Reviewed: January 2016 Released: 2015, AFM RecordsRating: 1.5/5 Reviewer: Peter Atkinson Not sure what more there is to say about Hungary’s Ektomorf other than if you like Soulfly, you’ll like these guys. If not, you won’t. Like many of its predecessors, Aggressor – Ektomorf’s 11th studio album if my math…
Affliction Gate – Dying Alone
Reviewed: January 2016 Released: 2015, Transcending ObscurityRating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Peter Atkinson Though they’ve been around for a decade, this is the first I’ve heard of French death metallers Affliction Gate. But after giving their third EP – they have also issued one full length – a go, I’m definitely going…
Khazaddum – In Dwarven Halls
Reviewed: January 2016 Released: 2015, Self ReleasedRating: 4.0/5 Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz Khazaddum is what Nile would sound like if Karl Sanders wrote songs about Tolkien mythology instead of ancient Egypt. IN DWARVEN HALLS is the Milwaukee quartet’s debut EP, and is as entrenched in Hobbit minutiae as Nile is pyramid…
Mercyless – Live Offerings
Reviewed: January 2016 Released: 2015, Great Dane RecordsRating: 1.0/5 Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz Five minutes into listening to LIVE OFFERINGS, the words “cash grab” came to mind. However, I can’t honestly fathom who’s expected to buy this mess. Granted, Mercyless released a pretty stellar album in 1992 (ABJECT OFFERINGS), but for…
Blackhour – Sins Remain
Reviewed: January 2016 Released: 2016, Transcending Obscurity IndiaRating: 4.0/5 Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz It’s always refreshing to hear a new band that’s non-committal to any particular metal sub-genre and that just totally embraces the whole family with passion and enthusiasm. Such is the case with Islamabad’s Blackhour and their sophomore release…
Manimal – Trapped In The Shadows
Reviewed: January 2016 Released: 2015, AFM RecordsRating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Erich There was a television show in 1983 called Manimal that was canceled after 8 episodes. TV Guide ranked it number fifteen in a list of the fifty worst television shows of all time. I do not know if the band…
Down Among the Dead Men – Exterminate! Annihilate! Destroy!
Reviewed: January 2016 Released: 2015, Cyclone EmpireRating: 3.0/5 Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz DATDM’s self-titled debut was a fun, but sometimes tedious, mashup of old school death metal and UK crust punk – too many songs wrapped in too many recycled riffs. EXTERMINATE! ANNIHILATE! DESTROY! doesn’t entirely solve for those issues, but…
Under the Church – Rabid Armageddon
Reviewed: January 2016 Released: 2015, Pulverised RecordsRating: 2.0/5 Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz Given that Under the Church features 2/3 of the classic Nirvana 2002 lineup, you wouldn’t be wrong for expecting RABID ARMAGEDDON to be a quality platter of retro Swedeath. Nirvana 2002 missed the post-Nihilist explosion in Sweden and quickly…
Fall – The Insatiable Weakness
Reviewed: January 2016 Released: 2016, Self ReleasedRating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz Somewhere between At the Gates, Soilwork and Cynic lives Texas progressive death metallers, Fall. Their debut full length THE INSATIABLE WEAKNESS is an album that you’ll want to put on your new release calendar for January, as it’s a…
The Black Dahlia Murder – Abysmal
Reviewed: January 2016 Released: 2015, Metal Blade RecordsRating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Waspman Since releasing their debut album, UNHALLOWED, back in 2003, Detroit’s The Black Dahlia Murder has been functioning like clockwork – a new album and tour every two years. Do the math, and in 2015 they released their seventh full-length…
Trans-Siberian Orchestra – Letters From The Labyrinth
Reviewed: January 2016 Released: 2015, Republic RecordsRating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Waspman Although the holiday juggernaut that is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra tours annually and does huge business, it’s actually been seven years since Oliva, O’Neill an co. last released a full album (not counting the DREAMS OF FIREFLIES ep). It’s high-time then…
Itnuveth – Paulisaur:
Reviewed: January 2016 Released: 2015, Base RecordsRating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Waspman It was exactly one year ago (January 2015) that I reviewed Itnuveth’s debut album, THE WAY OF THE BERSERKER. I was impressed by the Spanish black metal band’s work ethic and vocals, even if the band’s song writing was perhaps…
Joe Stump – The Dark Lord Rises
Reviewed: January 2016 Released: 2015, Lion Rating: 5.0/5 Reviewer: JP How time flies, much like the fingers of Joe Stump! Back in December of 2012 I wrote a long extended ‘love-letter’ review of Joe Stump’s 12th album, RETURN OF THE SHRED LORD. In that review, I explained why I love…
Hypoxia – Despondent Death
Reviewed: January 2016 Released: 2015, Ultimate MassacreRating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: JP When I order Mike Hrubrovcak new book, VISUAL DARKNESS (reviewed this month, Jan, 2016) he was kind enough to send me a copy of his new project, Hypoxia. They are a relatively new band from New York City and he…
Stormlurker – A Dark Formation
Reviewed: January 2016 Released: 2015, IndieRating: 4.0/5 Reviewer: JP Normally I don’t bother reviewing digital only albums. To me they lack legitimacy, sort of like reviewing a demo. If you can’t actually buy the album, it is just too nebulous a concept for my old physical format mind to comprehend.…