metalcatto

Asenath Blake – Low Materialism

Metalcatto

This Halloween showed no mercy! I’m still catching up with it. However, I’d like to continue the tradition of giving projects that send me a FLAC or physical copy of their work an extra chance. Asenath Blake’s Low Materialism has an intriguing proposal, combining the myth of witches with the myth of French postmodernism. Yes, I’m a cat scientist, so you know I’ll jab at those ideas a bit. But we’re not here for intellectual posturing; we’re here to find out if this Post/Black album has something fresh to offer.

From Peasant to Pseudo-Intellectual: An Introduction to Snobbish Metal

Metalcatto

Let’s say you’re ready to leave the peasantry behind. You’re fed up with all those 4×4 drums and predictable lyrics. You dread the chorus, you don’t want anything to rim. Yet you desperately crave something that surprises you in this world devoid of fun — or at least fun that doesn’t end with an HR complaint. Even after this ominous intro, you’re still on the fence about everything Avant-Garde. You just don’t know where to start, and you want a human touch, not just a machine showing the light — preferably a human who hasn’t been replaced by AI yet. Alright, let’s get to it then!

Double Mute – Corporate Culture_FINAL_v2

Metalcatto

At MER, I make a lot of office jokes — which is ironic, because I’ve never had a conventional office job. However, holding Zoom lectures was definitely a thing in my past. So, when I got Double Mute’s satirical and Avant-Garde take on this dreadful existence, I couldn’t let it pass. Corporate Culture_FINAL_v might not win “coolest title of the year,” but that’s probably part of the joke. If you’re ready for something extremely weird that’ll defy your conception of Metal, then buckle up — this meeting is about to start.

Bastard Cröss -Crossripper

Metalcatto

When a band sends me an album in either physical or FLAC format, they can be sure I’ll eventually get to their request. Even if it’s late, it’s good to judge a work the way it’s supposed to be heard — not through some cheap MP3-only stream files (big labels still do this…). So, Bastard Cröss sent the actual digital copy of their work, which is why this Black/Thrash album, Crossripper, is getting the royal treatment today. That doesn’t mean a merciful review, just saying. Let’s start.

Sad Black Goat – Back to the Mother’s Womb

Metalcatto

For years, I’ve been avoiding Depressive Black Metal. Not because it’s too dark or emotionally draining, but because the quality can often be lower than the food you find at a gas station. Still, when I was handed the deeply underground Sad Black Goat and its Freudianly titled Back to the Mother’s Womb, my curiosity got the better of me. The rest of my instincts screamed “danger,” but here we are — diving right in.

True kvlt: Morrigu, Desu Taem, Ashabah, & Sairen

Metalcatto

It’s that time of the week again! Let’s go!

Omnium gatherum – May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way

Metalcatto

Full disclosure: I’m a longtime fan of Omnium Gatherum. I’ve been following them since The Redshift and still consider New World Shadows and Beyond to be Melodic Death Metal classics. (If you haven’t listened to them yet, stop wasting your time and go fix that.) So when May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way dropped, I was all in. That said, I’m not blind to the band’s controversies — It’s always been compared, sometimes unfairly, to its peers. With OG, you never really know what you’re going to get: a genre-defining masterpiece or a divisive curveball. Either way, it’s never boring.

Shades Of Deep Water – The Years On Borrowed Time

Vicky

Doom Metal as a whole is one of the most niche genres out there. It has a little something for everyone, and without a doubt, we all once found ourselves in a Doom Metal song – ranging from slightly less depressive (Candlemass deserves credit for coming up with “please let me die in solitude”), all the way to the even more mournful part (think of this: Swallow The Sun once sang “My old friend will you lay me back to rest? I’ve been suffering so long without you. Come and take me away from this pain”. If that doesn’t scream out Metal Dostoevsky, I don’t know what will).

Sun of the Dying – A Throne of Ashes

Metalcatto

I have a complex relationship with Melodic Death Metal. You see, I’m a sucker for all those Death/Doom sad puppy bands that make us want to go back to therapy — but that’s exactly the problem too. Originality is scarce in this niche. So, Sun of the Dying has the difficult task of impressing me in a year when we’ve already had some fantastic releases. However, A Throne of Ashes seems to promise a more varied experience that could break the shackles of old-school MeloDeath — and that’s always hopeful, right?

Primitive Man – Observance

Metalcatto

Anyone who’s been following this blog since its start might remember our fan-requested retro-review of Primitive Man’s Scorn. Even more than a decade later, the band remains one of the most brutal, heavy, and grotesque forces in Doom/Sludge Metal. Before diving into Observance, I’d genuinely recommend you to hold on tight — especially if a) you’re already severely depressed, or b) you’ve recently killed your goldfish out of neglect. Expectations are high, but let’s see if, for once, that makes sense with what we’ve got here!