Rotting Christ – Kata Ton Daimona Tou Eaytoy Review
The past several albums from Greek metal OGs Rotting Christ have seen a really fascinating bifurcated progression – on the one hand, the band has introduced a wide variety of new instruments, sounds, and musical …
Portal – Vexovoid Review
If you’ve ever encountered Portal before, you know how you feel about Portal. This is not a band to inspire neutral reactions; either the band’s subterranean, synapse-gnawing churn gives you a tug in the ol’ …
Acrimonious – Sunyata Review
Greece is not a great place to be right now. Unemployment is above 25%, and waves of austerity programs have produced corresponding waves of human misery. Given that context, I’m not sure whether a sprawling, …
Virus – Oblivion Clock Review
Rest easy: The fiendish pranksters in Norway’s Virus continue to sound like nobody else but themselves on this bits-‘n-pieces EP collection. Oblivion Clock features four new songs, one track from the sessions for Virus’s debut …
Valborg – Nekrodepression Review
German (and Central European) metal has always contained a notable strain of off-kilter innovators. Sure, the careers of Destruction, Kreator, and Sodom have been staked on aggressive but mostly straightforward thrash, but one also must …
Atriarch – Ritual Of Passing Review
Portland’s harrowing, blackened, gloomy deathrock outfit Atriarch announced itself quite suddenly with 2011’s debut Forever the End. As good as that first album was, though, it finds itself happily eclipsed in all respects by the …
Blood Of The Black Owl – Light The Fires Review
Frontiers are borders in reverse. To the extent that the dream of America (that’s largely “America” – the idea, not the country) was that of a radical break from tyranny and tradition, the Western frontier …
Omega & Ravencult – Straight Down In Hell/Deifier Of Necromancy Review
I suspect that the average listener goes into a 7” split with a completely different mindset than the participating bands intended, but why not judge for yourself? [Dreamy harp music and a shimmering cut scene. …