#morbidangel — Public Fediverse posts

Drawing from metal’s perennial fantasy touchstone—Lord of the Rings—with the genre’s new favorite fantasy—the Fromsoftware game catalog1—Fog Wall make their independent death metal debut with Gloomweaver. Formed by two lifelong friends and Sandvvitch bandmates, vocalist Zak Brady and vocalist/bassist/overall-sound-guy Alex Malmquist (ex-Warbringer) wove Gloomweaver out of “their love of crushing evil riffs and heavy bass tones,” a fondness I’m sure is common among the greater AMG readership. Joined by guitarist Shagrat “Quincy” Gorbag and drummer Logan Griggs, Fog Wall aim to whip up heck with this passion project. But is this a passing thing, Gloomweaver, or does its soul have the strength to keep the fire lit?

If you decide to step through the Fog Wall, you’d best steel yourself; Gloomweaver hits hard and sticks deep. Striking with the old-school grit of Morbid Angel, muscle and immediacy of The Black Dahlia Murder, and the snarling ferocity of Necropanther, Fog Wall punch well above their weight. Many of Gloomweaver’s riffs feel irresponsible. The neanderthalic, brown-noted bulldozer grooves of “Knife, Sting, Tooth,” “Mazarbul (Desolation),” and “Manor of Ensnarement” tap into a primal need for heavy things to hit other heavy things. When “Fleshpot Ritual” hits its breakdown or “Frantic Orb Wielder” reaches its post-sample groove,2 heads will roll. Brady and Malmquist’s vocals make for a slobbering two-headed beast, wetly belching screams, gurgles, and growls matched in savagery only by Malmquist’s grotesque, capital-PH PHat bass wreaking havoc across Gloomweaver. Fog Wall is a band that just gets the minutiae of what makes death metal devastating, and are poised to use said minutiae to rip new ones with great urgency via Gloomweaver.

Fog Wall are no mere conjurors of cheap brutality, but come armed with plentiful eccentricity. There’s a blackened edge to Fog Wall—see the twin tremolos of “The Accursed” or the icy synths and blast-beated turn in “Strangling Gloom”—lending a density and sinister bent that’s supercharged by their superb death metal heft. But more surprisingly, the sleazy swing of Type O Negative manifests in musty doom riffing on “Manor of Ensnarement,” muscular group vocal “hoo”s on “Fleshpot Ritual,” and—no duh—the entirety of the Type O cover “The Profit of Doom (Medley).” Gloomweaver can verge into tech-death on speedy, tweedily-dweedily cuts like “Mazarbul (Desolation)” and “Frantic Orb Wielder,” and their Necropantheresque snarl lends a thrashy bite to everything.3 Finally, Fog Wall know how to sample. Clips from the LotR movie trilogy and Fromsoftware games briefly and succinctly establish setting and tone (“Manor of Ensnarement,” “Traverse”) and cue mid-song shifts with serious aplomb [“Mazarbul (Desolation),” “Frantic Orb Wielder”] bolstering Gloomweaver as an artful and thematically rich record as well as a delightfully heavy one.

Fog Wall’s songwriting is tight and thoughtful, but it’s not without its hiccups. Gloomweaver is a well-edited record, with every song focused and impactful and nothing running unbearably long. They even cut “The Profit of Doom (Medley)” almost in half from its original runtime. More importantly, nothing’s cut too short either, as even quick cuts like “Frantic Orb Wielder” and “Strangling Gloom” sound full and fully realized. But both “The Accursed” and “Belching Black Vapors” start strong and somewhat lose steam by the end, with the former lacking as many twists as usual and the latter seemingly entering into its ending phase halfway through. Gloomweaver’s weakest moment unfortunately comes with its finale in “Traverse,” where its slower pace loses much of the album’s previous vitality, and a tastefully doomy bass line and name-dropping “FOG WALL” chorus can’t bring the fire back as hot as on prior tracks. These few pacing issues are worth noting, though in no way do they detract from Fog Wall’s electrifying presence and smartly-written tunes.

Gloomweaver is fire. A gross display of joyously seething deathly goodness, Fog Wall killed it with their debut. Like the stories of their fantasy inspirations, the ordeal of any independent artistic process is long, tiresome, and uphill; this bunch of chums made it look effortless. If you like death metal, you probably like this album. Not all who wander are lost, but if Gloomweaver isn’t where you’re headed, then get it together, step through the Fog Wall, and let them take you to a cold, dark, and decidedly ungentle place today.4

Rating: Great!
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3
Label: Self-Release
Website: fogwallnv.bandcamp.com | facebook.com
Releases Worldwide: September 4th, 2026

Since the last Filter dropped, it still hasn’t stopped raining and storming in my neck of the woods. Consequently, my minions trudge evermore through the thin sheet metal of our ducts as the thunder rattles everything like so many dice in a tabletop nerd’s clutches.1 Yet I must press them and push them, for we have quotas to meet and ravenous appetites to sate.

So it is with shaky hands and discombobulated craniums that my grunts hand over the goods. BEHOLD!

Kenstrosity’s Thrashed Thrall

Ascended Master // Crepuscular Gloom [May 8th, 2026 – Self Released]

Death thrash is best thrash, if you ask this sponge. Something about this unholy combo really rustles my jimmies, especially when its executed with great speed and riff-centered fervor. Cincinnati’s Ascended Master nail that combination right into the grave, boasting a sound that’s three parts Death, one part Atheist, and a pinch of Blood Red Throne. With a sense of groove that gives barnburners “Blood Spilled Upon the Stars,” “Crepuscular Gloom,” and rabid closer “Xenopaleontology” a deadly swagger liable to cause fierce whiplash in all who would headbang to it, debut LP Crepuscular Gloom” is a record pumped full of testosterone and adrenaline. Speedy rippers like “Midnight Mother” and “Ghoul Queen” put the pedal to the metal with a ferocity more commonly associated with Kvaen or Hellripper in the modern pantheon, but the record’s natural engineering and coherent screams hark to earlier times where Death reigned supreme in the scene. However, it would be inaccurate to call it pure worship. Ascended Master have an intense personality and a particular ferocity that allows Crepuscular Gloom to integrate smoothly into their respective category without blending into the crowd. As their career develops from this point, I expect we’ll see their identity bloom and rise with greater distinction, further setting them apart and threatening year-end lists all around. Just wait, you’ll see!

ClarkKent’s Prehistoric Pulls

Ilienses Tree // Toward the Storm [May 1st, 2026 – Meuse Music Records]

Ilienses Tree sow their roots deep into the island the band originates from—Sardinia, just off the coast of Italy. Their name, Ilienses, refers to an ancient Nuragic civilization that, during the Bronze Age, built impressive stone tower structures that still stand today. While the band isn’t nearly so old, their second album, Toward the Storm, dabbles in the sort of slow, deliberate doom that speaks of the patience of those ancient ruins. They lean towards a style of funeral doom that has the brutal power of My Dying Bride, but their record also contains the unpredictable dynamic drumming of Oromet and sneaks into speedier death/doom territory akin to Paradise Lost and Novembers Doom. Ilienses Tree have a mastery over melancholic lead riffs, such as the one that opens “To Not Be Forgotten.” “Sudden Rain” flexes the band’s creative muscle most impressively. Beginning in a slow burn and anchored by a poignant guitar lead, the song has a sudden burst of energy, turns in a lovely duet between arpeggiated riffs and bass, and features several more memorable and distinct guitar leads. Though the songs average nine minutes, they fit neatly into a 38-minute record, and thanks to progressive structures, they never feel overlong. If you’d like some music that simultaneously hits you in the feels and provides a shot of adrenaline, then go towards, not away from, this storm.

Anna Fiori // Metztli [May 21st, 2026 – Self Released]

Sometimes symphonic metal bands grow a touch stale from a failure to innovate, relying too heavily on the gimmick of symphonic instruments. Anna Fiori, however, has created something pretty special, with a Mexican/Aztec twist on the genre. Her band mixes “pre-Hispanic instrumentation” with cinematic symphonics and heavy guitars to create thrilling high-energy music. While some songs hit a more poppy Beyond the Black mold (“En El Vacio”), others take a longer-form route. The nine-minute “Luna Llena (Xiki Noeso)” blends indigenous chants and flutes with orchestral elements that sometimes sound like an exciting score to a whimsical adventure film. The highlight, “Luna Menguante (Nimotemak),” contains a mix of cool riffs, flutes, and blast beats before taking us on a bonkers ride involving operatic singing, off-kilter pianos, a few solos, and perhaps the summoning of a demon or two. While the song compositions are tons of fun, Fiori’s performance ties it all together. She sings in the sweet poppy manner of Epica’s Simone Simons, the operatic style of many a Therion singer, and even some growls in the spirit of Seven Spires’s Adrienne Cowen, if not quite her power. Fiori even briefly raps on a couple of tracks, with a pretty impressive section on the outro track, “Tetzahuitl, Pt. 2: El Origen,” and goes off-script with an infectious laugh on “Entre Mil Voces.” Clearly she’s having a lot of fun. Metztli hits some of the familiar symphonic notes while injecting enough personality of its own to make for an entertaining, and sometimes wild, ride.

Grin Reaper’s Spring Fling

Beyond the Veil // Oblivion [May 1st, 2026 – Wormholedeath Records]

There’s little online information about Tokyo prog metallers Beyond the Veil,2 and while I don’t recall how I stumbled across debut Oblivion, I’m glad I did. Upon listening, I was immediately enamored by their familiar yet enchanting blend of drama and technicality. Fans of Opeth and Dream Theater will uncover a trove of unapologetic prog where Beyond the Veil weaves gorgeously conceived instrumentation into intricate compositions. Oblivion also embraces long-form arrangements, sporting six tracks ranging between seven-and-a-half and sixteen minutes each. Credit to Beyond the Veil, though, because even with such robust runtimes totaling over an hour, Oblivion never feels repetitive or bankrupt of ideas. Quite the opposite, in fact, as each listen reveals new knots to untangle and coils to unwind. Perhaps the facet I’ve come to appreciate the most as I revisit Oblivion is Beyond the Veil’s merger of piano, mellotron, and orchestrations with guitar, bass, and drums. They’re hardly the first band to do this, but each song sounds well-attuned to incorporating the right instrument for the right part rather than spotlighting heavy-handed wankery, allowing Oblivion to soar. While Beyond the Veil doesn’t break the mold with this one, getting lost in Oblivion never sounded so sweet.

Lago // Vigil [May 8th, 2026 – Everlasting Spew Records]

Vigil introduced me to Lago and their infectiously abrasive death metal, and this album is forty-two minutes of unhinged brutality flecked with melody. The blood of Immolation, Morbid Angel, and Incantation pumps through Lago’s veins, delivering unapologetic tangles of dissonant, jangling guitars, fuming blast beats, and murky bass runs beneath Cole Jacobsen’s devilishly demented gutturals. Lago’s brew is potent stuff, swirling and churning with caustic acid that will leave your eardrums scarred and cowed with nary a moment wasted. Complimenting the devastating filth Lago dredges is Gus Barr’s warbling lead guitar, which cuts through the grime with off-kilter shredding. “Behold, Ruin” and “Initiation Rite” hit with the immediacy and aplomb of Immolation, lurching onwards with Brian Miller’s timekeeping straight out of Close to a World Below’s playbook. Meanwhile, “Procession into Slaughter” and “The Land Was a Desert” launch into Azagthoth-tinged, otherworldly riffs. Everything about Lago screams danger, yet once the blood starts flowing it’s impossible to turn away from their murderously addictive violence. Once Vigil has its hooks in you, you won’t want them to Lago.

Redshift // Down the Wire [May 29th, 2026 – Pale Wizard Records]

As a massive Rush fan, Redshift’s Down the Wire immediately caught my attention with ample parallels. A power trio wielding buttery smooth bass lines, Lifeson-leaning chords, and Tiago Martins’ tender tenor call to mind Canada’s greatest export for all the right reasons. Yet Bath, England’s Redshift is more than a Rush clone, and on Down the Wire they bounce and whip in syncopated flurries and chromatic runs while dabbling with vocoded vocals and deathly roars. As the best prog does, Redshift explores vast territory in a commensurately brief runtime. Opener “The Routine” hits the Rush influence hard and early, but “The Clown” draws upon Synchestra-era Devin Townsend kookiness while “The Rogue” dabbles in Yesified eclecticism and even features guest keys from Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen). One thing Redshift steers away from is the self-seriousness associated with a lot of prog, and Down the Wire radiates a pervasive sense of fun. Trumpets and samba-coded melodies enliven “The Rogue” while “The Singer” assaults with fierce growls, wicked solos, and perfectly balanced instrumental interplay. Down the Wire fires on all cylinders, scorching with progressive songwriting and so much replayability that I regret not getting the chance to write a review in full. If you’re Down to the Wire and need a prog fix quickly, Redshift is a clever choice that won’t disappoint.

Spicie Forrest’s Nostalgic Nugget

Haste the Day // Dissenter [May 1st, 2026 – Solid State Records]

I haven’t heard the name Haste the Day since 2008. At the time, I was on the tail end of my metalcore phase and pushing into heavier styles, so while I recognized their quality, I didn’t latch on to them as I did other acts of their ilk. It’s a shame, because Dissenter is the sound of my adolescence. Slinging the same emo-flavored metalcore as early As I Lay Dying and August Burns Red, the Indianapolis-based six-piece offers 39 minutes of beautifully aching nostalgia. Stephen Keech’s lead vocals sound pushed and strained (complimentary), evoking the emotion of early Linkin Park (“Shallows,” “Grave”). Guitarists Scott Whelan, Brennan Chaulk, and Dave Krysl are so in sync, delivering stellar layered riffs and leads felt in the soul (“Burn”). When Michael Murphy’s bass comes to the fore, as on “Liminal,” he brings a heaviness and intensity that hurtles me back to middle school like it was just yesterday. Dissenter is a bit heavier and faster on the front end, but even the not-quite-overwrought power ballads of the back half maintain their drive and pacing thanks to Giuseppe Capolupo’s kit work (“Adrift,” “Escape”). For those of us who cut our teeth on acts like Haste the Day, late-career and comeback albums can be an anxious affair, but I’m happy to report that Dissenter is a worthy walk down memory lane.

Nestled in the underground crevices and rocky terrain of Denver, Colorado, emerging upstarts Crypts of Golgotha rise with the debut full-length, Disembodied in the Arms of Perdition, hellbent on bruising and battering the weak. Formed in 2022, the four-piece have cranked out a busy collection of demos, EPs and split releases before arriving at their debut LP. The term is perhaps used a little loosely in this case, as Crypts of Golgotha strip shit down to the bare essentials, crushing the listener into submission over the course of an all too brief twenty-four-minute beatdown. Boasting an uber chunky style of brutal, groove-infected death, let us dig in to see whether Crypts of Golgotha possess the chops and songwriting smarts to elevate themselves from the overcrowded pack.

As quickly determined, subtlety is not in the Crypts of Golgotha playbook. Nor are they preoccupied with techy flatulence, shitty interludes or throwaway instrumentals. These dudes cut to the chase, using the almighty power of the riff to drive each rugged, in-your-face composition, packing each meaty slab with enough tempo shifts, cohesion and structural variety to maintain interest. Tight, direct and refreshingly clutter- and gimmick-free, Crypts of Golgotha draws inspiration from classic sources, including the mighty Suffocation, Dying Fetus and Morbid Angel. Outside of the classic fare, Crypts of Golgotha strike a nifty balance of contemporary meets old school influences, recalling the immense weight, riff-based chugs, and uppercutting grooves of modern heavyweights Bloodgutter, Unhallowed Deliverance, and reliable Danish vets, Dawn of Demise.

Crypts of Golgotha slather their old school ideals with a modern approach, complete with lashings of slammy groove, pit-ready breakdowns, and guttural brutal death, wrapped in a dense, beefy production and darkly gritty underground atmosphere. Sprightly and impactful, Crypts of Golgotha crafted a heavyweight platform of bricks and mortar to expand upon. Roots of budding potential are well established, as Crypts of Golgotha thrive on pummeling the listener into dust, slowing down to bowel-rumbling levels for maximum heaviness, while frequently shifting tempos and rhythmic patterns to ensure the material doesn’t devolve into monotony. Instrumentally heavy opener “Cross on Calvary” spends most of its runtime battering auditory senses through beefy riffs, slick tempo changes, and a devastatingly heavy climax. Featuring impressive quality and consistency, Disembodied in the Arms of Perdition features a rampaging collection of killer tunes, with nary a moment wasted. Brutally rugged riffs, sick dual vox, and gargantuan grooves regularly detonate with crushing, infectious impact (“Disembodied in the Arms of Perdition,” ‘Pummeled into Nonexistence,” “I am Decay”).

“Wolf and the Knife” draws power from its thick, sinewy basslines, slobber-knocking riffs, and techy, urgent throes, while “Elegy of the Forgotten God” channels the stout power and attitude of classic New York death. The rapid affair concludes with the compellingly riff-stacked and body-slamming grooves of “Order to Comply.” Technically proficient without resorting to flashy showmanship, Crypts of Golgotha sound immensely tight and monstrously heavy. Showcasing a deft handle of songcraft, bolstered by a weighty sack of hammering riffs and gnarly, varied vox to drive momentum, the riffs cycle through brutal and classic death metal influences, cutting a satisfyingly heavy wallop and a brutally infectious streak. Guitars are reinforced by extra beefy tones, mixing sledgehammer heft and sharp clarity. Gabe Sragon (also on vox) and Dominik Dworak wield their axes with confidence and a nasty underground swagger. I would be remiss not to highlight the excellent rhythm section, from Cooper Jones’ ever-present, chunkified bass rumbles to the bulldozing, groove-centric and creative patterns of drummer Joaquin Aragon.

Strengths comfortably outweigh any nitpicks or weaknesses on Disembodied in the Arms of Perdition. To be expected from a young band’s debut LP, there is naturally room for growth and development in the songwriting department to refine their identity, and occasionally the album could benefit from more frequent bursts of speed. While reluctant to draw a negative of refreshing brevity, the album leaves you wanting more, making for enjoyable replay value, but a feeling an extra few minutes of material would have made for a more fully fleshed-out experience. Otherwise, matching songwriting smarts to compliment the preposterously guttural onslaughts and knuckle-dragging bruteness, Crypts of Golgotha unleashed a confident, delightfully crushing debut, with youth on their side to hone their craft into an even more deadly form of thuggish savagery.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: Stream
Label: DSFP Records
Website: Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: June 26th, 2026

Astriferous slimed out of the Costa Rican death metal scene back in 2019 and have been on a slow, upward crawl since. Their 2023 Pulsations from the Black Orb debut grabbed them some attention and a mostly positive review from our own Ferox. Their weapon of choice is repugnant caverncore with a dose of dissonance, putting them squarely in the Incantation, Dead Congregation, and early days Tomb Mold wing of the death emporium. Atavistic Unraveling finds them stuck in the same filth and scum with scant migration toward the light of day. It’s still fugly, grotesque death metal of the olden school, with the dissonance element adding a slight touch of modernity. Their sound is a bit more fleshed out this time, and when everything clicks, things can feel pretty goddamn harrowing and brutal. With so many bands trying to ape the classic Incantation sound and vibe, can Astriferous do enough to crack through that thick mucous membrane and claim their share of the cesspool? Let’s test the tainted waters for hazardous algae.

Fucknormous opener “Carriers of the Curse” is a fine way to kick things off, and it has all the crucial elements. It’s not doing anything new, but it comes after you with so much raw savagery that innovation starts to seem trivial. It covers all the bases a caverncore tune should, from ragged blasting to slower mid-tempo plodding, and there’s a meatheaded Cannibal Corpse vibe to the riffs when they aren’t being all snakey and creepy. The only downside is that it feels like the song rambles on for about a minute too long, revisiting the same scorched territory. “The Floating Catacombs” is more of the same high-quality ear abuse, with slimy, repulsive riffs and subterranean vocals teamed with caveman moments and some weirdly Voivodian riffs popping in and out for variety. As the album churns along, you get quality nastiness, but there’s that nagging tendency to stretch out compositions a bit too far, reducing the overall impact. This despite the fact that most song run between 4-5 minutes. It’s a weird thing. “Proto Embryo (The Third Tribulation)” is a remorseless blast furnace with just enough tempo shifts to keep things interesting, but it just keeps going when it feels like it should be over. Likewise, “Arcane Demonomania” is another blistering ass blaster with a jagged d-beat and a plethora of ugly, squiriming riffs. It’s easy to love, but once again, it drags on toward the end.

A few tracks are good but less impactful, like “Mnemonic Phenomena,” despite some effective doomy segments and overwhelming vocal excess. 8-plus minute closer “Resonance Cascade” is more modern-sounding, venturing into sludge doom at points. At its best, it can feel oppressive and suffocating. Over the whole runtime, though, it ends up challenging the attention span as segments of less interesting riffs drift by, offering little to cling to. The album’s nearly omnipresent sense of bloat makes a 36-minute album feel much longer than it is, which is a shame because Astriferous do so many things right here.

Felipe Tencio and new slinger Esteban Sancho are at the center of a maelstrom, casting frantic corkscrewing riffs in all directions when not laying down big power chugs that put the boot on the throat. This tandem knows the ways of caverncore, and many of these leads probably slithered away after recording to become invasive species somewhere. Incantation is a clear influence, but I also hear Immolation, Morbid Angel, and Cannibal Corpse in the DNA. Tencio is a great death metal vocalist possessed with a deep, intimidating roar for the ages. He sounds demonic and gigantic and anchors the material to the Ninth Level of Hell. José Pablo Phillips also impresses with a pronounced and weighty bass performance. The only real knock is that the writing can be undisciplined and too long in the fang, thereby partially unraveling the band’s good works.

Astriferous have a winning formula and the talent to execute it, and parts of Atavistic Unraveling scream of potential and hint at greatness. With tighter, more consistent writing, this would be a must-hear and headed for my year-end list. As it stands, I can safely recommend this for death heads everywhere as the wet, sticky goods are delivered, even if they aren’t all equally malicious and infectious. Like my great-granddaddy Pig Iron Druhm used to say, “If the cave smells of rancid mold, there’s bound to be some gold.” Wisdom!

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Me Saco Un Ojo
Website: instagram.com/astriferousdeath
Releases Worldwide: June 26th, 2026

There are few concepts in the Western tradition as misunderstood as that of “the death of God.” It is not a triumphant proclamation, nor a call for apathetic nihilism. What has been coined in recent online discourse as a ‘meaning crisis’ is only barely getting the point. The Loss of Transcendence—some universal, ultimate, mind-independent Truth and set of values—is a beginning, an event that should prompt critical thought and action and confrontation of a human condition that we sedate ourselves out of with belief in a higher power or sense and reason in the universe; hope; or the rescinding of responsibility to the idea that ‘nothing matters.12 The Great Observer seem to have done their homework for the most part, with their debut channeling their thrashy blackened death into a philosophical call to action that blends Existentialism with Stoicism and Epicureanism. Fresh on the scene and immediately going all-in in aggression and storytelling, what can The Great Observer give to us?

On the face of it, Loss of Transcendence is standard black/death/thrash, with a rotating emphasis on each of those three components. Sticking primarily to up-tempo, gritty riffing in a vein somewhere between Necrophobic, Tomb Mold, and Morbid Angel—though a less flashy iteration—The Great Observer do nonetheless find time to linger in some cavernousness that vaguely recalls Disembowelment. They further emphasise their mean streak with a pervasive vocal echo that adds to the grime of the throaty howls and is compounded during the many instances when such vocals are multi-tracked or delivered as a group. But not all of this energy is used in service of evil; there’s a strong anthemic side to these choruses and a jaunty bombast to many a beat. In many ways, it gives off the aura of classical extreme metal—back when Black Metal was an album title, and ugliness, speed, and aggression were the name of the game in a fundamentally different way to how they are now. And yet, under the layers of dirt and behind the malevolence lie small seeds of nuance, and it is to Loss of Transcendence’s great detriment that they remain scattered seeds alone.

Loss of Transcendence flirts with many things—intrigue, atmosphere, tenacity—but never quite wins any of them over. Riffs generally check boxes for pugnacity, but even at their most brutish and slick (“The Great Observer,” “Impervious Creation”), they have no edge, no force. At the worst end, guitar lines are entirely blunt thanks to nondescript, generic-sounding melodies and patterns (“Herald of Thorns,” “How Far the Faithless will Venture”). It’s unfortunate that all of the best guitar sits in the record’s back half, with “Impervious Creation” and “The Weight of Being Free” delivering shimmying, sliding shredding capable of winning over the harshest of critics, and the latter track featuring a genuinely beautiful, buttery smooth solo that combines everything great about grimy yet gorgeous extreme metal. The frequent use of group vocals, which sometimes creates an impressive miasma of harrowing calls (“Impervious Creation,” title track), falls awkwardly flat when delivered as rousing shouts (“Sentenced at High Noon,” “At The Summit of Consciousness,” “The Weight…”) thanks to the latter’s surprising corniness. The Great Observer also experiment in an exasperatingly random manner with distortion, with a liquid, Worm-adjacent effect appearing in random snatches never to develop (“Parénklisis (Fallen Into Existence),” “How Far…,” “The Weight…,” title track); and the worst part is that it’s good! The pace, generally high, is also stymied by not one but two synth-heavy instrumentals as “Parénklisis…” opens the album with a gravitas that never appears again, and “Ékstasis (The Lonesome Path)” needlessly presses pause for two minutes of ambience and whispering.

In reality, Loss of Transcendence feels frustratingly lukewarm. A mix that pushes guitars erratically between the far background and the very forefront, and a baffling decision3 to layer vocal tracks and reverb like lasagna over these riffs (“The Great Observer,” “Sentenced at High Noon,” “The Weight…,” title track) makes what could be decent blackened death sound almost poor. Almost the only time the guitars sound good is when they sound great, soloing in sudden clarity (“Sentenced…,” “Impervious Creation”) and with fluent expressiveness (“The Weight…,”), and these highlights appear exclusively in the second half. Given this, it becomes harder to forgive the swing of strangely upbeat gang shouts (“Sentenced…,” “Herald of Thorns”) and a brusque attitude to riff-writing that tends to shy away from character.

It’s always a shame when a concept I’m particularly interested in is delivered in mediocre form. Loss of Transcendence strikes as an album that would have had heads spinning and Bibles being reached for in the early 90s but now its grit cannot make up for its shortcomings. Failing to develop their best ideas and sidelining their assets far too often, The Great Observer still haven’t seen how to capitalise on their strengths, and Loss of Transcendence loses more than higher values as a result.

Rating: Disappointing
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: BlackSeed Productions
Website: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: April 30th, 2026

Maybe war never changes, but Warside has. Between releasing inaugural EP The Enemy Inside, and recording their debut, three of Warside’s five members left the band. Now a quartet, the Lyon, France collective tromps into the death metal arena, brandishing Cognitive Extinction, their first long play. Down a guitarist, Warside reports Cognitive Extinction as having ‘a rawer, more direct sound.’ Though The Enemy Inside can’t be classified as polished or subtle, Cognitive Extinction embraces an even leaner, meaner aggression through twenty-eight minutes. Additionally, Warside weaves a broad theme into the album—the erosion of intelligence and critical thinking due to the proliferation of screens and dependence on technology. It’s an increasingly relevant theme in these crazy times, but is Warside’s warning enough to keep listeners’ gray matter from atrophying into pudding?

Though simply billed as ‘death metal,’ Warside skews towards the technical end of the spectrum. Dying Fetus, Misery Index, and Vomitory are cited as influences in the promo materials, and while elements of those bands exist on Cognitive Extinction,1 I also hear the frantic immediacy of Benighted and Aborted enmeshed with the tech-heavy grooves of more recent Cryptopsy and Suffocation. Technical without falling into technical death metal territory and bruising without earning a brutal death metal tag, Warside toes the line between extreme metal subgenres without fully committing to any specific one. Rather than wavering or wandering, though, Cognitive Extinction sounds confident, direct, and ready to peel your skull back to get a look at your cognition firsthand.

Despite adding some new members and shuffling guitar duties, Warside launches a savage assault that never relents. Returning from The Enemy Within, guitarist Vincent Morelle resumes six-string duties on Cognitive Extinction while former guitarist Jérôme dons the mantle of bassist. Joining them are duo Mathieu (vocals) and Thô (drums) from deathgrind project Festering Process, and together this foursome unleashes barrage after barrage of merciless death metal thunder. Tracks “Neurocide” and “Invasive Thoughts” meld Morbid Angel’s wicked melodies with Nile’s violent velocity, frequently coaxing involuntary stank-face. “Visceral” punches with Suffocation’s might, windmilling between stutter-stop leads and kick drum cannonades, while “Thirst for Rot” dive bombs into an early solo before hitting a swarthy Cryptopsy-meets-Decapitated groove. Throughout, Mathieu discharges fierce gutturals that remind me of Benighted’s Julien Truchan,2 primal and bloodthirsty without ever going full BREEE. All told, kinetic hooks, furious blast beats, and husky bass grooves carry the momentum of each track, with feverish solos offering brief detours from Warside’s otherwise unyielding onslaught.

Warside evokes death metal titans throughout Cognitive Extinction, yet clinging too tightly to these touchstones prevents them from fully realizing an identity of their own. In fairness, Cognitive Extinction works cohesively, with a consistent aural context that’s as bludgeoning as it is swift. And even though Warside sidesteps critical flaws, hooking an overcrowded niche with deathly wares can be a significant challenge. Genre greats can provide a strong template for writing compelling music, but emulation without innovation risks giving listeners an experience that drives them back to inspirations. Said simply, bands with unique sounds become reference points, while others get buried beneath the sands of time. In this regard, Cognitive Extinction feels like a half measure, where a blend of influences comes together to form a coherent album, yet lacks a wholly original voice.

Standout performances and sharp, economical songwriting distinguish Warside as an act I’ll follow closely, and help achieve a portion of the identity they need. Cognitive Extinction teems with talent and promise, and despite the abysmal dynamic range,3 the mix is well-balanced and allows listeners to appreciate what Warside does within its runtime. I’ve greatly enjoyed my time with Cognitive Extinction, and a couple of its gems have helped add some weight to my Heavy Moves Heavy ’26 playlist, but with so many killer death metal albums out this year, I’m unsure what lasting impact it’ll have. Time will tell, and in the meantime, I hope that Warside continues honing their blades to keep minds and interest sharp.

Rating: Good!
DR: 3 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Gruesome Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: April 17th, 2026

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

Ashen – Leave the Flesh Behind Review

By Kenstrosity

Australian death metal troupe Ashen impressed me back in 2023, but not because their debut record Ritual of Ash was an especially good or groundbreaking record. Instead, their confident presentation, deceptively impactful songwriting structures, and subtly distinct approach to a weathered style of death metal struck me as a rare case. Where many acts that pedal peddle an HM-2 or adjacent style of death metal content themselves with base reproduction of common idols, Ashen merely use their influences as a foundation for their own voice. With more time to massage their songwriting further and strengthen their identity, Ashen prepare sophomore monster Leave the Flesh Behind, and it’s big.

Simple songwriting predicated on strict formulas leads to treacherous places riddled with pitfalls. Monotony, boredom, lack of identity, flatness, and toothlessness characterize countless records written by bands unprepared to navigate these pitfalls, but Ashen swerve and swivel around many of them. Of course, those familiar with Entombed, Dismember, or more modern acts like Wombbath and Helslave are bound to hear a familiar thread connecting Leave the Flesh Behind to the classic HM-2 sound and style. But with each of those categories, Ashen tweak and twist it with a gentle hand into a gnarled form, curling mid-paced stomps into knotty tangles of deceptively sophisticated riffs and mammoth grooves. Darker still than Ritual of Ash, Leave the Flesh Behind feels thoroughly ominous, dangerous, and unstoppable. Thanks to a production job that highlights the low end and scoops the midrange just a touch, Ashen’s sound creates a wide and airy soundstage. On it, Ashen’s crushing footfalls reverberate though the air with all the menace of an unearthly beast, heard but not seen.

As is the case with many records in my library, Leave the Flesh Behind’s title track is the perfect encapsulation of what Ashen do best. Mid-paced, but vicious, riffs richly layered in dark harmonies flood my synapses, compelling my neck to swing with a violence it was not designed to withstand. So satisfying is this track, in fact, that since my first spin, I haven’t been able to progress through this tight 39-minute runtime without spinning “Leave the Flesh Behind” at least twice. Similarly effective, “Ancestral Gate” and closer “Blood Offering” deal an effortless percussive swagger that contorts the muscles in my face into something grotesque and inhuman. Slower, moodier highlights like “Infinite Sea” and “Severed” showcase Ashen’s talent for off-kilter rhythms inside conventional time signatures and melody-driven, doomed riffs that nonetheless bare an intimidating spread of teeth. Best of all, Leave the Flesh Behind doesn’t wander even when it does slow things to a dying crawl, as vocal lines take center stage to add interest in much the same way Rotpit‘s did on Let There Be Rot.

As successful as Leave the Flesh Behind’s strongest moments are, some of what lies between doesn’t live up to its potential. None of these weaker moments heavily detract from the album experience individually. Rather, they accumulate. Most of this accumulation occurs at the center of the record, populated by a run of three songs between “Void Within” and “Reincarnate.” These lack the same verve and vitality of the songs bookending them, and could use sharper hooks. While competent on their own, the consequent drop in excitement and thereby momentum creates a stagnation where a burst of new life is needed instead. Passages in each song have the potential to resolve that issue had they been developed differently (see the deep trem-picked rumble in the final third of “Void Within,” or the Morbid Angel riffing meets Rotpit slime in “Ageless”), but as they are they can’t carry their respective numbers to the finish line.

Overall, Leave the Flesh Behind is a modest improvement on the already good Ritual of Ash, and a significant indicator of greater things still to come. Ashen strike me as a band that value continuous improvement, but also steady and controlled development. I’m not an especially patient man, but when I pick up hints of greatness from bangers like “Leave the Flesh Behind” and “Ancestral Gate,” I’m more than happy to wait for that special moment when Ashen drop a monstrous mastapeece. As far as I’m concerned, it’s only a matter of time.

Rating: Good!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Redefining Darkness Records
Websites: ashendeath.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/ashendeath
Releases Worldwide: August 22nd, 2025

#2025 #30 #Ashen #Aug25 #AustralianMetal #DeathMetal #Dismember #Entombed #Helslave #LeaveTheFleshBehind #MorbidAngel #RedefiningDarknessRecords #Review #Reviews #Rotpit #Wombbath

Clairvoyance – Chasm of Immurement Review

By Maddog

Yes, I picked this up entirely because of its cover. Girardi’s gorgeous spiral of tombstones and skeletons conjures vintage highbrow death metal of the likes of Death. The title Chasm of Immurement grasps at brutal badassery in the vein of Suffocation’s Effigy of the Forgotten. Clairvoyance’s logo remains indecipherable even if you know the band’s name, suggesting kvltness galore. The promo materials describe lyrics that address the isolating effects of depression, foreshadowing a harrowing listen. In isolation, each of these judgments strikes at the truth but glances off. Chasm of Immurement is the debut album from Poland’s Clairvoyance, an unknown band comprising unknown musicians. Lying at the intersection of brainless death-doom and brainiac digressions, Chasm of Immurement is a powerful foray into death metal.

A first pass through Chasm of Immurement suggests primitive death metal with a dollop of doom. “Eternal Blaze” opens the album with a bang that recalls Faceless Burial’s Speciation. After grabbing me by the anus, Clairvoyance maintains its hold by alternating between mid-range Obituary riffs and lurching Autopsy-style death-doom. These lowbrow highlights feel both as slimy and evolved as an amoeba. With both its riffs and its guitar tone, Chasm of Immurement leaves a palpable layer of grime that justifies multiple colonoscopies. “Blood Divine” emerges as a late gem through riffs that are gory enough to draw blood and enormous enough to evoke Immolation. This isn’t isolated to a subset of the tracks; throughout its runtime, Chasm of Immurement alternates between a sixteen-wheeler and a used minivan without dulling its fun.

On your fifth listen, Clairvoyance’s experimental bent comes into view. The same doomy riffs you’d heard before reveal spooky foreground melodies (“Reign of Silence”). The same track that you’d interpreted as a caveman ditty blossoms in baffling melodic directions in its second half (“Eternal Blaze”). The same song that introduced itself as by-the-books death metal culminates in a monstrous doomy climax (“Fleshmachine”). The same sections that you’d dismissed as repetitive transform into home bases for grimy excursions, interfering with your sleep schedule and your family obligations. Adorning hefty riffs with sinister melodies, Clairvoyance recalls both Lovecraft’s Azathoth and Morbid Angel’s Trey Azagthoth. It took me a while to realize that I was doing Chasm of Immurement an injustice by pigeonholing it into old-school death metal. It is indeed that, but it’s so much more.

Clairvoyance’s varying ambitions both empower and dilute each other. Spanning 34 minutes across 6 tracks, Chasm of Immurement is a concise collection of lengthy tracks. Some of its pieces wander, especially at their simplest. For instance, despite being the second shortest track, “Blood Divine” feels lengthy because of its dearth of creative ideas. Similarly, the shortest song, “Eternal Blaze,” suffers from riffwork that’s decent but unimaginative, before eventually redeeming itself with more variety. Even so, these flubs are rare. The six-minute “Hymn of the Befouled” is the starkest counterexample, balancing length with girth by combining a vicious off-kilter main riff with melodic escapades that hold me rapt. Parts of Chasm of Immurement could do a better job of remaining engaging, but it’s hardly a fatal flaw.

Balancing thoughtful death metal and anti-intellectual death-doom, Clairvoyance’s debut is as weird as it is powerful. Neanderthals who need their fix should look here, as Chasm of Immurement’s crushing death metal riffs rival the best of old-school death metal. Conversely, fans of Morbid Angel’s wonkiness or Tomb Mold’s shapeshifting shenanigans will find just as much to love here. Chasm of Immurement is unlikely to dethrone Faithxtractor’s Loathing and the Noose atop my 2025 death metal ranking, as its occasional meandering loses my interest. But it’s a promising debut from a crew of talented Polish fiends.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Carbonized Records
Websites: carbonizedrecords.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/clairvoyancedeathmetal
Releases Worldwide: July 18th, 2025

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