#reviews — Public Fediverse posts

Do you, like me, ever find yourself missing the sheer metallic perfection of the first few Mercyful Fate albums? Both Melissa and Don’t Break the Oath cast such a brilliantly macabre, occult atmosphere that they surely amplified the already palpable Satanic Panic of the mid-80s. Good things never last, but for a brief time, In Solitude managed to partially fill the dead spot in my heart that longed for more albums like those Fate classics, but all too soon they were gone too. Enter German metal crew The Night Eternal to fill the gap created by In Solitude, if not the yawning chasm left by Mercyful Fate. I discovered them on their 2023 sophomore release Fatale, and was quite impressed. Their sound was like an early, less Satanic Fate strained through a Goth rock filter, and it worked exceptionally well. Now, a few years later, we get the follow-up, Cold Velvet. The basic template is still in place, but this time they’ve gone deeper into the Goth rock doldrums and dulled their heavy metal edge in the process, approximating the Idle Hands / Untoothers material. It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for ’em.

The Night Eternal’s strengths heard on gems like “In Tartus” from Fatale are still present on opener “Where This World Ends,” as frontman Ricardo Baum’s slick merger of King Diamond, To Die For’s Jarno Perätalo, and Amorphis’ Tomi Joutsen pays big dividends. The pure metal quotient of the backing music feels a touch softer than last time, even approaching Ghost-levels of hard and Goth rock, but the song works and hooks you in. As Cold Velvet plays out, the Goth vibe increases. “Eurydice (Don’t Look Back)” is a polished take on 80s Goth rock, and it has legs and memorability that demand replays. This could have sat on Mana by Idle Hands and fit right in if they added a few werewolf-y grunts and howls. “Caught in a Spell” is a very laid-back piece of Goth flair with an easy breezy charm, and after a few spins it cements itself into your nerve clusters. It even has a vague Wytch Hazel vibe that adds extra charisma points.

The best moments come when The Night Eternal put their foot on the accelerator and dial up the metal. “The Veins of Time” is a throwback to Fatale, hitting the sweet spot between metal and Goth. It’s a bit more urgent and edgy without forsaking the sadboi glumness, and there’s a Sisters of Mercy vibe under the surface. My personal favorite track is “Shape of Sorrow” as it’s the most jacked-up version of the band’s current formula. It’s hardly a face-melter, but it offers more intensity and less moping and feels considerably heavier than the rest of Cold Velvet. Unfortunately, a few tracks, while good, just don’t sizzle enough to excite the grey matter, and when teamed up with the album’s languid vibe, they drag the excitement factor down a few notches. “When the Last Candle Dies” is like a lost modern Ghost track, and it’s okay but not much more, and closer, “Dance on Crimson Ground,” is the longest here at 7 minutes, but it isn’t all that interesting. At 42-plus minutes, Cold Velvet isn’t a challenging listen, but it isn’t the most exciting one either. The Goth influences result in a muted, sometimes drab expanse, and though the writing overcomes the limited color scheme at times, the album merely glides but never soars.

As with past outings, Ricardo Baum is the star of The Night Show. He’s got a big vocal presence that’s hard to resist, and he’s the kind of frontman that elevates everything a band does. He can sound like a youthful King Diamond, but this time he seems much more determined to turn himself into the prototype for an 80s Goth rock hero. He regularly delivers slick vocal hooks and phrasing that add a cool factor to everything the band does. There’s an argument to be made that the music behind Baum is more anodyne than last time. Robert Richter and Heinrich Käseberg can be a potent guitar tandem as they demonstrated on the prior albums, injecting classic metal and NWoBHM influences into their playing. Here, however, they dial things back to more Goth-appropriate levels, sacrificing power for poise. That makes for a less dynamic listen with fewer big, brain-shaking metal moments. Talent abounds, but the material feels overly restrained and held in check, and that’s unfortunate.

The Night Eternal are a very good band capable of delivering solid music that spans several genres. On Cold Velvet, they deliver some high-quality moments, but these highs aren’t as lofty as last time, and they get tangled in a series of less animated moments that sink the album into a Gothy bog. Cold Velvet is plenty classy, but it isn’t bashy enough for its own good. This gives me the sadz in the wrong way. Still worth a listen.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Metal Blade
Websites: thenighteternal.bandcamp.com | thenighteternal.com | instagram.com/thenighteternal_official
Releases Worldwide: August 21st, 2026

Game Two daddelt mal wieder auf YouTube:

Ganz anders als Elden Ring!? Kuro hat The Duskbloods angezockt!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygWmJEXgKck

#GameTwo #RocketBeans #RBTV #RocketBeansTv #gaming #review #preview #reviews #FromSoftware #TheDuskbloods #DarkSouls #EldenRing #Bloodborne #Sekiro #Multiplayer #PVPVE #Nintendo #Switch2

Netflix’s Engaging Crime Drama ‘Blood Sacrifice’ Spotlights Inept Policing: TV Review
#Variety #Reviews #TVReviews #BloodSacrifice #GeorgeKay #JakobOftebro #Netflix

https://variety.com/2026/tv/reviews/blood-sacrifice-review-netflix-1236838260/

It can't keep up with the Steam Deck: The Geekom IT13 Max

> The Geekom IT13 Max is a delicious slice of the NUC cake... as long as you know what you're biting into. Though it uses a quote-unquote "last gen" CPU, it is an attractive deal for clear-eyed and informed buyers.

#Reviews #Geekom #Minipc #BryantReview

https://gardinerbryant.com/it-cant-keep-up-with-the-steam-deck-the-geekom-it13-max/?utm_campaign=widget&utm_source=mastodon

Vengeful trickster fairies, a realm of impenetrable cold and boundless frost, a dragon gnawing away at the roots of the World Tree; Norse iconography is intense, and metal bands have known this at least since Led Zeppelin. Sweden’s Fejd, a folk metal group formed in 2001 from the folk duo Rimmerfors and the prog-thrash band Pathos,1 have been weaving Norse history and mythology into their acoustics-forward heavy metal for decades. They were last heard with 2016’s Trolldom, followed by a decade of inactivity as far as new music is concerned. But now, drummer Esko Sallow, keyboardist Lennart Specht, bassist Thomas Antonsson, vocalist/moraharpa player Niklas Rimmerfors, and multi-instrumentalist Patrik Rimmerfors2 have taken the Fejd banner to Nifelheim, the Norse realm of ice and an album steeped in mist-wrapped mystery. Fejd sing in Swedish and, being a Swiss-cheese-brained American, I can’t tell you if they capture their “Nordic melancholy” in lyricism. But can they musically?

“Folk metal” encompasses a lot of different sounds; the way Fejd do it, Nifelheim is folk, folk metal. Fejd’s approach immediately reminded me of The Hu’s early material, where amidst the great score of acoustic instrumentation, keyboards, and drums, not one distorted guitar appears. This is no issue. The lively, drone-noted strumming on “Edsvuren” and “Sköldborg”‘s Amon Amarthesque fighting riffs prove Fejd can bring the goods without them. Nifelheim’s acoustic soundscape—beautifully captured in a warm and dynamic mastering job—smells of sea salt on “Älvagrimmar” with its wind-swept majesty and “Strilja”‘s medieval jauntiness and Sgàile-like grandeur. On first listen, I was quickly and easily engrossed. Nifelheim doesn’t actually sound Nordic—like most Viking-y folk music these days, Fejd mostly play a hodgepodge of Asian and Eastern European instruments—but it nonetheless sounds like a dip into the primordial world.

Fejd use a lot of instruments on Nifelheim, and brother, you better believe they’re using them all in the same song. “Nidhögg” navigates between mouth harp,3 a plethora of strings, synthesizers, and group vocals while the title track opens to a cavalcade of drums, horns, and synchronized string riffs to bombastic effect. Nifelheim is just about always like this. But what’s crazy is that Nifelheim never sounds overly crowded. This owes partly to its aforementioned mix but also Fejd’s delicate songcraft, which sees pieces sliding in and out of the music in seamless, natural transitions. But what’s similarly baffling is that, though Fejd weave such big compositions together, Nifelheim still sounds kinda thin. This is in part due to a lack of low end, which is mostly handled by Salow kicking the dookie out of his drums, because Antonsson’s bass basically stands in the back of the mix sipping a beer mead. Regardless, in tying Nifelheim’s anachronistic musical identity together into a cohesive package, it’s safe to say these Swedes left no “Ø” uncrossed or “Ä” undotted.

But with how spirited Fejd’s musical identity is and how rich Nifelheim’s compositions can be, it’s a bit surprising how much steam the record loses by the end. Nifelheim keeps to a mid-pace throughout its runtime, and though Fejd can play briskly—Salow really lets loose on the kit when he wants to (“Edsvuren”)—the music nonetheless feels stuck in one speed. Similarly, I’d describe Rimmerfors’ vocals as workmanlike on Nifelheim, serving the music well but being too constrained to stand out or elevate it. Factored together, these two problems conspire to give Nifelheim a feeling of déjà vu. When closer “Svarta Tjärn” rolls out its big conclusion in hopes of a true Viking funeral, a track worthy of one in a vacuum, over-familiarity dims its flame to a serviceable campfire instead. Nifelheim is smooth sailing, but perhaps the trip would’ve been more memorable had Fejd challenged some choppier waters.

Nifelheim is a fun and expertly crafted album the whole way through, but a lack of exciting highs keeps me from giving a full-chested recommendation of it. Fans of folk metal will likely enjoy what Fejd offer on it, and genre diehards are likely to rate it more highly than I. I hear all the essence of a great album in Nifelheim, from Fejd’s expert chemistry to the record’s effortless fluidity. But I also hear the potential for something to really blow the roof off with Nifelheim gone unrealized. A few stronger hooks or up-tempo moments would’ve really gone a long way. But regardless, Nifelheim is a sound warship for Fejd to get back on the warpath with, and more than worthy of your consideration for listening. Skol!

Rating: Good
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3
Label: Black Lodge | Sound Pollution
Websites: fejd.se | facebook.com/Fejdofficial
Releases Worldwide: August 21st, 2026

Poolease X1 Pool Robot Review: How Bad Can It Be?

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.wired.com/review/poolease-x1-pool-robot/

ENEY-G: THREE FREESTYLES, THREE CHAPTERS OF THE JOURNEY

https://globalworldnetworkchannel.wordpress.com/2026/08/20/eney-g-three-freestyles-three-chapters-of-the-journey/

MUTINY Review: Jason Statham Kills On Rough Waters In Jean-François Richet’s New Action Thriller https://filmcombatsyndicate.com/mutiny-jason-statham-movie-review/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #Reviews #annabellewallis #filmcombatsyndicatecom

Book Review: The Ultimate AI Guide for Linux Engineers https://feed.itsfoss.com/link/24361/17423027/ultimate-ai-guide-for-linux-engineers-review #Reviews

Big Bad IV: Shorts Round-Up For This Year’s Fourth Edition! https://filmcombatsyndicate.com/big-bad-iv-shorts-round-up-for-this-years-fourth-edition/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #FestivalsAndEvents #Reviews #ShortReviews

Google Pixel Watch 5 Review: More Health, More AI

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.wired.com/review/google-pixel-watch-5/

‘Insidious: Out Of The Further’ Review: Hit Horror Franchise Returns With A New Family And PG13 Zombie Twist That Feels A Bit Stale
#News #Reviews #AmeliaEve #Blumhouse #InsidiousOutOfTheFurther #LinShaye

https://deadline.com/2026/08/insidious-out-of-the-further-review-hit-franchise-returns-1237045194/

‘Insidious: Out of the Further’ Review: Latest Entry in the Franchise Serves Up Genuinely Terrifying Setpieces Despite a Convoluted Final Act
#Variety #Reviews #Insidious6

https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/insidious-out-of-the-further-review-1236837868/

Google Pixel 11 Pro Review: One Small Step for Phones https://petapixel.com/2026/08/19/google-pixel-11-pro-review-one-small-step-for-phones/ #Equipment #Reviews #Mobile

‘Insidious: Out of the Further’ Review: Or When a Franchise Makes the Case for Its Own Death, Again
#IndieWire #Criticism #Movies #Film #Insidious #InsidiousOutoftheFurther #Reviews

https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/insidious-out-of-the-further-movie-review-1235211474/

Google Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL Review: Smart Software, Small Upgrade

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.wired.com/review/google-pixel-11-pro-and-pixel-11-pro-xl/

Sometimes it just feels good to let rip some ferocious riffs, pound the drums at headbanging velocity, and rail about society’s ills at a pitch that a caveman can appreciate. At least that’s how I imagine New Mexico’s Street Tombs approaches their songwriting. In 2023, they gave out a good ol’ thrashing on their debut, Reclusive Decay, which didn’t see coverage here, but did land on Decibel’s top 40 albums of the year. Though Reclusive Decay had barely above 30 minutes of music, it’s taken three years to release Existence is Corruption, yet another 30 minutes of high-octane crusty punk. Maybe they used that time to research the thematic content of their lyrics, whose topics include the “complacency, corruption, and destruction” that plague modern society. Nah, who am I kidding? They just want to bludgeon you over the head with the well-honed vocal, riff, and d-beat attack they’ve spent that time sharpening.

Street Tombs combine the punky influence of early d-beat purveyors, Discharge and Celtic Frost, with the physical, in-your-face riffage of Bolt Thrower. This blend makes for a high-energy attack with endless riffs and plenty of whiplash as your neck attempts to navigate their bruising soundscape. Existence is Corruption is a no-frills dose of death metal, skipping the usual atmospheric opener and going straight for the jugular on the pummeling “Pestilent Storm.” This proves the norm, as song after song blasts with furious drum beats and killer riffs, only really pausing for atmospherics once, when “Systematic Suffering” ends on some guitar feedback and atmospherics, to horrifying effect. The risk for this kind of approach is that the music might bleed together, but Street Tombs keep their riffs creative and mix up the pacing. There are plenty of brief but spectacular solos as well as mood shifts that allow the guitars to dig in at a different, less furious angle. So yes, the caveman will dig what these guys are doing, but so will the more evolved among our species.

While they have the vibe of early Discharge, Street Tombs filter it through more modern production values, giving the instruments more punch. This probably comes across on the drums more strongly than anything else. Ben Brodsky’s performance provides a sturdy foundation for the music, and his sheer power gives a boost thanks to a relentless, pounding energy. Brodsky has the sense to lay back and get creative in order to avoid any fatigue from constant d-beat jackhammering, notably some mid-tempo antics on “Systematic Suffering.” The riff attack from David McMaster and Damian Jacoby also engages the brain at a primal level, yet there’s a progressiveness to how they play, allowing surprising developments to permeate the songs. “Mental Mutilation” displays this ability to engage carnal pleasures while the guitars organically shift, leading to a fabulous, though sadly brief, solo.

As much as Street Tombs does mix things up, a uniformity begins to creep into Existence is Corruption. Yes, there are shifts in tone and pacing within songs, but the persistent d-beat blasts and deathly riffs still dominate the record. It’s hard to complain when they play them this effectively, and in such a brief package, yet it does mean individual tracks begin to blend together. Given the style, the 3-4 minute range is the sweet spot, which means the songs that reach or hit the 5-minute mark start to feel repetitive (“Upset the Grave,” “Deceptor”). Jacoby’s vocal delivery similarly suffers from a one-dimensional nature. Don’t get me wrong. I love his vocals and believe they add a distinctive personality to the music, but the lack of diversity in delivery does contribute to that sense of uniformity. In all, these are some nitpicky ways of saying Existence is Corruption didn’t quite break the score counter, but it came close.

These streets may be mean, they may be ugly, and they may be gritty, but most importantly they are loads of fun. Where some death metal acts seek to be as dense and incomprehensible as possible, or insert levels of high artistry in their work, it’s refreshing that acts like Street Tombs exist to engage your id, though with a high level of creativity, mixing intellectual stimulation with brain-melting riffs. These guys don’t do anything that hasn’t been done before, yet they excel at it and have written a record that’s some of the most fun I’ve had with death metal this year.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Carbonized Records
Websites: Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: August 21st, 2026

‘Mutiny’ Review: Jason Statham Dies Hard on a Cargo Ship in a Thriller of Impeccable Bring-the-Pain Timing
#Variety #Reviews #Diehard #JasonStatham #Mutiny

https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/mutiny-review-jason-statham-1236837057/

‘Northbound’ Review: Bruce Dern Revs Up a Road Movie With Its Hands Otherwise Firmly at Ten and Two
#Variety #Reviews #BruceDern #EdinburghFilmFestival #Northbound

https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/northbound-review-bruce-dern-1236836684/

Reviews: Lazarus Order #1, The Phantom vs. The Singh Brotherhood, Mister Nemo #2, The Last Starfighter #2 and Junk Punch #3
From Mad Cave Studios

https://comics.3millionyears.co.uk/p/reviews-lazarus-order-1-the-phantom

#Reviews #MadCave

It is summer, and summer is for MOAR SLAMS!!! 2026 hasn’t seen the most plentiful harvest from the most cavebrained of death metal subsets, but with choice items from acts like Glassbone, Utter Scorn, Onchocerciasis Esophagogastroduodenoscopy, and Gravecrawler, I’ve been able to keep my slam cravings moderately maintained. Alas, the hunger grows perpetually. I needed MOAR, and it needed to be good. Enter New Zealand’s verb-the-noun slam quartet Utilize the Remains and their sophomore LP, Meaningless Existence. With a fully fleshed-out lineup as of 2023, can these Pacific rimmers sate my thirst for dummy unga-bunga death?

The short answer is yes! Featuring members of War Saw, Abhor, and known slammers Organectomy, Utilize the Remains slam and chug and gurgle their way relentlessly through 36 minutes of tightly wound, stomping material that fits neatly inside genre conventions. They do exactly 0 things to push the envelope or challenge expectations the same way artists like Wormhole or Devourment regularly endeavor, and yet their work satisfies the prompt with comprehensive ease and infallible competence. Moments of intelligence flash before me as numbers like “Devouring Neuropathy” and “Biochemical Emptiness” continually evolve into ballistic variants of its main theme. Nevertheless, consistency and adherence to the classic slam formula—a formula with one ingredient: skull-bashing riffs—take first priority at all times.

Meaningless Existence may not be the most innovative slam record, but it is great fun and sure to be a hit in any pit. Huge grooves that require an intimidating stride to traverse give top cuts “Biochemical Existence,” “Vicious Redemption,” “Flesh Ripped from Bone,” “Sadistic Manipulation,” and closer “Into Eternal Oblivion” a devastating swing and swagger liable to shatter bones and burst blood vessels en masse. Highly indicative of Organectomy’s album arrangements, instrumental “Encoded Within” shines a spotlight on the instrumental team constructing these destructive payloads in fine fashion, and leads me directly into the raucous, double-bass-heavy “Vicious Redemption.” Tightly arranged, Meaningless Existence boasts a level of compositional consistency that allows its best moments to shine without leaving the rest to flounder and stumble, but there’s enough variety in pacing and patterns to keep things from getting boring before the end. For a genre with as limited a palette as slam is often provided, that feat is admirable.

Nonetheless, stronger examples of the genre have done more with the same restricted toolkit. Opening salvos “Sealed Fate” and “Necrotic Chambers of Decay” don’t leave lasting impressions to help hype me up during the first quarter, instead fading gradually out of memory as Meaningless Existence progresses. “Keep Them All Docile” similarly exhibits well in the moment, but leaves no mark in the wake of the two huge bangers that bookend its placement in the runtime. Even Meaningless Existence’s strongest moments, like “Flesh Ripped from Bone,” leave some creative potential on the table. While there are clear opportunities to twist and bend riffs into novel shapes and take unorthodox paths to something exciting and uncommonly captivating, Utilize the Remains instead tows the company line without much in the way of deviation. This adherence to slam’s established blueprint affords Meaningless Existence a familiarity and a reliable fun factor that can’t be denied. By that same coin, however, Utilize the Remains rob their audience of a more fulfilling creative experience that those familiar with the band members’ pedigrees might reasonably hope to hear.

In the end, Meaningless Existence is a perfect summer album. Simple, dependable, muscular slamming death that offers no bells and no brain cells. It’s dumb as rocks and is liable to rock the house at any venue with metric fucktons of stomping, hammering fun. It could’ve been more interesting and adventurous without sullying slam’s caveman reputation, of course—and it would’ve been easy for these musicians to write it that way, too. They didn’t. While that’s a far cry from a disappointment in this arena, I find myself fondly imagining small changes, minor alterations, and little twists that might make Meaningless Existence a more surprising release nonetheless. Still, it’s hard to go wrong with something done well, and Utilize the Remains cleared that bar with ease.

Rating: Good
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: PCM
Label: Self-Released
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: August 18th, 2026

#TBRChallenge 2026 review: My Daring Texan by Dakota Lacoy (Freedom!)

https://twimom227.com/2026/08/tbrchallenge-2026-review-my-daring-texan-by-dakota-lacoy-freedom.html

#ContemporaryRomance #RatingB #Reviews #TBRChallenge #DakotaLacoy #JenReview #selfpublished #TheBradfordBrothersOfHonkyTonkTexasSeries

The End of Oak Street Review: Dinosaur Chaos Meets Family Drama

https://justpaste.in/movies/the-end-of-oak-street-review-dinosaur-chaos-meets-family-drama/

#AnneHathaway #review #TheEndofOakStreet #Reviews #movie

PlayStation Magazine - 044 - Juillet--Août 2000 [FRENCH] #magazine #retrogaming #reviews

#johnnygameovermag #jgomag #magazine #videogamemagazine #retrogaming #games #gaming #reviews #ps1 #ps2 #french #fr #playstationmagazine #044 #juillet #aout #2000

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/g1yZ0UMAZHQ

PSM – Issue 076 (October 2003) [ENGLISH] #magazine #retrogaming #reviews

#johnnygameovermag #jgomag #magazine #videogamemagazine #retrogaming #games #gaming #english #en #us #ps1 #ps2 #psm #076 #october #2003

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DPckj95a3JU

MAN!AC - 042 (1997-04) [GERMAN] #magazine #retrogaming #reviews

#johnnygameovermag #jgomag #magazine #videogamemagazine #retrogaming #games #gaming #german #de #man!ac #042 #April #1997

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bpMvYcZTPWI

#OneNightOnly brings a rare wild and fun #romance and #comedy vibe, which many new rom-coms have been lacking. Ignore the haters.

#film #NowPlaying #movie #review #reviews

https://cee.onl/zetuxfd/

The Sir Douglas Quintet

https://musicwayatx.com/2026/08/18/the-sir-douglas-quintet/

‘What Will I Become?’ Review: Transmasculine Lives Take Center Stage in a Poignant Portrait of Loss
#Variety #Reviews #LexieBean #LoganRozos #WhatWillIBecome

https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/what-will-i-become-review-1236832853/