Well composed, mystical and interesting black metal from the mid 90s. OMC almost sounds like a clone of Dimmu Borgir at times, but these early records are their own special beasts. My favourite tracks on this EP are the fantastic “The Old Man’s Child” and the closing synthesizer piece, with all sorts of dark accents and flourishes. Great stuff!

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I guess this is what the inside of a slaughterhouse sounds like if you speed it up like a 100 times? There is no compromise, only blastbeats on bin lids, meat grinder bass and a torrential current of liquescent gore (the vocals, in case you’re wondering what the fuck I’m talking about). Truly a band after mine own heart!

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Never thought I’d ever hear Quothorn screaming such lyrical ditties as “Eat my shit / Suck my dick” but Octagon exists, and here we are. It is perhaps not hard to see why this album is so reviled compared to the other Bathory records. It’s like a poor man’s Requiem that should actually work on paper, what with the frantic guitar work and song structures and the flurry of drums, but is just a shittier…

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The main problem Goat have is that they will never be able to top their debut album, World Music, which is wall to wall, front to back, banger to banger – a total classic. Requiem is much the same as Commune before it in that it is an absolute pleasure to listen to; the production is glorious as is the various instrumentation (in particular the percussion) but none of the songs hit home with the…

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I discovered Hole Dweller around the same time as that RuneScape.wav dungeon synth project and to be honest I often conflate the two, even though I’m clearly an idiot because they both have entirely different vibes! Granter, more ambitious and more involving than the cult classic Flies The Coop (which has now been re-recorded or something?), Returns To Roost is an interesting set of songs that are led by synth melodies that toe the line…

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If you ever needed proof that Mushroomhead is now a dog that needs putting down, then look no further than this single.

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Surprisingly cognisant and well put together pornogrind, which is yknow, not something you can say very often, I’ll be honest with you. If you’re here reading a review about a band called Sperm Gurgling Necro Fetus then I hope you know exactly what you are in for and yes, this release does deliver the goods, if I can call it that. Definitely and exclusively for sleazy grinders too far down the rabbit hole to even…

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Absurd gotta be one of the best black metal bands out there when it comes to vocals. Whether we’re talking the Wolf-fronted version (in this case) or the JFN-front version (such as Schwarze Bande), the way the vocals sound are both second to none. This is a peculiar release, though. I don’t want to say it’s a “knock off” version of Absurd, but it’s a curious lineup. Maybe I’m getting confused (it’s easy to when…

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The concept of “Grails” is probably overused in this record collecting renaissance age (or should I say over-memed?). This Electric Masada album however, was a grail of sorts for me. It has always remained tantalisingly out of reach; a mysterious Zorn-led experimental jazz supergroup consisting of a who’s who of the avant-garde elite which I could not ever hear. I refused to pay £25/£30 for a Tzadik import, it wasn’t available on streaming services, and…

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A considerably well made entry into the ever-flowing stream that is the Graveland discography. There is a lot of Graveland. Not all of it is good. Wotan Mit Mir is fantastic however, in both terms of production and songwriting. It is an EP that feels long enough to be a full length album. The only thing that’s a bit shite is the artwork, but even that looks great from far away.

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Drab, disgusting, low, infinitely dark death metal from a short lived yet revered project. Expect the usual death metal demo tape dustiness and lo fi production, but tunes that absolutely crush you.

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Gorgeous, bright, vibrant, incredible, exciting, exhilarating – these are some of the words I would use to describe the absolute aural treat that is Pawn Harts. I’m no prog guy, as you can probably tell, but this was an incredible experience.

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On Infidel Art, Sigh really begin to expand their sonic wings, which is incredible because the Requiem… demo and Scorn Defeat were already incredible pieces of work with unique character and instrumentation from the off. Even when Sigh are silly (“the Zombie Terror”, anyone?) they retain all experimental integrity and flair. Highly recommended!

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What is the Mincecore Agenda you could ask? Cheap beer, weed, vegan food? Black caps with saggy patches stitched on for all? Who gives a fuck, just wag a finger in the air and roll down your balaclavas, this shit fucking rules.

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More refined and streamlined than the Gluey Porch debut, and infinitely more punishing for it. Ozma is a dry heave in direct blunt force heaviness (with some mandatory Melvin’s groove, of course). That’s more like it!

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Solid fucking effort from Wattie & co. You can really feel the absolute loathing for Thatcher on this one. It is incredibly relevant still in a time where such hatred for the Conservative Party is once again rife amongst the community conscious of the UK (some cunt is voting for these twats though). Anyway, this album is fucking great. Not the best, but still fucking great. Fairly heavy for punk, full of hatred and bile….

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Banging single, especially the A side, which hits like a truck. “We Need Support” on side B has its moments, but both the production and songwriting for the title track are far better. The video is great too. Top street punk / skate punk style stuff.

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Fun, but pretty directionless and seems to be lacking any real purpose or direction. A mere shadow of what was to come. Gluey Porch Treatments is notable however for being considerably ahead of its time for “sludge” metal.

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Considering this is a demo it is beyond fucking excellent in every possible way. The instrumentation on early Sigh is just second to none; raw black metal with incredible playing of traditional instruments in a timeless blend of sounds. Not many can do it this well!

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Graveland and Nokturnal Mortum stuff is great, if a little typical on Graveland’s end (I could be listening to one of what seems like 30 recent albums). Fantastic mix of folk elements in the NM track. North lose me a bit in the sheer fucking headache that is their track, before Temnozor bring their olde worlde pagan metal to the conclusion of this split. All in all, a mixed bag.

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A strange side step in the chronological order of Bathory’s evolution. After several records expanding and refining on the Viking themed epic metal, Quothorn side steps his project into a mid-90s mire of sheer sonic brutality. Gone are the epic 10 minute tracks, instead we get an unique brand of super intense thrash metal, where the riffs are so fast they are crazy blurs, where the bass is so loud and clanking that it almost…

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People say that the Sex Pistols can’t play, but this thing has always sounded far more put together to me than most punk from this era. On the other hand, you have the nay sayers who suggest that the Sex Pistols are just a pop band with distorted guitars. As is often the case, the reality is somewhere in the middle. Now, I’ve never been a big fan of the hype around these guys, in…

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A noticeable improvement from the Autumn Hearts stuff, E.A.G.L.E.’s oddly morose yet triumphant riffs lead us through several more tracks of DIY black metal rawness, but this time with more maturity and evolved songwriting.

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I was very dubious of the Forbidden remix. Why, you ask? Well, remixes, generally, aren’t usually that great. If a band decides to do it, there’s usually a reason – and it’s easy to see why in Forbidden’s case. On top that, most if not all remixes that I’ve heard of controversial albums have failed to improve on the original. This, I’m happy to report, is where Forbidden differs. The changes here are night and…

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With the ceveat of putting the NS themes to one side, musically this is exactly what I look for in my black metal. Raw production, but clear enough to make out what’s going on (with prominant bass), awesome vocals, hypnotic yet sinister riffs…. I could go on, but its a short EP so it’s probably easier to just listen to it rather than watch me waffle on. It’s great, though.

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Feels noticeably different from the first two soundtracks, no doubt in part because of additional composer Motohiro Kawashima. That being said, SOR / Bare Knuckle 3 was also a markedly different game than its predecessors, so perhaps also called for a slightly different approach. But hey; I’m no video game journalist or historian, I’m just an idiot with a RYM account. What I can tell you for certain that whilst this isn’t as legendary or…

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A raucous collection of tunes with that trademark cheeky ANL “we’re up to no good” vibe shot right through them. I would say the usual matters of working class British punk are addressed, but so are less tread topics for early punk such as being a sexual pervert, the excitement of waiting for the “Snowman”, or how much the band hate rock and/or roll. We Are… The League is well written, well performed, and a…

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Oooooooooooooooooooooooh (mince commences). It’s really cool looking back now to see just how fucking great early Haggus was. This shit has the mega groove, the mega fucking mincegore STOMP. Combine those irresistible mosh parts with blasting, grinding carnage in a loose goregrind style, and you’re on to a winner. Some of the strongest Haggus tracks are stacked back to back on this EP, making it well worth your time. It’s only a few minutes long…

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Far from the best material from either band, but still a fun little split. You’ve got gory early daze Exhumed and three cuts from the super under rated Nyctophobic. It’s hard to argue with that!

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An unfortunately very uneventful later effort from the legendary Dead Infection. In isolation, the drums, downtuned guitars and crazy shifted vokills are fantastic, but the end product is kinda mid, with none of the songs popping out at me and the general theme being rather ridiculous and plain stupid. Dead Infection can do no wrong, in reality, but this was one of the weaker releases they ever did. RIP Cyan.

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Lo-fi, grinding, pounding war metal of a prehistoric nature (lol). Don’t expect these neanderthals to (re)invent the wheel, but expect instead the sound of primordial being smashing each other with rocks and so on. Nice riffs too!

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Wild shit across the board. Crossed Out sound raw as hell on this. Blasting, uncompromisng powerviolence of legendary status. What more can I say? Fuck, what more do you want? MITB on side B is always a treat because you never know exactly what you are going to get. The patented blend of bass/drums PV and skull-hollowing electronics never gets old for me (there’s some guitar here too for good measure).

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Lo-fi, raw, uncompromising grindcore with tinges of death metal, but of course in the early 90s sometimes these styles were not so easy to separate. High points are subterranean vocals, analogue production with natural drum sound, and excellent songwriting. Lower points include bizarre guitar effects like on “Careless Attitude” which aren’t so great but otherwise this is a cracking little EP from a now legendary band.

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Legendary anarcho-punk record (the first?) that needs no introduction from a prime idiot like me. The production is just to die for; I could listen to this thing on a loop for days. The bass pops out of the speakers and slaps me in the face. On top of that, this is a fantastic set of songs, from “Do They Owe Us A Living?” to the catchy as fook “Securicor”, and everything in between. On…

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This is an incredible piece of black metal. Capricornus is an enigmatic and controversial figure in the black metal world. His drumming in Graveland is questionable but undeniable unique and influential. The project Thor’s Hammer is well, not the best IMO. He shines in this project, though. I guess all the pieces just aligned; the songwriting, the riffs and the production. The drums sound a bit strange (did these triggers come cheap secondhand after Nick…

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Beautifully conjured record of keyboard-led black metal, with a dual vocal attack. I’m no expert so I don’t know who is who but one vocalist is definitely preferable to the other. One of the guys hits these Shagrath a la Enthrone Darkness Triumphant kinda insane screeches which are just blood curdling (more like Shagrath should be compared to these guys as this came earlier). Comparisons can also be made to Emperor without being too lazy…

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One of the weirder Mayhem albums. Kinda like A Grand Declaration Of War Part 2. Only not quite as good. Or as weird. As with anything post De Mysteriis, this Mayhem album is another offering of cold and frostbitten riff salad, topped with a garnish of incomprehensible drum flourishes and all sorts of bizarre artsy fartsy lyrics. Things aren’t quite as pompous as they were when Maniac was around, but it’s still very “artistic”. I…

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gargling gravy goregrind with an excellent razor sharp edge of freshness and ripping riffage. As you can probably tell from the bizarre cover art, there is much more going on here than just the usual blast’n’gurgle goregrind. Nasty Face have expanded their bludgeoning sound with this full length in ways that it is difficult to accurately describe.

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Have you ever seen one of those Japanese pornos where a guy is lying under like a glass coffeetable or something, and then this absolutely gorgeous lassie wanders in, sits on the table, and then takes a huge wet shit all over it? The man underneath the table can admire this once beautiful behind like a modern day De Sade; this perfected work of nature becomes a disgusting, shit-smeared mass of flesh and fecal matter…

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Chonky, disgusting goregrind with that unique Nasty Face twist. Expect scooped to hell and back guitars chugging out fat riffs that fill the entire space, with trashcan snares being the only sound that can penetrate the thick bog. Bubbling over the top like a frothing maniac is the pitchshifter vokills. The icing on the cake is all sorts of disturbing sound collage work and sampling, which really makes this stand out from other goregrind releases.

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Later Master is a strange beast. You’ve got the super clinical and clean drumming, mixed with muddy and swampy old school death metal guitars, and of course, Paul Speckmann’s trademark howl/yelp/growl/whatever. The track here is a hell of a beast; 6 minutes of chaotic metal goodness. Paganizer initially sound like some forgotten 90s Barney-era Napalm Death recording, which is an interesting start. Their offering, whilst half the length of Master’s, is no less in quality…

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Evil Eye sounds massive. A really promising remaster job which will no doubt have many returning to the long forgotten Sabbath album from whence it came. Get A Grip took me by surprise. Initially, I did not like how the 2024 remix by Iommi and Mike Exeter handled Cozy Powell’s drums, nor was I particularly fussed on the strange inclusion of different vocals for the second chorus (I don’t understand why only one chorus has…

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A solid demo from US black metal act Unholy Altar. Expect hellishly distorted guitars drowning out the reverb drenched drum work, dissonance, blastbeats, carnage, frostbitten and anguished vocals – you name it! The four tracks are over like a shot, which is a shame, but I’m sure we can expect more from Unholy Altar. If I had any criticism it would be that this is very “by the numbers” second wave black metal, save for…

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The award for most pointless session of re-recorded tunes goes to… this album. This wasn’t wanted or needed, I feel. I’m not sure the justification for doing this. The production is so smooth and big that it doesn’t even sound like modern Graveland, so it’s not even like it’s about modernising the sound. I’m not the biggest defender of the early Graveland records but this release is superfluous at best.

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Mournful, sorrowful, drab, everything you’d expect from soviet (insert word)wave. I’m not up on things when it comes to the particulars of this kind of genre, but it sounds like Молчат Дома only even sadder and more depressing. Just lovely. Fantastic production with that cassette wobble effect for the idiots like me who think that’s still cool in 2024. Art is great too.

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Mixed bag early release from the now legendary Blood Incantation. As has already been firmly established, these tracks are available elsewhere on better releases, so Astral Spells is a listen for the true ‘heads and the lost. The TLDR is that the first twelve minutes of music is glorious technical death metal but with an anxious and paranoid edge, like I’m creeping around corners in an abandoned moon base filled with monsters. Like Death meets…

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No frills in regards to approach, vibe, songwriting, or production, but infinitely enjoyable sickness nonetheless. Expect the ol’ blast n’ rattle brutal death with plenty of chuggy heavy riffs too for good measure. Throw in a gore-soaked computer-drawn cover art and boom, job’s a good one!

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Disgusting blasting goregrind with an interesting modern edge. Think Jig-Ai meets Pharmacist, or something like that. The drums are clear as day, so you can feel every blast and double bass kick, the guitars dominate but sound natural and organic, without undue levels of compression or modification. The vokills remind me of Cryptopsy’s Lord Worm, but if he had his mouth stitched shut in some sort of hideous medical experiment. Tidy!

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Raging, dense, cataclysmic grindcore of the most savage magnitude. The songs are short, sharp blasts of chaos interspliced with mosh parts and short cool-off periods in between the madness. The main downside here is the same for a lot of “bigger” grind bands, and that is the super compressed and artificial production; drums aren’t too bad but the HM-2 guitar at that loudness / compression is enough to enduce ear fatigue in a matter of…

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An excellent split (if you discount the cover art). Graveland tracks are prime cuts for this latter area; clanking, clattering drum programming and triumphant riffs, with the trademark Darken croak. Shup up and take my money! Bialy Vitez use a lot of traditional instruments and folk elements, which ties right in with their split mates. The production is fantastic and the mix of metal and olde worlde instruments is done to near perfection. More often…

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Glorious metal of olde that looks like black metal but sounds like death metal! It is perhaps crazy to think that there was once a time where both genres were not so accurately defined, but 1994 was not this time – both were very much established by then. So, the stunning cover image and title(s) were a deliberate design decision. Interesting! It certainly makes for a change from all the usual guts and gore. As…

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It took me a few gos to get into this one. It’s not that Thunderbolts… is necessarily bad compared to other (original) albums from this era of Graveland, but it is considerably different. It has the same clusterfuck drumming (programmed at this point) with the overlapping, hypnotic riffs, but the whole thing hangs together with a darker, thicker sound than usual. The production plays a huge part in this, but so does the change in…

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Sounds like a decent bit of psych that was recorded into a music box or something, but then it got dropped so it’s all fucked up and wonky; not so fucked up that it won’t play anymore but fucked up enough so that everything sounds broken and slightly off-kilter. Oh, also you are on acid. That’s what this Ancient Order single sounds like.

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Todesstrafe play hateful, venomous drum machine black metal. Thankfully, the programmed drums sound dark and powerful, which compliments the rest of the sound nicely. Hollentur on the other hand, kind of sound like the Autopsy of NSBM, with a drums-forward mix and ants-in-your-pants drumming; all sorts of cymbal flourishes and fills keep you guessing and the compositional elements of the song here are all over the place. I don’t mean that as a slight; it…

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I’m no expert on Deceased but credit is due where credit is due: a.) the drumming on this is absolutely fucking fantastic! As a drummer myself I was fucking glued to my headphones for the entire listen (and then the repeat listen lol). Then, of course, there is point b.), which is that Deceased have such an unique personal take on the death metal template. Outside of “the greats”, how rare is that? It’s a…

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An EP of instrumental 1940s warfare-based black metal? Sounds good to me, on paper at least. Unfortunately, being devoid of vocals and sadly, also any real variation or dynamics in songwriting, Panzer Division Totenwitch (I’ve got Marduk’s lawyer on the phone!) feels unfinished. With a little more refinement – not to mention some vocals – this could be great.

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Like a lot of people it seems, I wasn’t all that fussed on Pale Sketches when it came out (not to be confused with another JB project, Pale Sketcher). Returning to this album over a decade later however, I am happy to say that I was incorrect to dismiss this record. Whilst at the time it felt like a change of pace, nowadays it fits right on in to the larger Jesu canon of albums….

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Christ Denied return with one of the most typical and boring brutal death metal releases I have ever heard. The old shit had tons of character in its quirky drum machine metal, this one sounds like it could have been made by AI. The kindest word I could use to describe this one is “serviceable”. If you are an absolute ravenous nut for death metal then check this out, otherwise I’d give it a pass.

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The title of this record carries such a high reputation one could be fooled into thinking that this is one of the classic Maiden albums. You would of course, be wrong. Fear Of The Dark is a puzzling affair where the first and last tracks (especially the last!) are great whilst the rest of it is an ocean of bad rock music. Like, I’m sorry but what the fuck is Bruce doing with his voice?…

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Honor, on this split at least, sound like a poor man’s Absurd. It’s not bad, and in fact is entirely servicable, but the other bits and bobs I’ve heard from them are much better. This split has much more black metal oriented material rather than the RAC stuff that they seem to be much better at. As far as Graveland goes, the stuff here is also fairly middling, with much better quality sound and songwriting…

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I’ve been spending a lot of time with Spears Of Heaven recently, purely because I don’t really know how I feel about it. On the surface of it, it’s like a poor man’s version of Will Stronger Than Death, at least in regards to production and the incredibly grating drum programming, which seems to have lost all nuance and is reduced to a ear-fatiguing series of clicks and clatters. On the other hand, in isolation,…

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I made a jokey comment in my Creed Of Iron review that the production and heavy riffing on that album made Graveland sound like Mortician. Now, this pointless fucking remix only goes and doubles down on that feature, so I guess it’s not a joke anymore lmao – the already dense sound of Creed is remixed with extra layers of fuzz and distortion. Listening to a Graveland reworking (my good heavens does that man like…

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Another stormer album from Graveland. The latter era is far superior to the original trve kvlt shit, I think I can safely say that now (subjective to my own tastes of course). Drums on this thing are still manic as fuck but seem to be more under control – I’m guessing they are programmed in now as they seem far more precise than in the past. Production is heavy and chunky, harking back to Creed…

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Nice split. The Gates are really solid, with excellent production and a down to earth 70s kinda sound with just the right amount of added flair. The Behrosth side is a little more unstable, which arguably allows for more exploration and expermentation in the black metal meets occult rock style. With both their similarities and also their differences, these two bands match each other perfectly for this split.

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Edit: When I initially reviewed this I made the mistake of listening to the 2014 remake first, so my perspective was perhaps a bit skewed by coming back to the original afterwards. I really like both versions however, as they each have something to offer. They are both easily 4/5 albums at a minimum. The original review is below. Cheers! I didn’t get off to a very good start with Graveland. The classic albums, which…

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Quite possibly one of the most pointless re-recordings in the history of metal. Dawn Of Iron Blades 2018 does little to absolutely zero in regards to either improving or worsening the experience of said album. If anything, the original sounds a bit dingier, and this a little brighter, but once you’ve adjusted during the first track the rest of the experience is more or less the same, in my eyes (or ears).

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I’m not entirely sure what to call this whole subgenre of “Black Magick SS worship”, there simply must be a better name for it? Anyway, Berosth, in their recent release of Oasis, if you’ll forgive my heathen anglicisation, is a solid example of how to operate in the genre. Black metal is mixed with kooky occult sounds and a little dollop of Uriah Heep, and voila, she lives! Oasis has the benefit of also being…

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Not sure who or what lit the fire under Rob Darken’s arse but the difference between this album and the previous year’s release, Dawn Of Iron Blades, is staggering. Production is fat, riffs for DAYS, croaky frog vokills better than Abbath and Dagon combined, tales of pride and glory and warships and fuck knows what else. The percussion is still shambolic, like a Viking warrior stumbling onwards from the battle field riddled with arrows and…

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Salisbury didn’t resonate with me as much as the debut, with it feeling – if anything – like something of a side-step. The incredible organ playing seems toned back and the vocals are ridiculous in parts. That being said, the production, being clear yet deep with an analogue warmth, is fantastic, and the final (title) track is seriously epic. The band seem to let loose here; organs, flutes, choirs, solos for days. It saves the…

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If you thought Fimbulwinter was clean then get your dirty little ears around wrapped around this clinical fucking record! SW really did come full circle from misty / muddy / kvlt as fuck black metal tinged with that trademark Finnish melody, right through to a polished album producing powerhouse filled with triumphant hymns that illicit knotted erections from furries, black metallers and enraged redditors all the same. What am I trying to say, exactly? What…

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Ugh, what a nasty mess! In what barely constitutes music in parts due to how sparse and desperate it is, this disturbing full length release by Khanate is highly recommended for those fans of the sick and twisted and / or the slow and tortured. The vocals are savage and raw, barely holding together the shambling backdrop of glacial sludge. Clean Hands Go Foul is worth checking out for the 32 minute closing track alone,…

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I have a version of this CD (South American with different art) that I thought would be a cool way to pick up a ton of Burzum bootlegs in one fell swoop. Alas, little did I know, I would say about 2/3 of this CD is actually old Ildjarn tracks. Now, I like old Ildjarn tracks, but it’s not exactly what I signed up for. Either way, this thing is another bizarre oddity in the…

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I have absolutely zero fucking idea what I have here, but it does not match the tracklist for any of the versions of Svarte Dauen that I can find online, from any country or release year. Yet, apparently, what I have is a version of Svarte Duaen, released as a 10″ EP. (sigh) – as if the world of Burzum bootlegs wasn’t confusing enough. “My Key to the Purgatory” and “Rite of the Cleansure” are…

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As with the Feeble Screams 7″, this is a fake bootleg consisting of fucking Ildjarn demos, not Burzum songs. It’s interesting that so many fake Burzum bootlegs exist. Whoever made this (and perhaps the other releases) is either a colossal idiot or a scammer. Either way, they have permanently muddied the waters for those looking for unreleased or hard to find Burzum demos. As for this release, yeah it’s cool – but it’s not Burzum.

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Verrry dusty, very old, very lo-fi demos from Varg released in bootleg 7″ form. Almost unlistenable in some respects, yet very interesting in others. This is definitely a release for the collectors out there. I believe you can also find versions of these tracks on the semi-official Draugen – Rarities compilation.

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So this is not actually Burzum at all, but early Ildjarn recordings chopped together with added intros. It’s pretty fun and interesting to hear – for Ildjarn. But it’s not a Burzum recording! What an oddity.

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The title track is fantastic, if a little rustic, but this is to be expected. I’d never heard this before now even though it appears on the Draugen compilation, that comp is such a shitshow I never made it all the way through. A great early Burzum track and well worth seeking out, It is on the b-side here however where the audio quality drops off. It contains what appears to be a rehearsal demo…

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More Thulean Mysteries grade ambient piano work from Burzum. If not entirely original, it is at least hypnotic and spellbinding in the true ways that Burzum can invoke, which is more than I can say for a lot of the recent single releases. One thing to note however is the dreadfully low sound quality on the instrumentation here. His earlier synth / keyboard work sounded glorious – including the “post prison” synth albums – but…

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Mystical, ethereal, magical even – like walking through a forest of thick fog where there is no discernible end. I find it difficult with David Lynch’s aural experiments to quantify his contributions, but I don’t suppose it really matters all that much. Tammy Preston’s (sorry, I mean) Chrysta Belle’s vocals are fantastic and the sparse music is excellent at setting the tone.

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Few bands come out the gate with a debut as strong as Magic Moss. Oddly, it’s the b-side which shines the most here, with “We Are the Ones” being a bluesy, psych-heavy romp through an upbeat soundscape of 60s/70s swagger, fuzz and rushes of organ sounds. Production is excellent; warm, balanced and with a decent soundstage. Recommended!

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Thick, chunky, nasty, brutal death metal for the whole family to enjoy. The condensed all treble all bass production is enough to give anyone a headache after forty minutes or so, but I’d be lying if I said Serenadium didn’t rip; there are some fucking great songs here. The original master has a bit more breathing room, but if you pick up the 2017 remaster, expect to be pummelled into the ground by an overcompressed…

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Chunky, unforgiving brutal technical death metal from the US of A. Really low and bassy production, with clear triggered drums and breathing room for the more melodic riffs. Vocals are the usual Cookie Monster affair, but you know what you are in for when it comes to something brutal like this. Not as good as Serenadium, but a decent companion to that album.

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It perhaps says a lot about the state of Burzum in 2024 if a near 15-minute long atmospheric piano piece has you thinking “hey, this isn’t half bad!”. What would usually be filler or an ambient piece to round things out has actually cemented itself as the most interesting thing to come from the project in 2024. This is mainly because of the stark difference between the work here and the other lacklustre black metal…

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ICP are another one of those bands where the “side” releases are just as good – or in this case – better than the main studio albums. It’s easy to overlook these so-called “sideshow” releases, especially with the focus on the whole Joker’s Card saga. Flip The Rat is the accompanying EP (at nearly an hour long lol) to the Fearless Fred Fury era, and is a refreshing beacon of decent fucking music in the…

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Well, if you thought the “Lost” version of Missing Link was poor, then boy are you in for a treat here. By far the worst ICP full length since The Tempest, “Found” is a listless, mind-numbingly bland set of songs that offer next to nothing to the ongoing Dark Carnival ethos. It feels like an album for an album’s sake, and no amount of modern production is going to change that. Honestly, you could probably…

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It felt like the first of the two Missing Link albums was off to a strong start, with tracks like “Shock” or “Apocalypse” (the latter being the very definition of a deep cut!), but unfortunately it quickly falls to the wayside with what seems like consistently rehashed content. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not expecting ICP to go off on a whole other thing this far into their career but stuff like “Confederate Flag” (“Rebel…

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Squeezing FOUR bands on a 7″ at 45 RPM is a bold move but fuck it this is powerviolence. Let’s run this down: Sidetracked coming at me like some mad preacher screaming down a megaphone in the middle of the street, backed with a powerviolence three piece, of course. A refreshing approach, I’ll say that! The interestingly-named Surfer James have a much fatter sound. Really blows your fucking neck out, with huge pit-widening riffs and…

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There’s such a perfect air of rediculousness to Schnauzer that I just can’t help but be in a good mood after listening to it. “Gym Konya” is off his nut, in the most endearing way possible. The tracks here are more of the good ol’ absurdist Ohio “scrap metal” that you would come to expect from the project. RIP dude. This shit is one of a kind! Doktor Bitch (lol) took me by surprise. A…

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I can’t remember where I picked up this 7″, but it was probably one of the stalls at OEF – pretty sure Skullhog played one year and I got it then. I have no idea! Haha! Anyway, Regurgitate stuff here is great, 3 traxxx ov waxxx on their side. Fast, d-beat led gurgling gore is the order of the day with a fat sound and enough mosh parts to keep the pit wide fucking open….

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This is the second full length from Ungfell, an excellent black metal project from Switzerland. The production is fantastic, reminding me of the warmer analogue sound on some of the later Darkthrone albums – but of course Ungfell are entirely their own beast. Comparisons could be made I suppose to early Peste Noire, but Ungfell’s own uniqueness shines brightly through the songwriting on this excellent full length album. I love how the bass pops beautifully…

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A bit rough around the edges with pacing and timing (of course it is, it’s got the dude on it from Graveland who can’t drum for shit), but otherwise quite endearing and entrancing black metal. I love the record sleeve. It’s one of those that I’ve seen knocking about for years now, and it really does add to the atmosphere. Production is serviceable, nothing majorly different or outlandish, and the songwriting is interesting. The truth…

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Quite possibly, actually, in fact, definitely, without a doubt, Thor’s Hammer’s second album has one of the worst overall sounds that I’ve ever heard. I don’t know if it’s entirely up to production either, this seems like an artistic choice taken somewhere along the line, resulting in the perfect storm of a bad idea being poorly executed and with horrendous production. Truly, this is awful, with absolutely zero redeeming qualities. Not sure what happened here,…

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Noisy, hideous “death metal” tinged grindcore from back in’t the old daze. Grim blasts of unintelligible noise is the main course for your delectation, although the record does descend into a longer track where there’s repetitive spoken word / clean section of vocals, just in case you really wanted to know what kind of disgusting shit this lot were shouting about. I kinda lose interest here, even on repeat listens the pace is lost when…

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Messiah is here for the final album in his original classic run, Tales Of Creation. It’s not the strongest of the earliest albums by the band, but still has a slew of decent tracks, my absolute favourite being “Into The Unfathomed Tower”. However, with the inclusion of a re-recorded song from Epicus… as well as a lot of these songs being worked from early demos, one can’t help but escape the feeling that Tales… is…

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Sabbath’s short residency in Moscow after the fall of the iron curtain is a fairly famous event in their long and varied history. Touring with Cozy Powell, Neil Murray and Tony Martin, desperately trying to claw back some credibility with a solid lineup and a new album on a new label (for Sabbath), the Moscow shows seemed to come at a good time for the band. The band played both matinee and evening shows for…

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Synchestra was the Devin album that came out around the time I properly became aware of his wider output as a musician (rather than just SYL). At the time, this thing just could not compare to SYL’s Alien and I immediately consigned it to the bin. With more adult ears, I can appreciate about half of this, and the other half unfortunately drags the album down in a soup of breathy synths and meandering guitars….

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Karma Bloody Karma is another notable step forward in the evolution of the Cattle Decap sound. The gory explosions of Humanure are streamlined further and then expanded on with more intricacy, brutality and maturity. The production is clear and balanced, allowing the bass to feature prominently without detracting from the guitar and drums, and Travis’ vocals are excellently disgusting on this one. Even though I picked the picture disc up upon release (think it was…

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A drop off in quality from the previous run of several mostly excellent albums. Dawn Of Iron Blades is more of the same from the likes of Fire Of Awakening but with a lot of the soul missing. It’s still good, but it’s starting to feel like they are going through the motions, which despite the rocky quality of the band’s long discography, is the first time I’ve experienced such a thing from Graveland. There…

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Interesting mix of stuff here. You’ve got Goatmoon originals which are great, followed by a Ride For Revenge set of originals, which are dark, murky, bass-led mires of noise. You then get a TON of Goatmoon rehearsal recordings, which, honestly, have absolutely fucking zero value for me (not saying there aren’t others who would interested in hearing these) and then the whole thing is capped off with this huge 20 minute noise piece from R4R…

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An interesting entry in the ever-surprising Sepultura catalog. This is an EP full of instrumental weirdness, but Derrick fans do not fear, the man still crops up now and then. The biggest WTF moment of this whole thing is the closing track which is just like… not very good at all.

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