Suffering so you don't have to!
Welcome to Retro-Reviews, a space where I indulge in my own nostalgic reveries, reminiscing about a time that never truly existed, but one that I’ve crafted through various random albums that hold significance for me. Whether good or bad, one thing is certain: remembering can be a bittersweet journey.
Hi there, my corpse-painted children. Today, I bring you something different. Are you ever fed up with city life? With the urban hostility that eats up your soul? Well, I present the newest release from Desolat. It has probably the worst name an album could’ve had during the COVID pandemic: Get Sick and Let Me Watch You Die (too soon?), but luckily for everyone, the album is coming out now. The real question is: are we ready to jump into a sea of artsy noise, or do we need more distractions from our sad reality? Stay put!
Here we go again, encountering Drift Into Black with an album named Voices Beneath the Rubble, a band that seems to defy labels the more you delve into their music. Initially, one might attempt to pigeonhole them into genres like Doom, Goth, or MeloDeath, but the deeper you listen, the less it conforms to such categorizations. Voices Beneath the Rubble, a name as dark as it is intriguing, promises uniqueness while hinting at accessibility, even for newcomers to its sound. But does it truly achieve this elusive balance? The answer awaits a click.
Don’t ask me why, but there’s an unfathomable resurgence of bands that like to to take inspiration from less conventional mythologies. To be fair, many do have some sort of connection with the respective regions. Here at MER, we welcome any new takes on old Metal. So, when I noticed that Mythologik‘s Blood in the Sky was joining the hottest trend in extreme Metal (only slightly, there’s so much more here), I wanted a piece of it. After all, opportunism is the key to survival, kids. Enough chatting, let’s jump in then!
It was a night in the distant past—I can’t recall the exact year—but one thing was certain: I didn’t go to that concert to see MONO. My main interest was probably to see The Ocean or Sólstafir. Either way, when MONO took the stage, I expected nothing. But then it hit us: the overwhelming and mesmerizing emotion of its performance. Without a single word, MONO showed so much courage and vulnerability at the same time that I was touched as I had never been at a concert. Hence, when Oath fell into my hands, I knew it had to be reviewed immediately. Do I still have it in my heart to understand this band? Let’s find out!
It’s that time of the week again when we go through our followers’ submissions in hopes of finding the next big thing. Today, we have two albums and one single. A strange mix, you might say, but may I remind you that at MER, we do whatever we want since you haven’t opened thy wallet yet. Remember, beggars can’t be choosers.
I first want to start by warning that this review requires serious consideration. Suicide is no joke, and if you joke or bully people about it, we’ll find you. Hence, I’ve been delaying my take on Construct of Lethe‘s A Kindness Dealt in Venom. First, my underpaid interns have been struggling with your requests, and second, I didn’t want to review something that approaches such a serious matter in an exploitative way (not the case here, fortunately). But let’s focus on the music, shall we?
When you spend a lot of time reviewing albums, it’s easy to overlook the more modest releases that can still offer quality despite arriving with less fanfare. That’s why I’ve combined two completely different projects in one article, to provide some good or bad publicity to these EPs that reached us without much pretense (see kids? A bit of humility can take you far in life). So, let the mayhem begin!
I’ve been delaying this more than you delay your work emails, but the time has come. If there’s one band that can consistently compete for album of the year awards on any platform, it’s Ulcerate. They’ve done it with every single album since Everything is Fire and kept it going until Stare Into Death and Be Still. Ulcerate never holds back and can only compete with itself. So, you’d be right to think that my expectations for Cutting the Throat of God are so out of proportion that I should call my therapist soon, but before I get sent back to rehab, just read this.
Tell me something, do you feel sad? Do you feel neglected by a world that has denied you the right to be yourself? To spread your wings and fly beyond your somber prison, all without feeling rage? That’s a good description of what Evergrey represents to me, the prolific Power Metal band turned dark Heavy Metal. It’s been quite a trip since I discovered them via Recreation Day (oh! shouldn’t we retro-review that? It’s older than some countries now), but today we’re talking about Theories of Emptiness. Does it stack up to such a long and diverse discography, or will it leave you truly heartbroken? I hope you bring tissues because we’re punching you right in the feels today.
Metal Eclipse Reviews 