Album Review: Heavy Temple – Garden of Heathens

Heavy Temple - Garden of HeathensApril 12th, 2024Doom / Stoner MetalMagnetic Eye RecordsPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, USA I initially was made aware of Heavy Temple when the band Morgul Blade, one of my favourite newer metal acts of the past decade, posted about this band recently on their social media. Heavy Temple shares members with Morgul Blade, …

Album Review: Coffin Storm – Arcana Rising

"The spell you're under... refrain from leaving here at night..." Coffin Storm - Arcana RisingMarch 29th, 2024Traditional / Heavy / Doom MetalPeaceville RecordsKolbotn, Norway When I first heard that legendary Darkthrone founding member and Norwegian black metal scene alumnus Fenriz was joining forces with members of Aura Noir for a brand new project I was …

Album Review: Castle Rat – Into the Realm

"Six hundred million upturned eyes, none will be saved from worm and fly." Castle Rat - Into the RealmApril 12th, 2024Doom MetalKing Volume RecordsBrooklyn, New York, USA After much ado, the long anticipated debut full length record from Brooklyn-based fantastical doom metal quintet Castle Rat has finally arrived. This band had garnered attention from me …

Album Review: Bog Monkey – Hollow

Bog Monkey - HollowMarch 3rd, 2023Sludge / Stoner Metal / Noise RockIndependently ReleasedAtlanta, Georgia, USA I first discovered Bog Monkey when a friend of mind recommended them on Twitter, and I was immediately drawn in by the name of the band and the album cover. Come on, look at that. Does that album cover not …

Album Review: Horndal – Head Hammer Man

Horndal - Head Hammer ManApril 5th, 2024Progressive Sludge MetalProsthetic RecordsStockholm, Sweden Head Hammer Man is the third full length record from Swedish heavy metal outfit Horndal. Before this year I had never heard of this band, and it was thanks to my friend and bandmate Tyler who showed them to me that this album has …

Album Review: Vulture – Sentinels

"Where there's a whip, there is a way, succumb to the rhythm of our drill." Vulture - SentinelsApril 12th, 2024Thrash MetalMetal Blade RecordsDortmund, Germany I was first made aware of Vulture last year when I discovered their record Dealin' Death on a YouTube channel dedicated to the new wave of old school thrash metal, and …

Album Review: Cell Press – Cages

Cell Press - CagesMarch 8th, 2024Noise Rock / Sludge Metal / MathcoreIndependently ReleasedMontreal, Quebec, Canada Describing the music of Montreal noise rock quartet Cell Press has been admittedly quite difficult ever since I was first exposed to them a year or two back. The group combines elements of noise rock, sludge metal, grindcore, and mathcore …

Album Review: Omnivide – A Tale of Fire

"Tearing my own flesh down to the bone, such pain to erase all I’ve ever known." Omnivide - A Tale of FireMarch 22nd, 2024Progressive / Technical / Symphonic Death MetalIndependently ReleasedMoncton, New Brunswick, Canada Moncton is perhaps an unlikely place to expect to hear the brand of music represented in the mainstream by such bands …

Album Review: KMFDM – Let Go

"Turn the lights on, the roaches run for cover." KMFDM - Let GoFebruary 2nd, 2024Industrial Metal / RockMetropolis RecordsHamburg, Germany Unlike Ministry who have still managed to maintain a certain level of heaviness and aggression over the course of their career, KMFDM seems like the opposite. As someone who grew up listening to some of …

Album Review: Ministry – Hopiumforthemasses

"We won't stop 'til we find a way to deworm your fucking mind." Ministry - HopiumforthemassesMarch 1st, 2024Industrial MetalNuclear Blast RecordsEl Paso, Texas, USA This has been an interesting year for classic industrial metal bands, with both the legendary KMFDM and Ministry dropping new records within the span of just a few months from one …