review – Page 43 – Metal Eclipse Reviews

Servant – Death Devil Magic

Sometimes, release days are so packed that we have to keep talking about them long after they’ve passed. Sometimes, they leave us with things we can’t dare to miss. I picked up Servant‘s Death Devil Magic with the hope that this would be one of those cases—where I almost missed a cool release. I mean, just look at that art! It practically screams diabolical riffs that will melt faces, right? It can’t just be me trying to justify my laziness here. Well, I hope not. But let’s cut the self-pity and get down to business.

Winterfylleth – The Imperious Horizon

Stargazer Scholar (follow the scholar here!)

A band doesn’t need to invent a new genre to have an identity. Originality may earn you a paragraph or two in a history book, but at the end of the day, it’s the songwriting that sells records and boosts streaming stats. It’s that special, subtle something that makes you stand out from the crowd and be distinct. Case in point: Winterfylleth, who over the years have managed to carve out a niche within the overcrowded subspace of Melodic and Atmospheric Black Metal. Without being too groundbreaking or experimental, the Mancunians excel at conveying complex emotions with memorable tunes, and their mixture of bludgeoning pagan valor and moving melodicism has become a trademark. But did the band succeed in maintaining its standards with The Imperious Horizon?

Typhonian – The Gate of the Veiled Beyond

I’ve always said one of our principles is to give nostalgia a chance, even though we deeply hate leaning on it. Lately, we’ve been indulging bands that sound straight out of 1995. So, when I heard Typhonian was 90s-inspired with a Swedish Death Metal sound, I puked my breakfast all over my marble countertop—because, honestly, I can’t handle another retro album this week. However, The Gate of the Veiled Beyond promised something different, claiming to pay homage to Edge of Sanity—and I’m always down for that kind of nostalgia. So, let’s set aside our biases for once and check this beast out.

Coffin Rot – Dreams of the Disturbed

Coffin Rot is part of what’s already the wave in modern Death Metal. You know, retro-Death Metal that’s finally getting the production it deserves. However, the band strikes a strange spot, leaning heavily on Cannibal Corpse and Entombed, which makes it at least intriguing. Yet, in this year filled with wacky old-school extreme Metal, it’s going to take actual effort to impress my jaded heart. So, let’s welcome this crusty bag of moldy meat (Dreams of the Disturbed) and give it a chance, shall we? It’s okay! We’ll put some spices on it to make it taste good (don’t actually do that!).

Invernoir – Aimin’ for Oblivion

It’s starting to get cold where I live (despite my mansion being on a volcano—those Lamborghinis need a lot of heat to stay beautiful). What better way to embrace the slow but inevitable descent into darkness than with some Death/Doom from Invernoir, a project that blends the melancholy of Novembre and My Dying Bride with the fury of Décembre Noir? These bands always risk falling into clichés and well-worn tropes, but can Aimin’ for Oblivion manage to become unforgettable (see what I did there? Hehe…)?

Kanonenfieber – Die Urkatastrophe

We know that Sweden has Swanö, Finland has Saukonnen, and lately, Germany has Noise—an anonymous artist involved in countless projects, all receiving high critical acclaim. I won’t hide my bias: I want Kanonenfieber to blow me away. Its Menschenmühle had me more than impressed. Sure, the sound the band goes for isn’t exactly new, but the way it uses it, combined with the power of such an authentic and raw narrative, has turned it into one of the most fascinating acts in Black Metal. Excellent! But how about Die Urkatastrophe? Does it honor the dead? Join us in the trenches!

Adorior – Bleed on My Teeth

SonikGoat

Galloping out of the fetid tunnels of darkest London after twenty-something years of silence, Adorior stops by only for a brief moment—but fear ye not! They simply want to make sure you’re bloodied, trampled, set afire, and offered up to Satan. Then, they’ll be on their merry way. Oh, and if you want to hold on to your bottles of strong booze and unravished virgins, you’d better hide them somewhere safe, because Adorior has come for those as well. To enact pandemonium on the scale described, key contributors from the likes of Grave Miasma, Qrixquor, and Destroyer 666 are at the helm—in other words, noted veterans of the metal underground.

Leprous – Melodies of Atonement

Let’s not fool ourselves: Leprous is one of the biggest acts in Metal today. They might not be the heaviest band out there, but ever since Tall Poppy Syndrome (still my favorite), the group has transformed from a Prog Death Metal band to a Djent act, and now to whatever they’re doing at this point. To be honest, I haven’t been particularly interested in Leprous since The Congregation, but now that Melodies of Atonement has arrived, I’m willing to give them a second—or even third—chance.

Officium Triste – Hortus Venenum

Most reviewers at MER have a guilty pleasure, and for some reason, many of us are deeply into the Emo Rock of extreme Metal: Death/Doom. So when something sad hits the mailbox, we all fight for it! Enter Officium Triste, a band that, in Hortus Venenum, is planning to throw a mix of misery, melancholy, and despair at us. All of this is wrapped in a melodic package that could make even the toughest guys cry. But does it succeed in reaching your inner traumas? Grab your pills, and let’s dive into this sea of denial.

Releases that almost fell through the cracks: Vile Rites, Pythonic, Hvile I Kaos

The stressful life of a reviewer leads to many tragic mistakes. Some come in the form of missing releases or forgetting about newer acts. Hence, I’m here attempting to sink the ocean with my ship’s cannons (totally pointless, yes) and give attention to some of the many bands that hit MER’s mailbox every day. It’ll never be over, but consider this a futile act of redemption. Rarely have we seen such a strange constellation of bands in the same article, which is always fun, right? Say yes!