Tag Archives: Metal albums

Woven Man – Revelry (In Our Arms)

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Those of us who developed a fondness for sludgey goodness back in the days of its infancy will have a soft spot for Welsh sluggers Acrimony, who blazed (!) an early trail for the sub-genre in the UK. While most of that band went on to found the Stoner grooves of Sigiriya, Lee ‘Roy’ Davies has drifted through guises until settling in the present day, and Woven Man: an outfit tipping its cap to The Wicker Man and aspects of his former band, which shine throughout debut album Revelry (In Our Arms) (Undergroove).Continue reading →


Nailed To Obscurity – Black Frost

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2017’s release of King Delusion (Apostasy Records) was a watershed moment for Nailed To Obscurity. It was an impressive and emotive effort which began to win them wider press and, as far as the UK is concerned, a coveted main stage slot at 2018’s Bloodstock Festival and signing to titans Nuclear Blast, evidence of a much deserved rise in fortunes and out of, ahem, obscurity. Where a brand new album would have hoped to really build upon this success however, sadly Black Frost (Nuclear Blast) isn’t quite the revelation as perhaps hoped.Continue reading →


Jinjer – Micro

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If anything can be learned from Jinjer, it is that you can never have disrespect for drive and a strong work ethic. Aside from working on a new album and reissuing their 2014 LP Cloud Factory, these Ukranian upstarts also have a fresh EP in Micro (Napalm Records) ready to be dropped on a hungry audience. And let me tell you, that volume-centric approach is paying off nicely.Continue reading →


Soilwork – Verkligheten

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Swedish Melodeath purveyors Soilwork are a staple of the scene. Despite never having the commercial success of In Flames nor the critical acclaim that At The Gates garnered, the band is a reliable ever-present, delivering solid albums on a regular basis.

With Verkligheten (Nuclear Blast), the band’s eleventh album, Soilwork deliver another exactly what they’re good at; a mix of shredding riffs, machine gun drumming, and a penchant for bombastic clean vocals.Continue reading →


Festerday- iihtallan

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To say the history of Finnish Death Metallers Festerday is convoluted is like saying that the British Tory government has had a few mishaps recently. In a, sort of, thirty-year history, the band have undergone several changes of moniker and style, only returning to the name Festerday back in 2013, maintaining much of their core from 1989 with a line-up that has only taken a slight change since their return with Jani Kuoppamaa joining on drums. After a string of EP releases and splits in their early incarnation, this month sees them finally release a full-length debut in the solid, if unspectacular, iihtallan (Season Of Mist), where perhaps this varied history has had an impact.Continue reading →


Cloudburst – Cloudburst

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One of the most appealing aspects of getting to listen to Cloudburst’s self-titled sophomore (Samstrong Records) effort is learning that they hail from Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Through years of tape trading, international touring and eventually communicating online we’ve always known that the extreme music market is indeed a global one, but it’s always exciting to receive these imports.Continue reading →


Mourning Sign – Contra Mundum

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In a sense, Mourning Sign has already achieved more than most bands ever do. After all, in the wake of 24 years in the business, this Swedish ‘gloomy progressive Death Metal band’ must be doing something right to have carried on so long, right?Continue reading →


Sulphur Aeon – The Scythe Of Cosmic Chaos

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At the tail end of each year, just at that point when you’re finally confident enough to share your carefully considered Albums of the Year list with other like-minded folks, there always seems to be one band who decide to release something just in time to completely mess up your painstakingly structured running order, forcing you to throw everything up in the air and start all over again. This year, that band is Sulphur Aeon, and you’re very welcome.Continue reading →


Deathrite – Nightmares Reign

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By now a stalwart of the German Death Metal scene, Deathrite have, on the outside at least, been quietly plugging away under the radar, building a solid back catalogue and a strong reputation. Certainly, the name has cropped up more in 2018, both by signing to Century Media and with some high profile support slots, such as recently with Skeletonwitch. With this heightened attention, perhaps the expected thing to do would be to cement themselves and continue their formula up to this point, so it is surprising and a little bold to see them instead take some experimental steps; whether they be hit or miss.Continue reading →


Dirge – Lost Empyrean

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Parisian quartet Dirge can surely be termed a veteran of the post-Metal scene, now nearing a quarter of a century of active service. A new album is always hotly anticipated and seventh long-player Lost Empyrean (Debemur Morti Productions) is no different.Continue reading →