I didn’t know what to expect when I found Exelerate’s self-titled (From The Vaults) debut album sitting in my inbox for review. I’m usually up past my eyeballs reviewing every filthy death metal and trashy thrash release I can get my grubby mitts on. Exelerate is a power metal band out of Europe and are a hard right turn from what I usually check out.
After two EPs worth of hard-slamming hardcore punk since their formation in Manchester in 2019, Going Off are delivering a larger beatdown with their debut LP, What Makes You Tick? (Church Road Records) with a fresh style that mixes older and new hardcore genres with plenty of destruction all around.
Normally when I hear the term “Supergroup,” I let out a disappointed sigh. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great idea to have a bunch of your favorite musicians get together and collaborate on something new. The major problem with this however is that it often works better as an idea since the finished product never seems to live up to the hype. Other times, the supergroup offers nothing really new. Siege of Power is to defy that cliche.
Out of Milwaukee is the hardcore group Big Laugh with the debut LP, Consume Me (Revelation Records). The band had previously released the EP Maniac Revision that came out back in 2020. On Consume Me, the songs come out fast and furious with little room for any flash or filler. Most songs included barely make it over the two-minute mark. Continue reading
For my money, there is no better Death Metal vocalist than Karl Willetts. There is just something about it that just feels like “Classic Death Metal”. His delivery is always on point with the perfect blend of raw power and intensity. His time and contribution to the one and only Bolt Thrower were nothing short of incredible. When the band broke up in 2015, Willets along with Benediction bassist Frank Healy quickly formed Memoriam the following year.
The blending of metal and horror is perhaps one of the greatest combinations in the universe. There is just something so satisfying about heavily distorted guitars and lyrics referencing seventies and eighties horror films that hits the perfect spot. It’s the perfect soundtrack to your favorite monster movie.
What is in Ohio’s water? The Buckeye state has been home recently to some amazing killer metal bands in recent years. Among them is Faithxtractor who have returned to the scene with their first album release since 2005. Their latest effort, Contempt for a Failed Dimension (Redefining Darkness), may be their most savage and brutal album to date full of hammering riffs, demonic vocals, and thunderous drums. This is some comfort food-level death metal. Nothing groundbreaking, just some heavy-ass sick music to satisfy even the darkest appetite.
If Leper Colony’s self-titled debut album (Transcending Obscurity) is any condition of what to expect musically for 2023, we are in for a helluva treat.
Despite their name, Chicago’s newly formed Ready for Death offer more of a hardcore and thrash style in their debut offering. With 10 tracks and a run time of a little over 20 minutes, their self-titled debut on Translation Loss offers plenty of furious tales about chaos and destruction in a compact package.
Legendarium is a fairly busy band already with two releases, the At the Gate of the Black Kingdom single and the project’s third full-length album Under the Spell of Destruction this year alone. Their latest, Death’s Hand In Yours (Self-Released), is their strongest release of the year.