Album Reviews

Hailing from North Dakota Fargo, the death metal group Phobophilic's first full-length album 'Enveloping Absurdity' offers one of the year’s bone-chilling classics. The successful follow-up to the 2019 EP 'Undimensioned Identities' shows great songwriting maturity and musical cohesion. Proving their sheer brutality the eight songs are achieved with compelling talent. It is a pensively crafted album in which the intense riff work and the drumming are executed with brute strength. Unlike their peers, Phobophilic never relies on blast beats, rather the guitar imposes a meaty tone. While there is plenty of intense riffing, they’re still distinguishable.
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Parkway Drive is here with their 7th album 'Darker Still'. A special one, one with a lot of thought and a lot of darkness inside. Darkness that the whole band was experiencing during COVID. But does darkness always have to be bad? Let Parkway Drive tell you their story.
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Spiritus Mortis has been around for a very, very long time. In fact, their first demos go back to the late eighties when they were still called Rigor Mortis. It took these Finnish doomsters a while to get their official first record out. Actually, the self-titled debut did not see the light of day until 2004. They are down to their fifth full-length now, baptized ‘The Great Seal’.
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Death/doom quartet Graceless returns with their third full-length album 'Chants from Purgatory' out via Raw Skull Recordz on September 30th. In 2016 the bold partnership of this Dutch outfit was established by Jesper Aptroot (bass), Marc Verhaar (drums), Björn Brusse (guitars) and Remco Kreft (vocals, guitars) generating a formula that is in a class of its own. Through impressive old-fashioned riffs the band fuses abrasive riffing with churning drums providing an energetic, but stately feel. While the guitar arrangements on the album combine caustic qualities, they make the music effectively impactful. The grinding drums and distorted bass guitar bring a sense of might.
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The language of Viktor Hugo is not one you’re prone to find that often in metal corners, especially not in the realm of traditional metal. So Cauchemar’s leading lady’s singing might either throw you off or in fact peak your interest depending where you’re coming from, particularly if you’re not that fluent in French.
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‘Dreamkiller’ is the sophomore album from American heavy metal troupe Sumerlands. Now you might not be too familiar with that particular band moniker, but you may have heard the banner bearers of US epic metal Eternal Champion. Turns out that more than half of the lineup of Sumerlands is essentially made from those barbarians . Both guitarist Arthur Rizk and John Powers as well as the bass player Brad Raub, all except vocalist/Sword & Sorcery writer Jason Tarpay. They are joined by two former members from the now sadly defunct Magic Circle: Justin behind the drum kit and Brandan Radigan on vocals who fills in for Phil Swanson who was on the self-titled debut.
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What can I say? Almost everybody that’s into metal has to have seen something from this band by now. Would it be the song where it all started: ‘Hypa Hypa’, or the new mega hits that got millions of views in days like ‘We Got the Moves’ and 'Pump It'. Or would it be the sold out European tour or the partially sold out American tour? Electric Callboy has found their style: metalcore blended with electronics, and they are sharing it with the world. Let me take you on a tour through this album.
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In the last few years, Denmark's underground death metal scene has become prominent in terms of quality and originality. Such is the case with Copenhagen-based death doom trio Dead Void who has released its debut album 'Volatile Forms' out via Me Saco Un Ojo Records and Dark Descent Records. Spanning for 44 minutes, the album includes five songs that can be described as particularly raw and hideous. Dead Void’s take on death/doom metal is archetypical: the guitars create bleak sonic landscapes, drawing you slowly into the murky corners of the classic era.
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International superstar formation Bloodbath has launched its newest album 'Survival of the Sickest', featuring members from Katatonia, Lik, Paradise Lost and ex-members of Opeth in its line-up. With six albums under their belt, Bloodbath is renowned for their crafty songwriting. The latest offering includes some guest session vocalists such as Luc Lemay (Gorguts), Barney Greenway (Napalm Death) and Marc Grewe (Morgoth). This bold effort from vocalist Nick Holmes, guitarists Anders Nyström and Tomas Åkvik, along with the spectacular crunchy bass guitar of Jonas Renkse and the hammering beats of Martin Axenrot, brings out organic songs held by a cohesive force.
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Alestorm’s new record has been on shore for a while now. I’ve heard some of the songs popping up left and right, and I’ve heard some songs live when they were touring this year. But I haven’t really dug into the album. Let’s do that and see where this seventh album 'Seventh Rum of a Seventh Rum' takes us.
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