Written by: Lord Hsrah
Portland based heavy metal quartet Splintered Throne's latest offering in The Greater Good of Man comes as a solid slab of classic heavy metal, with a touch of modernity. Reborn with a new lineup reinforced with the addition of vocalist Lisa Mann, The Greater Good of Man blends sonic flavors and audio textures, old and new, combining certain elements from progressive rock, some from speed metal and those of traditional heavy metal, culminating into eight brand new tracks of epic, modern heavy metal goodness. The album opens with a banger of a tune reminiscent of the late 80s Judas Priest, Grave Digger-esque speed/heavy metal style of riffage and overall progresses in similar vain all throughout the rest of the tracks on the record. Add to that the epic vocal lines and melodic passages, and you've got a pretty solid and epic sets of songs to bang your head to.
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Written by: Blackie Skulless
Continuing the recent trend of dropping an album every half-decade or so, Germany’s thrash masterminds Kreator prove what proper amounts of time can do for a new record. 2017’s Gods Of Violence wound up taking album of the year for me. While I may not go that far now, Millie and Co. have conjured up a solid follow-up to it with Hate Über Alles. It follows a similar path to what they’ve been doing since 2001’s Violent Revolution, yet twenty-one years later they’ve still managed to keep it interesting. Admittedly, this one didn’t snatch me in as quickly as the prior two records did. But after a few listens, I was able to capture plenty of interesting ideas being offered. The previous record saw a bit more melody, and while Hate Über Alles doesn’t dial that in as hard, it still remains a prominent factor. “Strongest Of The Strong'' is absolutely loaded with traditional metal hooks with their Teutonic thrashy touch, and the same can be said about “Pride Comes Before The Fall'." The latter cakes on some beautiful singing amongst keys and melodies. “Midnight Sun” certainly focuses on that as well, featuring German new-wave vocalist Sofia Portanet on vocals, adding all sorts of atmosphere. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Basically making a name for themselves as one of the modern thrash giants, Municipal Waste have gone through some subtle changes throughout their two decade career. In 2019, they gave us a short taste called The Last Rager, one that I was actually rather disappointed in. So it came as a relief that the latest Electrified Brain didn’t leave nearly as much to be desired. Tony Foresta and Co. make a brand of thrash that after too long needs at least subtle stylistic shifts to remain relevant. On that front, Electrified Brain is unsurprisingly the sharpest record they’ve ever released. Focusing the tiniest bit more energy on melody while cleaning the delivery on the hardcore-dense tracks is the name of the game here, but doesn’t stray too far from the previous full-length. A few standouts that really beat the “crossover” aspect fit nicely while breaking up the cleaner aesthetic. “Blood Vessel-Boat Jail” reigns in some blast beats, while tackling a more abrasive front. “Putting On Errors” may be the only other tune that goes as hard or fast as this one. 
Written by: The Administrator
Let's start with the obvious. As anyone you has listened to their music will attest, attempting to pigeonhole or pin down Horned Wolf in the span of a mere introductory paragraph (or, indeed, the span of a whole review) is a fairly fruitless activity. This crew demonstrates little regard for genre expectation or compositional convention on Become Like They Are, and, as a result, their work sticks out from the crowd in a big way. To be markedly different and hence produce unique results is always an excitingly quality. Refreshing, even. I'll be upfront: I've spent a lot of time with this album this year. A scary amount. If it tops my list o' most listened albums, I won't be surprised in the slightest. If the brilliant title track isn't my most consumed song of the year, I'll eat my boots. Paradoxically, though, this obsessive listening has been to the detriment of my actual ability to wrap up the review. The "listening for enjoyment" phase never really ended, and the "listening for writing" phase never truly began in earnest. In retrospect, this is obviously a Very Good problem to have, as much of the time spent with Become Like They Are has been pure and unadulterated by notions of my own imposed narrative framing or turns of phrase. But! In any case, here we are. Let's get the fuck into it already. 
Written by: The Voiceless Apparition
Welcome back, my friends! I had stated in my previous post that I would do a review of this album, so here we are. For those who haven't yet read my interview with Mark Tierney, I'll keep this short and simple. This album is twenty eight years in the making. Enchantment were an unfortunately little known name in the early '90s British metal scene, but with the passing of time, things change. My first introduction to this band was about 6 years ago when I bought an original pressing of their debut album Dance the Marble Naked on CD. I was in love with their melodic yet crushing display of death and doom metal, so this is a really special album for me. So as you can see, I was very excited to see that they unexpectedly reformed to work on this album in question. The results are what we will now be hearing with Cold Soul Embrace. The first taste we received of the album was last year's "As Greed as the Eye Beholds," which in turn is the opening track of the album. Almost immediately, you know you are in good hands. Everything about this song is dripping with atmosphere and melancholy: the opening morose melody, the crawling drums, and the gut-wrenching vocals. "A Swanlike Duet" starts out with some beautiful clean guitars before launching into some surprisingly rockin' riffs, but even with that in mind it is still a rather heavy affair. It's catchy and all, but never loses any bite. 
Written by: The Voiceless Apparition
Death, doom, and sorrow. The three words that best describe the death/doom metal powerhouse known as Temple of Void. For those of you who don't know who Temple of Void are, I'd highly suggest you rectify that because you won't be disappointed. Over the span of 9 years, this stellar band has been pushing the boundaries of death/doom, blending in elements of post rock, shoegaze, and much more into their sound. Their previous album The World that Was was viewed by many as a pinnacle of modern death/doom, and I certainly agree. There's a lot of hype and eyes on them, especially after signing to Relapse Records. So let's find out if they've reached new heights, or missed the mark. 
Written by: The Administrator
When it comes the (admittedly ill-defined) bingo card of stuff that I like, Portland's own Soul Grinder ticks a lot of boxes, and have been doing so from their inception back in 2018. Their debut EP Terraflesh impressed with a uniquely unhinged energy, and follow-up LP The Prophecy of Blight proudly demonstrated a similar excitement and viscerality, albeit with enough refinement in the songwriting department to lend the band a clear maturity and sense of direction. Continuing the trend, the Queen Corrosia EP, released this May, subtly substitutes a sense of measured confidence for the sense of breakneck urgency that permeated their earlier work.While undoubtedly aggressive and rash, the title track isn't particularly unhinged--it is not restlessly scrabbling at it's own boundaries. The solo, for example, sits comfortably within the forward canter, and the vocals, while powerful, aren't chaotic to a blistering degree. As a result, this track, and those that follow, feel more settled--although in the grand scheme of exciting punky melodic thrash, Soul Grinder are still sitting comfortably at the more vigorous end of the spectrum. And when you're talking about the carnivalesque world of punky melodic thrash, that's saying a lot. Fear not: the riffs still thrash and stomp in familiar fashion, and Prilzor's vocals still shred through the instrumentation with a rabid yet gloriously dynamic freneticism. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
While hardly ever anything overly new or standout, blackened thrash is something that manages to pull me in time and time again. South Carolina’s Demiser is a fresh act that once again reinforces my sentiment of being able to have identity without having originality. Taken formation a few years back, last year was when their first full offering hit the menu. Through The Gate Eternal is yet another record that looks the way it sounds, and I’m here for it. Forming an obvious sum of its ideas around fast riffing and fuming harsh vocals, the bottom level is business as usual. There’s a helping of classic sounding speed metal here, vulgar poetic flow there, and noodly solos that jump above an otherwise dry soundscape. What manages to sell Demiser is the ability to capture steady flow for a typically furious and fiery genre. “Deathstrike” moves into its outing leads so wonderfully from its galloping rhythm, and “Offering” manages to sneak in a bit of melodic catchiness resting in the chorus. The latter is probably the most memorable track. |
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