Perverted Ceremony: Sabbat of Behezael (2017) The debut LP from Belgium’s Perverted Ceremony is a rare thing in this day and age; no gimmicks, no excess of surplus ideas, and no gratuitous aping of an older school tradition. In fact, they are so confident with the material on ‘Sabbat of Behezael' that they tried to... Continue Reading →

The older you get, the more you understand the passage of time. As a kid listening to Morbid Angel and Deicide one marvelled at the leaps their music took from Possessed and Hellhammer just a few years before, and the further dynamism of black metal a few years later. But this deified period from about... Continue Reading →

Praise the Flame: Manifest Rebellion (2015) Chile’s Praise the Flame are a classic throw back to pre-1990 black metal, one that seems to have passed the world by (myself included). Their debut LP ‘Manifest Rebellion’ released in 2015 is heavily rooted in the past, but with some very modern flourishes. At it’s core it’s a... Continue Reading →

A weighty, lumbering discography made up of fairly frequent releases once or twice a year is often the calling card of a subpar artist. Very rarely can someone release consistent, high quality music that regularly. The presumption that one can is either a mark of arrogance, or a compulsive need to keep putting out material... Continue Reading →

Withered: Grief Relief (2016) Do remember when Gorguts released ‘Colored Sands’ back in 2013 (it's spelt 'coloured' by the way), and everyone rushed to condemn or praise it in equal measure? A modernised version of Gorguts at the turn of the century, or yet another aging death metal act struggling to keep step with one... Continue Reading →

In pontificating on that foggy area between thrash and death metal, 'missing the wood for the trees' occasionally comes to mind. Who is death metal, and who is thrash? Sadus? Master? Thanatos? Possessed? Why does it matter? Well, as with so many debates that appear nonsensical to outsiders, it matters to us because as metalheads... Continue Reading →

Pointing out an artist’s influences is often treated as an act of aggression. Far from dropping a neutral comment on origins, some take it to be a damning indictment that a band dared wink at their routes. Obviously, the debate needs to extend a little further; well done, you have identified that no art is... Continue Reading →

Vacivus: Annihilism (2019) ‘Annihilism’ is the second LP from Sunderland’s Vacivus, and sees them expand their trade in death and doom to newly oppressive heights. This brand of chaotic yet chasmic death metal has been gaining traction in recent years. Largely informed by (although not entirely derivative of) Incantation. Grave Miasma, Malthusian, Symptom, Lantern, and... Continue Reading →

The 2010s were undoubtably a time of upheaval, what follows can only be a new age of quarrel. What better way to play in the new decade than listening to extreme metal devoid of hope or playfulness? I maintain that despite the many layers of darkness found in death metal and black metal throughout the... Continue Reading →

Blood Incantation: Hidden History of the Human Race This one has been making waves since its release, so I guess an HM treatment of it was inevitable at some point. Are Blood Incantation the true heirs to the death metal throne, or just re-treading the mysterious paths of Luc Lemay at the turn of the... Continue Reading →