ALBUM REVIEW: Scarcity – The Promise Of Rain


Second album from Scarcity, the Brooklyn based avantgarde Black Metal collective, who have managed to create a sound like no other on a record that well and truly bends the mind. This is black metal, but not as we know it. True, the blackened-screams of vocalist Doug Moore (Pyrrhon / Seputus) are delivered with a typical dark venom, but they are perhaps the most conventional aspect of the sound Scarcity purvey.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Alcest – Les Chants de L’Aurore


Alcest began as a solo Black Metal project for French musician Neige at the turn of the millennium, and have since forged themselves a fine reputation as one of the pioneering bands of the Blackgaze sound. Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Bossk – .4


When you think of British Post-Metal, Bossk are almost certainly one the first bands that spring to mind. A truly remarkable outfit that undoubtedly take influence from the likes of Isis, while they also often groove musically in the style of many of the great Stoner bands of the nineties. Named after an alien from Star Wars – The Empire Strikes Back, the Kent-based collective have been plugging away since 2005, when early EPs and a strong reputation as a live band saw them tour with the likes of Cult Of Luna, The Ocean, Baroness and Devil Sold His Soul. While their studio output really came into its own with the release of their fine debut LP Audio Noir in 2016, before following this up with the equally as classy Migration in 2021.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: BIG|BRAVE – A Chaos Of Flowers


Hot on the heels of 2023’s excellent Nature Morte, experimental doomgazers BIG|BRAVE release their sixth full-length record, A Chaos Of Flowers (Thrill Jockey Records). Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Iron Monkey – Spleen and Goad


Iron Monkey were one of the OGs from the UK underground Sludge Metal scene back in the mid-late nineties and had a run that included the reissue of their self-titled debut album (1997), and their follow-up Our Problem (1998) – on the mighty Earache Records. Continue reading


EP REVIEW: Alluvial – Death Is But A Door


Atlanta-based Alluvial hit the scene running in 2017 with their independently released full-length debut The Deep Longing For Annihilation, a wholly instrumental Death Metal record which caught the ears of the mighty Nuclear Blast Records, who subsequently snapped them up for their follow up Sarcoma in 2021. Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Children of Bodom – A Chapter Called Children of Bodom (Final Show in Helsinki Ice Hall 2019) 


On December 15, 2019, Children of Bodom played their final show in the Helsinki Ice Hall. A fitting venue for the Finnish band who had been plying their trade of Melodic Death Metal with a distinct influence of Classic Hard Rock for over twenty years. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: Paradise Lost – Icon 30


 

Named after the epic 17th-century biblical poem by John Milton, Paradise Lost are without a doubt one of the real success stories of British Heavy Metal. Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Underdark – Managed Decline


 

With their second full-length record Managed Decline (Church Road Records), Underdark really have pushed the boundaries of the broader post-Black Metal sound by incorporating many different styles and influences, while also lyrically creating somewhat of a concept album that champions the working class in much the same way as Ashenspire’s 2022 album, Hostile Architecture.

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