All posts by Dan Obstkrieg

Happily committed to the foolish pursuit of words about sounds. Not actually a dinosaur.

Cradle Of Filth – Hammer Of The Witches Review

Though in some sewer-dwelling internet circles it may still be possible to earn your in-group stripes by shitting on Her Majesty’s Merriest Misfits, if you are of the opinion that Cradle of Filth is not …

Khemmis – Absolution Review

Let’s get to the point: Absolution is a promising debut album all but ruined by its laughably out-of-place harsh vocals. On paper, Denver’s Khemmis is an appealing proposition: their fuzzed-out tones and love for Lizzy-descended …

False – Untitled Review

For as much as the genre flaunts its supposed nihilism and negativity, at its best, black metal produces a sort of ecstatic trance in the listener. Thus, although the style is easy enough to muster …

Midnight Odyssey – Shards Of Silver Fade Review

The collapse of the record industry and the proliferation of inexpensive tools for independent recording and distribution have meant, in many ways, a liberation of artistic expression. On the whole, then, that’s a good thing: …

Abyssal – Antikatastaseis Review

The artwork is inscrutable; the production yawns like a bottomless well; the guitars warp and stretch; the album title is Greek and the closing song title Latin: you know it, you love it — Abyssal …

Alda – Passage Review

Congratulations, of a sort, are in order for Washington State’s Alda. Whereas nearly all of their peers in the loamy, atmospheric black metal game focus on using delicate intros and gradually rising tension to explode …

Pyrrhon – Growth Without End Review

Let us now praise famous formats: Friends, the EP is a beautiful thing. Whereas splits and 7″s are usually home for orphaned b-sides, and LPs often feel like an obligation, the necessary economy and visceral …

Vorum – Current Mouth Review

Vorum‘s brand-new EP spends exactly zero time fucking around. Not a single wasted riff, beat, break, yell, or solo; zero-point-goddamned-zero seconds of fucking around. From the first moment of “Angels Death” to the last squalling …