Written by: Blackie Skulless
Chicago’s Black Sites are a heavy metal act I’ve been eyeing closely since their second album Exile blew me away in 2019. From their inception, they’ve always been a band that leaned towards the progressive metal side of the spectrum, without diving full-force into that realm. Their sound was always a treat that I compared to Queensryche meeting Iced Earth under a unique flair. Considering Untrue felt like a simple continuation of that sound, I was pretty excited to see what the latest The Promised Land? had to offer. Jumping in, that “progressive element” that described an otherwise traditional metal backbone sneaks in just a notch more often. Though the band may not be a stranger to longer, intricate songs, that’s exercised to a jarring degree this time around from time to time. More emphasis is put on the start/stop riff structure that jumps around the fretboard, coating different layers with different techniques ahead of sophisticated drum patterns. Vocally, things still feel right at home, boasting Mark Sugar’s consistent melody paired with clear emotion being ever present. And of course, I must mention that this record sees the band’s first attempt at crossing the ten minute mark in its title track, indicating that things may have more of a single narrative across the board leading to a climax.
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Written by: The Administrator
We slumbering scribes are nothing if not considerate. In that spirit, here's a relevant public service announcement: if you choose to fire up Terror Labyrinthian, the debut album from Baltimore's Nuclear Tomb, please know that you are willingly subjecting yourself to an undiluted sonic onslaught. Real face-melting stuff. Prodding and squirmy and barbed and apocalyptic and absolutely ripping. Representing a particularly weird and wild variant of death-oriented thrash, Nuclear Tomb have perfected a brand of chaos that appears, at first blush, quite unhinged. In reality, their approach is as calculated as it is contorted. In a case of promo material feeling exceptionally accurate, Nuclear Tomb do indeed skillfully integrate an old-school blistering aggression à la Sadus alongside a more punky off-kilter Voivodian approach to dynamics. That's a win/win combination in my book. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Charonyx are an Indianapolis-based thrash metal band that have been around for nearly a decade. Being one of the many projects of frontman Max Barber, their releases are rather sparse, but often worth the wait. Their 2019 debut full-length The Ultimate Judas was a serviceable enough dose of thrash metal, but it’s this year's EP Persistent Soul that actually hooked me. In a world of constant thrash by the numbers, hearing something a little more unique is refreshing. Naturally, its strengths lie in the combination of advanced song construction with several faces meeting a very precise mixing and transitional style. Cleaner vocal approaches meeting growls work as the main ingredient over bubbly bass hooks paired with tech-thrashy chops. You’d be hard pressed to say it moves into death metal territory, but these harsher sections mold into the cracks of the melody-drenched areas better than you’d expect. Packing all of this into a rather short release is if nothing else, impressive. |
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