Suffering so you don't have to!
Metalcatto
What does this band have against carpenters? It’s a noble job. Hell, I’d like to be good at woodworking—you can actually make money out of it, not like writing… Anyway, Between Blood and Silence is supposed to uppercut us to the stratosphere, but you know the problem with ultra-heavy albums: they can numb you harder than the news. Let’s enter this slaughterhouse.
Metalcatto
Another Willowtip album? Are we getting bribed? Unfortunately, that’s not the case yet. We just think that when a Brutal and Tech Death Metal band like Vulgar Mephitis drops an album named From Dust, we need to pay a lot of attention. This hasn’t been the best year for ultra-extreme bands so far, but not all hope is lost. We can still hope to get our faces properly melted again. Yay.
Thechopstickdrummer
Israeli Ethno-Prog ensemble SUBMASQ (previously Subterranean Masquerade) joins the slew of masked bands. We’ve all come across S***p T***n, Korn, and Ghost, but have any of them donned the intriguing creation that vocalist Vivi Dolev wears on the album art (Yalon Schori, Shay Darvish)? I figured as much. For their debut on Willowtip Records, SUBMASQ taps deeper into their traditional and progressive minds to bring forth Spirit Animal, their fifth full-length record. Fit with a diverse instrumental session crew and a regained sense of imagination (the band released a short EP this February with a contemptible AI-generated cover), SUBMASQ is already impressing cranky ol’ me. Can they keep it up?
Thechopstickdrummer
Chris Gebauer is, in essence, a superspreader of black metal grime. Under various monikers, Gebauer has managed over ten musical projects, ranging from a duo with his wife, Anett Hauzu, to multiple depressive suicidal black metal (DSBM) bands. In these undertakings, he mainly sings, but in Exitium Sui, the full set of standard musical apparatus is all under his control. This project acts as an outlet for his efforts on blackened doom metal and dirge-like atmospheres, habits not entirely new to a musician like himself. Exitium Sui’s third full-length, Unravelling, is a curiosity of funeral doom-adjacent textures, but hopefully there’s enough life for me to cling to. Unlike the moods in the majority of Gebauer’s bands, I like living.
Pegah
British Doom Metal band Witchsorrow released their latest album via Church Road Records. Rooted primarily in classic old-school Doom Metal and enriched by melodic guitar solos, the album demonstrates a remarkable level of maturity and musicianship. Despite the relative youth of the band members, the record feels remarkably accomplished, evoking the atmosphere of Candlemass and Black Sabbath while retaining the band’s own creativity and distinctive touch.
Metalcatto
It’s been a while since we’ve had something more Thrash Metal. You know, an album mostly focused on speed that feels like a knife fight. Temple of Dread is bringing us somewhere well-balanced Death and Thrash that should make you feel like the tectonic wave is back and well—not just Kreator. Anyway, Deadspawn Dominion has a cool name, but is it cool Metal? Stay put, and maybe you’ll find out.
Metalcatto
For some strange reason, I jumped into this album thinking that it would be another retro-Death take with crunchy distortion and grey riffs. Turns out Ceremonial Worship had other plans for our sorrowful lives. Between Sleep and Death is rancid and underground, for sure. You’re traveling back to the 90s, but maybe the result is something that will make you feel hope in Metal again. Or probably not. But hey, keep reading.
Metalcatto
Rarely has a band had a more fitting name than Emptiness. It’s hard to define whatever is going on in Nowhere Speaks, but what I can tell you is that “depressive” is the lightest way to put it. Is this Industrial Goth? Like, I’m edgy but live in an Industrial wasteland? Hard to tell. But if you’re into strange imagery, you should keep reading, because this is only going to get weirder as we descend into absolute despair. That sounded awesome, right?
Metalcatto
As you know, we almost never cover EPs, but today we’re talking about Scald. Probably the most important Doom Metal band from the land of cheap booze and great writers—I wonder if those two are connected. Scald already had a comeback that made me fanboy around, but could Relics have a similar effect? Can it keep changing a formula so old yet so effective? Yes? I’m kind of excited. Deal with it.
Metalcatto
You know what we don’t cover much around here? Traditional Proggy albums. It’s just not something many bands can do better than Dream Theater. However, North Sea Echoes‘ How to Cast a Shadow isn’t exactly a Prog album. It has a lot of the aesthetics, but it simplifies many things. There’s way less instrumental wanking here. I know that might let you down, but how about the other elements? Are they good? Let’s see.
Metal Eclipse Reviews 