Armchair rhetoric on extreme metal
Against All OddsOut 25th April on Osmose Productions Some artists begin their careers with a clear creative philosophy mapped out, developing themselves through increasingly adventurous excursions beyond their zone of comfort, becoming proudly nomadic, wandering through genres and styles with little regard for artistic continuity from one project to the next. Other artists do the... Continue Reading →
Why is metal such a stubbornly perennial passion? I’d venture that it’s not just the intensity and obsession it provokes, but just how deep and far the genre spread across the globe. If you ever feel the need to refresh your listening rotation, you can pretty much close your eyes and point to a place... Continue Reading →
Wreathed in Dead AngelsOut 25th April on Hells Headbangers I was beginning to think that Profanatica were flagging by the time ‘Rotting Incarnation of God’ came out. With retrospect one could appreciate the intention behind the choice to veer toward a more considered, ambient doom iteration of their signature ferocity. But given the unique barbarism... Continue Reading →
Transgression is dead and we have killed it. Since November 2024, the left has been engaging in a renewed push to not be weird. As a reflexively transgressive artform, how are we to understand metal's role in this brave new world? Can it continue to transgress for the sake of it? What's it even transgressing... Continue Reading →
Ahamkara: The Harrow of the LostOut 25th April on Bindrune Recordings Blends the vast sweeping atmospheres of Wodensthrone and the idiosyncratic polyphony of Obsequie into a vapid mulch of emo black metal. Trivial harmonic material decorates a slue of anthemic riffs rendered with a black metal aesthetic for an audience incapable of confronting the music's... Continue Reading →
Chasms of Ash and InequityOut 9th March on Blackened Label Records Metal Archives genres are an interesting thing. The site goes out of its way to stay as broad as possible. I generally agree with this policy. I may even go broader (there are only four metal genres and I will die on that hill).... Continue Reading →
Screaming with no face The Englishman’s reflex for emotional repression is unmatched. But even he will experience particularly challenging periods, periods liable to breed emotions faster than they can be slaughtered. The obnoxiously clement weather mocking any attempts to wallow in peace. In such times, his fine tuned ability to kill emotions in their cradle... Continue Reading →
Impious Throne: Suffering Out 11th April on ATMF – De Tenebrarum Principio (originally released in 2024) Despite the brevity of this album, one can’t help but wish for some heavy handed editing. Frantic, riff centric, immediate black metal succeeds in conveying a tragedian gravitas and sense of occasion. But Impious Throne are forever saddling themselves... Continue Reading →
Is metal transgressive? Before breaking up in 2023, Dawn Ray’d were one of the most prominent Radical Anarchist black metal bands. The video for their song ‘Go as Free Companions’ features the band performing in what looks like an abandoned factory. It cuts to shots of people putting on black balaclavas and gloves, who slowly... Continue Reading →
IncandescentOut 12th April on I, Voidhanger Records The second album from this Australian solo entity sees them move out of the downbeat gloom of blackened doom to bring a more thoroughly black metal expression to the foreground. Irredeemable darkness remains the raison d’etre, but the music is more active, busy, purposeful. Something articulated through riff... Continue Reading →
Hate Meditations 