Album Reviews

The Greek threesome of Church of the Sea consists of vocalist Irene alongside Vangelis- no not that Vangelis- on guitars with synths and samples provided by Alex Bolpasis.
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Ludus Umbrarum is a one-man symphonic black metal band from Serbia formed in 2024. The music here is undoubtedly sinister and dark, with many symphonic textures that give the music a gothic feel. However, the debut full-length 'Reveria Umbrarum in Tenebris' released on April 11th, 2025, by the French underground label Drakkar Productions, is similar to early Norwegian black metal bands like Dimmu Borgir. Mastermind Nino Đurić (everything) sets the bar high by incorporating elements that feature tremolo riffs, demonic rasping and the symphonic aesthetics of 90s black metal.
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Netherlands-based blackened death metal outfit Antropomorphia has returned with a brand-new album 'Devoid of Light' out via Testimony Records on May 16th, 2025. Cementing the propelling mid-paced style effectively, the Dutch cult shows an interesting take on death and black metal by employing a constant flow between aggression and melodies. The main style of Antropomorphia remains dark and blistering while the riffs create an atmospheric mood with the grim force of the growls.
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Technical death metal band Toughness gave a peculiar sound similar to the Finnish band death metal Demilich, their second album, “Black Respite of Oblivion” unravels a labyrinthine song structure and old-school technical riffs. The Polish four-piece provides a precise clarity to replicate the Morbid Angel riffs' style, and some progressive elements allow the songs to morph seamlessly between the cavernous atmosphere and old-school brutality.
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The symphonic aged-fantasy thrived perpetually in the mid-90s with bands like Emperor, Odium, Dimmu Borgir, Obtained Enslavement, Gehenna, and many more providing the exact definition of this sub-genre and has continued until our times to fascinate many bands from around the world. Currently in Finland, the revival of symphonic black metal bands like Vargrav, Embryonic Slumber, and Warmoon Lord is leading this movement to bring back the lost glory of the ancient era.
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The polish extreme metal machine Behemoth is back with their newest throw 'The Shit Ov God.' After the release of the masterpieces 'Evangelion' and 'The Satanist,' we didn't think they could do better. The albums that came after, 'I Loved You At Your Darkest' and 'Opvs Contra Natvram' were not bad but couldn't beat 'Evangelion' and 'The Satanist.' With the release of their first single 'The Shit Ov God' I was enthusiastic. It was a punch in the face, so I was curious what they had in store for their new album, 'The Shit Ov God.'
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Death metal and grindcore style emerged in the late 80s and were fronted by the originators of this style with bands like Terrorizer, Repulsion, Napalm Death, and many more. Caustic Wound is one of these bands that achieved great success with the debut album “Death Posture”. Having formed in 2017 by members of Mortiferum and Corpus Offal, the Washington-based death grinders offer a perfect breeding with a visceral performance on the second outing “Grinding Mechanism of Torment”.
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Polish blackened death metal institution Hate returns with a new studio album, “Bellum Regiis”, their thirteenth output was released via Metal Blade Records on May 2nd, 2025. Hate continues to find its place among the extreme metal acts like Behemoth, Septic Flesh and Vader, and while showing variety in the composition and mixing the style of death metal and black metal.
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After a compilation of the split with Black Oath and the first demo Italian one man doom outfit Tetramorphe Impure has unveiled its debut full length 'The Sunset of Being'.
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As a statement of intent ‘Dark and Dangerous’ does sound alluring right? Savage Master Stacey Savage has been leading her hooded heavy metal troops through the new wave of epic heavy metal for more than a decade. The Kentucky based band is down to their fifth album by now, so quite a prolific output by any standard. I’ve been following this band since ‘2019’s ‘Myth, Magic & Steel’ and I must say that they have upped their game considerably with each record.
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