Category: Reviews
Soul Void / Brainwave / Dole Bludger: More New Zealand Noize.
Below are a couple of noisy releases from the far-flung (and increasingly cyclone-battered) shores of Aotearoa New Zealand. Generally, when I write about metal or punk from my neck of the woods, I start by …
Jag Panzer – The Hallowed Review
If you’d told me six months ago that one of my most-played albums of the first half of 2023 would be a post-apocalyptic power metal concept album told from the perspectives of pets, well, I’d …
Heruvim – Battle For Cimmeria Review
Ukraine’s Heruvim burst into the scene ‒ and our 2022 EP list ‒ with last year’s beastly Shadowheart. They showed a massive affinity towards Edge of Sanity (the melody, the gargantuan riffs, the deep growls) …
Tyrann – Besatt Review
Metal moved fast in the 80s. It was the wild, open frontier–there was so much room to push things faster, louder, and more aggressive. Simultaneously, it’s bastard cousin in punk was pushing stripped roots rock …
Ray Alder – II Review
Heavier and more progressive than 2019’s What the Water Wants, the Fates Warning singer’s sophomore effort, II, retains the former’s ethereal feel but hits some incredible highs that were perhaps lacking on that earlier effort …
Blast Rites: Deterioration / Traffic Death – Split
A few months back, I waxed poetic… err, rambled semi-coherently about how much fun it is, as a grindcore fanboy, when a split comes along from two bands you love. That particular enthusiastic word-barrage was …
Koningsor – Death Process Review
[Cover art by Dieter Geisler] In the world of metal, math has nothing to do with formulas and variables but rather a distinct approach to writing that involves wonky time signatures, polyrhythms, incredibly tight playing …
Suffering Quota – Collide Review
I don’t know how, with all the time I spend trolling about Bandcamp and blogs and Discogs and wherever else I can in order to feed this insatiable urge for blastbeats, but… somehow, I managed …