Updates - reviews
Reviews
Epica - Epica VS Attack On Titan Songs
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It's not often that metal and anime converge, and even more rarely does the union yield something with production values as high as this. Epica covering Attack On Titan themes seems a logical premise on paper, and, indeed, in execution everything went according to keikaku*. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Powerwolf - The Sacrament Of Sin
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Powerwolf's lupo-hagio-crypto-satano-sacro-groovy power metal of the night has carved a fun niche for the band. The "German Catholic werewolves thing," as a friend of mine describes it, has a pleasingly dramatic flair, with all its organ-scored singalongs and Attila Dorn's stunning, operatic charisma. That wasn't enough to stop Powerwolf from dipping into realms below their potential on recent releases, but The Sacrament Of Sin pulls them back to a level more befitting their talents. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Deathbell - With The Beyond
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Hey, it's MOAR femme-fronted fuzzed-out retro stoner doom! Something which I used to scoff at, largely for "cult of personality" projects named after the female vocalist, oft with the album as well, just seemed more a marketing strategy. Now I get a steady diet that feel more "organic" in nature. Rosy Finch, Hela, Grajo… and add Deathbell to the list. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Marduk - Viktoria
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When a band has been around for as long as Marduk has, there is not much to say that has not been said already. I'm just going to make it clear from the beginning that this review will not take sides in the right-/left-wing fascism/nazism debate, but I will say that I do find the band's talent to piss off SJWs and religious nutters alike highly enjoyable. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
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The band purists love to hate for not being black metal enough and being way too blissful-sounding doubles down by being way more blissful. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Kontinuum - No Need To Reason
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We here at Metal Storm, Inc. often delight in the most brutal and complex and crushing of music. But sometimes you need something more easy-listening. Being isolated on top with the world with bands like Sólstafir and Sigur Rós and leaving behind most black metal elements in favour of gothic undertones and sensual overtones, there is No Need To Reason. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Vein - Errorzone
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If you told me five years ago that someone fused metalcore and nu metal, I likely would've been disgusted. Is the world ready for such a revival of once-hated genres? Is it a recipe for disaster or something we desperately needed back? Read more ›› |
Reviews
Yob - Our Raw Heart
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Coming so close to death would be a life-altering experience for anyone, so when it happened to Yob mainman Mike Scheidt, it did change his perspectives a lot. He linked it to having your hard dive crash, as you can only retrieve so much and the rest is lost. With there even having been doubts that Yob would continue, how does the change of perspective affect Our Raw Heart? Read more ›› |
Reviews
Gaerea - Unsettling Whispers
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Due to the number of atmospheric and melodically focused black metal bands on the block these days, it can often be difficult for newer bands to craft truly unique, standout releases within this realm due to the sheer size of the competition. Thankfully for Gaerea, however, a sense of distinction comes naturally. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Wayfarer - World's Blood
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It is nothing new for black metal bands to take enormous inspiration from nature and the landscape that they live in, whether the frostbitten Norway, the Cascadian Northwest, or urban anguish. Wayfarer come from Colorado. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Brutal Blues - BB
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The band's website reads: "Are you ready for 100% authentic deluxe delta blues from Mississippi? Too bad, because Brutal Blues is a grind band from Norway". So I hope you have 20 minutes of your time for complete aural punishment. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Zeal & Ardor - Stranger Fruit
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Devil Is Fine made some gargantuan waves two years ago with its surprising blend of African American spirituals, black metal, and some electronica for good measure. But the gimmicky nature of the sound meant that pressure on the follow-up would be great to maintain interest. So here we are; Stranger Fruit is finally Zeal & Ardor in full form. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Immortal - Northern Chaos Gods
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Immortal have suffered for too long in the dreary melodrama of legal scrutiny. All Shall Fall was nine years ago already, and it was 21 years ago that Demonaz made his last appearance on an Immortal album. Abbath, amidst storms of public upset, returned to the music world in 2016 with a tumultuous dud. Northern Chaos Gods might just be the album Immortal needs at this moment. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Mesarthim - The Density Parameter
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Since 2015, the mysterious Australian duo known known as Mesarthim has been on an unbroken streak of high-quality soundscapes. Much of their previous two albums and five EPs stuck to a consistent style of atmospheric black metal interspersed with electronic elements, and I'd have welcomed more of the same, but The Density Parameter has a little bit of a different flavor. Read more ›› |
Reviews
De Profundis - The Blinding Light Of Faith
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UK's superb death metal act, De Profundis, return with their fifth album, The Blinding Light Of Faith. According to the band, it is "about three of the most merciless and bloodthirsty institutions in human history. There is no nation or people on this earth who haven't suffered under the savagery of at least one of the Abrahamic religions and to reflect that suffering we have made the heaviest, most aggressive record of our career". Sounds good to me. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Death Grips - Year Of The Snitch
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For some, the addition of Sacramento rulebreakers Death Grips on this site was the Metal Storm equivalent of the Monica Lewinsky scandal: an impulsive move on the part of the powers that B that was only destined for failure. Read more ›› |
