Even after nearly half a dozen playthroughs, it’s still a challenge identifying a common thread in which to weave together the five tracks of Branches (Self-Released), the latest output from Through Mists’ mastermind James Aniston.Continue reading
Tag Archives: Matt Cook
ALBUM REVIEW: Maudissez – Maudissez
What Maudissez are able to do with instruments (at least I assume they’re instruments) is unsettling to the nth degree.
The anonymous and self-described anti-Christian blackened sludge-cum-Death/Doom entity doesn’t simply make music; the four tracks featured within Maudissez (Sentient Ruin Labs) are as raw as a mooing filet mignon. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Vulvodynia – Entabeni
Don’t call it a comeback.
After dispatching a certain troublesome vocalist, South African Deathcore titans Vulvodynia did the only thing they know how: returned with Entabeni (Unique Leader Records), a rapturous, bites-your-head-off full-length that only furthers the outfit’s comfortable position atop the genre.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: 200 Stab Wounds – Manual Manic Procedures
Despite signing with a big-name label, it’s extremely refreshing to find out that hardcore-influenced death metallers 200 Stab Wounds have retained everything that makes their sound great: pounding, catchy riffs; a rancid atmosphere; and thrashy guitar fills when necessary.Continue reading
EP REVIEW: Slugcrust – Discharge(d)
Slugcrust embody everything – and I mean everything – that makes grindcore the most intense, most unique and most captivating subgenre in the entire scene. Having released a pair of EPs and the hellacious slab that was Ecocide (number 10 on my album of the year list) in 2022, the South Carolina-based maniacs have blessed us all with another EP.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Bangladeafy – Vulture – Nefarious Industries
Eschewing entirely the notions of guitars and bass, two-piece Industrial / Electronica / call-it-what-you’d-like outfit Bangladeafy take a less-is-more approach for sixth full-length, Vulture (Nefarious Industries), with a (pleasingly) heavy emphasis on blending songs into the next, cementing that this record should be listened to the old-school way.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Cavalera – Schizophrenia
There is something about the Sepultura sound which has rightfully allowed it to stand the test of time. It could be the bombastically frantic stringwork which has the capacity to power some cities. It could also be the cavernous, cacophonous screams and shouts. The drums never disappoint, and the production is mischievous yet meticulously guided.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Apes – Penitence
At this point, anything Extreme Metal that comes from Canada is sure to be a punishing, gruesome affair. It’s as automatic a thing as a Canuck apologizing for merely existing. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Four Stroke Baron – Data Diamond
To try and place Four Stroke Baron neatly into a category of music is akin to trying to describe the Higgs field to a classroom full of ninth graders on the last day of school before summer break. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Sentiment Dissolve – The Orwellian Dream
For quite some time now, Toronto has been the undisputed hotbed of Technical Death Metal, and what’s more, the sounds emanating from up in Ontario only seem to get better and better.Continue reading