Why a farewell to Norway? I write this piece with nothing but my usual good will to Norwegian black metal. But there’s a sense in which the hegemony of Norway as the central creation myth of black metal is beginning to slip with each new generation of fans. The allure of the scene, replete with... Continue Reading →

Anatomia: Corporeal Torment (2021) Veteran Japanese death/doomsters Anatomia return with their latest LP ‘Corporeal Torment’, and what a treat it is. If previous efforts from this outfit were a compellingly creepy blend of Autopsy and diSEMBOWELMENT, this album sees them flirt with drone. The underlying formula may still be intact, but Anatomia seem intent on... Continue Reading →

Given my unhinged tirade of last month of thought it pertinent to check back in on this whimsical little dungeon synth project. And sure enough, after less than a month I am two albums behind on Garden Gnome’s output. Notice the variations on a theme with the album titles, ‘True Gnomewegian Dungeon Synth’, and now... Continue Reading →

30 Immolated ; 16 Returned: The Burial of the Dead - Excerpts from Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring (2021) It’s seems oddly fitting that avant-garde metal has led us to Stravinsky. Taken one way, 30 Immolated ; 16 Returned’s latest EP ‘The Burial of the Dead - Excerpts from Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring’ is... Continue Reading →

Josh Homme of Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age notoriety famously rejected the stoner rock label. Rife with subtext that this is music exclusively by and for stoners, to be enjoyed whilst high. But it seems the more you resist, the stickier the tagline becomes. Kyuss are now considered one of the archetypal stoner... Continue Reading →

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Dickensian cliches aside, the 1990s were perhaps the most forward looking and adventurous years for metal. Sure, we could analyse this decade as the regicide of death metal and thrash at the hands of alt metal (and later nu metal), we could analyse... Continue Reading →

Cleavercult: Promo (2021) 2021 sees the release of two new promo tracks from Greek death metal outfit Cleavercult. Despite the invocations to a gore aesthetic in the band’s moniker and logo, the tracks themselves stick to a traditional sense of melody which – combined with the fluid and imaginative approach to rhythmic interchanges – grants... Continue Reading →

Hymnr: Far Beyond Insanity (2021) True to form for black metal emanating from the vastness of Russia, Hymnr’s debut follows in the footsteps of Forest, Walknut, and a considerable dose of Ukraine’s Hate Forest. The key to this style is the layering and texture of the guitars. As long as the aesthetic foundation embodies a... Continue Reading →

A common question in metal circles regards new sungenres that took root in the 2000s. Subgenres with the solidity of thrash, death, or black metal that is. Folk metal, depending on your perspective, could strengthen or weaken the case for contemporary innovation in metal on a par with the 80s. It's not entirely clear what... Continue Reading →

Atvm: Famine, Putrid and Fucking Endless (2021) Hailing from that there London, Atvm have dropped their debut LP ‘Famine, Putrid and Fucking Endless’ into our laps this year. If 2015’s ‘Out of Chaotic Waters’ was a promising chrysalis of an EP, they have now confronted us with nearly an hours worth of bizarre multifacted death... Continue Reading →