Oxygen Destroyer – Guardian Of The Universe Review
One of the many admirable qualities of the PNW-based METAL (all caps purposeful) band Oxygen Destroyer is its near equal adherence to both aesthetic and evolution. The band sounded every bit like graduates of the …
200 Stab Wounds – Manual Manic Procedures Review
From Maggot Stamp to Metal Blade in four short years, 200 Stab Wounds are – like Sanguisugabogg, Frozen Soul, and Undeath – riding a wave of seemingly renewed interest in simple slabs. Or perhaps the …
Lucifer’s Hammer – Be And Exist Review
Maiden-inspired bands are a dime a dozen. Rarer are the more directly inspired Maiden bands – you know, the ones that actually sound like Maiden – playing at a level as high as Chile’s Lucifer’s …
Achelous – Tower Of High Sorcery Review
Achelous’s The Icewind Chronicles seemingly came from nowhere. Charming, I called it, back in the yesteryear that was 2022. Icewind was a strikingly confident and engaging collection of songs that felt, if nothing else, lovingly …
Witch Vomit – Funeral Sanctum Review
From the bookend EPs Poisoned Blood in 2017 to Abhorrent Rapture in 2021, Witch Vomit has been a good and sometimes great band. I don’t own a ton of death metal on vinyl, but I …
Ecclesia – Ecclesia Militans Review
As Ecclesia would tell it, their sound recalls Candlemass, Solstice, and Tony Martin-era Black Sabbath. And, yes—all of that is true. But there’s also something more going on here. It’s that something more that sold …
Traveler – Prequel To Madness Review
Coming four years after Termination Shock, and boasting a new rhythm section, no less, Traveler’s third album is, strangely, a bit of a wild card. Yes, the self-titled debut and the band’s sophomore release were …
Best Of 2023 – Chris C: A Little Spicy
I thought that as I got older—accounting for the assumed wealth of experience I would undoubtedly have by this advanced age—my tastes would expand. I would become this living, breathing Encyclopedia of all things refined. …