Suffering so you don't have to!
Metalcatto
Finland has given us excellent Metal in almost every subgenre. However, have you ever heard of Finnish Grindcore? Chances are you haven’t, which is why veterans Rotten Sound’s Mass Extinction caught my attention. I ended up wondering if those sauna addicts could be good at this, too. I mean, look at that artwork! It’s super promising! It makes me feel like I’m going to start an epic and dramatic journey. Could that be true? Am I imagining things?
Metalcatto
Let’s say you’re really into Death/Doom and don’t know who Hooded Menace is. Umm, I’m trying to follow up that phrase with a way to forgive you, but it’s hard. Not many bands have continued releasing reliable and even spectacular retro-Metal like these guys. Albums like Never Cross the Dead, Darkness Drips Forth, and Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed are now considered classics. So, you can imagine the bar is high — and since my 80s nostalgia is non-existent, good luck to the band in this review!
Metalcatto
Stoned Jesus is probably one of the best band names I’ve heard in a while. You immediately know this is a Stoner/Sludge Metal band, right? True, but that’s the thing about Songs to Sun — it promises to be so much more than another album to roll joints to. There’s a moment of maturity many bands in this niche eventually reach, and I’m wondering if this is that album in its catalogue. The one where it convinces not just the diehards, but everyone else too, that you can be psychedelic and heartbreaking at the same time. Enough waiting, let’s dive in!
Metalcatto
Enough of helping the little bands! Time to get some clout by reviewing one of my most anticipated releases of the year: Green Carnation. If you need to know what the band is capable of, check our article here. After an epic comeback in 2020, the band is ready to start a full album trilogy with A Dark Poem, Part I: The Shores of Melancholia. Long title, right? But not as long as the music itself! So get ready, because we’re about to dive into a poetic and intense journey straight into your childhood traumas.
Vicky
I feel that, in a world where every rocker has at least one favorite “trve” Norwegian Black Metal band, the German extreme Metal scene has become undoubtedly underrated. However, it is not necessarily something bad – us, fans of Central European Dark Metal may see it as more of a treasure hidden in plain sight. You might expect the remainder of this article to be about a (new) release of a German band. And you are certainly not wrong. Here I am to give you more details about Der Weg Einer Freiheit (“The Way of a Freedom”)’s new album, Innern (“Inward”). Is this truly The Way to an Inner Freedom? From certain points of view, no.
Milo Lane
Hello, solstice, and hello, Cryptopsy Saturday! An Insatiable Violence arrives with the summer heatwave — relentless, overwhelming, and probably exactly what you didn’t know you needed. Just when you thought the Brutal Death Metal scene couldn’t get any more punishing, these Canadian legends throw down a record that will easily jackhammer an eardrum out of ya. And while I can’t tell you what to like, I can try my best to explain why this is a good thing.
Metalcatto
Anyone who’s been into underground Metal long enough knows who Gaahl is. Probably the most memed man in Black Metal after Abbath. Ever since Gorgoroth made drum kits sound like someone smacking a table with their bare hands, Gaahl has changed a lot as an artist. And today, we’re taking a look at Gaahls Wyrd‘s Branding the Stories. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect, because this project has yet to impress me—but here I am, reviewing it after all the other writers said, “Oh look at the time, I need my beauty sleep.”
Metalcatto
It’s hard to keep a gimmick going for long, but if there’s one band that’s taken it to the next level, it’s Impureza. The French-Spanish band sings in Spanish about the fall of the Aztec Empire on La Caída de Tonatiuh (this has to be the musical equivalent of an Asian fusion restaurant). This time, though, it’s leaning even harder into its flamenco roots, and with Alcázares, the project seems determined to win over those who found Tonatiuh a bit too weird. But hey, this is Death Metal—how strange can it really get?
Metalcatto
…And Oceans has had a quiet and interesting return from the dead. It even released As in Gardens, So in Tombs, an album that could’ve made it to any serious ranking in 2023. It was a fascinating take on rough MeloBlack that borrowed heavily from ’90s Swedish Black Metal, yet still carried its own deeply depressing and personal touch. So here we are with The Regeneration Itinerary, and hopefully the album will keep regenerating (yes, pun intended) the band’s renewed career. Otherwise, I’m strong enough to be disappointed. Let’s get to it, kids.
If you’re wondering why I’m so late with this review, it’s because we didn’t get the promo, and I had to wait like a total pleb for the album to come out. Humiliating, I know! However, I’m a huge fan of The Great Old Ones. The band has been delivering astonishing and terrifying Lovecraft-inspired Black Metal for more than a decade now. Ever since EOD, I’ve been hooked. So, my expectations are as high as they can get when it comes to Kadath. I almost feel sorry for these guys and the impossible standards they’ll be subjected to.
Metal Eclipse Reviews 