Suffering so you don't have to!
Metalcatto
Not many bands can embody the meaning of the term eras like Blut Aus Nord. We have the Vetusta saga, the 777 saga, Disharmonium. A band that basically invented a niche with The Work Which Transforms God (a 5/5 in my list). I’m a huge fan if you haven’t noticed. So comparing Ethereal Horizons with the rest of the band’s work was way more challenging than I expected. All of its albums are different, and yet they share the same identity. So, where to put this one? Let’s see!
Metalcatto
Welcome to the newest section of the blog, where those who patreon/contribute to the site (see options below) get our most honest feedback possible. This is still a review, but it’s also aimed at telling the band what works—and what needs improvement.
Metalcatto
With a name like Sepulchral, you can’t expect Beneath the Shroud to sound like puppies calling for their mom. It’d be dissociative—which is why your instincts are right: this is a Death Metal band. The real question is how old-school it will be, and whether it will honor the North American tradition or the Nordic one. It’s always hard to tell from the start. So let’s remove those doubts right away and aim for the kill once and for all! There’s no time to waste!
Vicky
2025 has been an interesting year for Doom Metal. I mean, let’s take a look back and see what we have witnessed earlier this year: Messiah Marcolin and Candlemass reunited for one show, My Dying Bride split in two and started collaborating with Mikko from Swallow The Sun, Paradise Lost, In The Woods…, Pilgrimage, and various othersreleased new albums. All in all, we had a pretty decent year in Rock/Heavy Metal as a whole, if we overlook the brilliant musicians we have unfortunately lost (Ozzy Osbourne, Ace Frehley, John Skyes, Adam Ramey, Tomas Lindberg, etc.). Hoping I didn’t depress you too much, turn on your sad music and buckle up, kids, ’cause we’ve got a great album to talk about today: Mediterranean Melancholy by Old Night.
Vicky
Errata before even starting this article: I got lost somewhere around the presence of bonus tracks and regular songs, so there might be a few errors in my review. The band we’re talking about today is Gloombound, from Norway. But, lucky for you, I’m not in the mood to discuss the endless stream of “trve”-ness that comes from their homeland again. Let’s keep things short, simple, and lovely.
Metalcatto
Black/Doom isn’t a thing, right? They seem to contradict each other in practice. However, Suffering is a band that’s trying to embody the most disturbing parts of Halloween. Things Seen But Always Hidden is an album aimed at those of you who love the occult, the macabre, and the idea of sacrificing stuffed animals at the altar of the unholy one. I approached this review with fascination but also caution. So many things felt new yet familiar that I couldn’t make up my mind at first, but now it’s time.
Metalcatto
It’s so frustrating when I get a promo in my mailbox but simply don’t have enough days to review it before it’s out. Anyway, many of our followers have already given their takes on this album. Full disclosure: I had no clue who Lamp of Murmuur was or why so many nerds were hyped about The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy. And if I’m even more honest, this year’s pure Black Metal hasn’t impressed me much. But that doesn’t mean we can’t dream, right? I’m ready to be converted into something else.
Metalcatto
It’s been a week full of emotionally draining releases, so I thought: fine, I’ll give something more uplifting a chance for once. Sacred Leather couldn’t have a name more Judas Priest-inspired. The album is even named Keep The Fire Burning — like there’s no way this music isn’t going to take me to a happy place, you know, where ice cream is free and taxes aren’t a necessary evil. Anyway, what should you expect from this Heavy Metal adventure?
Elyna Kahn
Chilean band Zero Tolerance released its powerful EP Irresoluto a while ago. With this work, a heart-wrenching cry of denunciation and longing for justice emerges from the southern lands of the world. Irresoluto is a song of dignity and rage, materializing in fiery riffs, powerful drum-and-bass beats, and beastly vocals that seem to come straight from hell itself. Following its debut album Abismal in 2014, Zero Tolerance has reached audiences as diverse as Peru, Mexico, and even Asia, where it achieved several reissues of Abismal. This fact catches attention and augurs well for the EP’s success in those distant lands, because Zero Tolerance’s narrative, beyond Chile’s borders, echoes a scenario that has been repeating itself since time immemorial.
Metalcatto
Many bands play war Metal, but very few truly understand it. 1914 certainly does, and Viribus Unitis proves once again that it’s more than just another band referencing history. The past two records could easily be considered modern classics, which made me approach this one with a mix of excitement and apprehension. How do you follow up something that already defined your sound so powerfully? And more importantly, how does a band that has built its identity around the horror and futility of war capture a tragedy of this scale without repeating itself? Those were the questions in my mind when I first pressed play.
Metal Eclipse Reviews 