Suffering so you don't have to!
Metalcatto
One of our readers asked us for an honest assessment of their new single, Lost Guardian (I wonder where he is). This is the latest offering from an Italian Power Metal project, and although there are currently no plans for a full-length album, an EP should be coming soon. So, if you Power Metal nerds are looking for something to throw your money at, keep an eye out. Those are your options for now. Alright, let’s embark on this dramatic journey!
Metalcatto
I was almost sure Lugubrious Garment was just another Death Metal band trying to make a living off our nostalgia for dirty riffs and crusty production. Even the artwork for In the Wide Vale of Uncreated Night screams rancid riffs 24/7, with little else besides rage and bad decisions. Maybe they’ll surprise us, maybe they’ll disappoint us, but who cares? Ah, right. I should. Let’s get to it.
Metalcatto
I hope you had a good day, kids, because now we’re going to get smacked by a rainfall of technicality. I know old school Death Metal never dies, but you know what we don’t get often? Old school Tech Death—which is why Miscreance‘s Reminiscence made me nostalgic. So maybe I’ll feel a bit more merciful and give them a decent score. Or not. Let’s see. The album promises a journey back to a time when technicality didn’t mean sterile production, and I’m curious to see if it delivers on that promise.
Metalcatto
How would you call a band that has folk sounds straight out of Scotland, sings in Italian, and riffs like a German Post-Metal band? Well, Duir seems to be the name, and Catarsi caught me off guard for once in my life. I’m not saying get excited yet, but you’d be right to believe that the artwork promises something interesting. And sure, this album is interesting—but is it good? The tracks are long and the mood is depressing, so is it going to get drony? Let’s find out.
Metalcatto
It’s almost summer here up north. It’s sunny, warm, and beautiful. What better way to ruin all of that than by listening to some soul-crushing and godless Death and Doom Metal from the pit? In Vespro is dropping this album named Where Silence Used To Sleep, which obviously isn’t going to be about riding into the sunset with all your friends and family singing happy songs. It’s going to make you go back to therapy—or that’s what I hope for. But you know how it is with the mellow stuff. Hit or miss.
Metalcatto
With a name like The Great Observer, you’d expect this band to sound like a bunch of music school nerds. It’s ironic, because Loss of Transcendence is more like fancy music from the sewer than anything else—or at least that seemed to be the idea here. Enough of the intro. You’re here to get knocked out harder than an amateur boxer. Anyway, let’s start.
Metalcatto
Necrogore arrives on our doorstep bearing one undeniably edgy album title: Ectoplasmic Rape Phenomena. If you happen to be a committed materialist like me (and yes, this is my genuine epistemological position), then this name reads as utterly ridiculous, hilarious nonsense. If you’re a normal, well-adjusted adult, your eyes probably rolled hard into the back of your skull at first glance. But I’m here to answer a more important question: does the album deliver something as heinously depraved and unhinged as its title promises? Let’s keep our fingers crossed and find out.
Ixone
I think I’ve reached a point in my… listening of extreme metal if you will, where the wisest thing I can do is go against what my gut tells me about an album. What that actually translates as is: The more I put off listening to an album because I’m not sure that it will be good, the better that album is going to be when I actually manage to get over myself and actually listen to it. I guess that’s one way to avoid complacency in the realms of music… but I digress.
Metalcatto
Have you ever wondered what would happen if a Nu/Groove Metal band actually tried to be heavy? No? Well, me neither—but part of the reviewer’s job is to find things you weren’t even looking for (you get Post-Groove! Please make it stop!). And Noumenia – Echoes is exactly that. So my question before jumping into this wave of crystal-clear production is: is this album going to be Pantera good or Limp Bizkit bad? I’m almost equally afraid of both outcomes, but it’s time to give a chance to something slightly less from the sewers!
Welcome to a new 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.
