DipygusOut 22nd January on Memento Mori / Crypt of the Wizard Belated self-titled albums are often indicative of a system reset. Dipygus are well established by this point. Active since 2013 and now three albums deep, what could this late coming eponymous full length signal? Dipygus may not be the most striking or obvious habitat... Continue Reading →

The album II: Chemognosis – A Shortcut to MushroomsOut 26th January on Naturmacht Productions The current climate of allegedly experimental metal rests on a form of vibe alchemy, this amounts to little more than remixing various textural and aesthetic flourishes, applying them to genres that have remained unchanged for nearly four decades. Despite the praise... Continue Reading →

Hiemis: Malleus MaleficarumOut 21st December on Noctivagant Theologically preoccupied evanescent dark ambient sees the cavernous stasis of the genre lifted into a place of understated hope. Low, swelling synth patches create space for modestly deployed samples to furnish the music with links to its conceptual subject matter. Atop this sparse underbelly, gradual evolutions toward a... Continue Reading →

Anyone immersed in a niche subculture has an obligation to treat it with utter contempt. It’s probably the one thing I have in common with all metal fans. But it’s also something that metal “content creators” are losing sight of (including this platform at times). An aversion to visceral negativity, once the very stuff of... Continue Reading →

Black Beast: Endless Night on a Dead EarthOut 6th June on Trauma Records Applies a blackened sheen to the reckless energy of Massacra via fluid energy transferences and focused melodic intent. Atonal barrages abound, as does an onslaught of staccato punches as per the proto death metal template. But beneath the amoral violence are connecting... Continue Reading →

For this episode, we wind back the clock 25 years to 1998, a nadir for extreme metal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gibKDITmm24

The lads chat black metal 1993 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmTT44jWHDg

The lads chat death metal 1992. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA9V8c6JaEk

For a community obsessed with memory, metal has never been closer to collective amnesia. Much like England after the fall of Rome, we live in proximity to a sophisticated past we seem unable to fully grasp. The purpose of the historical evidence all around us, what it means and how it was constructed, lost to... Continue Reading →

The lads roast my albums of the year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqAVcv6RVX0&list=PLZbgsAZ7MUZXNsl7GTs04M12xKJpZdo2y&index=1