With only three tracks and a short run-time clocking in slighter over ten minutes, Wolfbrigade wasted no time with their hardcore punk assault on their latest EP, Anti-Tank Dogs (Armageddon / Agipunk).Continue reading
Tag Archives: metal EP reviews
EP REVIEW: Tombs – Ex Oblivion
Bandcamp has gained immense traction and reverence as of late, ever since the music streaming website introduced “Bandcamp Fridays,” allotting 100% of artists’ proceeds to said artists without taking fees. A by-product of that has been releases that can only be streamed via Bandcamp, and Tombs are the latest to follow that path.
REVIEWS ROUND-UP: EP’s ft. Creature – Terminal Nation and Kruelty – Asylum City Zoo – Lydia’s Castle – orphantwin
Creature – Haunt (self-released)
Like the slow walk around the empty, dark house at the start of A.N.Other horror film (it’ll be in Gary Alcock’s collection x666) the brooding, bruising opening minute of ‘All’ is an ominous introduction that lulls into a false sense of security, peeling things back before the swinging axe of a looping guitar-crush lands to decapitate.
EP REVIEW: Cirith Ungol – Half Past Human
Returning from the grave after close to three decades, California heavy metal legends Cirith Ungol blasted back last year with Forever Black (Metal Blade), their first album since 1991’s Paradise Lost (Restless Records). Striking back while the iron remains hot, the band follows up last year’s full-length offering with Half Past Human (Metal Blade), a four-track EP that reaches back into the past, resurrecting a handful of tracks that never made it properly onto any of their existing albums.
EP REVIEW: The Devil Wears Prada – ZII
Rewinding back to August 2010, Metalcore savants The Devil Wears Prada put out the Zombie EP (Ferret Music) – a release that introduced a new level of maturity and heaviness for the band and remains a fan favorite to this day. Fast forward to the present day, TDWP have written ZII (Solid State Records), a sequel EP no one knew was coming. While its precursor is about fighting the apocalypse, ZII embodies the stemming feelings of exhaustion and hopelessness.
EP REVIEW: Riddlebreak – Architeuthis
It is bands like Riddlebreak that make it a shame there aren’t more descriptive titles for genres. Architeuthis may be early on the South African six-piece’s discography, but its ingenuity attests to their clear identity. Whether or not you think Metalcore is dead, prepare for a journey where you will witness its reincarnation into something far more elaborate.
EP REVIEW: Midnight Dice – Hypnotized – Underground Power Records
Coming off a self-titled demo in 2019, Midnight Dice’s first EP, Hypnotized (Underground Power Records/Hoove Child Records), sees the Chicagoans continuing to build their momentum. Comparisons to the musicians’ previous band Satan’s Hallow remain inevitable as Hypnotized rides on a similarly anthemic Classic Metal style. However, there are also developments that show the band beginning to carve out a more distinct identity.Continue reading
Ghoul – Hang Ten EP
A popular name amongst the musical community, there are several Ghouls in the band world. There are the legendary punk rockers from Japan, the cult black metal outfit from the UK and the gothic German rock band who only made one 7-inch vinyl. There are also a few others, including the subject of this review, the Ghoul of Oakland, California. With a cult following and more masks than WesCraven’s garage, Hang Ten (Tankcrimes) is the quartet’s latest EP and it’s one that combines their penchant for the thrash, the punk and the death.
Largely instrumental, the six-song release weighs in at just over 17 minutes long, giving you small and quick blasts of music throughout. Leading with speedy thrasher ‘The Midnight Ride of the Cannibals MC,’ Hang Ten starts and continues to be short but deathly sweet. From the 70’s punk-esque beginnings of ‘Sidehackers’ to the mixture of death and hardcore vocals on ‘Kregg’ this EP may sound at first like a straight up thrash affair but for those willing to give it another listen, there’s more dimensions to Hang Ten than first meets the ears. Got a spare twenty minutes? Give this a try.
8/10
EMMA QUINLAN
Monumentomb – Ritual Exhumation EP
The tolling of the bell calls out to the disciples of metal to join this unholy sonic experience as once more we make a sacrifice of the living to join the realm of the dead. Known as the garden of England, Kent may not seem the usual breeding ground for such homage to blood, booze and brutality, but underneath the tranquil exterior lies Monumentomb, a four-piece death metal band hailing from Maidstone. Appearing on the scene with their debut album Ritual Exhumation, they have unleashed a record of pure chaotic fury. Digging up the old sound, their music pays homage to the Swedish scene with definite hints of Entombed and Grave coursing throughout each song.
At a mere 30 minutes long, this is a short, sharp attack on the senses. Opening with the call of church bells, it is a deceptively calm intro that launches up straight through into title track ‘Ritual Exhumation’. From there on out the album is unrelenting in its frantic clawing from beginning to end, with every instrument barely holding itself in place with its inexhaustible aggressive energy. It is only during ‘Perpetual Execution Torment’ that the listener is given the briefest interlude with the arrival of backing vocals that perfectly counterpoint Byron Braidwood’s gutturals. Monumentomb are showing they mean serious business here with razor-sharp riffs, piercing solos and great production quality. Although it can lean slightly on the repetitive side at points, there’s no doubting Ritual Exhumation could challenge many of the newest release by the big names in death metal. This is pure, old school death metal at its very finest.
8/10
Caitlin Smith