Album Reviews

Swedish black metal war machine Marduk is ready to set the world ablaze with their most anticipated album titled “Memento Mori” out on September 1st, 2023, via Century Media Records. Among the many Scandinavian bands in the underground scene, Marduk manifests its formidable strength in creating a legacy as one of the longest-running bands in the history of black metal. Fronted by guitarist and founder Morgan Håkansson in 1990, the band’s fifteenth album grasps all the characteristics of sounding fast and furious. With vocalist/bassist Daniel Rostén (Funeral Mist and, Triumphator), and a new drummer Simon Schilling who makes his first appearance on the album.
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Through the past fourteen years, Philadelphia’s death metal outfit Horrendous etched an innovative style in the modern death metal scene. Each of their studio albums were crafted hand in hand with progression from old-school death metal to technical melodic sound. The fifth album “Ontological Mysterium” which was released on August 18th, 2023, via Season of Mist exposes the efficiency of the quartet in combining their progressive elements. Horrendous’ has always had a penchant for sounding technical, and probably their albums like “Anareta” and “Idol” showed the creative ability of songwriting.
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For years now Texan metal outfit Spirit Adrift has been known under the guise of doom metal, fronted by the multi-instrumentalist Nate Garrett who returns with the band’s fifth album “Ghost At The Gallows” released on August 18th, 2023 via Century Media Records. Spirit Adrift started as a solo doom metal project in 2015 on the first full-length album “Chained to Oblivion” taking a slow detour towards traditional heavy metal style music. While evolving into the domains of 80s classic hard rock, it seems that Spirit Adrift once again has topped its sound, with the new lineup featuring bassist Sonny DeCarlo, drummer Mike Arellano and, guitarist Tom Draper.
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‘Haunted Funeral Creations’. Now that is as apt a description for doom metal as I’ve heard in a long time. That’s what the California based death doom outfit Tumulation must have found as well, since it is the moniker for their debut album.
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French avant-garde black metal outfit Blut Aus Nord returns for the second part of the Disharmonium album series out on August 25, 2023, via Debemur Morti Productions. The sequel slithers into something more dreadful with a stench of horror, evoking the sonic work and thematic inspiration of H.P. Lovecraft. Mastermind Vindsval delves deeper into the uncanny dimensions of horror invoking the dark deities of the cosmos, “Disharmonium – Nahab” presents an intricate blend of black metal and eerie atmosphere with eleven hymns that summons the ancient darkness.
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U.S. death metal veterans Incantation returns with its new studio album “Unholy Deification” offers visceral and organic songs flawlessly helmed by guitarist/vocalist John McEntee, guitarist Luke Shively, bassist Chuck Sherwood, and drummer Kyle Severn. Being on the top of the genre along with bands like Immolation, Cannibal Corpse, and Autopsy, the four-piece show their expertness as proficient songwriters. Incantation opts for a brutal and diverse sound with a slew of guest appearances such as vocalist of Possessed (Jeff Beccera), vocalist/guitarist Henry Veggian (ex-Revenant), and guitarist Dan Vadim Von (Morbid Angel).
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Finland’s melancholic doom/death metal act Asphodelus returns with the highly acclaimed sophomore album 'Sculpting from Time' out on August 25th, 2023, via Hammerheart Records. Following the great success of the band’s debut album 'Stygian Dreams' which portrayed an honest tribute to the classic melodic doom metal bands of the nineties. Four years in the making, Asphodelus makes another entry by conjuring a flair of its nostalgic doom death metal style. Even though the first album showed devotion to the likes of Amorphis and Katatonia’s album 'Dance of December Souls' the haunting keyboards and the doom-laden riffs brewed something archaic.
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U.K.’s epic doom metal act Godthrymm returns with a stunning new album 'Distortions' out via Profound Lore Records on August 18th, 2023. The band is comprised of renowned members such as vocalist/guitarist Hamish Glencross (ex-My Dying Bride and ex-Solstice), keyboardist and vocalist Catherine Glencross, drummer Shaun Taylor-Steels (ex-My Dying Bride, ex-Anathema and ex-Solstice) and bassist Sasquatch Bob. However, in the past few years the band has experienced a deep cohesion in the songwriting level and an impressive approach to doom metal giving us some deeper depth in the songwriting.
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The heroic dwarves of Windrose released their latest album last year on June 10. Let's see what they brought us!

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On March 31st 2023, this seventh album by Bury Tomorrow called 'The Seventh Sun', saw the light of day. I've heard very good things about this one. Now let's see if they are true.
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