Written by: Jacob
Horns. Dissonance. A chant. This is the greeting from Tooth and Nail, the latest outing from Dormant Ordeal. It can feel almost insignificant in the moment, as so many throwaway "intro" tracks in metal albums can. But as soon as things roll into "Halo of Bones", intentionality appears. This is not an album where moments are thrown out lightly, even 46 second intro tracks. From the first proper track, "Halo of Bones," you'll be getting, well, the "bones" of the entire album. Atmosphere. Intense groove. A touch of black metal. Blasting death metal. These are the foundation upon which Dormant Ordeal builds their masterwork. All present, all introduced at exactly the right time, and none overstaying their welcome. The seamless weaving of all these elements immediately give Tooth and Nail a sense of magnitude and heft. It becomes evident over time, though, that these tools were used to create something lasting and emotionally charged. Anger, pain, panic, defeat, and resurgence are all felt not just in individual tracks, but in their placement and flow.
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Written by: Blackie Skulless
Seldom will you find me crossing paths with something tagged “melodic death metal” and have so many nice things to say, save for a few very specific bands, but the year of our lord 2023 managed to break this trend. Majesties are a U.S. band based in Minnesota that seemingly came out of nowhere, with no demos, singles, or anything to precede their first and only full-length. Yet, they managed to catch the attention of 20 Buck Spin, which is always a good sign. The lone record’s title is Vast Reaches Unclaimed, and it certainly did reach far to claim some atypical greatness. Wasting no time, Majesties jumps right to the punches, swiftly delivering its ten tracks in less than forty minutes with no unnecessary bells and whistles. The “melodic” descriptor often refers to a guitar tone and not actual melody, but I would argue that such a mold is broken here. Under harsh, borderline blackened shrieks lies a healthy blend of soothing leads and evident emotion, paired with harsh rhythms that don’t come off corny. Much of that is likely due to the noisy gradient, preventing any generic metalcore-isms, with constant trade-offs between tougher leads. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
It’s been a heavy year for death metal so far, with no shortage in strong contenders for a favorite. We may only be just touching the halfway point of 2025, but Canada’s Grave Infestation is looking like they could take that torch pretty early on. The British Columbian outfit has been around since 2018, crafting a horrendous and loose brand of death metal under a loud atmosphere. The latest release, Carnage Gathers, is no exception, being the one that truly gathered my attention. Redundant as it seems to describe death metal as “loud,” I say this because every role in the makeup has such a mighty presence, rumbling its otherwise tight structures into loosening its fasteners. Rough and rocky rhythms that echo off one another backed by ferocious drum blasts create a cavernous strike that rarely uses it in the doom/death sense, but prefers to stick to breakneck-speeds. If that isn’t enough, the vocals erupt in a howling-meets-growling way that cakes on another layer of atmosphere, rendering a feeling of suffocating in a coal mine. The only time this really lets up is when a screeching guitar lead takes the forefront, feeling like a proverbial cry for help under a relentless avalanche that one can’t escape, due to the wall of sound the thick riffs create with the drumming. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
For over a decade now, the U.S. filth-slingers Act Of Impalement have been reeking up the honky-tonk streets of Nashville. While teetering on the doom side of the death metal spectrum, they’re seldom known for oozing into that rumbly-bumbly howling in their later efforts, at least to a large extent. This is to remain the case on the newest record to hit the scene. While I found the band to be serviceable before, it was 2025’s Profane Altar that truly sold me on them. Out of the gate, I may go as far as saying that the doomier aspects of the outfit are seldom now, opting for something that swings in chops more aligned with the hardcore camp. But fear not, because this doesn’t come close to falling into the dime-a-dozen pitfall not uncommon in many a Gatecreeper riff. No, this retains the grizzly and gross production, chunky and marshy riffs, with a burning buzz that simply takes a stompier angle in the rhythmic executions. “Sanguine Rites” comes to mind, being a fine example of the doomier influence rearing its ugly head, but the boiling center and explosive closing slams are enough to make Harm’s Way blush. Never mind the fact that the dark narratives and grimy tales in the lyrics bolster this to another step. 
Written by: The Administrator
Inside me are two Aborted fanboys. The first acknowledges that a review posted on my little review site seven months after the release of Vault of Horrors will do approximately nothing. Such an exercise would represent nothing more than wasted time and energy that could be better spent writing about a lesser-known band. The second fanboy, however, yearns to talk about Aborted, and the only thing that will quench this terrible thirst is an overly loquacious review. After a brief and perhaps gratuitously bloody battle, the second fanboy won. Decisively. And so here we are. On their twelfth album, the horror-themed Vault of Horrors, Aborted continues their established trend of brutality with a technical flair. The second leg of their career has continually demonstrated a move away from the grindy aesthetic of the releases that they built their reputation upon, and this latest does little to buck the trend. Indeed, Vault of Horrors arguably represents them leaning the furthest into an unabashed Cattle Decapitation-esque modern sheen. That's far from a slight--this polished territory comes with roaring low end, squirmy and discombobulating quickfire riffage, and militantly pummeling percussion that feels like sustained bombardment from automatic railguns. Aborted show no qualms when it comes to burying the audience in pursuit of all-out sonic assault, and, as such, listening to all ten tracks in the intended order requires a certain willingness to succumb to overstimulation. But isn't that why we're all here? At this point in their career, it's safe to say that Aborted seldom do things halfway. In adhering to this maximalist mindset, every single moment on this album is absolutely overflowing with sound. Vault of Horrors is an exercise in (mostly) justified excess. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
As I’ve noted when discussing the band’s previous output, New York’s Undeath are an outfit that have been with me since their earliest demo in 2019. Over time, they would grow into quite a significant spectacle in the scene, dropping another demo and two full-length records since. The quintet has always emphasized the brutal and unforgiving sides of the death metal genre, made extra filthy early on, and cleaned up the surface slightly with each subsequent release. The latest outing More Insane continues this trend, making the most significant jump between albums in that regard. Since Lesions Of A Different Kind, Undeath have made it known that they also prefer a slightly more intricate variation under those grueling and marshy riffswamps. This has always helped the band stand out, and with a newer production style, we get a higher emphasis on unorthodox leads. In fact, I would say that More Insane now lets the band reach “technical” death metal territory, as even the rhythms focus heavier on this approach. From time to time, the burning hot riffage will pair with, and even trade-off with the bass guitar, allowing both to take the forefront, which is highlighted nicely on the title track. Frontman Alexander Jones also tampers with vastly different vocal approaches. We still get a healthy serving of the deeper gutturals that the band are known for, but this time around an experiment with higher shrieks and throatier lows is extremely present. I would even argue that they take precedence over what we’re familiar with, fitting the vibe of the technical songwriting and cleaner atmosphere. 
Written by: The Administrator
The cover art of Cavern Womb's stellar debut EP, Stages of Infinity, feels like the pure essence of death metal captured in visual form. Garish and gross and eldritch, yet alluring all the same, this imagery sits in that uncomfy and uncanny zone betwixt body and cosmic horror. It manages to represent the utterly incomprehensible. Luckily for all you death metalheads, Cavern Womb's music itself--while fascinatingly off-kilter--still hovers within the realm of comprehensible. Across four sizable tracks, Stages of Infinity serpentines through an arena of twisted riffs, gnarly oddity, and proggy polycephalous song structures. There's an uncanniness woven among the atmosphere and the pronounced groove. Just when you think you have a track's approach and character nailed down, it warps and morphs into something unexpected. Something...alien. Were you expected a cowbell in the midst of cosmic death riffage? I wasn't, I can tell you that much. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
While Portland, Oregon’s Witch Vomit have been around for over a decade, picking up bigger attention in the latter half of that decade, it took a while for them to appeal to me. Their brand of death metal focuses on the old school style, sticking to the usual themes of death and gore under a raw and guttural veneer. Normally that jumps right out to me, but for some reason it took the more refined approach of 2021’s Abhorrent Rapture to hook me. From there, the latest Funeral Sanctum seems to have followed suit, striking quite a strong chord. As anticipated, much of this follows the same marshy riffing with a cleaner production that doesn’t feel inorganic. Heavy and chunky riffing backed by pummeling drums that tend to coat on an echo with the bass kicks add an extra layer of muck, making it so guitar solos never take too much precedence. In other words, they feel focused without being the star of the show. This allows the rhythms section a little more prominence, which just may be what captures my attention the most. On the very occasional Friday, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s crumbling gates, stuffed to the brim with sustenance. Today is the day we must offload all this new music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some choice cuts from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be--and have been--listening to today here at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so! On the docket for today, April 12th, 2024 Necrot, Corvus Corone, Heavy Temple, and Exist
Written by: The Administrator
No time for a superfluous introduction. Here is a collection of things I love about Principality of Mechanical Violence, the latest album from death metal duo Soulmass. Let us begin. Firstly, I love the album artwork. I am inclined to judge a book by its cover, and the case of this gorgeous piece by Samuel Nelson, I was immediately struck by the evocative palette and setting. Here, Samuel has captured a moment in time so articulately as the moon rises over a prone gundam. This is the gloaming; the moment where dusk becomes night. I generally adore heavy usage of pinks and purples, and the color of the logo is warm and wonderful, full stop. The color scheme in general feels quite unique in the world of death metal, and stands out from the crowd. It is by far one of the best covers I've seen this year. |
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