Album Reviews

Hailing from Utrecht the Netherlands, the Greek mythology inspired duo of Angmodnes have released their first EP ‘The Weight of Eternity’ a good month ago. These three songs were originally written for their other band Apotelesma. However, those songs turned out not to fit that well with the rest of their output, being very funeral doom oriented, compared to their main band which is residing in a bit more up tempo gothic doom realms.
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Entering into the fourth decade of his personal career Dave Mustaine brings a rejuvenating quality through ageless inspirations from the thrash, heavy and speed metal spectrum on their successful new album 'The Sick, the Dying…. And The Dead!' Megadeth’s 16th studio album is the first since their masterwork 'Dystopia'. Despite the line-up changes and the long absence, the band, fronted by Dave Mustaine (guitars, vocals), Kiko Loureiro (guitars), Dirk Verbeuren (drums) and Steve DiGiorgio (session bass), shows strong cohesion. The first impression upon listening to these 12 tracks reveals a return to their solid heavy/thrash metal sound. Megadeth brings an impressive set of gigantic riffs and infectious guitar work from veteran Kiko Loureiro.
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Finland based death metal band Cryptic Hatred launched its first full-length album 'Nocturnal Sickness' on February 18th, 2022 via The Other Records. The band was formed in 2019 by Miska Hagelberg (bass guitar) and was later joined by Tatu Saves (drums), Jami Lamio (guitars) and Eemil Lajoma (guitars, vocals). 'Nocturnal Sickness' is a brutal mixture of old-school death metal. The 10 songs are up my alley, being played in a similar fashion to old Cannibal Corpse. But make no mistake, Cryptic Hatred is far from being labeled as a clone band. The pulverizing guitar work comes with old-school filthy; guttural growls.
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If you've listened to Volume 1 of the 'Acoustic Adventures', then you already know what to expect. The only difference between those two albums are the songs. Overall, this album has more of Sonata Artica's faster paced songs, but don't expect the album itself to be quite as fast in speed as usual.
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Italy’s occult black metal cult Abhor returned after four years with a brand new album out on September 23rd, 2022 via Iron Bonehead Productions. Formed back in 1995, the guitarist/bassist Domine Saevum Graven, and vocalist Ulfhedhnir have walked the path of occultism. Over the years Abhor built a discography that reflected upon the early phase of black metal while remaining as an institution that invented its own niche. “Sex Sex Sex (Ceremonia Daemonis Anticristi)” offers a surreal 70’s occult atmosphere exposing the inspiration from classic Italian horror/occult movies.
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The third album “In Nomine Diaboli” from the Texan-based death metal cult Imprecation is a profane statement from one of the forerunners in the U.S. death metal scene. Next to bands like Immolation, Deicide, Incantation, and Vital Remains, Imprecation took the reins in 1991 and released a number of EPs, split albums, and a compilation. Unfortunately, the sudden death of founding member Ruben Elizondo (drums) came as shocking news, and David Herrera (vocals) now remains as the oldest member of the band with the new lineup consisting of Milton Luna (rhythm guitars), Jeff Tandy (bass), and, Nick Norris (lead guitars).
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With 'Cyan Night Dreams' PARASITE INC. presents themselves in a new sound robe that is different from before. An album with a lot of musical contrasts is only partly novelty for PARASITE INC though, since they have been surprising the world with their unique interpretation of melodic death metal from the inception of their career.
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California-based death metal band Mortuous makes a solid return with the sophomore release 'Upon Desolation'. The present lineup features drummer Chad Gailey (Vastum, Necrot), guitarist/vocalist Colin Tarvin, guitarist/vocalist/piano Michael Beams and bassist Clint Roach. There’s no doubt that in recent years Mortuous has become well-known in the underground death metal scene of the USA. Their 2018 debut effort 'Through Wilderness' was well received by the fans. However, the quartet's long-awaited return shows that Mortuous has a knack for writing some vicious music.
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Boston death/doom act Innumerable Forms has established its footing in the realm of doom metal. The second album 'Philosophical Collapse' delivers a juggernaut of oppression. In the last few years, we have witnessed the emergence of many death/doom metal bands like Hooded Menace, Mortiferum, Krypts, Anatomia and many more. Likewise, Innumerable Forms takes a monolithic direction. Their songs range within slow passages, preferring to focus on crushing doomy parts.
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The Rasmus has been one of the bands that has been in my life the longest and while I never became a hardcore fan, their music has always been important for me. So it pains me to say that I wasn't really convinced by their new album 'Rise'. The two Singles 'Jezebel' and 'Rise' are solid releases, but unfortunately there's not much backing that up on the rest of the album...
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