Author Andrew Doherty
Four albums in twenty six years doesn’t seem a lot, but there was a twelve year gap and a step change between pure death metal and so-called “death n roll” between the first two. After more death metal purity on… Continue Reading →
This is a band who have played live alongside Goratory and Vomit Remnants. To be honest that tells me more than being told that their sci-fi technical death metal style is the framework for their “atmospheric” songs. The songs could… Continue Reading →
Razor sharp and deep into the abyss with its chasmic echoes, Suspiral set about representing chaos. They describe it as “the earthly manifestation of spiritual dimensions existing beyond Death”. “Poisonous Essence” is languid, extreme, at times frenetic and from a… Continue Reading →
This thirty three minute, six track blast comes from Switzerland’s Henriette B, whose metalcore melodeath is accredited as bridging the gap between In Flames and The Black Dahlia Murder. After an introduction suggesting epic intent, the EP gets underway with… Continue Reading →
With band members from Gorgoroth, Enslaved, Aeternus and Vulture Industries, and with further connections in the productions and mastering to Taake and Audrey Horne, this album is like Norwegian statement. There’s the added mystery of the band not having released… Continue Reading →
My first encounter with Obsidian Kingdom came at last year’s ProgPower Europe. My recollections are of a dynamic performance, laden with heavy but spellbinding post metal intensity. We enter a world of contrasting forms, sophistication and imagination. The opening title… Continue Reading →
Delvoid are a post prog rock band from Norway whose work has been likened to Tool, Sigur Ròs, Isis and even Opeth. From the instrumental and spooky intro, it is evident that their output has care and precision. This leads… Continue Reading →
After a bit of research, I came across the description of this Icelandic band’s music as “raw black metal art”. Fiery, furious and extreme would be words I would add to capture this debut work. Naðra tear their way through… Continue Reading →
From Dust to Rust … my first encounter with Irish doomsters was their 2001 album “Dust”, after the band came to my attention on recommendation and I bought it. This one is now album number 6. Inevitable comparisons can be… Continue Reading →
I suspect I’ve got issues because I’m always wary of albums with nine three/four minute tracks and a thirteen minute track at the end. Seeing the band’s name being written back to front didn’t impress me either, but benefit of… Continue Reading →
This album is a return to the past with the re-release of the Icelanders’ 2010 album, which signalled the move from a black/death style to the more haunting and evocative style which characterised the excellent “The Freak is Alive” (2015)…. Continue Reading →
The way that this starts off with its creepy, death-like whisperings and underproduction values suggests this is some black metal piece from the early 1990s. This horror-like ghastliness in fact comes from Canada. Brutal drumming and razor-sharp guitar sounds mingle… Continue Reading →