Temple of Abraxas: MCMXXXI (2021) My curiosity for just how exactly Sleepwalker was going to follow up 2019’s ‘Temples Forlorn’ has finally been satisfied. That album presented unique challenges for the onward trajectory of the project known as Temple of Abraxas for a number of reasons. The most obvious being the intangible route to originality... Continue Reading →

Simon Reynolds’ book Retromania attempts to make sense of the nostalgia complex within contemporary music. Released in 2011, from our heady vantage point of 2021 the book comes across as both ahead of its time and premature. The aftershock (or more fittingly ‘lethargy’) of stagnation that gripped the 2000s so tightly can still be felt... Continue Reading →

Abyssum: Poizon of God (Reissued by The Sinister Flame 2021, originally released 2008) Abyssum gets a highly deserving reissue from The Sinister Flame, who have released the Guatemalan's second album ‘Poizon of God’ in January this year. As if to directly contrast with Relapse Records’ obsessive preoccupation with chucking out recordings of old Death gigs,... Continue Reading →

Scouring the rich history of intros and interludes that litter extreme metal albums – particularly black metal – it’s no wonder that some felt inclined to develop these pieces of ornamental furniture into a fully realised style. In keeping with metal’s penchant for overly specific genre labels, the regrettable term ‘dungeon synth’ is now the... Continue Reading →

Sagenland: Oale Groond (2021) The pastoral scene that greets us on the cover art of ‘Oale Groond’, the gentle woodwind instrumental that emerges from the speakers as we press play, all is deception. Sagenland’s debut LP quickly murders any pretence of offering an ode to tranquil days in the country with an explosion of traditional... Continue Reading →

Blessed by Perversion: Remnants of Existence (2020) The latest album from Greece’s Blessed by Perversion is an interesting cocktail of fairly standard death metal riffage that has been given a new lease life thanks to the commentary of melodic riffs borrowed from their black metal countrymen. In fact, the riffs with a more overt death... Continue Reading →

Let’s take a moment to consider albums that are universally detested. They hold an enduring fascination entirely distinct from the music itself. When well established bands publicly shit the bed, everyone has an angle to offer on what went wrong. Some albums surpass ‘badness’ as a critical metric altogether, and become studies on the nature... Continue Reading →

Mefitis: Offscourings (Out 30th January on Hessian Firm) Listening to Mefitis is like looking through a window to an alternative timeline. We are transported back to 1994 to re-witness history as it could (or should) have unfolded. Perhaps a bit of background is in order. If we read the story of death metal from around... Continue Reading →