Producer of many legendary albums, Martin Birch has died at 71:
1 CommentTags: black sabbath, blue oyster cult, deep purple, fleetwood mac, iron maiden, martin birch, rainbow
Early Moods – Spellbound (2020)
Doom metal really went into the toilet in the late 1990s when the labels got ahold of it and decided to make it into “slow Led Zeppelin” with a stoner theme. This hit at the same time that Slacker and other Boomer-worship propaganda filled the airwaves, and people thought it was “progress.”
No CommentsTags: Doom Metal, early moods
Pazuzu – Revenant Of Blasphemies (2020)
Old school doom-death with a strong tendency toward bounding grindcore riffs, Pazuzu understands how to make a riff salad talk to itself and how to use enough internal contrast to keep the unfolding story that results interesting. Like a good horror movie, Revenant Of Blasphemies alternates between suspense, terror, flight, and violence.
1 CommentTags: death metal, doom-death, pazuzu
Loudblast Releases Manifesto In November
French death metal institution Loudblast will release their newest album, Manifesto, continuing their journey through old school death metal and associated heavy metal genres. After thirty-five years of being active as a band, this act presents a somewhat unique view of underground metal.
No CommentsTags: death metal, loudblast
Shibalba – Nekrologie Sinistrae (Orchestral Noise Opus I) (2020)
Industrial music means pounding machine-like rhythm and city noise, but to that Shibalba add keyboards and ritual patterns to make a disturbing but pleasant soundtrack for all of your anti-modern experiences. This is both the strength and weakness of this music: it makes for good but sparse listening, better as background than focus.
No CommentsTags: Ambient, Industrial, Ritual, shibalba
Isengard Releases Vårjevndøgn In October
Darkthrone riff overflow project Isengard, which released two albums back in the day, announced that its third compilation of material, Vårjevndøgn, will be released in October on longtime label Peaceville Records, giving us more of the Celtic Frost and Bathory fusion inspired black metal for which Darkthrone is known.
No CommentsTags: Black Metal, darkthrone, fenriz, isengard
Brain Corrosion / Ripped to Shreds – Exhumed From Eastern Tombs (2020)
This split album showcases high intensity grindcore and old school death metal with a speed metal pace, with Brain Corrosion demonstrating an inventive approach toward varying conventional grindcore patterns and working in touches of melody, while Ripped to Shreds sounds like Nunslaughter executed by Slaughter Lord, using a high-energy approach to a crossover between traditional heavy metal and fast death metal.
No CommentsTags: brain corrosion, Grindcore, Old School Death Metal, ripped to shreds
Satan – Early Rituals (2020)
NWOBHM took the proto-metal of Black Sabbath and mixed it with the hard rock of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, infused it with the spirit of punk and some of the progressive rock of the era, and came up with the last bridge between metal and rock before speed metal punted it out of the park. Early Rituals uncovers this era with zest.
5 CommentsTags: NWOBHM, Satan, Speed Metal
Sanity Control – War on Life (2020)
Thrash bands like DRI and Cryptic Slaughter bridged the years between hardcore failing and grindcore appearing. They took punk back to its roots as total alienation and made some great music by picking up the metal style of riffing, which is why they were described as crossover bands. Sanity Control seeks to revive those years.
2 CommentsTags: Crossover, sanity control, Thrash
Obsecration – Onwards the Mystic Paths of the Dead (2020)
Greek act Obsecration combine speed metal, death metal, and a black metal sensibility for an album that is best enjoyed in the sense of early speed metal, before Metallica showed them how to make continuous compositions with Ride the Lightning. These songs entwine strength and weakness in dominance of the riff.
3 CommentsTags: death metal, obsecration, Speed Metal
