Written by: The Administrator
I've talked a lot about Revered and Reviled Above All Others (henceforth RRAAO) over the years. And yes, I fully intended to publish this review upon the release of their latest, 2025's Futile/Servile. However. I am terrible at finishing projects and thus sat on an almost-but-not-quite draft for, uhhhh, 8 months? Please accept my apologies. I will not learn and it will happen again. In any case, I'm glad you're here, and I'm glad to be talking about RRAAO once more. Let's cut to the punch. As of November 7th of last year, RRAAO are back with a verifiable vengeance. After a great many listens, Futile/Servile still vibrates me to my very core. Every time, it hits like a mile-long freight train, each car filled to the brim with overwatered concrete. I guarantee that never before have you been piledriven by music so relentlessly sloshy. Their sound is uniquely heavy and damp and suffocating. Listening to an RRAAO album is like being digested in the confines of some giant plodding amphibian. It's a pretty singular aesthetic and physical experience, and one that no other band, to my knowledge, has been able to replicate. Which kind of stands to reason, given the unique genre tag.
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Written by: Blackie Skulless
Canada’s Spell have been around for over a decade at this point, and considering that they play a style of modern heavy metal that I often take to easily, it’s amazing that it took this long for them to hit my radar. Their brand of occult metal often dabbles in the doom, traditional, and gothic pools, but their latest album seems to put heavier emphasis on that latter tag. Titled Wretched Heart, this one may just be a bit divisive in how it cools some of the engines. Fortunately for me, I’m a fan of precisely that. No stoppage of heavy riffs reveal themselves at any point, but melancholic undertones dominate the otherwise straightforward stomps quite consistently. For some tracks, synthesizers are added not simply as a vibe-setter but as a melody driver. Often, this can make or break something, but I truly think it compliments the bigger picture rather than distracting from it. What matters most is that the haunting but clean vocal style fits every mood conducted in Wretched Heart, working as the *ahem* beating heart of the record. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Taking one look at the second full-length by Spain’s Rave In Fire, I had a gut feeling this would be yet another retro-glazed cyberpunk themed “throwback” heavy metal outfit that we get so many of today. Neon colors, typical titles, and an ‘80s aesthetic gives one of the most predictable vibes we’ve always seen. One could say I didn’t exactly have high hopes going into Square One blindly, having not heard the first record at that point. But as the saying goes, I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, because I’ll be damned if this didn’t absolutely smoke! True, on a stylistic front, things fit that description, but it rises above anything I’d call generic. Elaboration in songwriting as well as taking varied directions that never stray from the retro vibe they’re so clearly going for helps elevate Rave In Fire tremendously. In several spots, melodies with a warm touch reflect earlier glam metal sensibilities that flow so nicely into the harder sections. Layered leads that match the clean and powerful aura of the frontwoman’s equally clean vocals come off nice and sharp, with polished production helping them stand out rather than blend in with their peers. The fact that the songs themselves are so memorable is what truly takes this to greater heights. 
Written by: The Administrator
I strongly suspect that every single reader of this review will agree that The Recreant is a remarkably easy sell. Alicia Cordisco and Ruby Rockatansky, neither of whom need introduction 'round these parts, join forces to deliver a crusty grindy crossover thrash Transgressive sister/spin-off project. The Recreant promises stripped-down spite, and features an overt Napalm Death reference right there in the album title. I mean...'nuff said, right? I invite anyone to take a deep dive into the bottomless maw of the Sleeping Village's promo pit; you'll be hard-pressed to find a more invigorating elevator pitch. And yeah. Holy shit. The Recreant, I am pleased to say, more than delivers on its implicit promise. Upon first exposure to the gloriously incendiary advance singles, I commented "oh, this goes capital-letter HARD hard." After many, many listens, I can't agree more with this initial assessment. The Code is V... Outlive the Code exudes hardness with a stomping gravitas and a sense of authenticity that simply can't be manufactured. It is sneering and tough in a fashion that feels tangible and profoundly badass. It thrums and erupts with pugilistic physicality. It is the pinnacle of rage, a snapshot of the precise moment that fury transcends. It is outspoken and honest and assertive. It is raw and exposed. It is a throat-rending battle cry, and it goes hard. I cannot (re)iterate this enough. It. goes. so. fucking. hard. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Hellripper is so much fun, because they’re another one of those bands that broke early ground amidst my true deep dives into modern and extreme metals, and getting to analyze a band of “my generation” in real time over the years is something that I consider an honor. Or, maybe that’s just my way of coping with the fact that I’m now 30, and I could barely drink legally when Coagulating Darkness came out. Regardless, what matters most is that upon reaching full-length number four, the Scottish one-man show has shown zero signs of stagnating despite playing a pretty safe genre. Coronach is all the more evident of this, with a new and, might I say, far more original logo to go with it. A few years back, Hellripper (smartly) stepped away from the black/thrash basics and evolved into a more black metal focused project. They still worked in many a thrashy chop but ultimately delivered crushing blastbeats, a harsh atmosphere, tremolos, and a vicious flair that abandoned the goat-worshiping safety net of yesterday. Here we get an evolution of that, less so in taking a more “traditional” black metal direction, and more in emphasizing technicality and unconventional writing. In fact, I may even say that the thrash hints even came back a little more prominently, but under proverbial new management. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
It’s no secret that a couple years ago, Cruel Force rose from the ashes of their former selves and crafted something that truly resonated with many listeners. By tightening up the songwriting and breaking the typical mold of the black/speed predictability, these Germans allowed themselves to stand out far above their peers. This year, Haneda sees a continuation of this evolution, not only on the songwriting front but also in a stylistic way. In many ways, Cruel Force is going the exact direction that they had hinted at with Dawn Of The Axe. A notable feature was that the “blackened” aspect of the last record almost felt like it was being lifted from time to time, matching the injection of melody that didn’t exist as much prior. We see a similar vibe under the misty, echo-tinted production that allows the drums to pop really hard without feeling too raw. In other words, the blackmosphere lingers while other facets that made this fall in that camp fall away. This pairs nicely with the evolved vocals that now avoid anything harsh or raspy so one can more easily call this a full realization of a modern speed or thrash metal record that dodges any generic production nonsense. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
After Midnight Assassin cemented Sadistic Force as a true, *ahem* force to be reckoned with, and not just another decent black/thrash outfit that checks all the boxes, it does make one wonder how much more they can evolve. If sticking to the same dynamic formula is the move, then the truth is not too much. This didn’t stop the Texans from attempting several steps forward, and if anything, their recent EP of last year is a testament to that. Titled Morbid Odyssey, they’ve taken a similar general idea and cleaned it up a bit, all the while injecting some pretty extreme fervor in several ways. Before even noting the differences in execution, the production alone would have felt like a pivot elsewhere, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t make things sound bigger. Sneaking in melodies and nods to more traditional metal influence is still present, but the drums feel far more ferocious this time around, and the riffs far thicker and marshier. Thus, while I’d still call this a black/thrash effort at its core, Sadistic Force made themselves sound heavier, with more might behind the kicks. It’s like what would happen if you asked a death metal artist to play this genre instead. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Upon a simple look, Leatherhead is one of those bands you can almost immediately predict what you’re in for; campy, horror themed traditional metal. By this point, this style is kind of a dime a dozen, but if it only costs a dime then perhaps its worth it. The Greeks’ second record is the one that snagged my attention, titled Violent Horror Stories, in case you needed yet another indicator of the subject at hand. More importantly is the fact that as straightforward as this outfit is, there are some distinguishing features that made me actually want to revisit. For one, there’s a heavy emphasis not only on speed metal construction, but a certain oomph that hearkens back to the USPM movement of the ‘80s, complete with thick layers coating the speedy riffs and a powerful falsetto frontman. Moreover, despite the shorter runtime, there’s a decent ear for hook placement and variation that prevents any stagnance. Thus, as predictable as you were expecting an album that looks like this, and an opening track titled “V.H.S.” to sound, you may be a little surprised yourself. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Worm are an outfit that I find extremely fascinating, for nothing more than the way they took the doom/death style that I often credit to having a one-to-two album shelf-life and breaking that precedent entirely. 2019’s Gloomlord was the album that put them “on the map” (and on my radar), but it wasn’t until Foreverglade that they became a force I felt worth reckoning with, and to this day I get little out of the first two records. When that record dropped, I could only surmise moving forward that maybe the North Americans had one more worthwhile disc in them, which then came in the form of Bluenothing, an EP that could pass for a full-length to some bands. Having established themselves as an oddball black/death/doom hybrid, I really couldn’t imagine what more could come. I say this not only because that’s a lot to swallow as is, but realizing the latest effort Necropalace crossed the hour long mark made me think even more that this would just be more of the same stuff but longer. But good lord man, here we are! I can’t in full honesty claim the “doom” aspect of this sound on album number four has gone away, as it’s packed with stomping crawls of fury, and “space between the space” caveman-isms that tend to define the doom/death world. Yet, I do think we’ve reached a point where that’s now simply a facet and no longer a base ingredient, and the death metal traces are more distant, other than in sheer feel. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
As what tends to happen, I’ve headed into the early parts of a new year discovering things I missed the year prior. Even labels that I follow closely like Caligari are no exception, as one of their American outfits swung in from out of nowhere late last year. Burning Death are a black/thrash outfit somewhat born out of label-mates Act Of Impalement, sharing two members. Their debut dropped following zero lead-up releases, simply being titled Burning Death. The album art may suggest something different, but the fact of the matter is that this band is pretty straightforward, avoiding any bells and whistles or intricate fluff. Definitely residing on the thrashier end, things stay fast and loose without getting overly chaotic nor feeling underproduced. The clearer delivery under a still blackened hue and gritty vocals definitely gives things the meaner flavor, allowing some room for punk-oriented stomps to fill in the gaps. Such a style wrapped into only eight tracks naturally makes for a pretty short full-length, coming and going before our eyes. |
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