get the respect it deserves. After 2009s excellent The Sleep of Morbid Dreams, the band went into a kind of extended hibernation, rising only occasionally to drop splits and EPs every few years, the last of which arrived in 2016. After 16 long years (and 10 of complete inactivity), they finally rise from the grave and deign to release a new full-length upon the world with Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence. The good news is that multi-instrument wizard Phil Tougas of Worm, First Fragment, EXXÛL, and 50 other bands is on board to provide extra fretboard-busting insanity. After such a lengthy absence, what can one expect from Funebrarum? Will their usual caveman cavern-core antics still feel as terrifying and oppressive in this new age of death? Let’s drag the Jersey swamps for answers and dead mobsters.

After an overlong intro that sounds like it was stolen from a late 90s symphonic black metal album, we get dropped into the title track, which starts out equally moody and ominous before eventually shifting into cavern-core pummeling and blasting. Once this occurs, references to Incantation and Cruciamentum are inevitable, but this is a mellower beast with a lighter vibe to the music, as a classic 90s death metal gallop surfaces again and again amid stretches of doom slog and hyper-blastery. Guttural death vox and crazed blackened screams dot the landscape, and newish axe Sam Osbourne (ex-Undergang) joins Phil Tougas in dropping classic death leads and exploring other melodic spaces when solo time arrives. It’s a convincingly heavy, dense song, and it feels fairly inspired. Some of the momentum gained here is lost during the nearly 7 minutes of follow-up “ša nagba amāru,” which opts for a doomier direction and ends up a bit less convincing and forceful despite some interesting guitar work and appropriately dark moods. A big moment arrives with “Into Dark Domains,” where some of the classic Funebrarum energy sparks into being. It offers nods to classic 90s death platters like Onward to Golgotha, and some pieces even remind me of early grind days Carcass.

“From Rotting Burial Shrouds” delivers an immediately satisfying, few-frills beat down of foaming-at-the-mouth caveman death, and I love it, but it makes me wish for more lead pipe intensity from the rest of the material. And while nothing here could be labeled as wholly bad or filler (minus the short mid-album interlude), not every song puts the pimp hand down and bashes my brain into mind jelly. Penultimate track “Turning the Stones of Torment” is fairly generic and doesn’t do much for me. The nearly 9-minute finale, “The Whispering Cathedral – Epilogue,” is also underwhelming. It has interesting moments and segments, but by the 6th minute, I’m ready to settle my bill and check out. At 49 minutes, Beckoning feels significantly longer, and there’s noticeable bloat on several tracks that weigh things down in unfortunate ways.

There’s a garbage truck full of raw talent involved in the making of this album, even without the contributions from Mr. Tougas. Charles Koryn (Ascended Dead, ex-Ghoulgotha) is an impressive drummer, and he supplies a steady stream of gallops, blasts, rolls, and fills that keep things moving and shaking. Daryl Kahan (ex-Disma) is a true throat terror, shaking the ground with phlegmy, repellent croaks, and harsh screams. He sounds very inhuman and very reanimated. Now add the Tougas factor, and the guitar work goes from wow to WOW. The man can play and play he does. The only criticism I’d make is that some of the fretboard gymnastics make the vibe shift from death metal to melodeath and cause the album to feel less rancid and diseased.

I wasn’t expecting to see another album from Funebraum, and while I’m happy to have it, I’m a bit let down that it doesn’t approach the heights of their established discography. It’s definitely good with very good moments, but after so long in the void of eternal silence, it’s hard not to expect MOAR. I suppose part of the problem is that what they’re doing here has now been done so many times before, so some of the shock and awe has worn off. Still, there are loads of quality noise to be found for the patient death heads. New Jersey still has some disgusting tricks up its sleeve after all, besides Newark. Worth a loud blast, then go and visit their early stuff post-haste.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Pulverized Records
Websites: funebrarum-death-metal.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/funebrarumofficial | instagram.com/funebrarum_official
Releases Worldwide: May 29th, 2026

New Jersey’s marshlands and hospital waste pits have long concealed one of America’s best death metal acts. Formed in 2000, Funebrarum leaked from the Garden State with a sound steeped in early 90s acts like Incantation and Immolation. Their Beneath the Columns of Abandoned Gods debut was a cavernous, monolithic ode to all things extreme and vile. Though it was crushingly heavy, there was a deft hand at work compositionally that made it all go down like greased tripe. It’s a classic of the death metal genre that, for whatever reason, never seems to get the respect it deserves. After 2009s excellent The Sleep of Morbid Dreams, the band went into a kind of extended hibernation, rising only occasionally to drop splits and EPs every few years, the last of which arrived in 2016. After 16 long years (and 10 of complete inactivity), they finally rise from the grave and deign to release a new full-length upon the world with Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence. The good news is that multi-instrument wizard Phil Tougas of Worm, First Fragment, EXXÛL, and 50 other bands is on board to provide extra fretboard-busting insanity. After such a lengthy absence, what can one expect from Funebrarum? Will their usual caveman cavern-core antics still feel as terrifying and oppressive in this new age of death? Let’s drag the Jersey swamps for answers and dead mobsters.

After an overlong intro that sounds like it was stolen from a late 90s symphonic black metal album, we get dropped into the title track, which starts out equally moody and ominous before eventually shifting into cavern-core pummeling and blasting. Once this occurs, references to Incantation and Cruciamentum are inevitable, but this is a mellower beast with a lighter vibe to the music, as a classic 90s death metal gallop surfaces again and again amid stretches of doom slog and hyper-blastery. Guttural death vox and crazed blackened screams dot the landscape, and newish axe Sam Osbourne (ex-Undergang) joins Phil Tougas in dropping classic death leads and exploring other melodic spaces when solo time arrives. It’s a convincingly heavy, dense song, and it feels fairly inspired. Some of the momentum gained here is lost during the nearly 7 minutes of follow-up “ša nagba amāru,” which opts for a doomier direction and ends up a bit less convincing and forceful despite some interesting guitar work and appropriately dark moods. A big moment arrives with “Into Dark Domains,” where some of the classic Funebrarum energy sparks into being. It offers nods to classic 90s death platters like Onward to Golgotha, and some pieces even remind me of early grind days Carcass.

“From Rotting Burial Shrouds” delivers an immediately satisfying, few-frills beat down of foaming-at-the-mouth caveman death, and I love it, but it makes me wish for more lead pipe intensity from the rest of the material. And while nothing here could be labeled as wholly bad or filler (minus the short mid-album interlude), not every song puts the pimp hand down and bashes my brain into mind jelly. Penultimate track “Turning the Stones of Torment” is fairly generic and doesn’t do much for me. The nearly 9-minute finale, “The Whispering Cathedral – Epilogue,” is also underwhelming. It has interesting moments and segments, but by the 6th minute, I’m ready to settle my bill and check out. At 49 minutes, Beckoning feels significantly longer, and there’s noticeable bloat on several tracks that weigh things down in unfortunate ways.

There’s a garbage truck full of raw talent involved in the making of this album, even without the contributions from Mr. Tougas. Charles Koryn (Ascended Dead, ex-Ghoulgotha) is an impressive drummer, and he supplies a steady stream of gallops, blasts, rolls, and fills that keep things moving and shaking. Daryl Kahan (ex-Disma) is a true throat terror, shaking the ground with phlegmy, repellent croaks, and harsh screams. He sounds very inhuman and very reanimated. Now add the Tougas factor, and the guitar work goes from wow to WOW. The man can play and play he does. The only criticism I’d make is that some of the fretboard gymnastics make the vibe shift from death metal to melodeath and cause the album to feel less rancid and diseased.

I wasn’t expecting to see another album from Funebraum, and while I’m happy to have it, I’m a bit let down that it doesn’t approach the heights of their established discography. It’s definitely good with very good moments, but after so long in the void of eternal silence, it’s hard not to expect MOAR. I suppose part of the problem is that what they’re doing here has now been done so many times before, so some of the shock and awe has worn off. Still, there are loads of quality noise to be found for the patient death heads. New Jersey still has some disgusting tricks up its sleeve after all, besides Newark. Worth a loud blast, then go and visit their early stuff post-haste.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Pulverized Records
Websites: funebrarum-death-metal.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/funebrarumofficial | instagram.com/funebrarum_official
Releases Worldwide: May 29th, 2026

New Jersey’s marshlands and hospital waste pits have long concealed one of America’s best death metal acts. Formed in 2000, Funebrarum leaked from the Garden State with a sound steeped in early 90s acts like Incantation and Immolation. Their Beneath the Columns of Abandoned Gods debut was a cavernous, monolithic ode to all things extreme and vile. Though it was crushingly heavy, there was a deft hand at work compositionally that made it all go down like greased tripe. It’s a classic of the death metal genre that, for whatever reason, never seems to get the respect it deserves. After 2009s excellent The Sleep of Morbid Dreams, the band went into a kind of extended hibernation, rising only occasionally to drop splits and EPs every few years, the last of which arrived in 2016. After 16 long years (and 10 of complete inactivity), they finally rise from the grave and deign to release a new full-length upon the world with Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence. The good news is that multi-instrument wizard Phil Tougas of Worm, First Fragment, EXXÛL, and 50 other bands is on board to provide extra fretboard-busting insanity. After such a lengthy absence, what can one expect from Funebrarum? Will their usual caveman cavern-core antics still feel as terrifying and oppressive in this new age of death? Let’s drag the Jersey swamps for answers and dead mobsters.

After an overlong intro that sounds like it was stolen from a late 90s symphonic black metal album, we get dropped into the title track, which starts out equally moody and ominous before eventually shifting into cavern-core pummeling and blasting. Once this occurs, references to Incantation and Cruciamentum are inevitable, but this is a mellower beast with a lighter vibe to the music, as a classic 90s death metal gallop surfaces again and again amid stretches of doom slog and hyper-blastery. Guttural death vox and crazed blackened screams dot the landscape, and newish axe Sam Osbourne (ex-Undergang) joins Phil Tougas in dropping classic death leads and exploring other melodic spaces when solo time arrives. It’s a convincingly heavy, dense song, and it feels fairly inspired. Some of the momentum gained here is lost during the nearly 7 minutes of follow-up “ša nagba amāru,” which opts for a doomier direction and ends up a bit less convincing and forceful despite some interesting guitar work and appropriately dark moods. A big moment arrives with “Into Dark Domains,” where some of the classic Funebrarum energy sparks into being. It offers nods to classic 90s death platters like Onward to Golgotha, and some pieces even remind me of early grind days Carcass.

“From Rotting Burial Shrouds” delivers an immediately satisfying, few-frills beat down of foaming-at-the-mouth caveman death, and I love it, but it makes me wish for more lead pipe intensity from the rest of the material. And while nothing here could be labeled as wholly bad or filler (minus the short mid-album interlude), not every song puts the pimp hand down and bashes my brain into mind jelly. Penultimate track “Turning the Stones of Torment” is fairly generic and doesn’t do much for me. The nearly 9-minute finale, “The Whispering Cathedral – Epilogue,” is also underwhelming. It has interesting moments and segments, but by the 6th minute, I’m ready to settle my bill and check out. At 49 minutes, Beckoning feels significantly longer, and there’s noticeable bloat on several tracks that weigh things down in unfortunate ways.

There’s a garbage truck full of raw talent involved in the making of this album, even without the contributions from Mr. Tougas. Charles Koryn (Ascended Dead, ex-Ghoulgotha) is an impressive drummer, and he supplies a steady stream of gallops, blasts, rolls, and fills that keep things moving and shaking. Daryl Kahan (ex-Disma) is a true throat terror, shaking the ground with phlegmy, repellent croaks, and harsh screams. He sounds very inhuman and very reanimated. Now add the Tougas factor, and the guitar work goes from wow to WOW. The man can play and play he does. The only criticism I’d make is that some of the fretboard gymnastics make the vibe shift from death metal to melodeath and cause the album to feel less rancid and diseased.

I wasn’t expecting to see another album from Funebraum, and while I’m happy to have it, I’m a bit let down that it doesn’t approach the heights of their established discography. It’s definitely good with very good moments, but after so long in the void of eternal silence, it’s hard not to expect MOAR. I suppose part of the problem is that what they’re doing here has now been done so many times before, so some of the shock and awe has worn off. Still, there are loads of quality noise to be found for the patient death heads. New Jersey still has some disgusting tricks up its sleeve after all, besides Newark. Worth a loud blast, then go and visit their early stuff post-haste.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Pulverized Records
Websites: funebrarum-death-metal.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/funebrarumofficial | instagram.com/funebrarum_official
Releases Worldwide: May 29th, 2026

New Jersey’s marshlands and hospital waste pits have long concealed one of America’s best death metal acts. Formed in 2000, Funebrarum leaked from the Garden State with a sound steeped in early 90s acts like Incantation and Immolation. Their Beneath the Columns of Abandoned Gods debut was a cavernous, monolithic ode to all things extreme and vile. Though it was crushingly heavy, there was a deft hand at work compositionally that made it all go down like greased tripe. It’s a classic of the death metal genre that, for whatever reason, never seems to get the respect it deserves. After 2009s excellent The Sleep of Morbid Dreams, the band went into a kind of extended hibernation, rising only occasionally to drop splits and EPs every few years, the last of which arrived in 2016. After 16 long years (and 10 of complete inactivity), they finally rise from the grave and deign to release a new full-length upon the world with Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence. The good news is that multi-instrument wizard Phil Tougas of Worm, First Fragment, EXXÛL, and 50 other bands is on board to provide extra fretboard-busting insanity. After such a lengthy absence, what can one expect from Funebrarum? Will their usual caveman cavern-core antics still feel as terrifying and oppressive in this new age of death? Let’s drag the Jersey swamps for answers and dead mobsters.

After an overlong intro that sounds like it was stolen from a late 90s symphonic black metal album, we get dropped into the title track, which starts out equally moody and ominous before eventually shifting into cavern-core pummeling and blasting. Once this occurs, references to Incantation and Cruciamentum are inevitable, but this is a mellower beast with a lighter vibe to the music, as a classic 90s death metal gallop surfaces again and again amid stretches of doom slog and hyper-blastery. Guttural death vox and crazed blackened screams dot the landscape, and newish axe Sam Osbourne (ex-Undergang) joins Phil Tougas in dropping classic death leads and exploring other melodic spaces when solo time arrives. It’s a convincingly heavy, dense song, and it feels fairly inspired. Some of the momentum gained here is lost during the nearly 7 minutes of follow-up “ša nagba amāru,” which opts for a doomier direction and ends up a bit less convincing and forceful despite some interesting guitar work and appropriately dark moods. A big moment arrives with “Into Dark Domains,” where some of the classic Funebrarum energy sparks into being. It offers nods to classic 90s death platters like Onward to Golgotha, and some pieces even remind me of early grind days Carcass.

“From Rotting Burial Shrouds” delivers an immediately satisfying, few-frills beat down of foaming-at-the-mouth caveman death, and I love it, but it makes me wish for more lead pipe intensity from the rest of the material. And while nothing here could be labeled as wholly bad or filler (minus the short mid-album interlude), not every song puts the pimp hand down and bashes my brain into mind jelly. Penultimate track “Turning the Stones of Torment” is fairly generic and doesn’t do much for me. The nearly 9-minute finale, “The Whispering Cathedral – Epilogue,” is also underwhelming. It has interesting moments and segments, but by the 6th minute, I’m ready to settle my bill and check out. At 49 minutes, Beckoning feels significantly longer, and there’s noticeable bloat on several tracks that weigh things down in unfortunate ways.

There’s a garbage truck full of raw talent involved in the making of this album, even without the contributions from Mr. Tougas. Charles Koryn (Ascended Dead, ex-Ghoulgotha) is an impressive drummer, and he supplies a steady stream of gallops, blasts, rolls, and fills that keep things moving and shaking. Daryl Kahan (ex-Disma) is a true throat terror, shaking the ground with phlegmy, repellent croaks, and harsh screams. He sounds very inhuman and very reanimated. Now add the Tougas factor, and the guitar work goes from wow to WOW. The man can play and play he does. The only criticism I’d make is that some of the fretboard gymnastics make the vibe shift from death metal to melodeath and cause the album to feel less rancid and diseased.

I wasn’t expecting to see another album from Funebraum, and while I’m happy to have it, I’m a bit let down that it doesn’t approach the heights of their established discography. It’s definitely good with very good moments, but after so long in the void of eternal silence, it’s hard not to expect MOAR. I suppose part of the problem is that what they’re doing here has now been done so many times before, so some of the shock and awe has worn off. Still, there are loads of quality noise to be found for the patient death heads. New Jersey still has some disgusting tricks up its sleeve after all, besides Newark. Worth a loud blast, then go and visit their early stuff post-haste.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Pulverized Records
Websites: funebrarum-death-metal.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/funebrarumofficial | instagram.com/funebrarum_official
Releases Worldwide: May 29th, 2026

Hatebreed will headline the second 2026 leg of The Summer Slaughter Tour with support from Terror, Incantation, Gates To Hell, Torture, and Creeping Death.

Details: https://metalinsider.net/touring/hatebreed-to-headline-second-leg-of-summer-slaughter-2026

#Hatebreed #SummerSlaughter #Terror #Incantation #CreepingDeath #DeathMetal #Hardcore #MetalTour #MetalNews

Hatebreed will headline the second 2026 leg of The Summer Slaughter Tour with support from Terror, Incantation, Gates To Hell, Torture, and Creeping Death.

Details: https://metalinsider.net/touring/hatebreed-to-headline-second-leg-of-summer-slaughter-2026

#Hatebreed #SummerSlaughter #Terror #Incantation #CreepingDeath #DeathMetal #Hardcore #MetalTour #MetalNews

Me Saco Un Ojo Records has fast become one of my favorite death metal labels, signing bands whose music sates my sickened sweet tooth and reeks with the dirty, rotten, filthy, stinking, rich stench of death! Warranted tags that also describe Costa Rica’s newest OSDM export and Me Saco Un Ojo rosterlings, Candarian. Inspired by early 90s death metal, guitarist Christopher G. De Haan and bassist/vocalist José Pablo Phillips (Astriferous) birthed Candarian in 2020, gigging extensively throughout their local scene on the strength of a handful of songs that would eventually end up on their 2022 demo, Stagnant Livor Mortis—a meaty morsel of moldy maleficence. Four years further down the cemetery path with tandem label partner Memento Mori in tow and that charmingly grotesque Grant Hatfield cover art in hand, Candarian prepare to dump their debut bucket of blood, Trepanación, on you, and the heads of unsuspecting prom queens everywhere. Having precariously lived through the original 90s death metal wave, I was curious to see whether Candarian would have any fresh ideas to offer. Is Trepanación the death shroud I’ll cozily wrap myself up in on a cold night, or will it have me praying for someone to strap me down and drill a hole in my skull, too?

Candarian peddle in plague-laden, gore-soaked, horror-themed OSDM, with Trepanación serving up steaming bowls of slop bloated with chunks of Incantation and Autopsy. Not entirely original perhaps, but still not a bad place from which to draw inspiration, especially if well executed. Which Candarian does, sans feats of technical wizardry, as De Haan and fellow string-slayer Felipe Tencio (Astriferous) opt instead to perform ear-hole surgery with a Golgothan bag full of rusty, tremoloed riffs, serrated squealies, and mangled, meat-hammered chugs (“Altars and Ancestors”). On drums stretched taut with human skin, blunt force butcher Pablo Umaña keeps the Candarian brain-drill from boring any errant head holes while Phillips, whose bass lines lurk and gurgle below like blood-clogged lungs (“Psychosurgery Ecstasy”) and whose cavernous bellows strike a very John McEntee chord, rounds out the cadaverous quartet. It’s clear these Ticos know death metal.

Candarian muscles their way through Trepanación with biceps built on strongwriting. Shifts in tone and pace within tracks are written with alacrity and performed with a transitional maturity that never feels forced or too abrupt. Basking in beams of light cast by “The Ibex Moon,”1 the ghoulishly fun “Zombie Miscarriage” morphs smoothly from down-tuned tremolo-monstrous riffs over lumbering double-bass rolls to drunkenly swerving doom chords and mid-paced chug ‘n squeals, all punctuated by Phillips’ rancorous roars. Another limb retaining some viably meaty moments is “Relinquished Viscera,” its sluggish, Morbificated opening riffs acquiescing easily to speedier harmonic leads and oft-used pus-pinching harmonics. The last of my odious shoutouts goes to album closer “Vilipendio del Cadaver”2 which sweats Mental Funeral-filled beads of ichor as it trudges and stomps a path filled with doomy goodness, Sabbathian trills, and a swingy section that could give “In the Grip of Winter” a run for its money.

Candarian hit the nail on the head of 90s death metal. Paying tribute to their influences without sounding overtly derivative and accomplishing this through a production that maintains just the right amount of rawness to stay menacing without devolving into the overly cloudy, reverberant depths of early cavern-core. Manageably brief, with a runtime barely cresting 33 minutes, Trepanación tends to feel longer than it is, thanks in part to all the inter-song twists and turns and to four of the seven tracks exceeding the 5-minute mark. Not a major knock, but it was something I felt on all my play-throughs. Working most against them, without having done anything egregiously bad or exceptionally good, is Candarian’s throwback “no more but no less” approach, as this can only take them so far. Which also reinforces guidance I once received from one wizened, hairy primate related to scoring death metal of this ilk.

If you’re ever in the mood for better than passable, old-school, filthy death metal, the Me Saco Un Ojo roster—Cryptworm, Invictus, Phrenelith, Ossuary, Diabolizer and many more among them—does not disappoint. Candarian, a band I’ll certainly be keeping tabs on, is another fine addition, and you could do a lot worse than spend an afternoon or three getting skull fucked by Trepanación.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Me Saco Un Ojo | Memento Mori
Websites: Bandcamp | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: April 27th, 2026

Me Saco Un Ojo Records has fast become one of my favorite death metal labels, signing bands whose music sates my sickened sweet tooth and reeks with the dirty, rotten, filthy, stinking, rich stench of death! Warranted tags that also describe Costa Rica’s newest OSDM export and Me Saco Un Ojo rosterlings, Candarian. Inspired by early 90s death metal, guitarist Christopher G. De Haan and bassist/vocalist José Pablo Phillips (Astriferous) birthed Candarian in 2020, gigging extensively throughout their local scene on the strength of a handful of songs that would eventually end up on their 2022 demo, Stagnant Livor Mortis—a meaty morsel of moldy maleficence. Four years further down the cemetery path with tandem label partner Memento Mori in tow and that charmingly grotesque Grant Hatfield cover art in hand, Candarian prepare to dump their debut bucket of blood, Trepanación, on you, and the heads of unsuspecting prom queens everywhere. Having precariously lived through the original 90s death metal wave, I was curious to see whether Candarian would have any fresh ideas to offer. Is Trepanación the death shroud I’ll cozily wrap myself up in on a cold night, or will it have me praying for someone to strap me down and drill a hole in my skull, too?

Candarian peddle in plague-laden, gore-soaked, horror-themed OSDM, with Trepanación serving up steaming bowls of slop bloated with chunks of Incantation and Autopsy. Not entirely original perhaps, but still not a bad place from which to draw inspiration, especially if well executed. Which Candarian does, sans feats of technical wizardry, as De Haan and fellow string-slayer Felipe Tencio (Astriferous) opt instead to perform ear-hole surgery with a Golgothan bag full of rusty, tremoloed riffs, serrated squealies, and mangled, meat-hammered chugs (“Altars and Ancestors”). On drums stretched taut with human skin, blunt force butcher Pablo Umaña keeps the Candarian brain-drill from boring any errant head holes while Phillips, whose bass lines lurk and gurgle below like blood-clogged lungs (“Psychosurgery Ecstasy”) and whose cavernous bellows strike a very John McEntee chord, rounds out the cadaverous quartet. It’s clear these Ticos know death metal.

Candarian muscles their way through Trepanación with biceps built on strongwriting. Shifts in tone and pace within tracks are written with alacrity and performed with a transitional maturity that never feels forced or too abrupt. Basking in beams of light cast by “The Ibex Moon,”1 the ghoulishly fun “Zombie Miscarriage” morphs smoothly from down-tuned tremolo-monstrous riffs over lumbering double-bass rolls to drunkenly swerving doom chords and mid-paced chug ‘n squeals, all punctuated by Phillips’ rancorous roars. Another limb retaining some viably meaty moments is “Relinquished Viscera,” its sluggish, Morbificated opening riffs acquiescing easily to speedier harmonic leads and oft-used pus-pinching harmonics. The last of my odious shoutouts goes to album closer “Vilipendio del Cadaver”2 which sweats Mental Funeral-filled beads of ichor as it trudges and stomps a path filled with doomy goodness, Sabbathian trills, and a swingy section that could give “In the Grip of Winter” a run for its money.

Candarian hit the nail on the head of 90s death metal. Paying tribute to their influences without sounding overtly derivative and accomplishing this through a production that maintains just the right amount of rawness to stay menacing without devolving into the overly cloudy, reverberant depths of early cavern-core. Manageably brief, with a runtime barely cresting 33 minutes, Trepanación tends to feel longer than it is, thanks in part to all the inter-song twists and turns and to four of the seven tracks exceeding the 5-minute mark. Not a major knock, but it was something I felt on all my play-throughs. Working most against them, without having done anything egregiously bad or exceptionally good, is Candarian’s throwback “no more but no less” approach, as this can only take them so far. Which also reinforces guidance I once received from one wizened, hairy primate related to scoring death metal of this ilk.

If you’re ever in the mood for better than passable, old-school, filthy death metal, the Me Saco Un Ojo roster—Cryptworm, Invictus, Phrenelith, Ossuary, Diabolizer and many more among them—does not disappoint. Candarian, a band I’ll certainly be keeping tabs on, is another fine addition, and you could do a lot worse than spend an afternoon or three getting skull fucked by Trepanación.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Me Saco Un Ojo | Memento Mori
Websites: Bandcamp | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: April 27th, 2026

Me Saco Un Ojo Records has fast become one of my favorite death metal labels, signing bands whose music sates my sickened sweet tooth and reeks with the dirty, rotten, filthy, stinking, rich stench of death! Warranted tags that also describe Costa Rica’s newest OSDM export and Me Saco Un Ojo rosterlings, Candarian. Inspired by early 90s death metal, guitarist Christopher G. De Haan and bassist/vocalist José Pablo Phillips (Astriferous) birthed Candarian in 2020, gigging extensively throughout their local scene on the strength of a handful of songs that would eventually end up on their 2022 demo, Stagnant Livor Mortis—a meaty morsel of moldy maleficence. Four years further down the cemetery path with tandem label partner Memento Mori in tow and that charmingly grotesque Grant Hatfield cover art in hand, Candarian prepare to dump their debut bucket of blood, Trepanación, on you, and the heads of unsuspecting prom queens everywhere. Having precariously lived through the original 90s death metal wave, I was curious to see whether Candarian would have any fresh ideas to offer. Is Trepanación the death shroud I’ll cozily wrap myself up in on a cold night, or will it have me praying for someone to strap me down and drill a hole in my skull, too?

Candarian peddle in plague-laden, gore-soaked, horror-themed OSDM, with Trepanación serving up steaming bowls of slop bloated with chunks of Incantation and Autopsy. Not entirely original perhaps, but still not a bad place from which to draw inspiration, especially if well executed. Which Candarian does, sans feats of technical wizardry, as De Haan and fellow string-slayer Felipe Tencio (Astriferous) opt instead to perform ear-hole surgery with a Golgothan bag full of rusty, tremoloed riffs, serrated squealies, and mangled, meat-hammered chugs (“Altars and Ancestors”). On drums stretched taut with human skin, blunt force butcher Pablo Umaña keeps the Candarian brain-drill from boring any errant head holes while Phillips, whose bass lines lurk and gurgle below like blood-clogged lungs (“Psychosurgery Ecstasy”) and whose cavernous bellows strike a very John McEntee chord, rounds out the cadaverous quartet. It’s clear these Ticos know death metal.

Candarian muscles their way through Trepanación with biceps built on strongwriting. Shifts in tone and pace within tracks are written with alacrity and performed with a transitional maturity that never feels forced or too abrupt. Basking in beams of light cast by “The Ibex Moon,”1 the ghoulishly fun “Zombie Miscarriage” morphs smoothly from down-tuned tremolo-monstrous riffs over lumbering double-bass rolls to drunkenly swerving doom chords and mid-paced chug ‘n squeals, all punctuated by Phillips’ rancorous roars. Another limb retaining some viably meaty moments is “Relinquished Viscera,” its sluggish, Morbificated opening riffs acquiescing easily to speedier harmonic leads and oft-used pus-pinching harmonics. The last of my odious shoutouts goes to album closer “Vilipendio del Cadaver”2 which sweats Mental Funeral-filled beads of ichor as it trudges and stomps a path filled with doomy goodness, Sabbathian trills, and a swingy section that could give “In the Grip of Winter” a run for its money.

Candarian hit the nail on the head of 90s death metal. Paying tribute to their influences without sounding overtly derivative and accomplishing this through a production that maintains just the right amount of rawness to stay menacing without devolving into the overly cloudy, reverberant depths of early cavern-core. Manageably brief, with a runtime barely cresting 33 minutes, Trepanación tends to feel longer than it is, thanks in part to all the inter-song twists and turns and to four of the seven tracks exceeding the 5-minute mark. Not a major knock, but it was something I felt on all my play-throughs. Working most against them, without having done anything egregiously bad or exceptionally good, is Candarian’s throwback “no more but no less” approach, as this can only take them so far. Which also reinforces guidance I once received from one wizened, hairy primate related to scoring death metal of this ilk.

If you’re ever in the mood for better than passable, old-school, filthy death metal, the Me Saco Un Ojo roster—Cryptworm, Invictus, Phrenelith, Ossuary, Diabolizer and many more among them—does not disappoint. Candarian, a band I’ll certainly be keeping tabs on, is another fine addition, and you could do a lot worse than spend an afternoon or three getting skull fucked by Trepanación.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Me Saco Un Ojo | Memento Mori
Websites: Bandcamp | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: April 27th, 2026

Me Saco Un Ojo Records has fast become one of my favorite death metal labels, signing bands whose music sates my sickened sweet tooth and reeks with the dirty, rotten, filthy, stinking, rich stench of death! Warranted tags that also describe Costa Rica’s newest OSDM export and Me Saco Un Ojo rosterlings, Candarian. Inspired by early 90s death metal, guitarist Christopher G. De Haan and bassist/vocalist José Pablo Phillips (Astriferous) birthed Candarian in 2020, gigging extensively throughout their local scene on the strength of a handful of songs that would eventually end up on their 2022 demo, Stagnant Livor Mortis—a meaty morsel of moldy maleficence. Four years further down the cemetery path with tandem label partner Memento Mori in tow and that charmingly grotesque Grant Hatfield cover art in hand, Candarian prepare to dump their debut bucket of blood, Trepanación, on you, and the heads of unsuspecting prom queens everywhere. Having precariously lived through the original 90s death metal wave, I was curious to see whether Candarian would have any fresh ideas to offer. Is Trepanación the death shroud I’ll cozily wrap myself up in on a cold night, or will it have me praying for someone to strap me down and drill a hole in my skull, too?

Candarian peddle in plague-laden, gore-soaked, horror-themed OSDM, with Trepanación serving up steaming bowls of slop bloated with chunks of Incantation and Autopsy. Not entirely original perhaps, but still not a bad place from which to draw inspiration, especially if well executed. Which Candarian does, sans feats of technical wizardry, as De Haan and fellow string-slayer Felipe Tencio (Astriferous) opt instead to perform ear-hole surgery with a Golgothan bag full of rusty, tremoloed riffs, serrated squealies, and mangled, meat-hammered chugs (“Altars and Ancestors”). On drums stretched taut with human skin, blunt force butcher Pablo Umaña keeps the Candarian brain-drill from boring any errant head holes while Phillips, whose bass lines lurk and gurgle below like blood-clogged lungs (“Psychosurgery Ecstasy”) and whose cavernous bellows strike a very John McEntee chord, rounds out the cadaverous quartet. It’s clear these Ticos know death metal.

Candarian muscles their way through Trepanación with biceps built on strongwriting. Shifts in tone and pace within tracks are written with alacrity and performed with a transitional maturity that never feels forced or too abrupt. Basking in beams of light cast by “The Ibex Moon,”1 the ghoulishly fun “Zombie Miscarriage” morphs smoothly from down-tuned tremolo-monstrous riffs over lumbering double-bass rolls to drunkenly swerving doom chords and mid-paced chug ‘n squeals, all punctuated by Phillips’ rancorous roars. Another limb retaining some viably meaty moments is “Relinquished Viscera,” its sluggish, Morbificated opening riffs acquiescing easily to speedier harmonic leads and oft-used pus-pinching harmonics. The last of my odious shoutouts goes to album closer “Vilipendio del Cadaver”2 which sweats Mental Funeral-filled beads of ichor as it trudges and stomps a path filled with doomy goodness, Sabbathian trills, and a swingy section that could give “In the Grip of Winter” a run for its money.

Candarian hit the nail on the head of 90s death metal. Paying tribute to their influences without sounding overtly derivative and accomplishing this through a production that maintains just the right amount of rawness to stay menacing without devolving into the overly cloudy, reverberant depths of early cavern-core. Manageably brief, with a runtime barely cresting 33 minutes, Trepanación tends to feel longer than it is, thanks in part to all the inter-song twists and turns and to four of the seven tracks exceeding the 5-minute mark. Not a major knock, but it was something I felt on all my play-throughs. Working most against them, without having done anything egregiously bad or exceptionally good, is Candarian’s throwback “no more but no less” approach, as this can only take them so far. Which also reinforces guidance I once received from one wizened, hairy primate related to scoring death metal of this ilk.

If you’re ever in the mood for better than passable, old-school, filthy death metal, the Me Saco Un Ojo roster—Cryptworm, Invictus, Phrenelith, Ossuary, Diabolizer and many more among them—does not disappoint. Candarian, a band I’ll certainly be keeping tabs on, is another fine addition, and you could do a lot worse than spend an afternoon or three getting skull fucked by Trepanación.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Me Saco Un Ojo | Memento Mori
Websites: Bandcamp | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: April 27th, 2026

Me Saco Un Ojo Records has fast become one of my favorite death metal labels, signing bands whose music sates my sickened sweet tooth and reeks with the dirty, rotten, filthy, stinking, rich stench of death! Warranted tags that also describe Costa Rica’s newest OSDM export and Me Saco Un Ojo rosterlings, Candarian. Inspired by early 90s death metal, guitarist Christopher G. De Haan and bassist/vocalist José Pablo Phillips (Astriferous) birthed Candarian in 2020, gigging extensively throughout their local scene on the strength of a handful of songs that would eventually end up on their 2022 demo, Stagnant Livor Mortis—a meaty morsel of moldy maleficence. Four years further down the cemetery path with tandem label partner Memento Mori in tow and that charmingly grotesque Grant Hatfield cover art in hand, Candarian prepare to dump their debut bucket of blood, Trepanación, on you, and the heads of unsuspecting prom queens everywhere. Having precariously lived through the original 90s death metal wave, I was curious to see whether Candarian would have any fresh ideas to offer. Is Trepanación the death shroud I’ll cozily wrap myself up in on a cold night, or will it have me praying for someone to strap me down and drill a hole in my skull, too?

Candarian peddle in plague-laden, gore-soaked, horror-themed OSDM, with Trepanación serving up steaming bowls of slop bloated with chunks of Incantation and Autopsy. Not entirely original perhaps, but still not a bad place from which to draw inspiration, especially if well executed. Which Candarian does, sans feats of technical wizardry, as De Haan and fellow string-slayer Felipe Tencio (Astriferous) opt instead to perform ear-hole surgery with a Golgothan bag full of rusty, tremoloed riffs, serrated squealies, and mangled, meat-hammered chugs (“Altars and Ancestors”). On drums stretched taut with human skin, blunt force butcher Pablo Umaña keeps the Candarian brain-drill from boring any errant head holes while Phillips, whose bass lines lurk and gurgle below like blood-clogged lungs (“Psychosurgery Ecstasy”) and whose cavernous bellows strike a very John McEntee chord, rounds out the cadaverous quartet. It’s clear these Ticos know death metal.

Candarian muscles their way through Trepanación with biceps built on strongwriting. Shifts in tone and pace within tracks are written with alacrity and performed with a transitional maturity that never feels forced or too abrupt. Basking in beams of light cast by “The Ibex Moon,”1 the ghoulishly fun “Zombie Miscarriage” morphs smoothly from down-tuned tremolo-monstrous riffs over lumbering double-bass rolls to drunkenly swerving doom chords and mid-paced chug ‘n squeals, all punctuated by Phillips’ rancorous roars. Another limb retaining some viably meaty moments is “Relinquished Viscera,” its sluggish, Morbificated opening riffs acquiescing easily to speedier harmonic leads and oft-used pus-pinching harmonics. The last of my odious shoutouts goes to album closer “Vilipendio del Cadaver”2 which sweats Mental Funeral-filled beads of ichor as it trudges and stomps a path filled with doomy goodness, Sabbathian trills, and a swingy section that could give “In the Grip of Winter” a run for its money.

Candarian hit the nail on the head of 90s death metal. Paying tribute to their influences without sounding overtly derivative and accomplishing this through a production that maintains just the right amount of rawness to stay menacing without devolving into the overly cloudy, reverberant depths of early cavern-core. Manageably brief, with a runtime barely cresting 33 minutes, Trepanación tends to feel longer than it is, thanks in part to all the inter-song twists and turns and to four of the seven tracks exceeding the 5-minute mark. Not a major knock, but it was something I felt on all my play-throughs. Working most against them, without having done anything egregiously bad or exceptionally good, is Candarian’s throwback “no more but no less” approach, as this can only take them so far. Which also reinforces guidance I once received from one wizened, hairy primate related to scoring death metal of this ilk.

If you’re ever in the mood for better than passable, old-school, filthy death metal, the Me Saco Un Ojo roster—Cryptworm, Invictus, Phrenelith, Ossuary, Diabolizer and many more among them—does not disappoint. Candarian, a band I’ll certainly be keeping tabs on, is another fine addition, and you could do a lot worse than spend an afternoon or three getting skull fucked by Trepanación.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Me Saco Un Ojo | Memento Mori
Websites: Bandcamp | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: April 27th, 2026

Aquest any es compleixen 30 anys que arribava "Incantation" per "Super Nintendo" de #Nintendo 🕹🎮. #Incantation #SuperNintendo #Plataformes #Videojocs #Gaming #VideoGames #RetroGaming #ClassicGaming #RetroGames #VideojocsAntics

Aquest any es compleixen 30 anys que arribava "Incantation" per "Super Nintendo" de #Nintendo 🕹🎮. #Incantation #SuperNintendo #Plataformes #Videojocs #Gaming #VideoGames #RetroGaming #ClassicGaming #RetroGames #VideojocsAntics

Aquest any es compleixen 30 anys que arribava "Incantation" per "Super Nintendo" de #Nintendo 🕹🎮. #Incantation #SuperNintendo #Plataformes #Videojocs #Gaming #VideoGames #RetroGaming #ClassicGaming #RetroGames #VideojocsAntics

Aquest any es compleixen 30 anys que arribava "Incantation" per "Super Nintendo" de #Nintendo 🕹🎮. #Incantation #SuperNintendo #Plataformes #Videojocs #Gaming #VideoGames #RetroGaming #ClassicGaming #RetroGames #VideojocsAntics

Aquest any es compleixen 30 anys que arribava "Incantation" per "Super Nintendo" de #Nintendo 🕹🎮. #Incantation #SuperNintendo #Plataformes #Videojocs #Gaming #VideoGames #RetroGaming #ClassicGaming #RetroGames #VideojocsAntics

"The moment was all; the moment was enough.”
― Virginia Woolf, The Waves

I don’t always compose. Sometimes I listen—for garden incantations passing through. I capture them in words:

"We are a chord of scattered feathers, our fractures shimmering in the sun; every shifting wind retunes us, composing our unsteady flight into song."

#self-portrait #happiness #joy #garden #incantation #rhyme #woolf

"The moment was all; the moment was enough.”
― Virginia Woolf, The Waves

I don’t always compose. Sometimes I listen—for garden incantations passing through. I capture them in words:

"We are a chord of scattered feathers, our fractures shimmering in the sun; every shifting wind retunes us, composing our unsteady flight into song."

#self-portrait #happiness #joy #garden #incantation #rhyme #woolf

"The moment was all; the moment was enough.”
― Virginia Woolf, The Waves

I don’t always compose. Sometimes I listen—for garden incantations passing through. I capture them in words:

"We are a chord of scattered feathers, our fractures shimmering in the sun; every shifting wind retunes us, composing our unsteady flight into song."

#self-portrait #happiness #joy #garden #incantation #rhyme #woolf

"The moment was all; the moment was enough.”
― Virginia Woolf, The Waves

I don’t always compose. Sometimes I listen—for garden incantations passing through. I capture them in words:

"We are a chord of scattered feathers, our fractures shimmering in the sun; every shifting wind retunes us, composing our unsteady flight into song."

#self-portrait #happiness #joy #garden #incantation #rhyme #woolf

"The moment was all; the moment was enough.”
― Virginia Woolf, The Waves

I don’t always compose. Sometimes I listen—for garden incantations passing through. I capture them in words:

"We are a chord of scattered feathers, our fractures shimmering in the sun; every shifting wind retunes us, composing our unsteady flight into song."

#self-portrait #happiness #joy #garden #incantation #rhyme #woolf

#NintendoSwitch Review Video: #Incantation - If you’re willing to be patient on the more suspenseful moments and scares, there’s at least some payoff here, but there’s also a lot of downtime and general disappointment in between #IndieGames...

https://youtu.be/e_ucxvR-VXo

♬️ BELPHEGOR at DNA Lounge starting now!
https://www.dnalounge.com/calendar/2026/03-07.html?utm_source=sp_ma
#dnalounge #belphegor #incantation #hate #narcoticwasteland #deathmetal #blackmetal #extrememetal #metal #livemusic #concert #sanfrancisco

♬️ BELPHEGOR at DNA Lounge tonight: Sat Mar 7, 6pm!
https://www.dnalounge.com/calendar/2026/03-07.html?utm_source=sp_ma
#dnalounge #belphegor #incantation #hate #narcoticwasteland #deathmetal #blackmetal #extrememetal #metal #livemusic #concert #sanfrancisco

BELPHEGOR! With Incantation, Hate and Narcotic Wasteland. This Saturday, at DNA Lounge! Early doors! 6pm! Get Adv Tix Here:
https://www.dnalounge.com/calendar/2026/03-07.html?utm_source=sp_ma
#dnalounge #belphegor #incantation #hate #narcoticwasteland #deathmetal #blackmetal #extrememetal #metal #livemusic #concert #sanfrancisco

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#BraveWords
Today In Metal History 🤘 August 11th, 2023🤘
WARRANT, LED ZEPPELIN, BELPHEGOR, VENOM INC.

https://bravewords.com/news/today-in-metal-history-august-11th-2023-warrant-led-zeppelin-belphegor-venom-inc

#Warrant #LedZeppelin #Belphegor #VenomInc #KnebworthPark #HollywoodWalkOfFame #JaniLane #ErikKeithBrann #JimKale #MoysesKolesne #WindsOfPlague #Belphegor #AllOutWar #Cormorant #Hinder #Incantation #Motograter #Necrophobic

What if the tennis champion is actually an incarnation of the raw powers of cosmic creation? Well — isn't she?

"Serena Williams," an epic ode to greatness by @yodawill12.

https://fabulistmagazine.com/serena-williams/

#serena
#goddess
#incantation
#poetry
#spokenword

Onirophagus – Revelations From the Void Review

By Alekhines Gun

2025 has gotten off to a picturesque start. It seems like half my country caught fire, and in the half I dwell in, I woke up to discover my car covered in a pile of icy slush for literally the first time in my life. Such dichotomous, if not ominous, happenings to kick off the review year have me reaching out for appropriate background music, and the fusion of death/doom has answered the call. Hailing from Spain, Onirophagus are one of a legion of bands who were gaining some traction before the Great Tour Cease of the early 20’s. Some lineup shuffling and dedicated writing later, they’ve returned with Revelations From the Void, sporting some fantastic artwork and a soundtrack to kick off the year in a depressive, destructive style.

Much like the multi-eyed creature adorning the cover, Revelations From the Void sounds layered, expansive, and intimidating. The drumming of Uretra sounds fantastic, laced with reverb that gives the crunching riffs an open, arena-rock vastness even as the guitars attempt to crush with extreme prejudice. Guitarists Moregod and Obzen drop weaving, interlacing leads over grooving blows and slow dirges that erupt into pit-combusting speeds (“Landsickness”) without ever sounding forced or awkward in transition. Most songs treat riffing as a one-and-done concept, evolving and unfolding as they progress. As a result, Onirophagus have mastered the art of seamlessly switching between requisite plods and sudden head-shattering blasts without awkward pauses or the crutch of amateurish feedback buildup, ensuring each song possesses strength of character and personality.

Onirophagus aren’t content to merely weave apocalyptic signals of destruction in their sound. The doomier passages allow for very emotive, somber expressions. The spirit of Monolord (particularly their excellent No Comfort) is spread throughout the slower passages, giving moodier and far more human flourishes to what would otherwise be tar-drenched riffs. “Hollow Valley” masterfully weaves mournful melodies under harmonized leads, allowing for peaceful introspection before catching you with a baseball bat from behind to ruin (or improve) your well-being. The fiercer moments unsurprisingly chant the Incantation but sound far more filled with blood and vinegar. Vocalist Paingrinder in particular does a fantastic John McEntee impression, spewing a stomach-gurgling growl and tortured shouts which sound like they crawled from the bottom of ye olde abandoned well.

Revelations From the Void is at its best when it experiments. A few riffs are ridden far too long, particularly in “Black Brew”, which takes a nonsensical amount of time to build up to an unexpected and welcome violin abuse by way of Adaestuo. On the rare occasion Onirophagus do choose to repeat sections, not every obligatory chug-a-thon hits with the same impact, particularly in “Landsickness.” Sporadic flourishes with bells, background choirs, and even excellently placed spoken word pepper the album. Closing track and easy album best “Stargazing into the Void” pulls out all the stops with masterfully paced build, a double violin solo and a vaguely triumphant, uplifting ending, a glimmer of light in an eldritch-laced view of space. Falling into a few genre trappings of prolonged riffing and unequal impact do little to dent the mood presented to us through the album, and this concluding destination is worth the journey.

The year begins in uncertainty and disaster, and as always, metal is here to answer the call. I am pleasantly surprised by the quality found in Revelations From the Void, particularly for a sub-genre that isn’t generally predisposed to experimentation and evolution. An album of much less literary songs of ice and fire, the pairing of dark filth with excellent emotive expression have made for a thematic, artsy beginning to the adventures in store for 2025. Hopefully, Onirophagus continue to spread their artistic wings further and push the limits on what can be done in the death/doom wheelhouse. For now, lovers of the sound should dive in, and if the genre styling tends to leave you cold, give it a chance. You never know what Revelations are waiting for you at the end of the road.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Personal Records
Websites: onirophagus.bandcamp.com/album/revelations-from-the-void-3 | Facebook.com/Onirophagus
Releases Worldwide: January 17th, 2025

#2025 #30 #Adaestuo #DeathMetal #DoomMetal #Incantation #Monolord #Onirophagus #PersonalRecords #RevelationsFromTheVoid #Review #Reviews #SpanishMetal

Onirophagus – Revelations From the Void Review

By Alekhines Gun

2025 has gotten off to a picturesque start. It seems like half my country caught fire, and in the half I dwell in, I woke up to discover my car covered in a pile of icy slush for literally the first time in my life. Such dichotomous, if not ominous, happenings to kick off the review year have me reaching out for appropriate background music, and the fusion of death/doom has answered the call. Hailing from Spain, Onirophagus are one of a legion of bands who were gaining some traction before the Great Tour Cease of the early 20’s. Some lineup shuffling and dedicated writing later, they’ve returned with Revelations From the Void, sporting some fantastic artwork and a soundtrack to kick off the year in a depressive, destructive style.

Much like the multi-eyed creature adorning the cover, Revelations From the Void sounds layered, expansive, and intimidating. The drumming of Uretra sounds fantastic, laced with reverb that gives the crunching riffs an open, arena-rock vastness even as the guitars attempt to crush with extreme prejudice. Guitarists Moregod and Obzen drop weaving, interlacing leads over grooving blows and slow dirges that erupt into pit-combusting speeds (“Landsickness”) without ever sounding forced or awkward in transition. Most songs treat riffing as a one-and-done concept, evolving and unfolding as they progress. As a result, Onirophagus have mastered the art of seamlessly switching between requisite plods and sudden head-shattering blasts without awkward pauses or the crutch of amateurish feedback buildup, ensuring each song possesses strength of character and personality.

Onirophagus aren’t content to merely weave apocalyptic signals of destruction in their sound. The doomier passages allow for very emotive, somber expressions. The spirit of Monolord (particularly their excellent No Comfort) is spread throughout the slower passages, giving moodier and far more human flourishes to what would otherwise be tar-drenched riffs. “Hollow Valley” masterfully weaves mournful melodies under harmonized leads, allowing for peaceful introspection before catching you with a baseball bat from behind to ruin (or improve) your well-being. The fiercer moments unsurprisingly chant the Incantation but sound far more filled with blood and vinegar. Vocalist Paingrinder in particular does a fantastic John McEntee impression, spewing a stomach-gurgling growl and tortured shouts which sound like they crawled from the bottom of ye olde abandoned well.

Revelations From the Void is at its best when it experiments. A few riffs are ridden far too long, particularly in “Black Brew”, which takes a nonsensical amount of time to build up to an unexpected and welcome violin abuse by way of Adaestuo. On the rare occasion Onirophagus do choose to repeat sections, not every obligatory chug-a-thon hits with the same impact, particularly in “Landsickness.” Sporadic flourishes with bells, background choirs, and even excellently placed spoken word pepper the album. Closing track and easy album best “Stargazing into the Void” pulls out all the stops with masterfully paced build, a double violin solo and a vaguely triumphant, uplifting ending, a glimmer of light in an eldritch-laced view of space. Falling into a few genre trappings of prolonged riffing and unequal impact do little to dent the mood presented to us through the album, and this concluding destination is worth the journey.

The year begins in uncertainty and disaster, and as always, metal is here to answer the call. I am pleasantly surprised by the quality found in Revelations From the Void, particularly for a sub-genre that isn’t generally predisposed to experimentation and evolution. An album of much less literary songs of ice and fire, the pairing of dark filth with excellent emotive expression have made for a thematic, artsy beginning to the adventures in store for 2025. Hopefully, Onirophagus continue to spread their artistic wings further and push the limits on what can be done in the death/doom wheelhouse. For now, lovers of the sound should dive in, and if the genre styling tends to leave you cold, give it a chance. You never know what Revelations are waiting for you at the end of the road.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Personal Records
Websites: onirophagus.bandcamp.com/album/revelations-from-the-void-3 | Facebook.com/Onirophagus
Releases Worldwide: January 17th, 2025

#2025 #30 #Adaestuo #DeathMetal #DoomMetal #Incantation #Monolord #Onirophagus #PersonalRecords #RevelationsFromTheVoid #Review #Reviews #SpanishMetal

Onirophagus – Revelations From the Void Review

By Alekhines Gun

2025 has gotten off to a picturesque start. It seems like half my country caught fire, and in the half I dwell in, I woke up to discover my car covered in a pile of icy slush for literally the first time in my life. Such dichotomous, if not ominous, happenings to kick off the review year have me reaching out for appropriate background music, and the fusion of death/doom has answered the call. Hailing from Spain, Onirophagus are one of a legion of bands who were gaining some traction before the Great Tour Cease of the early 20’s. Some lineup shuffling and dedicated writing later, they’ve returned with Revelations From the Void, sporting some fantastic artwork and a soundtrack to kick off the year in a depressive, destructive style.

Much like the multi-eyed creature adorning the cover, Revelations From the Void sounds layered, expansive, and intimidating. The drumming of Uretra sounds fantastic, laced with reverb that gives the crunching riffs an open, arena-rock vastness even as the guitars attempt to crush with extreme prejudice. Guitarists Moregod and Obzen drop weaving, interlacing leads over grooving blows and slow dirges that erupt into pit-combusting speeds (“Landsickness”) without ever sounding forced or awkward in transition. Most songs treat riffing as a one-and-done concept, evolving and unfolding as they progress. As a result, Onirophagus have mastered the art of seamlessly switching between requisite plods and sudden head-shattering blasts without awkward pauses or the crutch of amateurish feedback buildup, ensuring each song possesses strength of character and personality.

Onirophagus aren’t content to merely weave apocalyptic signals of destruction in their sound. The doomier passages allow for very emotive, somber expressions. The spirit of Monolord (particularly their excellent No Comfort) is spread throughout the slower passages, giving moodier and far more human flourishes to what would otherwise be tar-drenched riffs. “Hollow Valley” masterfully weaves mournful melodies under harmonized leads, allowing for peaceful introspection before catching you with a baseball bat from behind to ruin (or improve) your well-being. The fiercer moments unsurprisingly chant the Incantation but sound far more filled with blood and vinegar. Vocalist Paingrinder in particular does a fantastic John McEntee impression, spewing a stomach-gurgling growl and tortured shouts which sound like they crawled from the bottom of ye olde abandoned well.

Revelations From the Void is at its best when it experiments. A few riffs are ridden far too long, particularly in “Black Brew”, which takes a nonsensical amount of time to build up to an unexpected and welcome violin abuse by way of Adaestuo. On the rare occasion Onirophagus do choose to repeat sections, not every obligatory chug-a-thon hits with the same impact, particularly in “Landsickness.” Sporadic flourishes with bells, background choirs, and even excellently placed spoken word pepper the album. Closing track and easy album best “Stargazing into the Void” pulls out all the stops with masterfully paced build, a double violin solo and a vaguely triumphant, uplifting ending, a glimmer of light in an eldritch-laced view of space. Falling into a few genre trappings of prolonged riffing and unequal impact do little to dent the mood presented to us through the album, and this concluding destination is worth the journey.

The year begins in uncertainty and disaster, and as always, metal is here to answer the call. I am pleasantly surprised by the quality found in Revelations From the Void, particularly for a sub-genre that isn’t generally predisposed to experimentation and evolution. An album of much less literary songs of ice and fire, the pairing of dark filth with excellent emotive expression have made for a thematic, artsy beginning to the adventures in store for 2025. Hopefully, Onirophagus continue to spread their artistic wings further and push the limits on what can be done in the death/doom wheelhouse. For now, lovers of the sound should dive in, and if the genre styling tends to leave you cold, give it a chance. You never know what Revelations are waiting for you at the end of the road.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Personal Records
Websites: onirophagus.bandcamp.com/album/revelations-from-the-void-3 | Facebook.com/Onirophagus
Releases Worldwide: January 17th, 2025

#2025 #30 #Adaestuo #DeathMetal #DoomMetal #Incantation #Monolord #Onirophagus #PersonalRecords #RevelationsFromTheVoid #Review #Reviews #SpanishMetal

Onirophagus – Revelations From the Void Review

By Alekhines Gun

2025 has gotten off to a picturesque start. It seems like half my country caught fire, and in the half I dwell in, I woke up to discover my car covered in a pile of icy slush for literally the first time in my life. Such dichotomous, if not ominous, happenings to kick off the review year have me reaching out for appropriate background music, and the fusion of death/doom has answered the call. Hailing from Spain, Onirophagus are one of a legion of bands who were gaining some traction before the Great Tour Cease of the early 20’s. Some lineup shuffling and dedicated writing later, they’ve returned with Revelations From the Void, sporting some fantastic artwork and a soundtrack to kick off the year in a depressive, destructive style.

Much like the multi-eyed creature adorning the cover, Revelations From the Void sounds layered, expansive, and intimidating. The drumming of Uretra sounds fantastic, laced with reverb that gives the crunching riffs an open, arena-rock vastness even as the guitars attempt to crush with extreme prejudice. Guitarists Moregod and Obzen drop weaving, interlacing leads over grooving blows and slow dirges that erupt into pit-combusting speeds (“Landsickness”) without ever sounding forced or awkward in transition. Most songs treat riffing as a one-and-done concept, evolving and unfolding as they progress. As a result, Onirophagus have mastered the art of seamlessly switching between requisite plods and sudden head-shattering blasts without awkward pauses or the crutch of amateurish feedback buildup, ensuring each song possesses strength of character and personality.

Onirophagus aren’t content to merely weave apocalyptic signals of destruction in their sound. The doomier passages allow for very emotive, somber expressions. The spirit of Monolord (particularly their excellent No Comfort) is spread throughout the slower passages, giving moodier and far more human flourishes to what would otherwise be tar-drenched riffs. “Hollow Valley” masterfully weaves mournful melodies under harmonized leads, allowing for peaceful introspection before catching you with a baseball bat from behind to ruin (or improve) your well-being. The fiercer moments unsurprisingly chant the Incantation but sound far more filled with blood and vinegar. Vocalist Paingrinder in particular does a fantastic John McEntee impression, spewing a stomach-gurgling growl and tortured shouts which sound like they crawled from the bottom of ye olde abandoned well.

Revelations From the Void is at its best when it experiments. A few riffs are ridden far too long, particularly in “Black Brew”, which takes a nonsensical amount of time to build up to an unexpected and welcome violin abuse by way of Adaestuo. On the rare occasion Onirophagus do choose to repeat sections, not every obligatory chug-a-thon hits with the same impact, particularly in “Landsickness.” Sporadic flourishes with bells, background choirs, and even excellently placed spoken word pepper the album. Closing track and easy album best “Stargazing into the Void” pulls out all the stops with masterfully paced build, a double violin solo and a vaguely triumphant, uplifting ending, a glimmer of light in an eldritch-laced view of space. Falling into a few genre trappings of prolonged riffing and unequal impact do little to dent the mood presented to us through the album, and this concluding destination is worth the journey.

The year begins in uncertainty and disaster, and as always, metal is here to answer the call. I am pleasantly surprised by the quality found in Revelations From the Void, particularly for a sub-genre that isn’t generally predisposed to experimentation and evolution. An album of much less literary songs of ice and fire, the pairing of dark filth with excellent emotive expression have made for a thematic, artsy beginning to the adventures in store for 2025. Hopefully, Onirophagus continue to spread their artistic wings further and push the limits on what can be done in the death/doom wheelhouse. For now, lovers of the sound should dive in, and if the genre styling tends to leave you cold, give it a chance. You never know what Revelations are waiting for you at the end of the road.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Personal Records
Websites: onirophagus.bandcamp.com/album/revelations-from-the-void-3 | Facebook.com/Onirophagus
Releases Worldwide: January 17th, 2025

#2025 #30 #Adaestuo #DeathMetal #DoomMetal #Incantation #Monolord #Onirophagus #PersonalRecords #RevelationsFromTheVoid #Review #Reviews #SpanishMetal

The life of the unpaid, overworked metal reviewer is not an easy one. The reviewing collective at AMG lurches from one new release to the next, errors and n00bs strewn in our wake. But what if, once in a while, the collective paused to take stock and consider the discography of those bands that shaped many a taste? What if multiple aspects of the AMG collective personality shared with the slavering masses their personal rankings of that discography, and what if the rest of the personality used a Google sheet some kind of dark magic to produce an official guide to, and an all-around definitive aggregated ranking of, that band’s entire discography? Well, if that happened, we imagine it would look something like this…

Formed in 1988, Immolation emerged shortly after death metal’s dawn of aggression. Alongside Incantation, Suffocation, and Mortician, Immolation cemented themselves as a cornerstone of New York’s death metal scene in the early 90s. Since then, the band has erected a kingdom of consistency, releasing cut after unholy cut of complex arrangements, unwavering hostility, and anti-religious ruminations about the failures of gods. Key to Immolation’s dependable, high-quality output are mainstays bassist/vocalist Ross Dolan and guitarist Robert Vigna, who have both been with the band since inception. Even Immolation’s other members prove steadfast, with drummer Steve Shalaty searing skins since 2003 and Alex Bouks lending his axe since 2016. Through eleven full-length releases, Immolation has proven that their ability to harness ruin and forge death metal majesty is nigh unparalleled.

With twelfth album Descent arriving soon, staffers old and new clamored to share their opinions on how Immolation’s back catalog stacks up. Unlike rankings mostly prescribed by overwhelming consensus on their highs and lows, Immolation presents a discography with nothing to atone for, providing fertile ground for healthy, well-considered discourse. Without further ado, then, let’s put our ears to the door of a world below and divine these diabolical rankings!

– Grin Reaper

The Rankings

Grin Reaper

In my book, nobody does pure death metal better than Immolation. More consistent than Suffocation and Incantation and more uncompromising than Morbid Angel and Cryptopsy,1 Immolation scoffs at AMG’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™ as they reign atop an unimpeachable discography that lacks a single turd. Seriously. The ‘worst’ album Immolation ever put out still rivals or surpasses the best from most other death metal outfits, and their indomitable march to dismantle the weak and unworthy entrenches them as one of my all-time favorite acts. Jesus wept—Immolation never fucking flinched.

#11. Harnessing Ruin (2005) — Something has to be last, and Harnessing Ruin gets my tap. Songwriting-wise, Immolation drops a strong effort with acerbically grim leads and a rousing introduction to new drummer Steve Shalaty. Guitars supply the album highlights—from the gnarled riffing in “Our Savior Sleeps” and the sludgy sway on “Son of Iniquity” to the scalding solo on “Dead to Me,” Bob Vigna and Bill Taylor sizzle with hell’s fire across Harnessing Ruin. Unfortunately, the album’s production holds it back, and the muffled mix lacks the bite of Unholy Cult. Also, the longest songs cluster at the end, dragging the back half a touch.

#10. Kingdom of Conspiracy (2013) — Kingdom of Conspiracy just ekes ahead of Harnessing Ruin, clocking three minutes briefer despite having one more track. To my ears, Kingdom of Conspiracy features Immolation’s brightest, most modern production. This offers a boon to Dolan’s grating growls and the tormented guitar tandem of Vigna and Taylor, but it also buries the bass and pushes the drums further away from the dead corpse smacks that characterize my favorite Immolation bass drum tones. As one might expect from the bottom end of such an excellent discography, Kingdom of Conspiracy does little wrong, but lacks the heretical heft that defines Immolation’s best material.

#9. Shadows in the Light (2007) — Concluding what I consider Immolation’s middle period, Shadows in the Light chronologically bridges their weakest link, Harnessing Ruin, and powerhouse Nuclear Blast debut, Majesty and Decay. Shadows in the Light drastically improves on Harnessing Ruin’s production, wading out of the former’s forlorn pall and laying down brimstone-tinged bangers like one-two punch “Passion Kill” and “World Agony.” A sense of immediacy pervades Shadows that, while not lacking in the lowest-ranked albums, burns even hotter here, filling its forty minutes with writhing leads and furious drumming that typifies what Immolation does so damned well.

#8. Failures for Gods (1999) — Failures for Gods falling to #8 proves just how potent Immolation’s discography is, as the album would be a crown jewel in countless other discographies. On the surface, Failures for Gods has everything Immolation fans could ask for: punishing grooves, tortured guitars, and vocals that could command the armies of hell. Despite that, Failures for Gods feels like it holds back from the devastating offensive that would launch a year later, instead rehashing rather than progressing what Immolation accomplished on their first two albums. Still, Failures introduced drummer Alex Hernandez, and though his masterstrokes would be heard on Close, songs like “God Made Filth” and “The Devil I Know” heralded the storm to come.

#7. Dawn of Possession (1991) — Pure fucking evil rarely sounds this intoxicating. Steeped in an unpolished production that’s coarse yet clear, Dawn of Possession hooks ears and souls alike, flaying them with its hellish implements. Though it’s Immolation’s most straightforward album, tracks like “Into Everlasting Fire, “Those Left Behind,” and “Immolation” exemplify why suburban mothers clutch their pearls when they happen upon their precious babes listening to death metal. Dawn of Possession was my entry point for Immolation, and it encompasses everything the band offers without guile. I still recommend it for the uninitiated, particularly those who enjoy straight-up OSDM with a side of heresy.

#6. Unholy Cult (2002) — Where Failures for Gods luxuriates in gloomy menace and Close to a World Below reeks of sulfurous damnation, Unholy Cult blurs the line between the two. Starting with a slow build on opener “Of Martyrs and Men,” Unholy Cult careens between ominous drawls and infernal fervor with a substantially improved production over Immolation’s 90s output. “Unholy Cult” remains the second-longest song these death peddlers have penned, and it looms large, rooted in the front half of the album. From there, the tracks rumble and blitz up to closer “Bring Them Down,” a funky barnburner that highlights Dolan’s basswork amidst Immolation’s blazing backdrop.

#5. Majesty and Decay (2010) — Immolation unleashed a juggernaut for their first platter with Nuclear Blast. Blistering, contemplative, and brimming with moldering melody, Majesty and Decay swats with the divine laze of a celestial being, uncoiling at its leisure but devastating in its wrath once roused. Tracks like “A Glorious Epoch” and “The Rapture of Ghosts” toe this line, where beefy chugs pound beneath soaring, anthemic guitars. Meanwhile, the likes of “The Purge” and “A Token of Malice” hit with the force of a thunderclap, unrelenting in their fury. I originally had Majesty and Decay in the same tier as Atonement and Acts of God, but the busy mix and unimaginatively titled “Intro” and “Interlude” hold it back.2

#4. Atonement (2017) — With no song running past the five-minute mark, Atonement exhibits Immolation’s dedication to excising the fat and gristle. Vigna’s crooked leads and crushing riffs mesh perfectly with new guitarist Alex Bouks’ calculated anarchy, and together they synchronize in exquisite harmony. Along with Majesty and Decay, Atonement might be the closest Immolation comes to achieving accessibility. Typically, my favorite straight-up death metal furnishes little room for nuance, and though Immolation doesn’t have a reputation for subtlety, Atonement expertly doles out moments of relief (the end of “When the Jackals Come,” the intro to “Lower”) that almost lull you into safety before the bottom drops out and sends you to hell.

#3. Acts of God (2022) — When I first saw Immolation flaunting fifteen tracks totaling over fifty minutes, I thought their best days were behind them. Bloat is never a good sign, particularly from a band with such a pristine track record. I happily resign to being wrong, though, as Acts of God not only subverted but demolished my expectations. Immolation’s allure lies in the intricacies of their music. Dolan’s patristic admonishment of humanity, Vigna and Bouks’ serpentine noodling, and Shalaty’s tempestuous brutalization of the kit define the band’s sound, yet here the music is more direct and urgent than ever. Rather than missing any beats, Immolation sounds ruinously revitalized.

#2. Here in After (1996) — Though not a significant shift away from Dawn of Possession, Immolation struck nails to gold with Here in After. Compared to later releases, Here in After radiates a few extra degrees of chaos, with deranged soloing that reminds of Slayer’s vision of hell and a slightly more impassioned vocal performance from Dolan. To be clear, his vocals are one of my favorite aspects of Immolation’s sound, and his matter-of-fact, comprehensible gutturals against such malicious metal engenders wonderful drama. The edge to his voice on “Nails to Gold” and “Christ’s Cage” adds a dimension of metaphysical dread that is the chef’s kiss throughout Here in After’s inflamed impiety.

#1. Close to a World Below (2000) — I can’t fathom any other Immolation album topping this blasphemous bonanza than Close to a World Below. Opening with my favorite Immolation track “Higher Coward,” the album bursts forth with an unapologetic eruption of sinuous guitars, vicious growls, and an unyielding onslaught by drummer Alex Hernandez. The drum tones alone deserve a spotlight, but the cataclysmic bombardment of stick on skin violence stops me dead in my tracks anytime one of Close to a World Below’s songs pops up. Immolation distills the essence of what worked so well on previous albums and folds those layers into a perfect performance across eight insidiously immaculate tracks. “Father, You’re Not a Father,” “Unpardonable Sin,” and the closing title track resonate with especially inspired performances, but the entirety of Close to a World Below boils over with the most unhinged and malignant performance of Immolation’s career. Being damned never sounded so Iconic.

Lavender Larcenist

#11. Harnessing Ruin (2005) — Immolation does not have a bad album, but Harnessing Ruin feels like a band chugging along in a bit of an in-between space. The production is muddled here, especially after Unholy Cult and Close to a World Below, but “Our Savior Sleeps” still retains that Immolation heft while “At Mourning’s Twilight” is an inspired closer with an incredible solo at the midpoint. Harnessing Ruin would be the best album of many other bands’ careers, but it is only a lower-tier album for a band as storied as Immolation.

#10. Shadows in the Light (2007) — Shadows in the Light follows Harnessing Ruin in terms of feeling like a band spinning its wheels (as much as a band as talented as Immolation can). Even then, “Passion Kill” is a classic Immolation track with an incredible breakdown that will make a fan out of any listener. “World Agony” follows with a dissonant wailing riff backing as it drops headfirst into a rolling bulldozer of a track. Unfortunately, there isn’t much else to Shadows in the Light that helps it stand out amongst the rest of Immolation’s discography, but it still makes for a solid death metal record with some memorable tracks that have stood the test of time.

#9. Failures for Gods (1999) — Failures for Gods is a solid album that is no slouch in the songwriting department, but it is marred by some truly busted production. Everything feels muddy, oddly loud, and compressed at the same time. “No Jesus, No Beast” is a monster, and the title track features that classic evil tone that becomes so apparent in late-stage Immolation, but the production handicaps this album at every turn. Great songwriting goes a long way, but in a race this tight, poor production brings Failures for Gods low.

#8. Kingdom of Conspiracy (2013) — Kingdom of Conspiracy shaves off a bit of Majesty and Decay’s technicality to its detriment. It is the closest Immolation has come to creating an album that is more groove than tech. As a result, it is probably one of their more approachable records, but it is the weakest of their current era. “Keep the Silence” is a monster of a track, and Kingdom has more than enough material to make it worth a listen. I think this is an album more fans should revisit, and newbies should start with, because it is hooky, heavy, and groovy in ways that will tickle your evil organ.

#7. Dawn of Possession (1991) — Dawn of Possession is an incredible debut from a band that is clearly young and ready to fuck the world up. Robert Vigna’s trademark style is immediately apparent, and Immolation’s blend of groove, dizzying technicality, and evil vibes is on display out of the gate. Craig Smilowski’s drumming is absurd in its rhythm and technical flourishes, but the album lacks the atmosphere that Immolation became famous for later in their career. Dawn of Possession is a fantastic debut that is only brought down by the extent to which its tracks bleed together. Something Immolation struggles with throughout their career.

#6. Here in After (1996) — Here in After sees the band refine their skills and write tighter songs that hit harder while adding just a little dash of that trademark Immolation vibe. The groove is starting to creep in, and tracks like “Christ’s Cage” showcase the band playing with the truly evil tone that pervades their most recent work. Album opener “Nailed to Gold” is a classic for the band, and Here in After is a quintessential Immolation album. Ross Dolan’s vocals have switched from Dawn’s nastier tone to his trademark bellow, and Vigna’s pirouetting shredwork is here to stay. Here in After is Immolation in classic form.

#5. Close to a World Below (2000) — Opening with “Higher Coward”, Close to a World Below starts on a high note and never stops delivering. The production foibles of Failures are ironed out, and Immolation sounds like a band ready to bulldoze society. “Unpardonable Sin” is as heavy as it is frantic with its switches back and forth between dissonant groove and face-melting speed. “Lost Passion” crescendos into trademark Immolation wankery in the best way, but Close to a World Below still suffers from some odd production. Dolan’s vocals feel slightly different track to track, but this is an album with some of Immolation’s best songs to date.

#4. Unholy Cult (2002) — Something about Unholy Cult just clicks for me. “Of Martyrs and Men” is that pure, wonderful, evil shit. After an explosive intro, the track moves into one of Immolation’s most crushing riffs. The title track is a slice of hell in a way the band hasn’t played with since “Christ’s Cage”, an eight-minute epic that is as catchy as it is devastating. Vigna flips from this vibrato-tremolo guitar riff right into an all-out assault and back to massive Immolation grooves without a hitch. Unholy Cult is stuffed with great tracks and feels like a first step towards the second half of Immolation’s career, where atmosphere and groove hold more sway over pure technicality.

#3. Majesty and Decay (2010) — Majesty and Decay is where modern Immolation comes into full form. Part truly diabolical atmosphere, part neutron star heavy, all technical and groovy as hell. “Intro” gives listeners a glimpse into the band’s future. “A Glorious Epoch” has one of the best riffs, basically ever, making for a track that gets my blood boiling without fail. “A Token of Malice” is astounding in its technicality while being a freight train of destruction with Vigna riding shotgun. Majesty and Decay is also the best Immolation has sounded up to this point, where the production finally feels consistent, clear, and absolutely brutal.

#2. Atonement (2017) — Likely an album that will grace the top tier on every list, Atonement feels like the quintessential Immolation album. If I were to introduce the band to anyone, I would probably start here. “When the Jackals Come” is one of the band’s best tracks, and “Lower” is just astounding in how brutal Immolation still is decades later. It also keeps things at a slim and trim forty-four minutes, and album closer “Epiphany” puts a perfect bow on this devil baby. There isn’t a track worth skipping on Atonement, a feat made all the more impressive when it is a band ten albums into their career.

#1. Acts of God (2022) — Where do I start with Acts of God? To me, it is the perfect combination of creativity, groove, technicality, and that evil Immolation sound we have come to know and cherish. As one of Immolation’s longest albums, you would think the well has run dry, but the intro “Abandoned” and interlude “And The Flames Wept” add so much cohesion to the album and drape the entire affair in a veil of depravity. Acts of God features some of Immolation’s biggest and baddest riffs, while also pushing their atmosphere to new heights. Their most evil album, their most creative, and maybe even their heaviest. “Noose of Thorns” is led by a diabolical descending riff that drops into high-pitched tapping that sets the tone so well you can’t help but feel pulled by hell’s destructive currents. “Immoral Stain” is dripping with malice; you can hear it seep into every riff and lyric. “Let the Darkness In” features a bouncing, infectious groove that immediately flips into Vigna’s trademark dissonant wails. Acts of God is Immolation’s magnum opus in every sense, and somehow my favorite album by a band that feels like they can do no wrong.

Mark Z.

Immolation feel like old friends. I discovered them early in my extreme metal journey and was immediately captivated by Bob Vigna’s unconventional riffing style and Ross Dolan’s commanding (and surprisingly comprehensible) growl. No matter what’s happened in the metal scene, it’s always been comforting to know that Immolation have been there, touring relentlessly while consistently delivering their trademark brand of dissonant death metal and never releasing a true dud. In the world of old school death metal, they’re the one band I could always count on. Because of that, they’ll always have a special place in my ever-blackening heart.

#11. Shadows in the Light (2007) — Not a bad album, just a relatively bland one. While there are some inspired ideas, most of the tracks have little of the dark atmosphere or interesting songwriting found on their earlier material. Nonetheless, it’s a testament to Immolation’s quality that even their worst album still has stuff as good as the lumbering grooves of “Passion Kill” or the growl-along catchiness of “World Agony,” which is one of the group’s best songs.

#10. Harnessing Ruin (2005) — Arguably Immolation’s most accessible album, Harnessing Ruin shows them trying to find their place in the mid-2000s death metal scene by writing some more direct songs than usual. Just like with Shadows in the Light, however, this album sags in its back half and lacks the darkness or quality of the first few records. There’s good stuff here, but this record also feels bleak and oddly dated, possibly due to the generic mid-2000s artwork, plain production job, or the misguided use of whispered vocals in “Dead to Me” and “Son of Iniquity.”

#9. Kingdom of Conspiracy (2013) — The fucking drums, man. The drum sound here is borderline overbearing, and given that this record is already pretty fast, the overall experience is a relentless and punishing one that largely crushes nuance beneath the heel of its boot. Fortunately, the riffing is still strong, and the album’s generally fast nature makes the slower, commanding marches of “Keep the Silence” and “All That Awaits Us” hit all the harder.

#8. Majesty and Decay (2010) — After a relatively lackluster era in the mid-2000s, Immolation signed to Nuclear Blast and seemed hell-bent on redemption with Majesty and Decay. Compared to its immediate predecessors, this record has an improved production job, more dynamic songwriting, and a better sense of structure (with the band employing an intro track and interlude for the first time). While the title track’s Gateways to Annihilation vibes make it one of the band’s best slower songs, the album as a whole would be better if some of the weaker tracks were shaved off and a few others were tightened up a bit.

#7. Acts of God (2022) — This is a very good album with two main issues: It’s too long, and it has the misfortune of having to follow up Atonement. Not even an Immolation album needs to be 52 minutes long, and compared to its predecessor, the production is stuffier and the songs aren’t as strong. As a whole, however, this is still a blasphemous good time that maintains a consistently high level of quality throughout, with “The Age of No Light” and “Overtures of the Wicked” being especially powerful cuts.

#6. Unholy Cult (2002) — Immolation’s fifth album represents a bridge between the apocalyptic malevolence of their early material and the polished hostility of their later work. It’s also potentially their most vicious and chaotic release, with the opening track “Of Martyrs and Men” even featuring some borderline-mathcore riffs. While at times tough to untangle, Unholy Cult ultimately succeeds as a 41-minute shrapnel blast of ideas that somehow combines the epic and the violent into an utterly compelling whole.

#5. Failures for Gods (1999) — The start of Immolation’s long partnership with producer Paul Orofino, Failures for Gods is held back a bit by his lack of prior experience with death metal, with the bass drums sounding like bouncing basketballs. Stylistically and structurally, however, this is essentially Here in After Part II, with twisted and brooding compositions that vary between being grandiose and cutthroat. While a bit front-loaded, Failures is still a brilliant record. In a just world, “No Jesus, No Beast” would be the closer at every Immolation show.

#4. Dawn of Possession (1991) — Immolation’s debut essentially gave their death-thrash demo tracks a murkier production job and placed them alongside newer songs that would hint at the band’s dissonance to come. As such, Dawn of Possession is the most traditional death metal album in the band’s catalog while also being one of the most distinct and stylistically diverse. While Bob Vigna would only improve as a songwriter from here, Dawn’s numerous classic tracks and otherworldly sense of blasphemy make it easy to love, warts and all.

#3. Atonement (2017) — How the fuck is this album so good? Late-career albums aren’t supposed to be this good, but this is the rare lightning-strike release where everything hits just right: the production, the songwriting, the performances, and even the cover art (which marks the return of the band’s classic logo). It’s like they found a way to increase the quality of everything while sacrificing nothing, resulting in a record that’s powerful yet understated, hooky yet stuffed with riffs, and listenable yet extreme. It may be slightly front-loaded, but it’s still one of my favorite death metal albums of the 2010s.

#2. Here in After (1996) — Arriving five years after their debut, Here in After shows Immolation truly coming into their own, with Bob Vigna’s dark, dissonant arrangements and Ross Dolan’s menacing, intelligible growl both emerging in full force. The improved songwriting is apparent right from the flawless opener, “Nailed to Gold,” which could be one of the Top 10 death metal songs ever. While the twisted structures that follow are less immediately accessible, it all eventually coalesces into a masterfully crafted whole, demonstrating a keen sense of flow and diversity while exuding a timeless, unheavenly darkness that only Immolation could conjure.

#1. Close to a World Below (2000) — There are certain albums so good that they transcend not only their own band’s discography, but also the rest of their genre. Close to a World Below is one of those albums. Never before or since has an album sounded so much like being in hell, with a suffocating and merciless production job that somehow still allows every note to be heard in all its unholy glory. Drummer Alex Hernandez delivers a once-in-a-career performance that sounds like he’s bashing every part of his kit at once, and Bob Vigna somehow manages to write his catchiest material while still delivering riffs more warped than ever. The record also has one of the best openings of all time, with a sullen voice asking, “Didn’t you say. . . Jesus was coming?” before a blasting onslaught tramples any hope of ever making it to heaven. Fukk it, send me below!

Spicie Forrest

Having begun my metal journey in nü territory, there are holes in my metallic knowledge you could drive a commercial truck through.3 While Immolation has long been a name vaguely known to me, it wasn’t until Atonement that I actually heard any of their music. So, when the call for a ranking came in, I saw an excellent opportunity to dive deeply into a storied discography and see what I’ve been missing.

#11. Harnessing Ruin (2005) — While comparably unremarkable, even the bottom end of this list is still good. The truth is, Immolation has never put out a bad album. With such a consistent base quality, placing albums in a numbered order became a game of sudden death. The nail in the coffin for Harnessing Ruin? The whispering vocals on “Dead to Me” and “Son of Iniquity.”

#10 Unholy Cult (2002) — How the hell do you follow up Close to a World Below? By comparison—and even in isolation—Unholy Cult feels lackluster and unremarkable. I’d likely still recognize most of this as Immolation in a playlist, and it’s still very solid death metal by any measure, but there’s precious little here that demands my attention or elevates it above background music. Additionally, pacing shifts, as on “Reluctant Messiah” and “Bring Them Down,” make it difficult to find a groove or flow through the album.

#9 Failures for Gods (1999) — The first three albums Immolation released are all, more or less, of a piece. Failures for Gods maintains much of the quality from earlier releases, from the searing, whiplash solo work and deep riffage of “No Jesus, No Beast” and “Failures for Gods” to the brooding, intimidating tone of “The Devil I Know.” There’s a bit of staleness that creeps into Failures for Gods, though. Aside from some odd, Spanish-inflected acoustic riffing on the title track, not much here stands out from their earlier work or in retrospect.

#8 Shadows in the Light (2007) — Immolation’s output through the mid-00s is, for me, their least engaging, but Shadows in the Light sees them begin to turn things around toward the high quality they’d been known for in the early years. The percussion on Shadows in the Light caught me by surprise, reminding me mightily of Slipknot’s self-titled. Steve Shalaty’s kit work feels alive and visceral, just itching to incite a riot. This holds especially true on “Passion Kill” and “Breathing the Dark.”

#7 Kingdom of Conspiracy (2013) — Kingdom of Conspiracy is an odd duck in Immolation’s discography. This 2013 release has proven divisive not only for its shift in theme,4 but for its notably clean production, as well. While I do appreciate the clarity and snappiness, it is a tad sterile. Ross Dolan’s vocals are hurt the most by this, making him sound toothless and tired. Highlights like “All That Awaits Us” and “God Complex” still hit hard, but as a whole, Kingdom of Conspiracy just doesn’t have the searing identity of records higher on this list.

#6 Here in After (1996) — Being the sophomore album is a tough break. The pressure’s on, expectations are high. Here in After largely holds the line and even improves on the debut in some ways—the title track and “Christ’s Cage” are absolute powerhouses, wielding the weight of worlds like feathers. That said, Here in After does not feel as compositionally tight or structurally sound as Dawn of Possession. Additionally, much of the solo work feels jarring and a skosh too chaotic for my sensibilities, especially on “Nailed to Gold” and “Burn with Jesus.”

#5 Majesty and Decay (2010) — A continuation of the upward shift in quality from Shadows in the Light, Majesty and Decay sees Immolation beginning to explore the more tempered, measured sound so prevalent in their contemporary output. Some tracks, like “A Thunderous Consequence” and “Power and Shame,” fall flat in their attempts to create atmosphere, but “Divine Code” and “A Glorious Epoch” show exactly how menacing and powerful Immolation can be and truly embody the title of the album.

#4 Dawn of Possession (1991) — This served as the standard by which all else was measured. Apocalyptic and vicious, Immolation’s debut was a revelation. There’s a ferocity on Dawn of Possession that only a young band eager to share their vision can produce. And in so doing, Immolation marred the tapestry forever. Injecting their relentless assault with streaks of virtuosity, Dawn of Possession became the bar not only for the band, but for thousands of inspired musicians in the decades since. Immolation has tweaked and tempered their blueprint in the 35 years since, but the core has always remained.

#3 Acts of God (2022) — I’m normally not a fan of intros, but “Abandoned” sets the stage perfectly for the brutal and utterly savage cudgeling to come. Fully returning to the unchecked hatred for Christians and their gods, Acts of God is contemptuous and caustic in way that hasn’t been heard since Close to a World Below. Most impressive here is Immolation’s success in merging the pomp and circumstance of their modern output with the rage of their early work. While not strictly their best release, Acts of God is a quintessential work, defining the true identity of Immolation.

#2 Close to a World Below (2000) — Already known for their malicious, uncompromising sound, Immolation cranks all the dials to eleven on Close to a World Below. It’s seething, it’s virulent, it’s fucking hostile. If this masterpiece ever lets up, it’s only to parade and mock the mangled corpse of Christ before grabbing a bigger hammer. Every second of this album drips with scorn, from the indictment of “Father, You’re Not a Father,” to the blasphemy of “Unpardonable Sin.” I get chills at the start of “Higher Coward” every fucking time, and they don’t go away until long after “Close to a World Below” fades out.

#1 Atonement (2017) — The first Immolation album I ever heard, Atonement still remains untouched. The imperial confidence and contempt—the sheer power—left me speechless, and I still return to it, nearly ten years later. Atonement is more atmospheric than much of their other work, but the result is a heretofore unknown level of weight and heft, no doubt aided by its more vibrant and textured production. Like the change in the air before a coming storm, Atonement feels like a harbinger of ruin, and at times like the disaster itself. Barns burn on tracks like “Destructive Currents” and “Rise the Heretics,” but Immolation truly shines in patient malevolence. Highlights like “When the Jackals Come,” “Thrown to the Fire,” and “Lower” are in no rush to grind your bones to paste. Atonement is the full realization of what was hinted on Majesty and Decay, and it is breathtaking to behold.

Angry Metal Guy Staff Ranking

Thanks to the dark magic of profane arithmetic, we present the aggregate staff ranking below:

1. 1. Harnessing Ruin (2005)
   2. Shadows in the Light (2007)
   3. Kingdom of Conspiracy (2013)
   4. Failures for Gods (1999)
   5. Unholy Cult (2002)
   6. Dawn of Possession (1991)
   7. Majesty and Decay (2010)
   8. Here in After (1996)
   9. Acts of God (2022)
   10. Atonement (2017)
   11. Close to a World Below (2000)

For any ignorant, curious, or non-practicing heathens out there that need to bathe in the everlasting fire, look no further than AMG’s Immolation primer:



It’s gotta be tough being inspired by genre giants. For bands like Incantation or Autopsy, it can be hard to drink from their well without sounding like derivative, uninspired knockoffs. In the realm of brutal death, Suffocation unsurprisingly stands at the top of the corpse pile, with a sound that’s inspired offshoot after offshoot and triggered more permutations of listener-savaging than one can count. There was a period when “Suffoclone” was used as a term of mockery, and now time has looped back around to turning such a descriptor into a potential point of praise. Architectural Genocide have landed with their sophomore album Malignant Cognition, which unsurprisingly seeks to worship at the altar of the brutal death kings. Will their tribute allow them to rise to the ranks of priesthood in this church of the charnel, or relegate them to mere parish members of the profane?

Architectural Genocide overcome brutal deaths first major hurdle with an excellent sound and a clearly articulated production. With a slightly above average DR (particularly by genre standards), every instrument1 is clearly articulated, with a real shine to the drums. Nate Conner’s drum performance rides snare violations, and china fills in what sounds like a refreshingly undigital performance, while guitarists Tom Savage and Caleb Baker offer up a hodgepodge of slams and chuggy assaults which alternate between breakdowns and full-blown Suffo-isms at the drop of a hat. Vocalist Daniel Brockway, in particular, manages to share a similar register with Ricky Myers when in his higher range, adding some sense of familiarity to the proceedings. Everything is confidently delivered and competently composed.

Malignant Cognition by ARCHITECTURAL GENOCIDE

With brutal death being such a broad target to hit, various strains of DNA making their presence known is unsurprising. As already alluded too, Suffocation are the clear cornerstone, with Architectural Genocide even going so far as to kick off the album with a sample that uses the phrase “Bind, torture, kill” (“Precursor to Bloodshed.”) Occasional nods to mid-era Devourment (“Malicious Wager”) and swings to Mob Justice-era Vulvodynia (“Leave It to Cleaver”) litter Malignant Cognition, as one riff after another attempts to channel different foul spirits of savagery into one whole. In the included promo sheet, Architectural Genocide brag about distilling all the vital elements of the genre into one offering, and the sheer glut of names that can occur to anyone with a slight knowledge of the genre is telling that they’ve done their homework.

But while it’s true that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, everyone always forgets the back half of the quote: “…that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” In a world where gurgles and snare-shattering blasts are a requisite, the distinction between the goods and the greats is personality. Architectural Genocide have their greatest strength function as their biggest Achilles heel, in that they remind me of so many other bands that I find myself wishing I was listening to them instead. The snare-based drum patterns grow to be so repetitive that even Pathology might suggest toning them down a little bit, while tracks like “Malicious Wager” use a start-stop method of riffing which doesn’t get past Amputate in “intensity”, with the staccato presentation only underscoring how “fine” it is. The most interesting riffing and intense moments are all saved for the back end of the album (“Zed Requiem”, Stuffed Under Floordboards”), where Nate Connor unfurls some genuinely fun fills, and we have our first meaningful bass presence. We even get a slam worthy of slicing spines to carry us to the conclusion, ending on a high note, but also leaving one to ask where this personality has been hiding the entire time. It seems like Architectural Genocide have spent the last few years learning the compositional tricks of all these great bands, but are still struggling to cobble together the pieces into what distinguished those outfits from their hoards of imitators.

This is disappointing, because Architectural Genocide are skilled players with a good grasp of composition. But at the moment, that composition has only allowed them to ring out with the echoes of the greats, rather than sing with their own anthems of death. Nobody knocks bands anymore (usually) for sounding inspired by others, but everyone at least knows that you have to come with flair and personality, not just good emulation of style. I believe the band has the toolset to evolve past their inspirations, and I am rooting for them to do so. In the meantime, if you need a quick fix of head-bobbing gnarliness, there are plenty worse options out there.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Comatose Music
Website: Official Album Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: January 16th, 2025

Putrevore – Unending Rotten Cycle Review

By Alekhines Gun

Inevitable. Perpetual. Eternal. Constant. And of course, Unending. All monikers appropriate for the supremacy of death, widely recognized by figures wiser than me as the most unifying of all our experiences. Whether your death is peaceful, disease-ridden, or a sudden explosion of macabre tragedy, it will come, and it will bear a face unique to your own experience. It’s fitting, then, that death metal too has such an inexhaustible supply of manifestations and sonic descriptors from which to draw from. There’s seemingly no end to the offshoots of subgenres and tributes and evolutions to be found around the world, but no matter how wanky or prog-infused the labels get, as time moves forward, death still awaits. Putrevore are a two-piece international outfit, one of innumerable side projects from Rogga Johnson (Paganizer) and Dave Rotten of Avulsed. Here to escort us through the cemetery on their fifth album, Unending Rotten Cycle, the question isn’t whether you will get out alive, but how mangled and abused your corpse will be by the time we’re finished.

That Putrevore offer up death metal is no surprise, but this is no bright sounding colorful death. Unending Rotten Cycle is that wet death, that freshly tilled, earthworm-infested, “the body is equal parts chunky and liquid” moist and cooled soil breed of death. With a tone like old Autopsy recorded in a cavernous depth, Putrevore offer up a smorgasbord of blasts and assaults devoid of anything offering reprieve or hope. Acoustic interludes? Melodic runs? Forget about it. Unending Rotten Cycle operates on a two-pronged assault of steamroller attacks which alternate into a crushing riff or groove that pulls from the well of all the maggot-infested giants of past and present, while Dave Rotten’s large-intestine-originated bellows holler from below and amidst the music, drenched in reverb and disgust.

Every song on display features a highlight worthy of note, and standouts really depend on which cadaverific presentation you’re most into. “Mortal Ways of the Flesh” features a devastatingly foul chuggathon slathered with just a whiff of hair-windmill inducing lead pulled from the book of Funebrarum, while “Morbid Procession” reminds one of the more frantic moments of Incantations Onward to Golgotha. “They Worship Disarray” has a shockingly accessible crowd-chant of a chorus with Dave Rotten’s voice paradoxically clear and enunciated despite sounding like bubbles erupting from a pool of miasma. The filth of Fetid is laced through blasts beats, and down-tempo lurches, while vintage Phrenelith destruction echoes through “The Cradle Replaced by the Grave.” Doses of Vastum, Demilich, Funebre, and Mortiferium leave their fingerprints across tempo changes, diseased-sounding scales, and one corpse sodomizing groove after another.

The final product results in Unending Rotten Cycle being a succinct, straightforward, and high-quality offering of the most decomposed breed of death metal. Guitarist/Bassist Rogga Johnson excavates riffs that manage to touch on so many flavors and sounds that I could burn my whole word count trying to name and list them all. The only real downside to this sort of presentation is that it threatens to become overwhelmed by the uniformity of what it sets out to do. And yet, brevity in song composition and album length help combat this, with each track coming in, throwing a slab of corpse meat at you, and running off before you have the chance to process how violated you are. “The Cradle Replaced by the Grave” does a good job at just grazing a shift in atmosphere to announce it as an album closer, featuring the most moody of its chord progressions and whiff of leads before leaving your coffin shattered and tattered. At a hair over half an hour in length, the listener has no opportunity to succumb to boredom as Putrevore wisely peace out at a timely moment, leaving you with the silence of the cemetery for company.

Unending Rotten Cycle stands tall as a testament to the inexhaustible possibilities of death. A glut of excellent riffs and a relatively short presentation ensure that, despite the (deliberate) stylistic limitations, Putrevore manage to squeeze the maximum amount of offal from this corpse. If you like death metal and you’re tired of overly polished wankery or needlessly humanized presentations, I cannot imagine this being anything but a ghastly joy to listen to. Death metal will always rule the roost, and while far from innovative, Unending Rotten Cycle reigns supreme in its fierce display of the genre’s might, impact, and staying power. Now, everyone grab a shovel, and start digging. Six feet should be more than sufficient for our needs…

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Xtreem Music
Website: Album Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: November 11th, 2025

#35 #autopsy #deathMetal #demilich #fetid #funebrarum #funebre #incantation #internationalMetal #mortiferium #nov25 #phrenelith #putrevore #review #reviews #unendingRottenCycle #vastum #xtreemMusic

Stuck in the Filter: August 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity

The heat persists, but now the humidity comes in full force as storm systems wreak havoc upon the coasts. I hide in my cramped closet of an office, lest I be washed out once again by an unsuspecting deluge. However, I still send my minions out into the facility, bound by duty to search for those metallic scraps on which we feast.

Fortuitously, most all of those imps I sent out came back alive, and with wares! BEHOLD!

Kenstrosity’s Galactic Gremlin

Silent Millenia // Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil [August 26th, 2025 – Self-Release]

Have you ever seen such a delightfully cheesy cover? Probably, but it’s been a while for me. I bought Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil, the second raw symphonic black metal opus from Finnish one-man act Silent Millenia, on the strength of the artwork alone. Little did I know that what lay beyond this crimson veil was some of the most fun melodic black metal this side of Moonlight Sorcery. The same low-fi roughness that personifies Old Nick’s work grounds Silent Millenia’s starbound songwriting as it traverses the universe with an energetic punch reminiscent of Emperor or Stormkeep (“Awaken the Celestial Spell,” “Daemonic Mastery”). To help differentiate Silent Millenia’s sound from that of their peers, a gothic atmosphere ensorcells much of this material to great effect, merging eerie Victorian melodies with galactic adventurism in an unlikely pair (“Enthrone the Spectral”). Swirling synths and sparkling twinkles abound as well, creating blissful moments of interest as frosty tremolos and piercing blasts take full advantage of the false sense of security those entrancing clouds of synthetic instrumentation create (“Benighted Path to Darkness Mysterium,” “Reign in Cosmic Majesty”). Simply put, Celestial Twilight is an unexpected gem of a symphonic black metal record, bursting with killer ideas and infinite levels of raw, unabashed fun. You should hear it!

Kronos’ Unexpected Unearthments

Street Sects // Dry Drunk [August 15th, 2025 – Self Release]

Dry Drunk sticks to your inner surfaces, draining down like cigarette tar along paralyzed cilia to pool in your lungs until the cells themselves foment rebellion. Once it’s in you, you feel paranoid, wretched, and alone. So it’s the proper follow-up to Street Sects’ visionary debut, End Position. Like that record, Dry Drunk plumbs the most mundane and unsavory gutters of America for a cast of protagonists that it dwells in or dispatches with a mixture of pity and disgust, with vocalist Leo Ashline narrating their violent crimes and self-hatred in a mixture of croons, shrieks, and snarls that cook the air before the speakers into the scent of booze and rotten teeth. And like that record, Shaun Ringsmuth (Glassing) dresses the sets with a fractal litter of snaps, squeals, crashes, gunshots, and grinding electronics, caked in tar and collapsing just as soon as it is swept into a structure. And like End Position, Dry Drunk is a masterpiece. The impeccable six-song stretch from “Love Makes You Fat” through “Riding the Clock” ties you to the bumper and drags you along some of the duo’s most creative side-roads, through the simmering, straightjacketed sludge of “Baker Act” to the chopped-up, smirking electronica of “Eject Button.” Swerving between addled, unintelligible agony and unforgettable anthems, Dry Drunk, like End Position before it is nothing less than the life of a junkie scraped together, heated on a spoon, and injected into your head. Once you’ve taken a hit, you will never be quite the same.

Thus Spoke’s Frightening Fragments

Defacement // Doomed [August 22nd, 2025 – Self Release]

There’s music for every vibe.1 The one Defacement fits is an exclusively extreme metal flavor of moody that is only appreciable by genre fans, made tangibly more eerie by their persistent idiosyncratic use of dark ambient interludes amidst the viciously distorted blackened death. Audiences—and reviewers—tend to disparage these electronic segments, but I’ve always felt their crackling presence increases the analog horror of it all, and rather than being a breather from the intensity, they prolong the nausea, the sense of emptiness, and the abject fearfulness of head-based trauma. This latter concept grows more metaphorical still on Doomed, where the violence is inside the mind, purpose-erasing, and emotionally-detaching. The ambience might be the most sadly beautiful so far (“Mournful,” and “Clouded” especially), and the transitions into nightmarish heaviness arguably the most fluid. And the metal is undoubtedly the most ambitious, dynamic, and magnificent of Defacement’s career, combining their most gruesome dissonance (“Portrait”) with their most bizarrely exuberant guitar melodies (“Unexplainable,” “Unrecognised”). Solos drip tangibly with (emotional) resonance (“Unexplainable,” “Absent”) and there’s not a breath or a moment of wasted space. Yes, the band’s heavier side can suffer from a nagging sense of homogeneous mass, but it remains transporting. While I can appreciate why others do not appreciate Defacement, this is the first of their outings I can truthfully say mesmerised me on first listen.

ClarkKent’s Heated Hymns

Phantom Fire // Phantom Fire [August 8th, 2025 – Edged Circle Productions]

While I waded through the murky depths of the August promo sump, Steel implored me to take the eponymous third album from Phantom Fire. “The AMG commentariat love blackened heavy metal,” he said. I disregarded his advice at my peril, and while I ended up enjoying what I grabbed, it turns out this would have been solid too. Featuring members from Enslaved, Kraków. Hellbutcher, and Aeternus, Phantom Fire play old school speed metal that harks back to the likes of Motörhead and Iron Maiden’s Killers. Thanks to healthy doses of bass and production values that allow the instruments to shine, each song is infused with energetic grooves. The music sounds fresh, crisp, and clear, from the booming drums to Eld’s “blackened” snarls. Early tracks “Eternal Void” and “All For None” show off the catchy blend of simple guitar riffs and a hoppin’ bass accompanied by energetic kit work. While placing a somewhat lengthy instrumental track in the middle of a record usually slows it down, “Fatal Attraction” turns out to be a highlight. It tells a tragic love story involving a motorcycle with nothing but instruments, an engine revving, and some police sirens. The second half of Phantom Fire gets a bit on the weirder side, turning to some stoner and psychedelia. There’s a push and pull between the stoner and Motörhead speed stuff on songs like “Malphas” and “Submersible Pt. 2,” and this blend actually works pretty well. It turns out that they aren’t phantom after all—these guys are truly fire.

Burning Witches // Inquisition [August 22nd, 2025 – Napalm Records]

With six albums in eight years, Swiss quintet Burning Witches has really been burning rubber. While such prolific output in such a short time frame generally spells trouble, Inquisition is a solid piece of heavy/power metal. Burning Witches dabbles in a mix of speedy power metal and mid-tempo heavy metal, often sounding like ’80s stalwarts Judas Priest and Def Leppard. With Laura Guldemond’s gruff voice, they produce a more weighty, less happy version of power metal than the likes of Fellowship or Frozen Crown. While the songs stick to formulaic structures, tempo shifts from song to song help keep things from growing stale. We see this variety right from the get-go, where “Soul Eater” takes a high-energy approach before moving into the more mellow “Shame.” There’s even a pretty solid ballad, “Release Me,” that grounds the back half of the record. Songs of the sort that Burning Witches write need catchy choruses, and fortunately, they deliver. “High Priestess of the Night” is a particular standout, delivering a knock-out punch in its delivery. It helps that the instrumental parts are well-executed, from crunchy riffs to subdued solos to booming blast beats. Anyone looking for a solid bit of power metal that’s not too heavy on the cheese will find this worth a listen.

Deathhammer // Crimson Dawn [August 29th, 2025 – Hells Headbangers Records]

Celebrating 20 years of blackened speed, Deathhammer drop LP number six with the kind of energy that exhausted parents dread to see in their children at bedtime. This is my first foray with the band, and I am in awe of the relentless level of manic energy they keep throughout Crimson Dawn’s 39 minutes. If science could learn how to harness their energy, we’d have an endless source of renewables. The two-piece out of Norway channels classic Slayer on crack and even has moments reminiscent of Painkiller-era Judas Priest. They play non-stop thrash cranked to 11, with persistent blast beats and some dual guitar parts that leave your head spinning from the rapid-fire directions the riffs fire off in. The heart of the mania is singer Sergeant Salsten. His crazed vocals are amazing—snarling, shouting, and shrieking in a way that took me back to the manic pitch Judge Doom could reach in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? He sings so fast that on the chorus of “Crimson Dawn,” it sounds like he says “Griffindor,” which had me searching confusedly for the Harry Potter tag. This was probably my favorite song, not just because of the Griffindor thing, but because that chorus is so catchy. Either way, it’s tough to pick a standout track because they all grip you by the throat and don’t let go. Crimson Dawn is a ton of fun and a must listen if you like your music fast.

Grin Reaper’s Bountiful Blight

Kallias // Digital Plague [August 14th, 2025 – Self Release]

Machine gun drumming, spacey synths, Morbid Angel-meets-Meshuggah riffing, Turian-esque barking and Voyager-reminiscent vocal melodies…what the fuck is going on here? The only thing more surprising than someone having the moxie to blend all these things together is how well they work in concert. Kallias doesn’t hold back on sophomore album Digital Plague, and the result is a rocket-fueled blast through forty-four minutes of eclectic, addictive prog. The mishmash of styles keeps the album fresh and unpredictable while never dipping its toes in inconsistent waters, and staccato rhythms propel listeners through eight tracks without losing steam. As with any prog metal worth its salt, Kallias brandishes technical prowess, and their cohesion belies the relatively short time they’ve been putting out music.2 The mix is well-suited to spotlight whoever needs it at a given time, whether the bass is purring (“Exogíini Kyriarchía”), the drums are being annihilated (“Pyrrhic Victory”), or a guitar solo nears Pettrucian wankery (“Phenomenal in Theory”). The end result is three-quarters of an hour filled with myriad influences that fuse into a sound all Kallias’s own, and it’s one I’ve returned to several times since discovering (also, credit to MontDoom for his stunning artwork, which helped initially draw my attention). Check it out—you’ll be sick if you avoid this one like the Plague.

Luke’s Kaleidoscopic Kicks

Giant Haze // Cosmic Mother [August 22nd, 2025 – Tonzonen Records]

Whereas many of my colleagues are bracing themselves for cooler conditions and harsh winters to come, in my neck of the woods, things are warming up. While my own wintry August filter proved scarce, there was one particular summery gem to lift moods with burly riffs and fat stoner grooves. Unheralded German act Giant Haze seemingly emerged out of nowhere during a random Bandcamp deep dive. Debut LP Cosmic Mother channels the good old days of ’90s-inspired desert rock, featuring grungy, doomy vibes via a groovy batch of riff-centric, hard-rocking and uplifting jams, evoking the nostalgic spirit of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Clutch and perhaps even a dash of Danzig. Punching out raucous, groove-soaked hard rockers with skyscraping hooks (“Geographic Gardens Suck,” “King of Tomorrow,” “Panic to Ride”), summery, funk–psych jams (“Sunrise”), and bluesy, punk-infused fireballs (“Crank in Public,” “Shrink Age”) Giant Haze get a lot of things right on this assured debut. The songwriting is deceptively diverse and punchy, bolstered by solid production, tight musicianship, and the swaggering, ever so slightly goofy vocal charms and powerful hooks of frontman Christoph Wollmann. Inevitably, a few rough spots appear, but overall Cosmic Mother showcases oodles of budding potential, an impactful delivery, cheeky sense of humor, and infectious, feel-good songcraft.

Spicie Forrest’s Foraged Fruit

Bask // The Turning [August 22nd, 2025 – Season of Mist]

Last seen in 2019, Bask returns with fourth LP, The Turning, a concept album following The Rider as she and The Traveler traverse the stars. They still peddle the unique blend of stoner rock and Americana Kenstrosity reviewed favorably in 2019, but 2025 sees them looking up for inspiration. The Turning incorporates a distinct cosmic bent (“The Traveler,” “The Turning”) and post-rock structures (“Dig My Heels,” “Unwound”). These augmentations to Bask’s core sound are enhanced by the masterful pedal steel of new official member Jed Willis. Whether floating through the firmament or tilling earthly pastures, Willis creates textures both fresh and intensely nostalgic. The infinite shifting vistas of The Turning’s front half coalesce into singular timeless visions on the back half, supporting its conceptual nature in both content and form. Like a combination of Huntsmen and Somali Yacht Club, Bask weaves riffs and melodies heard across the plains and through the void above with an unguarded authenticity felt in your soul.

Dolphin Whisperer’s Disseminating Discharge

Plasmodulated // An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell [August 1st, 2025 – Personal Records]

Stinky, sticky, slimy—all adjectives that define the ideal death metal platter. Myk Colby has been trying to chase this perfect balance in a reverb-wonky package with projects like the d-beaten Hot Graves and extra hazy Wharflurch, but vile death metal balance is hard to achieve. However, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell contains a recklessly pinched Demilichian riffage, classic piercing whammy bombs, and spook-minded synth ambience that places Plasmodulated with an odor more pungent than its peers. With an infected ear that festers equally with doom-loaded, Incantation-indebted drags (“Gelatinous Mutation ov Brewed Origin,” “Trapped in the Plasmovoid”) and Voivod-on-jenkem cutaways to foul-throated extravagence (“The Final Fuckening”). An air of intelligent tempo design keeps An Ocean from never feeling trapped in a maze of its own fumes, with Colby’s lush and bubbling synth design seguing tumbles into hammering deathly tremolo runs (“Such Rapid Sphacelation”) and Celtic Frosted riff tumbles (“Drowning in Sputum”) alike, all before swirling about his own tattered, trailing vocal sputters. Steady but slippery, elegant yet effluvial, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell provides the necessary noxious pressure to corrode death metal-loving denizens into pure gloops of stained-denim pit worship. Delivered as labeled, Plasmodulated earns its hazardous declaration. We here at AMG are not liable for any OSHA violations that occur as a result of Plasmodulated consumption on the job, though.

#2025 #Aeternus #AmericanMetal #Americana #AnOceanOvPutridStinkyVileDisgustingHell #Aug25 #Bask #BlackMetal #BlackenedDeathMetal #BurningWitches #CelestialTwilightBeyondTheCrimsonVeil #CelticFrost #Clutch #CosmicMother #CrimsonDawn #Danzig #DarkAmbient #DeathMetal #Deathhammer #DefLeppard #Defacement #Demilich #DigitalPlague #Doomed #DryDrunk #DutchMetal #EdgedCircleProductions #Emperor #Enslaved #Fellship #FinnishMetal #FrozenCrown #FuManchu #GermanMetal #GiantHaze #Glassing #Hardcore #HeavyMetal #Hellbutcher #HellsHeadbangersRecords #HotGraves #Huntsmen #Incantation #Inquisition #IronMaiden #JudasPriest #Kallias #Kraków #Kyuss #MelodicBlackMetal #Meshuggah #MoonlightSorcery #MorbidAngel #Motörhead #NapalmRecords #NorwegianMetal #OldNick #PersonalRecords #PhantomFire #Plasmodulated #PowerMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal #RawBlackMetal #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #SilentMillenia #Slayer #Sludge #SludgeMetal #SomaliYachtClub #SpeedMetal #StonerRock #Stormkeep #StreetSects #StuckInTheFilter #StuckInTheFilter2025 #SwissMetal #SymphonicBlackMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheTurning #TonzonenRecords #Turian #Voivod #Voyager #Wharflurch

Back in 2023, Brazilian death crew Fossilization dropped their Leprous Daylight debut on the unsuspecting world below, impressing Cherd in the process with its Incantation-esque blend of ghastly cavern crawling and 5-ton doomy digressions. He even went so far as to suggest it was superior to Incantation’s then-new platter Unholy Deification while generally singing the praises of preserved beast bone recovery. Fast-forward a few years, and the band’s sophomore release, Advent of Wounds, falls to me as Cherd has gone missing in a very nonsuspicious way that does NOT require police involvement or any half-assed internet sleuthing of any kind. So what do the two men behind Fossilization bring to the archaeology party this time? More raw, unvarnished spelunk-core full of horrific nods to Dead Congregation, Phobocosm, and of course, the esteemed Incanters of OSDM. It’s heavy, nasty, rough and raw, just as you want it. But is this mere imitation of genre archetypes or something that can stand on its own pale and deformed feet? Let’s turn on the headlamps and see what scurries away into the darkness.

Opener “Cremation of a Seraph” comes out blasting savagely before going full caverncore with scads of hideous trem-riffs that inspire menace and dread. This is the kind of relentlessly heavy, abrasive death metal that destabilizes your brain health, and it can peel the paint off the walls of the mental asylum you’ll eventually be confined in. Yes, their style will remind you of the genre bigs, and it’s hard to miss the influences as they slither up between the floorboards, but Fossilization is legitimately good at what they do, and this song will wreck your internal organs. Better still is the ginormously destructive “Disentombed and Reassembled by the Ages,” which is like the mutated offspring of Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, and Hate Eternal, who’s been fed a steady diet of elephant steroids and military-grade bath salts. It’s fucking ugly and oppressive, and I can’t get enough of this muck fuckery. The drums blast your face off as an unruly collection of skin-flaying riffs rip at you from all sides. It’s like a maelstrom of torment with no escape hatch, so you must endure the abuse. The tempos shift just when they should, offering doomier segments that make the faster parts bite all the harder. This is lethal shit.

While the remainder of Advent of Wounds is undeniably solid and skull-crushing, nothing equals the sheer intensity of the first 2 cuts. “Scalded by His Sacred Halo” pummels and pounds away, only to drop a killer doom segment that will oppress your life and deathstyle. “While the Light Lasts” delivers awkward, herky-jerky riff arrangements, and the song has a strong Novembers Doom vibe that I wouldn’t have expected. Overall, it’s the least killer track present, but not bad at all. The problem I have as Advent unspools is that the merely good stuff makes me want to slap on some prime Incantation or Immolation instead. This is skillfully done stuff, but it’s close enough to the genre greats to appear the lesser for the comparisons. At a trim 35 minutes, though, it’s not a challenge to get through, and the fact that the songs are all kept in the 3-5 minute range helps the album’s flow. I like the production here, which gives the drums a primal impact and the guitars exude the proper force and weight.

Masterminds V and Z deliver a truckload of vicious riffs that feel fierce and feral. The use of scathing trems is highly effective and adds a dark, dangerous edge to the material. A lot of these leads feel like they have a life of their own as they flop and slither on the cavern flooor instilling terror and revulsion. The vocals by V are appropriately raw, inhuman, and subterranean, providing ample awfulness and bile to the already unpleasant soundscapes. The drums occasionally lapse into unusual patterns, and this can sound out of place, but it provides a level of identity and interest to the overly familiar style Fossilization plies you with.

I’m a fan of the style heard on Advent of Wounds, and like Cherd before me, Fossilization have a lot of good things going for them. However, I think their debut packs a bigger, more consistent impact than this one does. There are great moments here that speak of huge potential, but too much of the album is merely good. I’ll keep my eyes on these cretins because they have something potent developing. I just hope they can harness it more completely next time and really shake up my skeletal system. Worth a loud investigation.



Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Everlasting Spew
Websites: facebook.com/fossilization | instagram.com/fossilizationprocess
Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026

A quotation from Christopher Marlowe

FAUSTUS: Faustus, begin thine incantations
   And try if devils will obey thy hest,
   Seeing thou hast prayed and sacrificed to them.
   Within this circle is Jehovah’s name,
   Forward, and backward, anagrammatised:
   Th’abbreviated names of holy saints,
   Figures of every adjunct to the heavens,
   And characters of signs, and erring stars,
   By which the spirits are enforced to rise.
   Then fear not, Faustus, to be resolute
   And try the utmost magic can perform.
 
[Thunder]
 

Sint mihi Dei Acherontis propitii! Valeat numen triplex Jehovae! Ignei aerii, aquatani spiritus, salvete! Orientis princeps Beelzebub, inferni ardentis monarcha, et Demigorgon, propitiamus vos, ut appareat, et surgat Mephistophilis Dragon, quod tumeraris; per Jehovam, gehennam, et consecratam aquam quam nunc spargo; signumque crucis quod nunc facio, et per vota nostra, ipse nunc surgat nobis dicatus Mephistophilis!

[Enter a Devil]

Christopher "Kit" Marlowe (1564-1593) English dramatist and poet
The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, Act 1, sc. 3 (sc. 3), l. 231ff (1594; 1604 “A” text)

More info about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/marlowe-christopher/…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #christophermarlowe #kitmarlowe #devils #incantation #spell #summoning #magic

Terror Corpse – Ash Eclipses Flesh Review

By Saunders

Already boasting a killer debut EP to their name in 2025, courtesy of the sick, old school deathgrind mayhem comprising Systems of Apocalypse, Texan wrecking crew Terror Corpse hit the ground running in their short time together. The newly minted outfit come seasoned with underground cred, featuring members that have logged time in the likes of Malignant Altar, Oceans of Slumber, Necrofier and Insect Warfare. Recording the EP as a five-piece, debut full-length Ash Eclipses Flesh finds Terror Corpse stripping back to a trio and shifting tact musically. While remnants of the heavily grind-influenced charge of Systems of Apocalypse remains intact, Terror Corpse mine the fetid soil of vintage death metal, citing the likes of Celtic Frost, Incantation and pre-2000s Morbid Angel as key influences. Throw in shades of Immolation, Terrorizer, early Carcass and Exhumed, and you have a recipe for a good old-fashioned beatdown. However, don’t be fooled into thinking Terror Corpse is a run-of-the-mill act riding the decaying coattails of legacy acts of the past. Ash Eclipses Flesh respects the past, while paving its own twisted path through grisly killing fields and dank caverns of grotesqueries.

Terror Corpse merge old timey underground aesthetics with a vital injection of their own character and modern appeal. Presenting a grimy and wickedly brutal collection of grind-encrusted old-school death, Terror Corpse both encompasses and deviates from the deathgrind formula of the EP, pivoting into deathlier, guttural realms. Any disappointment of the sound shift is swiftly bludgeoned on opening track “Pyre of Ash and Bone.” The song makes a hellish statement, hammering down violent, riffy death marches through menacing atmospheres, as uber low guttural vox, squealing leads, and livewire drumming seal the deal. Dobber Beverly again cements his status as a cult legend in extreme metal drumming. Also handling guitar duties with main vocalist Mat V, the duo reinforces the album’s retro, brutish charms, primitive clubbings, and ominous atmosphere with a vital collection of top-shelf riffs, mangled leads, and headbangable delights.

Ash Eclipses Flesh revels in shifting gears from dense, noisy chaos and relentless blasts to knuckle-dragging grooves, and monstrous, caverncore-esque swarms, Terror Corpse also incorporate infectious bursts of thrashy death and gnarled, punkish grind into the fray. After a solid, respectable beginning, Ash Eclipses Flesh really hits stride on third cut “Womb of the Hollow Earth,” and it’s a ripping, high-potency ride from here on in. Elsewhere, they delve into death-doom slogs, inflicted upon the devastating “Fallout Obliteration,” and punishing mid-section on the lurching, vicious stomp of “Sons of Perdition.” Refusing to neglect their classic grindcore and splattery deathgrind roots, Terror Corpse bring the filth and dual vox, including shrieky highs, to the thrashing intensity of “Nuclear Winter.” Meanwhile, the tremendous “The Hollow That Devours” intersperses cavernous double bass rumbles and thrashy bursts with immense mid-paced chuggery and thick, insidious grooves.

Versatile tinkering of their songwriting formula ensures the songs chart diverse territories, while remaining uncompromisingly brutal and wickedly infectious. Even the closing cover of Celtic Frost’s “Into the Crypts of Rays” doesn’t feel wasteful or tacked on. Terror Corpse inject the song’s anthemic, punky edge with their own beefed-up deathgrind spark. Beverly’s energetic, nuanced drumming proves essential as the album’s beating heart, driving the fluctuating pulse rate and need for speed, slick tempo shifts, and rambunctious, sewage-coated grooves. The power of the riff compels, not through technical wizardry, but courtesy of a firm understanding of the genre’s classic origins and grimy, atmospheric underpinnings. Infectious and rancidly beefy riffs, wildly unhinged leads, and sinister melodic currents define the excellent axework. There are no glaring flaws or major drawbacks preventing a strong recommendation. Perhaps you could argue Terror Corpse aren’t doing anything especially new or innovative, while the dominant, incomprehensible gutturals might be a tough sell for some listeners.

Twenty-twenty-five has delivered diverse treats across the metalverse, including top-notch death metal releases of varied persuasions within the genre. Ash Eclipses Flesh is another not to be missed. What they lack in bells, whistles, techy flair or innovation, Terror Corpse more than compensate through their authentic and fresh spin on a vintage sound. A tightly performed, superbly produced, and invigorating slab of riffy old school death, armed with gnarled deathgrind and grisly brutal death ammunition, Ash Eclipses Flesh is a surefire corker and end-of-year list disruptor.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Dark Descent Records
Websites: Facebook | Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: November 21st, 2025

#2025 #40 #americanMetal #ashEclipsesFlesh #carcass #celticFrost #darkDescentRecords #deathMetal #deathgrind #exhumed #incantation #insectWarfare #malignantAltar #morbidAngel #necrofier #oceansOfSlumber #oldSchoolDeathMetal #review #reviews #terrorCorpse #terrorizer

Stuck in the Filter: August 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity

The heat persists, but now the humidity comes in full force as storm systems wreak havoc upon the coasts. I hide in my cramped closet of an office, lest I be washed out once again by an unsuspecting deluge. However, I still send my minions out into the facility, bound by duty to search for those metallic scraps on which we feast.

Fortuitously, most all of those imps I sent out came back alive, and with wares! BEHOLD!

Kenstrosity’s Galactic Gremlin

Silent Millenia // Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil [August 26th, 2025 – Self-Release]

Have you ever seen such a delightfully cheesy cover? Probably, but it’s been a while for me. I bought Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil, the second raw symphonic black metal opus from Finnish one-man act Silent Millenia, on the strength of the artwork alone. Little did I know that what lay beyond this crimson veil was some of the most fun melodic black metal this side of Moonlight Sorcery. The same low-fi roughness that personifies Old Nick’s work grounds Silent Millenia’s starbound songwriting as it traverses the universe with an energetic punch reminiscent of Emperor or Stormkeep (“Awaken the Celestial Spell,” “Daemonic Mastery”). To help differentiate Silent Millenia’s sound from that of their peers, a gothic atmosphere ensorcells much of this material to great effect, merging eerie Victorian melodies with galactic adventurism in an unlikely pair (“Enthrone the Spectral”). Swirling synths and sparkling twinkles abound as well, creating blissful moments of interest as frosty tremolos and piercing blasts take full advantage of the false sense of security those entrancing clouds of synthetic instrumentation create (“Benighted Path to Darkness Mysterium,” “Reign in Cosmic Majesty”). Simply put, Celestial Twilight is an unexpected gem of a symphonic black metal record, bursting with killer ideas and infinite levels of raw, unabashed fun. You should hear it!

Kronos’ Unexpected Unearthments

Street Sects // Dry Drunk [August 15th, 2025 – Self Release]

Dry Drunk sticks to your inner surfaces, draining down like cigarette tar along paralyzed cilia to pool in your lungs until the cells themselves foment rebellion. Once it’s in you, you feel paranoid, wretched, and alone. So it’s the proper follow-up to Street Sects’ visionary debut, End Position. Like that record, Dry Drunk plumbs the most mundane and unsavory gutters of America for a cast of protagonists that it dwells in or dispatches with a mixture of pity and disgust, with vocalist Leo Ashline narrating their violent crimes and self-hatred in a mixture of croons, shrieks, and snarls that cook the air before the speakers into the scent of booze and rotten teeth. And like that record, Shaun Ringsmuth (Glassing) dresses the sets with a fractal litter of snaps, squeals, crashes, gunshots, and grinding electronics, caked in tar and collapsing just as soon as it is swept into a structure. And like End Position, Dry Drunk is a masterpiece. The impeccable six-song stretch from “Love Makes You Fat” through “Riding the Clock” ties you to the bumper and drags you along some of the duo’s most creative side-roads, through the simmering, straightjacketed sludge of “Baker Act” to the chopped-up, smirking electronica of “Eject Button.” Swerving between addled, unintelligible agony and unforgettable anthems, Dry Drunk, like End Position before it is nothing less than the life of a junkie scraped together, heated on a spoon, and injected into your head. Once you’ve taken a hit, you will never be quite the same.

Thus Spoke’s Frightening Fragments

Defacement // Doomed [August 22nd, 2025 – Self Release]

There’s music for every vibe.1 The one Defacement fits is an exclusively extreme metal flavor of moody that is only appreciable by genre fans, made tangibly more eerie by their persistent idiosyncratic use of dark ambient interludes amidst the viciously distorted blackened death. Audiences—and reviewers—tend to disparage these electronic segments, but I’ve always felt their crackling presence increases the analog horror of it all, and rather than being a breather from the intensity, they prolong the nausea, the sense of emptiness, and the abject fearfulness of head-based trauma. This latter concept grows more metaphorical still on Doomed, where the violence is inside the mind, purpose-erasing, and emotionally-detaching. The ambience might be the most sadly beautiful so far (“Mournful,” and “Clouded” especially), and the transitions into nightmarish heaviness arguably the most fluid. And the metal is undoubtedly the most ambitious, dynamic, and magnificent of Defacement’s career, combining their most gruesome dissonance (“Portrait”) with their most bizarrely exuberant guitar melodies (“Unexplainable,” “Unrecognised”). Solos drip tangibly with (emotional) resonance (“Unexplainable,” “Absent”) and there’s not a breath or a moment of wasted space. Yes, the band’s heavier side can suffer from a nagging sense of homogeneous mass, but it remains transporting. While I can appreciate why others do not appreciate Defacement, this is the first of their outings I can truthfully say mesmerised me on first listen.

ClarkKent’s Heated Hymns

Phantom Fire // Phantom Fire [August 8th, 2025 – Edged Circle Productions]

While I waded through the murky depths of the August promo sump, Steel implored me to take the eponymous third album from Phantom Fire. “The AMG commentariat love blackened heavy metal,” he said. I disregarded his advice at my peril, and while I ended up enjoying what I grabbed, it turns out this would have been solid too. Featuring members from Enslaved, Kraków. Hellbutcher, and Aeternus, Phantom Fire play old school speed metal that harks back to the likes of Motörhead and Iron Maiden’s Killers. Thanks to healthy doses of bass and production values that allow the instruments to shine, each song is infused with energetic grooves. The music sounds fresh, crisp, and clear, from the booming drums to Eld’s “blackened” snarls. Early tracks “Eternal Void” and “All For None” show off the catchy blend of simple guitar riffs and a hoppin’ bass accompanied by energetic kit work. While placing a somewhat lengthy instrumental track in the middle of a record usually slows it down, “Fatal Attraction” turns out to be a highlight. It tells a tragic love story involving a motorcycle with nothing but instruments, an engine revving, and some police sirens. The second half of Phantom Fire gets a bit on the weirder side, turning to some stoner and psychedelia. There’s a push and pull between the stoner and Motörhead speed stuff on songs like “Malphas” and “Submersible Pt. 2,” and this blend actually works pretty well. It turns out that they aren’t phantom after all—these guys are truly fire.

Burning Witches // Inquisition [August 22nd, 2025 – Napalm Records]

With six albums in eight years, Swiss quintet Burning Witches has really been burning rubber. While such prolific output in such a short time frame generally spells trouble, Inquisition is a solid piece of heavy/power metal. Burning Witches dabbles in a mix of speedy power metal and mid-tempo heavy metal, often sounding like ’80s stalwarts Judas Priest and Def Leppard. With Laura Guldemond’s gruff voice, they produce a more weighty, less happy version of power metal than the likes of Fellowship or Frozen Crown. While the songs stick to formulaic structures, tempo shifts from song to song help keep things from growing stale. We see this variety right from the get-go, where “Soul Eater” takes a high-energy approach before moving into the more mellow “Shame.” There’s even a pretty solid ballad, “Release Me,” that grounds the back half of the record. Songs of the sort that Burning Witches write need catchy choruses, and fortunately, they deliver. “High Priestess of the Night” is a particular standout, delivering a knock-out punch in its delivery. It helps that the instrumental parts are well-executed, from crunchy riffs to subdued solos to booming blast beats. Anyone looking for a solid bit of power metal that’s not too heavy on the cheese will find this worth a listen.

Deathhammer // Crimson Dawn [August 29th, 2025 – Hells Headbangers Records]

Celebrating 20 years of blackened speed, Deathhammer drop LP number six with the kind of energy that exhausted parents dread to see in their children at bedtime. This is my first foray with the band, and I am in awe of the relentless level of manic energy they keep throughout Crimson Dawn’s 39 minutes. If science could learn how to harness their energy, we’d have an endless source of renewables. The two-piece out of Norway channels classic Slayer on crack and even has moments reminiscent of Painkiller-era Judas Priest. They play non-stop thrash cranked to 11, with persistent blast beats and some dual guitar parts that leave your head spinning from the rapid-fire directions the riffs fire off in. The heart of the mania is singer Sergeant Salsten. His crazed vocals are amazing—snarling, shouting, and shrieking in a way that took me back to the manic pitch Judge Doom could reach in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? He sings so fast that on the chorus of “Crimson Dawn,” it sounds like he says “Griffindor,” which had me searching confusedly for the Harry Potter tag. This was probably my favorite song, not just because of the Griffindor thing, but because that chorus is so catchy. Either way, it’s tough to pick a standout track because they all grip you by the throat and don’t let go. Crimson Dawn is a ton of fun and a must listen if you like your music fast.

Grin Reaper’s Bountiful Blight

Kallias // Digital Plague [August 14th, 2025 – Self Release]

Machine gun drumming, spacey synths, Morbid Angel-meets-Meshuggah riffing, Turian-esque barking and Voyager-reminiscent vocal melodies…what the fuck is going on here? The only thing more surprising than someone having the moxie to blend all these things together is how well they work in concert. Kallias doesn’t hold back on sophomore album Digital Plague, and the result is a rocket-fueled blast through forty-four minutes of eclectic, addictive prog. The mishmash of styles keeps the album fresh and unpredictable while never dipping its toes in inconsistent waters, and staccato rhythms propel listeners through eight tracks without losing steam. As with any prog metal worth its salt, Kallias brandishes technical prowess, and their cohesion belies the relatively short time they’ve been putting out music.2 The mix is well-suited to spotlight whoever needs it at a given time, whether the bass is purring (“Exogíini Kyriarchía”), the drums are being annihilated (“Pyrrhic Victory”), or a guitar solo nears Pettrucian wankery (“Phenomenal in Theory”). The end result is three-quarters of an hour filled with myriad influences that fuse into a sound all Kallias’s own, and it’s one I’ve returned to several times since discovering (also, credit to MontDoom for his stunning artwork, which helped initially draw my attention). Check it out—you’ll be sick if you avoid this one like the Plague.

Luke’s Kaleidoscopic Kicks

Giant Haze // Cosmic Mother [August 22nd, 2025 – Tonzonen Records]

Whereas many of my colleagues are bracing themselves for cooler conditions and harsh winters to come, in my neck of the woods, things are warming up. While my own wintry August filter proved scarce, there was one particular summery gem to lift moods with burly riffs and fat stoner grooves. Unheralded German act Giant Haze seemingly emerged out of nowhere during a random Bandcamp deep dive. Debut LP Cosmic Mother channels the good old days of ’90s-inspired desert rock, featuring grungy, doomy vibes via a groovy batch of riff-centric, hard-rocking and uplifting jams, evoking the nostalgic spirit of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Clutch and perhaps even a dash of Danzig. Punching out raucous, groove-soaked hard rockers with skyscraping hooks (“Geographic Gardens Suck,” “King of Tomorrow,” “Panic to Ride”), summery, funk–psych jams (“Sunrise”), and bluesy, punk-infused fireballs (“Crank in Public,” “Shrink Age”) Giant Haze get a lot of things right on this assured debut. The songwriting is deceptively diverse and punchy, bolstered by solid production, tight musicianship, and the swaggering, ever so slightly goofy vocal charms and powerful hooks of frontman Christoph Wollmann. Inevitably, a few rough spots appear, but overall Cosmic Mother showcases oodles of budding potential, an impactful delivery, cheeky sense of humor, and infectious, feel-good songcraft.

Spicie Forrest’s Foraged Fruit

Bask // The Turning [August 22nd, 2025 – Season of Mist]

Last seen in 2019, Bask returns with fourth LP, The Turning, a concept album following The Rider as she and The Traveler traverse the stars. They still peddle the unique blend of stoner rock and Americana Kenstrosity reviewed favorably in 2019, but 2025 sees them looking up for inspiration. The Turning incorporates a distinct cosmic bent (“The Traveler,” “The Turning”) and post-rock structures (“Dig My Heels,” “Unwound”). These augmentations to Bask’s core sound are enhanced by the masterful pedal steel of new official member Jed Willis. Whether floating through the firmament or tilling earthly pastures, Willis creates textures both fresh and intensely nostalgic. The infinite shifting vistas of The Turning’s front half coalesce into singular timeless visions on the back half, supporting its conceptual nature in both content and form. Like a combination of Huntsmen and Somali Yacht Club, Bask weaves riffs and melodies heard across the plains and through the void above with an unguarded authenticity felt in your soul.

Dolphin Whisperer’s Disseminating Discharge

Plasmodulated // An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell [August 1st, 2025 – Personal Records]

Stinky, sticky, slimy—all adjectives that define the ideal death metal platter. Myk Colby has been trying to chase this perfect balance in a reverb-wonky package with projects like the d-beaten Hot Graves and extra hazy Wharflurch, but vile death metal balance is hard to achieve. However, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell contains a recklessly pinched Demilichian riffage, classic piercing whammy bombs, and spook-minded synth ambience that places Plasmodulated with an odor more pungent than its peers. With an infected ear that festers equally with doom-loaded, Incantation-indebted drags (“Gelatinous Mutation ov Brewed Origin,” “Trapped in the Plasmovoid”) and Voivod-on-jenkem cutaways to foul-throated extravagence (“The Final Fuckening”). An air of intelligent tempo design keeps An Ocean from never feeling trapped in a maze of its own fumes, with Colby’s lush and bubbling synth design seguing tumbles into hammering deathly tremolo runs (“Such Rapid Sphacelation”) and Celtic Frosted riff tumbles (“Drowning in Sputum”) alike, all before swirling about his own tattered, trailing vocal sputters. Steady but slippery, elegant yet effluvial, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell provides the necessary noxious pressure to corrode death metal-loving denizens into pure gloops of stained-denim pit worship. Delivered as labeled, Plasmodulated earns its hazardous declaration. We here at AMG are not liable for any OSHA violations that occur as a result of Plasmodulated consumption on the job, though.

#2025 #Aeternus #AmericanMetal #Americana #AnOceanOvPutridStinkyVileDisgustingHell #Aug25 #Bask #BlackMetal #BlackenedDeathMetal #BurningWitches #CelestialTwilightBeyondTheCrimsonVeil #CelticFrost #Clutch #CosmicMother #CrimsonDawn #Danzig #DarkAmbient #DeathMetal #Deathhammer #DefLeppard #Defacement #Demilich #DigitalPlague #Doomed #DryDrunk #DutchMetal #EdgedCircleProductions #Emperor #Enslaved #Fellship #FinnishMetal #FrozenCrown #FuManchu #GermanMetal #GiantHaze #Glassing #Hardcore #HeavyMetal #Hellbutcher #HellsHeadbangersRecords #HotGraves #Huntsmen #Incantation #Inquisition #IronMaiden #JudasPriest #Kallias #Kraków #Kyuss #MelodicBlackMetal #Meshuggah #MoonlightSorcery #MorbidAngel #Motörhead #NapalmRecords #NorwegianMetal #OldNick #PersonalRecords #PhantomFire #Plasmodulated #PowerMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal #RawBlackMetal #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #SilentMillenia #Slayer #Sludge #SludgeMetal #SomaliYachtClub #SpeedMetal #StonerRock #Stormkeep #StreetSects #StuckInTheFilter #StuckInTheFilter2025 #SwissMetal #SymphonicBlackMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheTurning #TonzonenRecords #Turian #Voivod #Voyager #Wharflurch

Stuck in the Filter: August 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity

The heat persists, but now the humidity comes in full force as storm systems wreak havoc upon the coasts. I hide in my cramped closet of an office, lest I be washed out once again by an unsuspecting deluge. However, I still send my minions out into the facility, bound by duty to search for those metallic scraps on which we feast.

Fortuitously, most all of those imps I sent out came back alive, and with wares! BEHOLD!

Kenstrosity’s Galactic Gremlin

Silent Millenia // Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil [August 26th, 2025 – Self-Release]

Have you ever seen such a delightfully cheesy cover? Probably, but it’s been a while for me. I bought Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil, the second raw symphonic black metal opus from Finnish one-man act Silent Millenia, on the strength of the artwork alone. Little did I know that what lay beyond this crimson veil was some of the most fun melodic black metal this side of Moonlight Sorcery. The same low-fi roughness that personifies Old Nick’s work grounds Silent Millenia’s starbound songwriting as it traverses the universe with an energetic punch reminiscent of Emperor or Stormkeep (“Awaken the Celestial Spell,” “Daemonic Mastery”). To help differentiate Silent Millenia’s sound from that of their peers, a gothic atmosphere ensorcells much of this material to great effect, merging eerie Victorian melodies with galactic adventurism in an unlikely pair (“Enthrone the Spectral”). Swirling synths and sparkling twinkles abound as well, creating blissful moments of interest as frosty tremolos and piercing blasts take full advantage of the false sense of security those entrancing clouds of synthetic instrumentation create (“Benighted Path to Darkness Mysterium,” “Reign in Cosmic Majesty”). Simply put, Celestial Twilight is an unexpected gem of a symphonic black metal record, bursting with killer ideas and infinite levels of raw, unabashed fun. You should hear it!

Kronos’ Unexpected Unearthments

Street Sects // Dry Drunk [August 15th, 2025 – Self Release]

Dry Drunk sticks to your inner surfaces, draining down like cigarette tar along paralyzed cilia to pool in your lungs until the cells themselves foment rebellion. Once it’s in you, you feel paranoid, wretched, and alone. So it’s the proper follow-up to Street Sects’ visionary debut, End Position. Like that record, Dry Drunk plumbs the most mundane and unsavory gutters of America for a cast of protagonists that it dwells in or dispatches with a mixture of pity and disgust, with vocalist Leo Ashline narrating their violent crimes and self-hatred in a mixture of croons, shrieks, and snarls that cook the air before the speakers into the scent of booze and rotten teeth. And like that record, Shaun Ringsmuth (Glassing) dresses the sets with a fractal litter of snaps, squeals, crashes, gunshots, and grinding electronics, caked in tar and collapsing just as soon as it is swept into a structure. And like End Position, Dry Drunk is a masterpiece. The impeccable six-song stretch from “Love Makes You Fat” through “Riding the Clock” ties you to the bumper and drags you along some of the duo’s most creative side-roads, through the simmering, straightjacketed sludge of “Baker Act” to the chopped-up, smirking electronica of “Eject Button.” Swerving between addled, unintelligible agony and unforgettable anthems, Dry Drunk, like End Position before it is nothing less than the life of a junkie scraped together, heated on a spoon, and injected into your head. Once you’ve taken a hit, you will never be quite the same.

Thus Spoke’s Frightening Fragments

Defacement // Doomed [August 22nd, 2025 – Self Release]

There’s music for every vibe.1 The one Defacement fits is an exclusively extreme metal flavor of moody that is only appreciable by genre fans, made tangibly more eerie by their persistent idiosyncratic use of dark ambient interludes amidst the viciously distorted blackened death. Audiences—and reviewers—tend to disparage these electronic segments, but I’ve always felt their crackling presence increases the analog horror of it all, and rather than being a breather from the intensity, they prolong the nausea, the sense of emptiness, and the abject fearfulness of head-based trauma. This latter concept grows more metaphorical still on Doomed, where the violence is inside the mind, purpose-erasing, and emotionally-detaching. The ambience might be the most sadly beautiful so far (“Mournful,” and “Clouded” especially), and the transitions into nightmarish heaviness arguably the most fluid. And the metal is undoubtedly the most ambitious, dynamic, and magnificent of Defacement’s career, combining their most gruesome dissonance (“Portrait”) with their most bizarrely exuberant guitar melodies (“Unexplainable,” “Unrecognised”). Solos drip tangibly with (emotional) resonance (“Unexplainable,” “Absent”) and there’s not a breath or a moment of wasted space. Yes, the band’s heavier side can suffer from a nagging sense of homogeneous mass, but it remains transporting. While I can appreciate why others do not appreciate Defacement, this is the first of their outings I can truthfully say mesmerised me on first listen.

ClarkKent’s Heated Hymns

Phantom Fire // Phantom Fire [August 8th, 2025 – Edged Circle Productions]

While I waded through the murky depths of the August promo sump, Steel implored me to take the eponymous third album from Phantom Fire. “The AMG commentariat love blackened heavy metal,” he said. I disregarded his advice at my peril, and while I ended up enjoying what I grabbed, it turns out this would have been solid too. Featuring members from Enslaved, Kraków. Hellbutcher, and Aeternus, Phantom Fire play old school speed metal that harks back to the likes of Motörhead and Iron Maiden’s Killers. Thanks to healthy doses of bass and production values that allow the instruments to shine, each song is infused with energetic grooves. The music sounds fresh, crisp, and clear, from the booming drums to Eld’s “blackened” snarls. Early tracks “Eternal Void” and “All For None” show off the catchy blend of simple guitar riffs and a hoppin’ bass accompanied by energetic kit work. While placing a somewhat lengthy instrumental track in the middle of a record usually slows it down, “Fatal Attraction” turns out to be a highlight. It tells a tragic love story involving a motorcycle with nothing but instruments, an engine revving, and some police sirens. The second half of Phantom Fire gets a bit on the weirder side, turning to some stoner and psychedelia. There’s a push and pull between the stoner and Motörhead speed stuff on songs like “Malphas” and “Submersible Pt. 2,” and this blend actually works pretty well. It turns out that they aren’t phantom after all—these guys are truly fire.

Burning Witches // Inquisition [August 22nd, 2025 – Napalm Records]

With six albums in eight years, Swiss quintet Burning Witches has really been burning rubber. While such prolific output in such a short time frame generally spells trouble, Inquisition is a solid piece of heavy/power metal. Burning Witches dabbles in a mix of speedy power metal and mid-tempo heavy metal, often sounding like ’80s stalwarts Judas Priest and Def Leppard. With Laura Guldemond’s gruff voice, they produce a more weighty, less happy version of power metal than the likes of Fellowship or Frozen Crown. While the songs stick to formulaic structures, tempo shifts from song to song help keep things from growing stale. We see this variety right from the get-go, where “Soul Eater” takes a high-energy approach before moving into the more mellow “Shame.” There’s even a pretty solid ballad, “Release Me,” that grounds the back half of the record. Songs of the sort that Burning Witches write need catchy choruses, and fortunately, they deliver. “High Priestess of the Night” is a particular standout, delivering a knock-out punch in its delivery. It helps that the instrumental parts are well-executed, from crunchy riffs to subdued solos to booming blast beats. Anyone looking for a solid bit of power metal that’s not too heavy on the cheese will find this worth a listen.

Deathhammer // Crimson Dawn [August 29th, 2025 – Hells Headbangers Records]

Celebrating 20 years of blackened speed, Deathhammer drop LP number six with the kind of energy that exhausted parents dread to see in their children at bedtime. This is my first foray with the band, and I am in awe of the relentless level of manic energy they keep throughout Crimson Dawn’s 39 minutes. If science could learn how to harness their energy, we’d have an endless source of renewables. The two-piece out of Norway channels classic Slayer on crack and even has moments reminiscent of Painkiller-era Judas Priest. They play non-stop thrash cranked to 11, with persistent blast beats and some dual guitar parts that leave your head spinning from the rapid-fire directions the riffs fire off in. The heart of the mania is singer Sergeant Salsten. His crazed vocals are amazing—snarling, shouting, and shrieking in a way that took me back to the manic pitch Judge Doom could reach in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? He sings so fast that on the chorus of “Crimson Dawn,” it sounds like he says “Griffindor,” which had me searching confusedly for the Harry Potter tag. This was probably my favorite song, not just because of the Griffindor thing, but because that chorus is so catchy. Either way, it’s tough to pick a standout track because they all grip you by the throat and don’t let go. Crimson Dawn is a ton of fun and a must listen if you like your music fast.

Grin Reaper’s Bountiful Blight

Kallias // Digital Plague [August 14th, 2025 – Self Release]

Machine gun drumming, spacey synths, Morbid Angel-meets-Meshuggah riffing, Turian-esque barking and Voyager-reminiscent vocal melodies…what the fuck is going on here? The only thing more surprising than someone having the moxie to blend all these things together is how well they work in concert. Kallias doesn’t hold back on sophomore album Digital Plague, and the result is a rocket-fueled blast through forty-four minutes of eclectic, addictive prog. The mishmash of styles keeps the album fresh and unpredictable while never dipping its toes in inconsistent waters, and staccato rhythms propel listeners through eight tracks without losing steam. As with any prog metal worth its salt, Kallias brandishes technical prowess, and their cohesion belies the relatively short time they’ve been putting out music.2 The mix is well-suited to spotlight whoever needs it at a given time, whether the bass is purring (“Exogíini Kyriarchía”), the drums are being annihilated (“Pyrrhic Victory”), or a guitar solo nears Pettrucian wankery (“Phenomenal in Theory”). The end result is three-quarters of an hour filled with myriad influences that fuse into a sound all Kallias’s own, and it’s one I’ve returned to several times since discovering (also, credit to MontDoom for his stunning artwork, which helped initially draw my attention). Check it out—you’ll be sick if you avoid this one like the Plague.

Luke’s Kaleidoscopic Kicks

Giant Haze // Cosmic Mother [August 22nd, 2025 – Tonzonen Records]

Whereas many of my colleagues are bracing themselves for cooler conditions and harsh winters to come, in my neck of the woods, things are warming up. While my own wintry August filter proved scarce, there was one particular summery gem to lift moods with burly riffs and fat stoner grooves. Unheralded German act Giant Haze seemingly emerged out of nowhere during a random Bandcamp deep dive. Debut LP Cosmic Mother channels the good old days of ’90s-inspired desert rock, featuring grungy, doomy vibes via a groovy batch of riff-centric, hard-rocking and uplifting jams, evoking the nostalgic spirit of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Clutch and perhaps even a dash of Danzig. Punching out raucous, groove-soaked hard rockers with skyscraping hooks (“Geographic Gardens Suck,” “King of Tomorrow,” “Panic to Ride”), summery, funk–psych jams (“Sunrise”), and bluesy, punk-infused fireballs (“Crank in Public,” “Shrink Age”) Giant Haze get a lot of things right on this assured debut. The songwriting is deceptively diverse and punchy, bolstered by solid production, tight musicianship, and the swaggering, ever so slightly goofy vocal charms and powerful hooks of frontman Christoph Wollmann. Inevitably, a few rough spots appear, but overall Cosmic Mother showcases oodles of budding potential, an impactful delivery, cheeky sense of humor, and infectious, feel-good songcraft.

Spicie Forrest’s Foraged Fruit

Bask // The Turning [August 22nd, 2025 – Season of Mist]

Last seen in 2019, Bask returns with fourth LP, The Turning, a concept album following The Rider as she and The Traveler traverse the stars. They still peddle the unique blend of stoner rock and Americana Kenstrosity reviewed favorably in 2019, but 2025 sees them looking up for inspiration. The Turning incorporates a distinct cosmic bent (“The Traveler,” “The Turning”) and post-rock structures (“Dig My Heels,” “Unwound”). These augmentations to Bask’s core sound are enhanced by the masterful pedal steel of new official member Jed Willis. Whether floating through the firmament or tilling earthly pastures, Willis creates textures both fresh and intensely nostalgic. The infinite shifting vistas of The Turning’s front half coalesce into singular timeless visions on the back half, supporting its conceptual nature in both content and form. Like a combination of Huntsmen and Somali Yacht Club, Bask weaves riffs and melodies heard across the plains and through the void above with an unguarded authenticity felt in your soul.

Dolphin Whisperer’s Disseminating Discharge

Plasmodulated // An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell [August 1st, 2025 – Personal Records]

Stinky, sticky, slimy—all adjectives that define the ideal death metal platter. Myk Colby has been trying to chase this perfect balance in a reverb-wonky package with projects like the d-beaten Hot Graves and extra hazy Wharflurch, but vile death metal balance is hard to achieve. However, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell contains a recklessly pinched Demilichian riffage, classic piercing whammy bombs, and spook-minded synth ambience that places Plasmodulated with an odor more pungent than its peers. With an infected ear that festers equally with doom-loaded, Incantation-indebted drags (“Gelatinous Mutation ov Brewed Origin,” “Trapped in the Plasmovoid”) and Voivod-on-jenkem cutaways to foul-throated extravagence (“The Final Fuckening”). An air of intelligent tempo design keeps An Ocean from never feeling trapped in a maze of its own fumes, with Colby’s lush and bubbling synth design seguing tumbles into hammering deathly tremolo runs (“Such Rapid Sphacelation”) and Celtic Frosted riff tumbles (“Drowning in Sputum”) alike, all before swirling about his own tattered, trailing vocal sputters. Steady but slippery, elegant yet effluvial, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell provides the necessary noxious pressure to corrode death metal-loving denizens into pure gloops of stained-denim pit worship. Delivered as labeled, Plasmodulated earns its hazardous declaration. We here at AMG are not liable for any OSHA violations that occur as a result of Plasmodulated consumption on the job, though.

#2025 #Aeternus #AmericanMetal #Americana #AnOceanOvPutridStinkyVileDisgustingHell #Aug25 #Bask #BlackMetal #BlackenedDeathMetal #BurningWitches #CelestialTwilightBeyondTheCrimsonVeil #CelticFrost #Clutch #CosmicMother #CrimsonDawn #Danzig #DarkAmbient #DeathMetal #Deathhammer #DefLeppard #Defacement #Demilich #DigitalPlague #Doomed #DryDrunk #DutchMetal #EdgedCircleProductions #Emperor #Enslaved #Fellship #FinnishMetal #FrozenCrown #FuManchu #GermanMetal #GiantHaze #Glassing #Hardcore #HeavyMetal #Hellbutcher #HellsHeadbangersRecords #HotGraves #Huntsmen #Incantation #Inquisition #IronMaiden #JudasPriest #Kallias #Kraków #Kyuss #MelodicBlackMetal #Meshuggah #MoonlightSorcery #MorbidAngel #Motörhead #NapalmRecords #NorwegianMetal #OldNick #PersonalRecords #PhantomFire #Plasmodulated #PowerMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal #RawBlackMetal #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #SilentMillenia #Slayer #Sludge #SludgeMetal #SomaliYachtClub #SpeedMetal #StonerRock #Stormkeep #StreetSects #StuckInTheFilter #StuckInTheFilter2025 #SwissMetal #SymphonicBlackMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheTurning #TonzonenRecords #Turian #Voivod #Voyager #Wharflurch

Stuck in the Filter: August 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity

The heat persists, but now the humidity comes in full force as storm systems wreak havoc upon the coasts. I hide in my cramped closet of an office, lest I be washed out once again by an unsuspecting deluge. However, I still send my minions out into the facility, bound by duty to search for those metallic scraps on which we feast.

Fortuitously, most all of those imps I sent out came back alive, and with wares! BEHOLD!

Kenstrosity’s Galactic Gremlin

Silent Millenia // Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil [August 26th, 2025 – Self-Release]

Have you ever seen such a delightfully cheesy cover? Probably, but it’s been a while for me. I bought Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil, the second raw symphonic black metal opus from Finnish one-man act Silent Millenia, on the strength of the artwork alone. Little did I know that what lay beyond this crimson veil was some of the most fun melodic black metal this side of Moonlight Sorcery. The same low-fi roughness that personifies Old Nick’s work grounds Silent Millenia’s starbound songwriting as it traverses the universe with an energetic punch reminiscent of Emperor or Stormkeep (“Awaken the Celestial Spell,” “Daemonic Mastery”). To help differentiate Silent Millenia’s sound from that of their peers, a gothic atmosphere ensorcells much of this material to great effect, merging eerie Victorian melodies with galactic adventurism in an unlikely pair (“Enthrone the Spectral”). Swirling synths and sparkling twinkles abound as well, creating blissful moments of interest as frosty tremolos and piercing blasts take full advantage of the false sense of security those entrancing clouds of synthetic instrumentation create (“Benighted Path to Darkness Mysterium,” “Reign in Cosmic Majesty”). Simply put, Celestial Twilight is an unexpected gem of a symphonic black metal record, bursting with killer ideas and infinite levels of raw, unabashed fun. You should hear it!

Kronos’ Unexpected Unearthments

Street Sects // Dry Drunk [August 15th, 2025 – Self Release]

Dry Drunk sticks to your inner surfaces, draining down like cigarette tar along paralyzed cilia to pool in your lungs until the cells themselves foment rebellion. Once it’s in you, you feel paranoid, wretched, and alone. So it’s the proper follow-up to Street Sects’ visionary debut, End Position. Like that record, Dry Drunk plumbs the most mundane and unsavory gutters of America for a cast of protagonists that it dwells in or dispatches with a mixture of pity and disgust, with vocalist Leo Ashline narrating their violent crimes and self-hatred in a mixture of croons, shrieks, and snarls that cook the air before the speakers into the scent of booze and rotten teeth. And like that record, Shaun Ringsmuth (Glassing) dresses the sets with a fractal litter of snaps, squeals, crashes, gunshots, and grinding electronics, caked in tar and collapsing just as soon as it is swept into a structure. And like End Position, Dry Drunk is a masterpiece. The impeccable six-song stretch from “Love Makes You Fat” through “Riding the Clock” ties you to the bumper and drags you along some of the duo’s most creative side-roads, through the simmering, straightjacketed sludge of “Baker Act” to the chopped-up, smirking electronica of “Eject Button.” Swerving between addled, unintelligible agony and unforgettable anthems, Dry Drunk, like End Position before it is nothing less than the life of a junkie scraped together, heated on a spoon, and injected into your head. Once you’ve taken a hit, you will never be quite the same.

Thus Spoke’s Frightening Fragments

Defacement // Doomed [August 22nd, 2025 – Self Release]

There’s music for every vibe.1 The one Defacement fits is an exclusively extreme metal flavor of moody that is only appreciable by genre fans, made tangibly more eerie by their persistent idiosyncratic use of dark ambient interludes amidst the viciously distorted blackened death. Audiences—and reviewers—tend to disparage these electronic segments, but I’ve always felt their crackling presence increases the analog horror of it all, and rather than being a breather from the intensity, they prolong the nausea, the sense of emptiness, and the abject fearfulness of head-based trauma. This latter concept grows more metaphorical still on Doomed, where the violence is inside the mind, purpose-erasing, and emotionally-detaching. The ambience might be the most sadly beautiful so far (“Mournful,” and “Clouded” especially), and the transitions into nightmarish heaviness arguably the most fluid. And the metal is undoubtedly the most ambitious, dynamic, and magnificent of Defacement’s career, combining their most gruesome dissonance (“Portrait”) with their most bizarrely exuberant guitar melodies (“Unexplainable,” “Unrecognised”). Solos drip tangibly with (emotional) resonance (“Unexplainable,” “Absent”) and there’s not a breath or a moment of wasted space. Yes, the band’s heavier side can suffer from a nagging sense of homogeneous mass, but it remains transporting. While I can appreciate why others do not appreciate Defacement, this is the first of their outings I can truthfully say mesmerised me on first listen.

ClarkKent’s Heated Hymns

Phantom Fire // Phantom Fire [August 8th, 2025 – Edged Circle Productions]

While I waded through the murky depths of the August promo sump, Steel implored me to take the eponymous third album from Phantom Fire. “The AMG commentariat love blackened heavy metal,” he said. I disregarded his advice at my peril, and while I ended up enjoying what I grabbed, it turns out this would have been solid too. Featuring members from Enslaved, Kraków. Hellbutcher, and Aeternus, Phantom Fire play old school speed metal that harks back to the likes of Motörhead and Iron Maiden’s Killers. Thanks to healthy doses of bass and production values that allow the instruments to shine, each song is infused with energetic grooves. The music sounds fresh, crisp, and clear, from the booming drums to Eld’s “blackened” snarls. Early tracks “Eternal Void” and “All For None” show off the catchy blend of simple guitar riffs and a hoppin’ bass accompanied by energetic kit work. While placing a somewhat lengthy instrumental track in the middle of a record usually slows it down, “Fatal Attraction” turns out to be a highlight. It tells a tragic love story involving a motorcycle with nothing but instruments, an engine revving, and some police sirens. The second half of Phantom Fire gets a bit on the weirder side, turning to some stoner and psychedelia. There’s a push and pull between the stoner and Motörhead speed stuff on songs like “Malphas” and “Submersible Pt. 2,” and this blend actually works pretty well. It turns out that they aren’t phantom after all—these guys are truly fire.

Burning Witches // Inquisition [August 22nd, 2025 – Napalm Records]

With six albums in eight years, Swiss quintet Burning Witches has really been burning rubber. While such prolific output in such a short time frame generally spells trouble, Inquisition is a solid piece of heavy/power metal. Burning Witches dabbles in a mix of speedy power metal and mid-tempo heavy metal, often sounding like ’80s stalwarts Judas Priest and Def Leppard. With Laura Guldemond’s gruff voice, they produce a more weighty, less happy version of power metal than the likes of Fellowship or Frozen Crown. While the songs stick to formulaic structures, tempo shifts from song to song help keep things from growing stale. We see this variety right from the get-go, where “Soul Eater” takes a high-energy approach before moving into the more mellow “Shame.” There’s even a pretty solid ballad, “Release Me,” that grounds the back half of the record. Songs of the sort that Burning Witches write need catchy choruses, and fortunately, they deliver. “High Priestess of the Night” is a particular standout, delivering a knock-out punch in its delivery. It helps that the instrumental parts are well-executed, from crunchy riffs to subdued solos to booming blast beats. Anyone looking for a solid bit of power metal that’s not too heavy on the cheese will find this worth a listen.

Deathhammer // Crimson Dawn [August 29th, 2025 – Hells Headbangers Records]

Celebrating 20 years of blackened speed, Deathhammer drop LP number six with the kind of energy that exhausted parents dread to see in their children at bedtime. This is my first foray with the band, and I am in awe of the relentless level of manic energy they keep throughout Crimson Dawn’s 39 minutes. If science could learn how to harness their energy, we’d have an endless source of renewables. The two-piece out of Norway channels classic Slayer on crack and even has moments reminiscent of Painkiller-era Judas Priest. They play non-stop thrash cranked to 11, with persistent blast beats and some dual guitar parts that leave your head spinning from the rapid-fire directions the riffs fire off in. The heart of the mania is singer Sergeant Salsten. His crazed vocals are amazing—snarling, shouting, and shrieking in a way that took me back to the manic pitch Judge Doom could reach in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? He sings so fast that on the chorus of “Crimson Dawn,” it sounds like he says “Griffindor,” which had me searching confusedly for the Harry Potter tag. This was probably my favorite song, not just because of the Griffindor thing, but because that chorus is so catchy. Either way, it’s tough to pick a standout track because they all grip you by the throat and don’t let go. Crimson Dawn is a ton of fun and a must listen if you like your music fast.

Grin Reaper’s Bountiful Blight

Kallias // Digital Plague [August 14th, 2025 – Self Release]

Machine gun drumming, spacey synths, Morbid Angel-meets-Meshuggah riffing, Turian-esque barking and Voyager-reminiscent vocal melodies…what the fuck is going on here? The only thing more surprising than someone having the moxie to blend all these things together is how well they work in concert. Kallias doesn’t hold back on sophomore album Digital Plague, and the result is a rocket-fueled blast through forty-four minutes of eclectic, addictive prog. The mishmash of styles keeps the album fresh and unpredictable while never dipping its toes in inconsistent waters, and staccato rhythms propel listeners through eight tracks without losing steam. As with any prog metal worth its salt, Kallias brandishes technical prowess, and their cohesion belies the relatively short time they’ve been putting out music.2 The mix is well-suited to spotlight whoever needs it at a given time, whether the bass is purring (“Exogíini Kyriarchía”), the drums are being annihilated (“Pyrrhic Victory”), or a guitar solo nears Pettrucian wankery (“Phenomenal in Theory”). The end result is three-quarters of an hour filled with myriad influences that fuse into a sound all Kallias’s own, and it’s one I’ve returned to several times since discovering (also, credit to MontDoom for his stunning artwork, which helped initially draw my attention). Check it out—you’ll be sick if you avoid this one like the Plague.

Luke’s Kaleidoscopic Kicks

Giant Haze // Cosmic Mother [August 22nd, 2025 – Tonzonen Records]

Whereas many of my colleagues are bracing themselves for cooler conditions and harsh winters to come, in my neck of the woods, things are warming up. While my own wintry August filter proved scarce, there was one particular summery gem to lift moods with burly riffs and fat stoner grooves. Unheralded German act Giant Haze seemingly emerged out of nowhere during a random Bandcamp deep dive. Debut LP Cosmic Mother channels the good old days of ’90s-inspired desert rock, featuring grungy, doomy vibes via a groovy batch of riff-centric, hard-rocking and uplifting jams, evoking the nostalgic spirit of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Clutch and perhaps even a dash of Danzig. Punching out raucous, groove-soaked hard rockers with skyscraping hooks (“Geographic Gardens Suck,” “King of Tomorrow,” “Panic to Ride”), summery, funk–psych jams (“Sunrise”), and bluesy, punk-infused fireballs (“Crank in Public,” “Shrink Age”) Giant Haze get a lot of things right on this assured debut. The songwriting is deceptively diverse and punchy, bolstered by solid production, tight musicianship, and the swaggering, ever so slightly goofy vocal charms and powerful hooks of frontman Christoph Wollmann. Inevitably, a few rough spots appear, but overall Cosmic Mother showcases oodles of budding potential, an impactful delivery, cheeky sense of humor, and infectious, feel-good songcraft.

Spicie Forrest’s Foraged Fruit

Bask // The Turning [August 22nd, 2025 – Season of Mist]

Last seen in 2019, Bask returns with fourth LP, The Turning, a concept album following The Rider as she and The Traveler traverse the stars. They still peddle the unique blend of stoner rock and Americana Kenstrosity reviewed favorably in 2019, but 2025 sees them looking up for inspiration. The Turning incorporates a distinct cosmic bent (“The Traveler,” “The Turning”) and post-rock structures (“Dig My Heels,” “Unwound”). These augmentations to Bask’s core sound are enhanced by the masterful pedal steel of new official member Jed Willis. Whether floating through the firmament or tilling earthly pastures, Willis creates textures both fresh and intensely nostalgic. The infinite shifting vistas of The Turning’s front half coalesce into singular timeless visions on the back half, supporting its conceptual nature in both content and form. Like a combination of Huntsmen and Somali Yacht Club, Bask weaves riffs and melodies heard across the plains and through the void above with an unguarded authenticity felt in your soul.

Dolphin Whisperer’s Disseminating Discharge

Plasmodulated // An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell [August 1st, 2025 – Personal Records]

Stinky, sticky, slimy—all adjectives that define the ideal death metal platter. Myk Colby has been trying to chase this perfect balance in a reverb-wonky package with projects like the d-beaten Hot Graves and extra hazy Wharflurch, but vile death metal balance is hard to achieve. However, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell contains a recklessly pinched Demilichian riffage, classic piercing whammy bombs, and spook-minded synth ambience that places Plasmodulated with an odor more pungent than its peers. With an infected ear that festers equally with doom-loaded, Incantation-indebted drags (“Gelatinous Mutation ov Brewed Origin,” “Trapped in the Plasmovoid”) and Voivod-on-jenkem cutaways to foul-throated extravagence (“The Final Fuckening”). An air of intelligent tempo design keeps An Ocean from never feeling trapped in a maze of its own fumes, with Colby’s lush and bubbling synth design seguing tumbles into hammering deathly tremolo runs (“Such Rapid Sphacelation”) and Celtic Frosted riff tumbles (“Drowning in Sputum”) alike, all before swirling about his own tattered, trailing vocal sputters. Steady but slippery, elegant yet effluvial, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell provides the necessary noxious pressure to corrode death metal-loving denizens into pure gloops of stained-denim pit worship. Delivered as labeled, Plasmodulated earns its hazardous declaration. We here at AMG are not liable for any OSHA violations that occur as a result of Plasmodulated consumption on the job, though.

#2025 #Aeternus #AmericanMetal #Americana #AnOceanOvPutridStinkyVileDisgustingHell #Aug25 #Bask #BlackMetal #BlackenedDeathMetal #BurningWitches #CelestialTwilightBeyondTheCrimsonVeil #CelticFrost #Clutch #CosmicMother #CrimsonDawn #Danzig #DarkAmbient #DeathMetal #Deathhammer #DefLeppard #Defacement #Demilich #DigitalPlague #Doomed #DryDrunk #DutchMetal #EdgedCircleProductions #Emperor #Enslaved #Fellship #FinnishMetal #FrozenCrown #FuManchu #GermanMetal #GiantHaze #Glassing #Hardcore #HeavyMetal #Hellbutcher #HellsHeadbangersRecords #HotGraves #Huntsmen #Incantation #Inquisition #IronMaiden #JudasPriest #Kallias #Kraków #Kyuss #MelodicBlackMetal #Meshuggah #MoonlightSorcery #MorbidAngel #Motörhead #NapalmRecords #NorwegianMetal #OldNick #PersonalRecords #PhantomFire #Plasmodulated #PowerMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal #RawBlackMetal #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #SilentMillenia #Slayer #Sludge #SludgeMetal #SomaliYachtClub #SpeedMetal #StonerRock #Stormkeep #StreetSects #StuckInTheFilter #StuckInTheFilter2025 #SwissMetal #SymphonicBlackMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheTurning #TonzonenRecords #Turian #Voivod #Voyager #Wharflurch

Stuck in the Filter: August 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity

The heat persists, but now the humidity comes in full force as storm systems wreak havoc upon the coasts. I hide in my cramped closet of an office, lest I be washed out once again by an unsuspecting deluge. However, I still send my minions out into the facility, bound by duty to search for those metallic scraps on which we feast.

Fortuitously, most all of those imps I sent out came back alive, and with wares! BEHOLD!

Kenstrosity’s Galactic Gremlin

Silent Millenia // Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil [August 26th, 2025 – Self-Release]

Have you ever seen such a delightfully cheesy cover? Probably, but it’s been a while for me. I bought Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil, the second raw symphonic black metal opus from Finnish one-man act Silent Millenia, on the strength of the artwork alone. Little did I know that what lay beyond this crimson veil was some of the most fun melodic black metal this side of Moonlight Sorcery. The same low-fi roughness that personifies Old Nick’s work grounds Silent Millenia’s starbound songwriting as it traverses the universe with an energetic punch reminiscent of Emperor or Stormkeep (“Awaken the Celestial Spell,” “Daemonic Mastery”). To help differentiate Silent Millenia’s sound from that of their peers, a gothic atmosphere ensorcells much of this material to great effect, merging eerie Victorian melodies with galactic adventurism in an unlikely pair (“Enthrone the Spectral”). Swirling synths and sparkling twinkles abound as well, creating blissful moments of interest as frosty tremolos and piercing blasts take full advantage of the false sense of security those entrancing clouds of synthetic instrumentation create (“Benighted Path to Darkness Mysterium,” “Reign in Cosmic Majesty”). Simply put, Celestial Twilight is an unexpected gem of a symphonic black metal record, bursting with killer ideas and infinite levels of raw, unabashed fun. You should hear it!

Kronos’ Unexpected Unearthments

Street Sects // Dry Drunk [August 15th, 2025 – Self Release]

Dry Drunk sticks to your inner surfaces, draining down like cigarette tar along paralyzed cilia to pool in your lungs until the cells themselves foment rebellion. Once it’s in you, you feel paranoid, wretched, and alone. So it’s the proper follow-up to Street Sects’ visionary debut, End Position. Like that record, Dry Drunk plumbs the most mundane and unsavory gutters of America for a cast of protagonists that it dwells in or dispatches with a mixture of pity and disgust, with vocalist Leo Ashline narrating their violent crimes and self-hatred in a mixture of croons, shrieks, and snarls that cook the air before the speakers into the scent of booze and rotten teeth. And like that record, Shaun Ringsmuth (Glassing) dresses the sets with a fractal litter of snaps, squeals, crashes, gunshots, and grinding electronics, caked in tar and collapsing just as soon as it is swept into a structure. And like End Position, Dry Drunk is a masterpiece. The impeccable six-song stretch from “Love Makes You Fat” through “Riding the Clock” ties you to the bumper and drags you along some of the duo’s most creative side-roads, through the simmering, straightjacketed sludge of “Baker Act” to the chopped-up, smirking electronica of “Eject Button.” Swerving between addled, unintelligible agony and unforgettable anthems, Dry Drunk, like End Position before it is nothing less than the life of a junkie scraped together, heated on a spoon, and injected into your head. Once you’ve taken a hit, you will never be quite the same.

Thus Spoke’s Frightening Fragments

Defacement // Doomed [August 22nd, 2025 – Self Release]

There’s music for every vibe.1 The one Defacement fits is an exclusively extreme metal flavor of moody that is only appreciable by genre fans, made tangibly more eerie by their persistent idiosyncratic use of dark ambient interludes amidst the viciously distorted blackened death. Audiences—and reviewers—tend to disparage these electronic segments, but I’ve always felt their crackling presence increases the analog horror of it all, and rather than being a breather from the intensity, they prolong the nausea, the sense of emptiness, and the abject fearfulness of head-based trauma. This latter concept grows more metaphorical still on Doomed, where the violence is inside the mind, purpose-erasing, and emotionally-detaching. The ambience might be the most sadly beautiful so far (“Mournful,” and “Clouded” especially), and the transitions into nightmarish heaviness arguably the most fluid. And the metal is undoubtedly the most ambitious, dynamic, and magnificent of Defacement’s career, combining their most gruesome dissonance (“Portrait”) with their most bizarrely exuberant guitar melodies (“Unexplainable,” “Unrecognised”). Solos drip tangibly with (emotional) resonance (“Unexplainable,” “Absent”) and there’s not a breath or a moment of wasted space. Yes, the band’s heavier side can suffer from a nagging sense of homogeneous mass, but it remains transporting. While I can appreciate why others do not appreciate Defacement, this is the first of their outings I can truthfully say mesmerised me on first listen.

ClarkKent’s Heated Hymns

Phantom Fire // Phantom Fire [August 8th, 2025 – Edged Circle Productions]

While I waded through the murky depths of the August promo sump, Steel implored me to take the eponymous third album from Phantom Fire. “The AMG commentariat love blackened heavy metal,” he said. I disregarded his advice at my peril, and while I ended up enjoying what I grabbed, it turns out this would have been solid too. Featuring members from Enslaved, Kraków. Hellbutcher, and Aeternus, Phantom Fire play old school speed metal that harks back to the likes of Motörhead and Iron Maiden’s Killers. Thanks to healthy doses of bass and production values that allow the instruments to shine, each song is infused with energetic grooves. The music sounds fresh, crisp, and clear, from the booming drums to Eld’s “blackened” snarls. Early tracks “Eternal Void” and “All For None” show off the catchy blend of simple guitar riffs and a hoppin’ bass accompanied by energetic kit work. While placing a somewhat lengthy instrumental track in the middle of a record usually slows it down, “Fatal Attraction” turns out to be a highlight. It tells a tragic love story involving a motorcycle with nothing but instruments, an engine revving, and some police sirens. The second half of Phantom Fire gets a bit on the weirder side, turning to some stoner and psychedelia. There’s a push and pull between the stoner and Motörhead speed stuff on songs like “Malphas” and “Submersible Pt. 2,” and this blend actually works pretty well. It turns out that they aren’t phantom after all—these guys are truly fire.

Burning Witches // Inquisition [August 22nd, 2025 – Napalm Records]

With six albums in eight years, Swiss quintet Burning Witches has really been burning rubber. While such prolific output in such a short time frame generally spells trouble, Inquisition is a solid piece of heavy/power metal. Burning Witches dabbles in a mix of speedy power metal and mid-tempo heavy metal, often sounding like ’80s stalwarts Judas Priest and Def Leppard. With Laura Guldemond’s gruff voice, they produce a more weighty, less happy version of power metal than the likes of Fellowship or Frozen Crown. While the songs stick to formulaic structures, tempo shifts from song to song help keep things from growing stale. We see this variety right from the get-go, where “Soul Eater” takes a high-energy approach before moving into the more mellow “Shame.” There’s even a pretty solid ballad, “Release Me,” that grounds the back half of the record. Songs of the sort that Burning Witches write need catchy choruses, and fortunately, they deliver. “High Priestess of the Night” is a particular standout, delivering a knock-out punch in its delivery. It helps that the instrumental parts are well-executed, from crunchy riffs to subdued solos to booming blast beats. Anyone looking for a solid bit of power metal that’s not too heavy on the cheese will find this worth a listen.

Deathhammer // Crimson Dawn [August 29th, 2025 – Hells Headbangers Records]

Celebrating 20 years of blackened speed, Deathhammer drop LP number six with the kind of energy that exhausted parents dread to see in their children at bedtime. This is my first foray with the band, and I am in awe of the relentless level of manic energy they keep throughout Crimson Dawn’s 39 minutes. If science could learn how to harness their energy, we’d have an endless source of renewables. The two-piece out of Norway channels classic Slayer on crack and even has moments reminiscent of Painkiller-era Judas Priest. They play non-stop thrash cranked to 11, with persistent blast beats and some dual guitar parts that leave your head spinning from the rapid-fire directions the riffs fire off in. The heart of the mania is singer Sergeant Salsten. His crazed vocals are amazing—snarling, shouting, and shrieking in a way that took me back to the manic pitch Judge Doom could reach in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? He sings so fast that on the chorus of “Crimson Dawn,” it sounds like he says “Griffindor,” which had me searching confusedly for the Harry Potter tag. This was probably my favorite song, not just because of the Griffindor thing, but because that chorus is so catchy. Either way, it’s tough to pick a standout track because they all grip you by the throat and don’t let go. Crimson Dawn is a ton of fun and a must listen if you like your music fast.

Grin Reaper’s Bountiful Blight

Kallias // Digital Plague [August 14th, 2025 – Self Release]

Machine gun drumming, spacey synths, Morbid Angel-meets-Meshuggah riffing, Turian-esque barking and Voyager-reminiscent vocal melodies…what the fuck is going on here? The only thing more surprising than someone having the moxie to blend all these things together is how well they work in concert. Kallias doesn’t hold back on sophomore album Digital Plague, and the result is a rocket-fueled blast through forty-four minutes of eclectic, addictive prog. The mishmash of styles keeps the album fresh and unpredictable while never dipping its toes in inconsistent waters, and staccato rhythms propel listeners through eight tracks without losing steam. As with any prog metal worth its salt, Kallias brandishes technical prowess, and their cohesion belies the relatively short time they’ve been putting out music.2 The mix is well-suited to spotlight whoever needs it at a given time, whether the bass is purring (“Exogíini Kyriarchía”), the drums are being annihilated (“Pyrrhic Victory”), or a guitar solo nears Pettrucian wankery (“Phenomenal in Theory”). The end result is three-quarters of an hour filled with myriad influences that fuse into a sound all Kallias’s own, and it’s one I’ve returned to several times since discovering (also, credit to MontDoom for his stunning artwork, which helped initially draw my attention). Check it out—you’ll be sick if you avoid this one like the Plague.

Luke’s Kaleidoscopic Kicks

Giant Haze // Cosmic Mother [August 22nd, 2025 – Tonzonen Records]

Whereas many of my colleagues are bracing themselves for cooler conditions and harsh winters to come, in my neck of the woods, things are warming up. While my own wintry August filter proved scarce, there was one particular summery gem to lift moods with burly riffs and fat stoner grooves. Unheralded German act Giant Haze seemingly emerged out of nowhere during a random Bandcamp deep dive. Debut LP Cosmic Mother channels the good old days of ’90s-inspired desert rock, featuring grungy, doomy vibes via a groovy batch of riff-centric, hard-rocking and uplifting jams, evoking the nostalgic spirit of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Clutch and perhaps even a dash of Danzig. Punching out raucous, groove-soaked hard rockers with skyscraping hooks (“Geographic Gardens Suck,” “King of Tomorrow,” “Panic to Ride”), summery, funk–psych jams (“Sunrise”), and bluesy, punk-infused fireballs (“Crank in Public,” “Shrink Age”) Giant Haze get a lot of things right on this assured debut. The songwriting is deceptively diverse and punchy, bolstered by solid production, tight musicianship, and the swaggering, ever so slightly goofy vocal charms and powerful hooks of frontman Christoph Wollmann. Inevitably, a few rough spots appear, but overall Cosmic Mother showcases oodles of budding potential, an impactful delivery, cheeky sense of humor, and infectious, feel-good songcraft.

Spicie Forrest’s Foraged Fruit

Bask // The Turning [August 22nd, 2025 – Season of Mist]

Last seen in 2019, Bask returns with fourth LP, The Turning, a concept album following The Rider as she and The Traveler traverse the stars. They still peddle the unique blend of stoner rock and Americana Kenstrosity reviewed favorably in 2019, but 2025 sees them looking up for inspiration. The Turning incorporates a distinct cosmic bent (“The Traveler,” “The Turning”) and post-rock structures (“Dig My Heels,” “Unwound”). These augmentations to Bask’s core sound are enhanced by the masterful pedal steel of new official member Jed Willis. Whether floating through the firmament or tilling earthly pastures, Willis creates textures both fresh and intensely nostalgic. The infinite shifting vistas of The Turning’s front half coalesce into singular timeless visions on the back half, supporting its conceptual nature in both content and form. Like a combination of Huntsmen and Somali Yacht Club, Bask weaves riffs and melodies heard across the plains and through the void above with an unguarded authenticity felt in your soul.

Dolphin Whisperer’s Disseminating Discharge

Plasmodulated // An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell [August 1st, 2025 – Personal Records]

Stinky, sticky, slimy—all adjectives that define the ideal death metal platter. Myk Colby has been trying to chase this perfect balance in a reverb-wonky package with projects like the d-beaten Hot Graves and extra hazy Wharflurch, but vile death metal balance is hard to achieve. However, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell contains a recklessly pinched Demilichian riffage, classic piercing whammy bombs, and spook-minded synth ambience that places Plasmodulated with an odor more pungent than its peers. With an infected ear that festers equally with doom-loaded, Incantation-indebted drags (“Gelatinous Mutation ov Brewed Origin,” “Trapped in the Plasmovoid”) and Voivod-on-jenkem cutaways to foul-throated extravagence (“The Final Fuckening”). An air of intelligent tempo design keeps An Ocean from never feeling trapped in a maze of its own fumes, with Colby’s lush and bubbling synth design seguing tumbles into hammering deathly tremolo runs (“Such Rapid Sphacelation”) and Celtic Frosted riff tumbles (“Drowning in Sputum”) alike, all before swirling about his own tattered, trailing vocal sputters. Steady but slippery, elegant yet effluvial, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell provides the necessary noxious pressure to corrode death metal-loving denizens into pure gloops of stained-denim pit worship. Delivered as labeled, Plasmodulated earns its hazardous declaration. We here at AMG are not liable for any OSHA violations that occur as a result of Plasmodulated consumption on the job, though.

#2025 #Aeternus #AmericanMetal #Americana #AnOceanOvPutridStinkyVileDisgustingHell #Aug25 #Bask #BlackMetal #BlackenedDeathMetal #BurningWitches #CelestialTwilightBeyondTheCrimsonVeil #CelticFrost #Clutch #CosmicMother #CrimsonDawn #Danzig #DarkAmbient #DeathMetal #Deathhammer #DefLeppard #Defacement #Demilich #DigitalPlague #Doomed #DryDrunk #DutchMetal #EdgedCircleProductions #Emperor #Enslaved #Fellship #FinnishMetal #FrozenCrown #FuManchu #GermanMetal #GiantHaze #Glassing #Hardcore #HeavyMetal #Hellbutcher #HellsHeadbangersRecords #HotGraves #Huntsmen #Incantation #Inquisition #IronMaiden #JudasPriest #Kallias #Kraków #Kyuss #MelodicBlackMetal #Meshuggah #MoonlightSorcery #MorbidAngel #Motörhead #NapalmRecords #NorwegianMetal #OldNick #PersonalRecords #PhantomFire #Plasmodulated #PowerMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal #RawBlackMetal #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #SilentMillenia #Slayer #Sludge #SludgeMetal #SomaliYachtClub #SpeedMetal #StonerRock #Stormkeep #StreetSects #StuckInTheFilter #StuckInTheFilter2025 #SwissMetal #SymphonicBlackMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheTurning #TonzonenRecords #Turian #Voivod #Voyager #Wharflurch

#NintendoSwitch Video: #Incantation - There's definitely a decent horror and suspense vibe, with some scares, but quite a bit of walking as well #IndieGames

https://youtu.be/qcOoSHDJT94

Incantation; el juego de terror y supervivencia cinematográfico asiático ya está disponible para consolas

https://powerups.es/incantation-el-juego-de-terror-y-supervivencia-cinematografico-asiatico-ya-esta-disponible-para-consolas/

#Noticias #Eastasiasoft #Incantation

Although Calgary isn’t exactly a hotbed for death metal, the city hosts a healthy mix of metal acts. Hazzerd, Mares of Thrace, and Riot City call the Canadian city home, as does death metal troupe Cultist. Formed in 2015, the band recorded debut full-length Manic Despair in 2020. It took over a year to release the album, which finally hit shelves in early 2022. Four later, the Cowtown collective returns with follow-up Spiritual Atrophy, primed with half-an-hour of vintage death metal vitriol to proselytize you into brain-bludgeoned bondage. Does Cultist slip you some spiritual healing, or will Spiritual Atrophy have you asking for the Kool-Aid?

Fans of Manic Despair will quickly recognize that Spiritual Atrophy marks a new chapter in Cultist’s sound. Bassist/vocalist Vanessa Grossberndt and drummer Jim Petigo have been consistent fixtures in the band’s lineup over the last six years, but there’s been a revolving door for guitarists since Brodie Wylie left the band in 2021.1 Whether by design or just a byproduct of altered chemistry, Spiritual Atrophy forsakes the arcane mystique of Manic Despair and instead adopts a more straightforward attack, focusing on riffs and repetition over mood and tension. Where Cultist’s debut leans toward Incantation or Autopsy, Spiritual Atrophy more closely echoes the likes of Morbid Angel and Immolation. Even the album art recalls Unholy Cult with Harnessing Ruin’s color palette. Despite using a similar bag of tricks as legendary DM stalwarts, though, Cultist’s latest feels more like a retread of what you’ve heard before rather than constructing a fresh take upon proven elements.

Spiritual Atrophy by CULTIST

Where the rhythm section shaped Cultist’s identity on Manic Despair, Spiritual Atrophy sacrifices drum ‘n’ bass thunder for the almighty riff. New guitarist Betzi Poitras hews leaden earworms with razor-sharp riffing, and in isolation poses a promising new direction. Comprehensively, though, her barbed cuts bleed out the magic that defined Manic Despair. This alone isn’t damning, as the urge to reinvent and evolve is as natural as Steel’s back hair. Unfortunately, the replacement magic manifests as a finely-crafted routine we’ve seen countless times before, and fails to maintain intrigue as Cultist’s hand dips into the careworn, upturned top hat time and again. Grossberndt‘s bass still rumbles and bounces with occasional spotlights (“Phenomena”), and her gutturals get augmented with contributions from Poitras and Petigo, broadening the vocal diversity. Although I prefer Grossberndt‘s deeper, most unhinged growls,2 I appreciate the expanded range. Meanwhile, Petigo’s drumming maintains the blast-beaten fury from the debut, but his progressive flourishes have dwindled, and the overall drum presence is too far back in the mix. It’s a shame, because Petigo’s contributions were previously a cornerstone of Cultist’s atmosphere, and Spiritual Atrophy suffers from his diminished role.

Listening to Spiritual Atrophy can be a frustrating experience, not just because of the step backwards in originality, but the missteps outweigh what Cultist does so well. In a vacuum, individual moments on Spiritual Atrophy burn with a corrosive glow. The central riff from “Reality Shaper” could be a lost cut from Domination or Close to a World Below, but over four-and-a-half minutes, the pointed, serpentine lick is filed to a nub through repetition. This over-dependence on the same or similar riffs (“Neophyte,” “Spiritual Atrophy”) kills momentum throughout, making active listens feel much longer than thirty minutes. Spiritual Atrophy’s two instrumentals also undercut the listening experience, with intro piece “Divination Whispers” building to a moment that never arrives. Interlude “Perversion of Survival” does the same, alluring with its promising, sci-fi oriented forty seconds, only to be jettisoned for a tune that’s entirely agnostic to the lead-in. The instrumentals are solid on their own, and don’t necessarily belong on the cutting room floor—I only wish they’d been integrated with more consideration.

Though I’m left disappointed with Cultist’s latest offering, promise lurks around Spiritual Atropy’s corners. Frantic, off-kilter riffs, tortured vocals, and bursts of scathing venom supply the building blocks for nasty death metal magic. If Cultist can refine their songwriting and add more depth to their soundscape, their next LP could convert the masses.

Rating: Disappointing
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 319 kbps mp3
Label: Awakening Records/Futhark Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: March 20th, 2026

The marriage of death and doom is a well-trodden path, but Malignant Aura’s 2022 debut proved they had quickly mastered the formula. Abysmal Misfortune is Draped Upon Me was a crushing blend of old-school death metal (OSDM) misery and funeral desolation, establishing the Australian quartet as another worthy addition to an already vibrant scene. Born from the collaborative interests of guitarist Chris Clark and vocalist Tim Smith, the project has quickly metastasized from its demo roots into a fully realized unit. Now a part of the Memento Mori roster, their sophomore effort, Where All of Worth Comes to Wither, arrives to push Malignant Aura out of the nether realm and into a world all their own.

Where All of Worth picks up where Abysmal Misfortune left off. Opening with a series of gongs, the title track’s Mournful Congregation of Peaceville Three-inspired languid melodies and somber refrains surrender to a plodding, tectonic drum beat. Though Malignant Aura could have merged this intro into the subsequent track, it successfully anchors the record’s slow-burn atmosphere. Elsewhere, “The Pathetic Festival” conjures the macabre spirit of Hooded Menace and OSDM legends Incantation. It stands out as the tighter and faster track of the bunch, while the remaining three tracks are massive—mostly exceeding ten minutes—weaving funeral doom’s glacial phrasing with incendiary OSDM grit. Malignant Aura’s strength lies in the interplay between Robertson’s articulate drumming and Smith’s visceral vocal performance. Smith’s cesspool of gutturals, gurgles (“Beneath a Crown of Anguish,” “The Pathetic Festival”), chokes (“The Pathetic Festival”), and “bleghs” (“Languishing in the Perpetual Mire”) are phenomenal, with Clark’s wailing guitars, titanic riffs, and processional melodies guiding his vocals through shifting and swirling movements.

Where All of Worth Comes to Wither by Malignant Aura

I usually groan when I see double-digit track times, but Malignant Aura navigates Where All of Worth’s unabridged structure with ease by prioritizing flow over sheer density. Treating length as a function of tension and release rather than piling on riffs, they rely on intentional pacing, dynamic restraint, and Robertson’s percussion-led transitions to maintain intrigue and momentum. Whether it’s through violent double bass ruptures (“Languishing in the Perpetual Mire”), sepulchral marches (“The Pathetic Festival”), or cascading, symmetrical fills (“An Abhorrent Path to Providence”), Robertson’s drumming ensures that Where All of Worth’s transitions never feel foreign or accidental. This makes the eventual catastrophic payoffs feel earned rather than obligatory, a key reason each song’s arc feels purposeful. Motifs recur, but they return with altered tempos, denser drumming, or heightened aggression. The constant push and pull between crawling doom passages with repeated fake-outs and sudden bursts of deathly speed prevents stagnation in “Languishing in the Perpetual Mire.” Additionally, the formidable “Beneath a Crown of Anguish” never feels bloated thanks to later sections reframing what came before. “Beneath a Crown of Anguish’s” finale particularly nails this approach, briefly pausing for a moment before slamming back in at halftime for a decisive, memorable ending. Overall, Malignant Aura’s songwriting either deepens atmosphere, increases tension, or reshapes ideas, making their sprawling compositions feel immersive rather than exhausting.

Malignant Aura has undoubtedly sharpened their funerary tools on Where All of Worth, yet the songwriting doesn’t always stick the landing. “An Abhorrent Path to Providence,” for instance, lacks the peaks and valleys of other songs, succumbing to an atmospheric plateau that reveals what happens when runtime exceeds inspiration. The track’s midsection outstays its welcome and, despite the quality of Robertson’s kit work, the track feels unnecessarily distended. Moreover, a solo that fails to echo the song’s morose essence hampers the finale of “Languishing in the Perpetual Mire.” Though a far more evocative lead follows—nearly masking the previous stumble—the song awkwardly dissolves into a fade-out. It’s a clumsy end for a song that deserved a far more monolithic conclusion. However, while these compositional fractures exist, the songwriting remains sharp enough to sustain the weight of Where All of Worth’s expansive crusade.

As my colleagues in the staff lounge can attest, Where All of Worth’s cold embrace initially enthralled me—frankly, I wouldn’t shut up about it. I was certain it would drag the Score Counter into the lifeless muck with ease. Yet, reviewing has a way of introducing irony. Upon further listening, the record leveled out more than I anticipated, causing it to just miss greatness. Nonetheless, Malignant Aura has crafted an undeniable winner here, offering a wealth of grim, doom-laden, and morbid textures that will more than satisfy doom and death fans alike.

Rating: Very Good!
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Memento Mori | Grindhead/Primitive Moth
Websites: malignant-aura.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/MalignantAura
Releases Worldwide: January 26th, 2026

Five years ago, I highlighted Invictus’ 2020 debut LP Catacombs of Fear as part of our year-end death metal roundup feature. Since then, the Japanese death metal trio toiled under the ground with a brutal live schedule and steadily wrote what might very well be my most highly anticipated follow-up in the death metal realm. Hot on the heels of killer releases from personal favorites like Depravity, and jumping just ahead of another highly anticipated salvo from Eximperitus, Invictus’ upcoming Nocturnal Visions has big shoes to fill and stiff competition to combat. But if anybody has the chops and the balls to do it, it’s Invictus.

Having only one previous album and a few scattered demos/singles to their name, Invictus haven’t messed with their formula very much since their inception. Boasting a killer combo of Demolition Hammer nastiness and Consuming Impulse-era Pestilence attack, Nocturnal Visions pushes 35 minutes of pure adrenaline. Nary a second faffs about with filler, fluffy atmosphere, or anything else that could be construed as something other than devout reverence to The Almighty Riff™. With each twist of phrase or shift in movement, guitarist/vocalist Takehitopsy Seki tears through an unrelenting assault of intense grooves, speedy thrashes, and writhing rhythms that don’t just open up pits, but rather rip open dimensional rifts straight to hell itself (“Altar of Devoted Slaughter,” “Wandering Ashdream”). Instead of relying on blasts for intensity, Haruki Tokutake’s percussive strategy focuses on machine-gun double-bass runs and thrashy skanks so brutally exacted upon my spine that I needed a back brace and headgear just to approach the second half—accommodations which in no way deterred my summary bodily encrushment (“Persecution Madness”). Bassist Toshihiro Seki clunks and clangs beneath the surface with a violent, hammering tone that, while not always as audible as it ought to be, nonetheless deepens the tonal quality of the record’s warm, slightly swampy production (“Nocturnal Visions”). Unlike many of those acts from whom Invictus draws inspiration, Seki’s vocals operate squarely inside the Incantation/Tomb Mold school of subterranean monstrosity. Counterintuitively, this sets the trio apart from their influences by hiding in plain sight with their contemporaries.

Nocturnal Visions by Invictus

Regardless of where you fall in the greater scope of metallic fandom, Nocturnal Visions is a magnificent showcase of energetic songwriting and devastating hookcraft. While the formula opener proper “Abyssal Earth Eradicates” utilizes feels and sounds familiar, Invictus executes it with a youthfulness, voracity, and dare I say exuberance that makes me forget for a moment the entirety of death metal’s history. As Nocturnal Visions progresses through its early movements, boasting killer tracks in “Altar of Devoted Slaughter,” “Lucid Dream Trauma,” and “Persecution Madness,” my ability to care about anything other than banging my head, grimacing like a gargoyle, and stomping my poor abused feet against the floor vanishes. What’s left is a mind-broken sponge reduced to primal instincts, with a vocabulary of one word, “Fuck!” exclaimed exclusively with each new swaggering groove or pummeling riff. Even after several dozen spins, pit monsters “Persecution Madness,” “Dragged Beneath the Grave,” and later highlight “Wandering Ashdream” received such frequent and aggressive verbal confirmation of their sheer awesomeness and perpetual energy that my coworker had to perform a wellness check. Even the daunting eight-minute closer “Nocturnal Visions” earns its keep here, switching up themes and reprising refrains just enough to keep my interest up and my engagement high.

That doesn’t leave much room for negatives, and indeed, few found purchase in my evaluation. Obviously, Nocturnal Visions exhibits nothing new or innovative; it’s simply doing classic death metal far better than most. Consequently, Invictus left some creativity and novelty on the table. They could easily pick up bits and bobs from that stack of potential ideas and bring an extra dimension to future efforts without sacrificing their core sound. Additionally, pacing Nocturnal Visions at such a blistering rate of speed so consistently across 35 minutes leaves a little to be desired in the way of songwriting dynamics. Tokutake in particular makes the most of his arsenal of patterns, fills, and tumbles to alleviate this condition, but not quite enough to cure it—see the otherwise ripping “Frozen Tomb.” Seki’s somewhat one-note vocal approach doesn’t always help matters in that respect, but his performance is rock-solid and dependable enough not to hurt either.

Of course, these critiques amount to mere nitpicks in the truest sense of the term. Nocturnal Visions is, simply put, a staggering monument to old-school death molded for the modern era. Invictus blasted my skull apart with their debut, but this sophomore effort is more than a worthy successor. Hear it!

Rating: Great!
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Me Saco Un Ojo Records
Websites: invictus3.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/Invictus
Releases Worldwide: January 26th, 2026

For over 30 years, Casket has been a reliable—if slow and not terribly well-known—source of classic death metal. Originally forming as a four-piece in Reutlingen, Germany in 1990, they released a slew of demos between 1992 and 1996 before releasing their debut, Under the Surface, in 1998. They’ve released something (demo, EP, or LP) every five years or so since then, and aside from paring down to a trio in 2007, not much has changed since the early days. Although they experimented with gothic/symphonic elements on 2017’s Unearthed, their fifth full-length sees Casket returning to form. In the Long Run We Are All Dead promises raw, basic death metal, diluted by neither time nor inferior metals. Is their barebones style still virile, or is it a relic best left in its bygone age?

Casket’s death metal may be barebones, but they’re damn good at it. With nary a note of warning, Casket hits the ground running on opener “The Will to Comply.” Vocalist/guitarist Schorsch launches beefy, retro riffs and vicious, descending tremolos while vomiting up chasm-deep vocals like slabs of cement grinding against each other. Casket’s skill and experience are painfully obvious as they rip through track after track of dumb, violent death metal. The low-end heft from Susi Z’s bass makes In the Long Run We Are All Dead feel more like blunt force trauma than a stabbing or a slashing, and drummer Marinko consistently provides just the right tools for his bandmates to inflict maximum damage. This is old school death metal played the way only the old guard knows how.

Hammer, Knife, Spade by CASKET

When I first saw that In the Long Run We Are All Dead boasted a whopping 11 tracks, I was worried it would overstay its welcome. Luckily, that’s not the case. Casket constantly shifts between various iterations of the old school formula. Incantation is the biggest touchstone here, but not the only one. The specter of Bolt Thrower lends its inexorable, crushing riffcraft to “Highest Thrones” and “Fundamental Rot,” and there’s a dash of punk woven throughout, largely driven by Marinko’s drumming (“Highest Thrones,” “Seeds of Desolation”). While Cannibal Corpse’s freneticism shows in tracks like “Hammer, Knife, Spade” and “Mainstream Mutilation,” much of In the Long Run We Are All Dead stalks along at a middle pace, trading speed for power and complementing Schorsch’s demonically low roars. Even when my attention does start to wander by album enders “Strangulation Culture” and “Graveyard Stomper,” Schorsch’s guitar ventures for the first time into higher registers, adding a novel brightness in a final push to the dead wax.

There’s not much to complain about on Casket’s latest. Missteps on In the Long Run We Are All Dead are few and minor, while mid-to-highlights—like the strong conclusions of “Seeds of Desolation” and “Graveyard Stomper,” the instrumental pause in “Fundamental Rot” when Schorsch roars over the gap, or the punky shifts that peak in and out on “Highest Thrones”—are fairly common. I did find the occasional kinetic plucking noise on the bass a little distracting, and I wish the kick drum sounded a little less anemic next to an otherwise robust kit. The opening and recurring riff of “Skull Bunker” fails in repetition and would have served better as a hook. Two tracks are dubiously cut interludes (“Mirrors,” “Necrowaves”), and “Fundamental Rot” takes its time leaving the stage, but at a combined two and a half minutes, none of it is bothersome enough to hit skip, or even properly be called bloat.

In an era of always searching for the next big thing, Casket brutally reminds me of a core life lesson: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Casket has been around since the beginning, and they know the basics never go out of style. Sure, there’s a weird riff here, a bad bridge there, but even 36 years in, In the Long Run We Are All Dead is no exception to Casket’s consistent quality and timeless, nuts-and-bolts style. Casket doesn’t do hype or trends; they don’t care about exploring boundaries or subverting expectations. They’re just here to break your skull open with a hammer. Or a knife. Or a spade.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Neckbreaker Records
Websites: Official | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: January 23rd, 2026