On December 15, 2019, Children of Bodom played their final show in the Helsinki Ice Hall. A fitting venue for the Finnish band who had been plying their trade of Melodic Death Metal with a distinct influence of Classic Hard Rock for over twenty years.
As a fan of Deathcore back in the early days, I always feel compelled to give newer Deathcore bands a listen when I have the time. As luck would have it, Existentialist’s latest album, The Heretic (Seek & Strike Records), ended up in my inbox, ready for just such an occasion. While this record did not blow me away, it is well executed, especially with the level of symphonic elements bleeding more into some tracks than others.
The first night of a tour is always a mix of emotions for an artist. The excitement of a new tour. The possibility of what could be. After all the unglamorous toil and travel, the opportunity to see your hard work in the studio and every other element of your years of work payoff. All for that briefest part of the day, sharing the music with fans.
It takes quite a lot in the subgenre of deathcore to really excite me nowadays. Lorna Shore is such an example that never excited me, but I also never gave them a real listen before. Plagued by lineup changes, it is difficult to decide where to begin in their discography. Fortunately, a new full-length is out now entitled Pain Remains (Century Media) and this may be a great spot for any new listener to start their journey. This record provides nine tracks (the last three telling one story on their own) at just over the hour mark.
Hailing from the land of Hans Christian Andersen, Vikings and Lego, Danish melodic death metal act Defacing God exist in the world of witchcraft and the occult, their debut album The Resurrection of Lilith (Napalm Records) a monstrous slab of European extremity with a heavily symphonic touch.
It’s hard to believe that influential Greek symphonic death metal outfit Septicflesh are now into their fourth decade. Even when people of a certain age [Happy big birthday yourself, Gaz! – Reviews Ed] try to improve matters by subtracting the four years of inactivity during the mid-2000s, the reality still sits unavoidably close to that same disconcerting landmark.Continue reading
Continuing with the concept of Apex (Napalm Records), Canadian power metal quartet Unleash The Archers return with their fifth full-length album, Abyss (Napalm), a direct sequel to its 2017 predecessor.Continue reading
Symphonic Death Metal band Fleshgod Apocalypse has booked a full US tour for 2020, with direct support from The Agonist. Unique to this tour, Fleshgod will be joined by a classical string quartet to bring their album sound into the live setting even more than ever! The band released their new album Venelo this year via Nuclear Blast Records. Check out the dates below. The tour begins in Dallas, TX on March 16th and culminates in Los Angeles on April 6th. Ticket sales are listed below. You can see a video interview we did with the band earlier this year when Francesco alludes to touring with the string quartet.
Canadian Symphonic Death Metal band Atavistia released their excellent new single ‘Through the Hollow Raven’s Eyes’ today on all platforms. The band also shared a stunning lyric video for the track, which you can see here only at Ghost Cult! Watch it now and purchase and stream the track as well! The band is preparing their new, sophomore release, a full-length album for 2020. Catch Atavistia live on a brief Canadian tour later this month, all dates are below.Continue reading
Mid-September officially sees the start of Crazy Season for album releases… But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered here at Ghost Cult with our round-up of some of this weeks and last weeks albums that may just have escaped your attention, for better or for worse…