Swiss death metallers Conjonctive have released Misère de Poussière (Tenacity Music), an album that features their dual vocalists Randy Schaller from Voice Of Ruin and Sonia Kaya. Unlike many European Death Metal bands, there is a bouncing groove to their sound at times that might bring to mind the rougher moments of a band like Slipknot. Not that the band is trying to hop on the Nu-Metal revival train; things like the tremolo-picked guitars prove to the contrary. Though with ample Black Metal influence, aggression is more of a focus than a worship of darkness. They are skilled at delivering deliberate accents to provide more hooks than just battering your senses.Continue reading
Tag Archives: Reviews
ALBUM REVIEW: Opeth – The Last Will and Testament
Rejoice, fellow death metal fans, Opeth has brought back the harsh vocals! That’s right. Mikael Ackerfeldt and company figured now was the time, as their new album, The Last Will & Testament (Reigning Phoenix Music), has the perfect concept to complement it. The reading of a post-World War 1 patriarch’s last will and testament that spills out family secrets, track by track, section by section of the document (the first seven tracks are named simply after which paragraph is being recited). In terms of instrumentals, this album is my favorite mix of the melodic death metal era of Opeth and the more recent prog-rock era of the band.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Polar – Five Arrows
It seemed as if it was the end for the Guildford-based Metalcore stalwarts Polar after having lost a lot of members of the original band in 2023.
Not content with letting the band be put to rest, Adam Woodford decided to bring on a whole new team and carry on the passion project. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: 10,000 Years – All Quiet On The Final Frontier
Sweden truly is a melting pot for all sorts of high-octane Stoner Metal acts – Monolord, Graveyard, Hällas, Greenleaf, Void Commander; you name it. It is almost like the ideal home for acid trip-inducing slow-paced riffs. Even back in 2021, the label/collective Weedian curated a compilation album consisting of the finest psychedelic haze-laden Stoner Metal bands hailing from Sweden, entitled Trip to Sweden. One of the bands featured on the gnarly lineup of that compilation, the Västerås-bound 10,000 Years, are actually the one whose latest release I’m reviewing today.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Fightmilk – No Souvenirs
The sign of a good album is when it reinvigorates your appreciation for a musical genre or style.
Take Fightmilk. No Souvenirs (Fika Recordings/INH Records) is the latest full-length from the Indie/Pop Punk outfit. The songwriting is enticing and clever; satirical at times but not haphazard or misguided.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Make Them Suffer – Make Them Suffer
The Perth-based Make Them Suffer transcend the boundaries of Deathcore with their self-titled fifth album being released on SharpTone Records. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Paysage D’Hiver – Die Berge
Consistently being the inherent epitome of a harsh menacing winter and presenting ever-enigmatic themes that have to do with the void of darkness and the subconscious, the Switzerland-bound Paysage d’Hiver has been around for quite some time playing inclement Ambient Black Metal with a low-fidelity raw production, while also incorporating elements of a myriad of associated styles, being Funeral Doom Metal, Dungeon Synth, and Drone. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: ISLEPTONTHEMOON – Only The Stars Know Of My Misfortune
ISLEPTONTHEMOON is an anonymous solo project based in Atlanta, Georgia. Only The Stars Know Of My Misfortune (Bindrune Recordings) is their third full-length release.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Paganizer – Flesh Requiem
It may be a dying art form these days, or I might be living under a rock. Either way, Paganizer have put strong emphasis on their title track, which elicits a sigh of relief from this writer.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Deadform – Entrenched In Hell
Deadform, the three-piece collective hailing from Oakland, plays what is strongly aligned towards the fusion of Sludge Metal with Crust Punk undertones. Originally rooted from the members’ former projects Laudanum, Stormcrow, and Dystopia, the band’s debut full-length, Entrenched In Hell, releases via Tankcrimes Records, also based in Oakland.Continue reading