Armchair rhetoric on extreme metal
Sanctvs: De l'Abîme au PlérômeOut 30th January on Osmose Productions Canadian black metal drawing on the Mayhem school in that the emphasis is more on jagged surrealism and light dissonance over explicit naturalism. This is undergirded by the vocals that adopt a more stretched, throaty howl as if to draw attention to the strained desperation... Continue Reading →
Unfazed by DeathOut 26th January on Memento Mori (originally released in 2016) It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Rotheads. There 2022 effort ‘Slither in Slime’ was one of the best of that year, and easily outstrips the majority of contemporary death metal for its ability to weave tapestries of drab, gothic grace into... Continue Reading →
Decimation: Between Two WorldsOut 27th November on La Caverna Records (originally released in 1992) Given the timing of this now forgotten demo – after death metal had “broken out” so to speak – it makes for an interesting study in how the underground scene was metabolising the works of the genre’s silverbacks at ground level.... Continue Reading →
We're back as if nothing happened to catchup on some of our top picks for 2025. Releases discussed:Cultic - LoreMessa - The SpinMouth of Madness - Event HorizonDissidence - Seven Crosses ImpaledHeruvim - MercatorMorax - The AmuletNecromaniac - Sciomancy, Malediction & Rites AbominableKæck - Gruwelijk OnthaalCóndor: Aurë EntuluvaThaumaturgy - Pestilential HymnsArktheos - CosmonolithNyreDolk - Barndommens... Continue Reading →
The other day this landed on my desk: https://youtu.be/OQRpYT-fIkM?si=u-qWqdPCnwIgR1kx&t=137 I’ve gone to great lengths in avoiding the Sleep Token. Mentally consigning them to the “none of my fucking business” folder. But this video of the Guardian’s Ben Beaumont-Thomas describing their ‘Even in Arcadia’ album as the worst of 2025 piqued my interest. An opinion delivered... Continue Reading →
Hybris DivinaOut 9th January on Invictus Productions Dark, imposing death metal reaches for a sharp juxtaposition between the superhuman and the horrendously surreal. The bludgeoning simplicity of early Bolt Thrower, siren wailing, toneless guitar leads and all, is elevated to a place of epical grimness via a sharp melodic flair that, although hardly complex or... Continue Reading →
On the cost of data collection, how streaming is polarising our definition of music, and why you're probably already doing the right thing to prevent it from getting worse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlKgreF0QNw
Pandemonium of EgregoresOut 26th December on Osmose Productions I’ll happily eat a hat or two if I made the wrong call, as it seems I did in writing off Meyhna'ch after the middle age tantrum that was ‘Black Metal Cult’. But the difference between an exceptional artist and a quite good one is the former’s... Continue Reading →
Metal Archives got itself into a bit of a state recently over its poll for album of 2025, seeing an Italian goth/prog/yacht rock/grunge album make the top spot by quite a significant margin. Many were quick to point out the irony of a site like MA, with a reputation for being highly selective about what... Continue Reading →
Supuration: Sultry ObsessionOut 27th November on La Caverna records (originally released in 1990) By 1993, Supuration had developed a unique voice within death metal, bridging the richly textured gloom of the Nordic style with the brighter prog permutations developing on the other side of Atlantic, adding their own distinctive goth sensibility to the mix. With... Continue Reading →
Hate Meditations 