Reviews – Page 5 – Metal Eclipse Reviews

The Ruins Of Beverast – Tempelschlaf

Metalcatto

I’m kind of mad that this promo somehow ended up in my junk folder and only now did I get around to listening to The Ruins of Beverast – Tempelschlaf. Needless to say, I can’t recall a time when this band released anything that wasn’t at least a solid 4/5. Few acts have mastered the feeling of shamanic Black Metal the way The Ruins of Beverast has. The trance-like state the music induces is so distinctive that its only real competition has always been itself. As a result, my standards were high going into this record. I was expecting nothing less than a hallucinatory descent into something deeply unsettling, so let’s get into it.

Unverkalt – Héréditaire

Metalcatto

Unverkalt knows exactly how to grab my attention. A Post-Metal release on Season of Mist, with a German/Greek background and a French title like Héréditaire? That’s basically a checklist designed to lure me in. It sounds refined, a bit pretentious, and unapologetically artsy—and yes, I’m fully on board with that. So forgive me in advance if my expectations run slightly ahead of what an underground act can realistically deliver, but that’s what happens when the promo does its job well. Either way, let’s see how long it takes before we spiral into existential despair again.

Malignant Aura – Where All of Worth Comes to Wither

Metalcatto

Rarely has a band name been so accurate in describing the atmosphere it creates as Malignant Aura. From the very first moments, the music lives up to that promise, radiating a suffocating, almost inhuman presence that feels carefully engineered rather than accidental. One could imagine this being the sound of ancient entities waking up, though filtered less through Lovecraftian myth and more through a modern Progressive/Death Metal lens. Even before pressing play, Where All of Worth Comes to Wither sets the tone with a title that feels relentlessly bleak, practically daring the listener to engage with it on its own terms.

Obscurity – Ascheregen

Metalcatto

Obscurity has a long career, and I probably should’ve realized that sooner just by looking at the name. Seriously, how did nobody take it before? Anyway, Ascheregen is clearly meant to make us feel the pain and destruction of the world. Very uplifting stuff. That said, the album has a noticeable blend of death and post-metal elements that give it a more emotional edge than you might expect. On paper, that combination should work for me, and in practice… well, I genuinely wondered what the worst that could happen was. Turns out, not much in a bad way.

Edenbridge – Set the Dark on Fire

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Edenbridge would be the kind of band Elyna would normally cover, but she’s on vacation, so you’ll have to settle for my snarky takes in the meantime. The big question from the start was simple enough: what can Set the Dark on Fire add to an already long and fairly successful career? I’m not sure the answer is entirely straightforward, but I’ll do my best to help with some balanced and absolutely not hateful commentary… who am I kidding? This is Power Metal, after all.

Mors Verum – Canvas

Metalcatto

You know I have a soft spot for anything that mixes Prog and Death in the same sentence. What can I say? I like my bands to starve. So when Mors Verum came to me like a fart in the wind, I knew I had to smell it properly. Enough disgusting and childish jokes, though; what we really want to know is whether Canvas is worth your money, or at least your almost non-existent attention. Let’s get this horror started.

Ellende – Zerfall

Metalcatto

I’m late to this party again, but here we are: a new Ellende album exists, and that alone means we can’t just let it pass unnoticed. The band has been delivering stunning Post/Black Metal for years now, to the point where having an opinion on a new release isn’t just advisable, it feels almost mandatory. I also happened to see that one of the band members (L.G.) defended his PhD not long ago, which honestly explains a lot. Suddenly, the sheer emotional devastation of this record makes complete sense. Ellende, if you’re reading this, I’d love to say the academic pain is over, but judging by Zerfall, it has merely transformed into sound.

Shadowmass -Wasteland

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I guess I should stop giving chances only to the big fish and actually start caring more about the tiny ones, even if that comes with fewer views and less immediate payoff. After all, we mostly don’t do this for the money, right? Anyway, Shadowmass deliver a Thrash Metal record with Wasteland that at least promises not to be completely derivative. Let’s say they don’t… waste our time (don’t hit me for the pun). There’s a clear sense of intent here! Let’s go!

Eximperitus – Meritoriousness of Equanimity

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I don’t know what Willowtip Records is cooking most of the time, but somehow they keep delivering. So when Eximperitus – Meritoriousness of Equanimity (what does that even mean?) landed in my mailbox, for once I actually had expectations. I knew next to nothing about the band, and judging by the lack of noise around them, this still feels like a fresh act in an already hostile scene. Fearing I might be getting ahead of myself, I dove into uncharted territory hoping to find gold—like a proper colonialist—but enough context, let’s start the plunder.

Shine – Wrathcult

Metalcatto

Welcome back—it’s been one day! So let’s get into what the new year already has in store for us. If you were hoping for brutal and merciless blackened death metal, then today is your lucky day, because I’m here to show you what Shine have to offer with Wrathcult. An album with a promo campaign more pagan than an Edda Reddit thread. So prepare your spells and animal bones, because this is going to be one of those mythological trips—or at least I hope so.