Self-release – Page 4 – Metal Eclipse Reviews

OBRIJ – Joseph

It’s time for a debut album, my Metal grasshoppers! When I was reading OBRIJ’s promo, I was led to believe that Joseph would totally throw me out of my comfort zone, since it was supposed to have a ton of Hardcore influences. Yet, it was still a Death Metal album, and that always hits home for me. Plus, this work explores the atrocities of Comrade Stalin. There’s no way that horror isn’t Metal enough for us, but as a new band, I still wondered if these guys were capable of pulling anything interesting off. Stay with this cat and find out.

Blood Cult – We’re Gonna Take Your Soul

Yeah, kids, I wasn’t sure what to make of this cover art. You’d think this album is some kind of weird, washed-out Nu-Metal that’s going to give us the wrong kind of pain, but you’d not only be wrong—you’d also be surprised! Because Blood Cult is an old-school Heavy Metal band that takes you straight back to the early days, and I mean 1970s early. Many of your parents weren’t even born yet, but We’re Gonna Take Your Soul is pure Redneck Black Metal, offering a strange and possibly unique interpretation of those drugged-out times.

Caprahed – Empire

Pegah

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.” ― George Orwell, 1984

Obscure Sphinx – Emovere

Stargazer Scholar

Every genre has its stalwarts—the defining bands. Artists who pioneered the movement or managed to establish themselves as a beacon of quality for everyone aspiring to navigate similar sonic terrains. Poland’s Obscure Sphinx, with three excellent full-length albums and a few live releases under its belt, may be standing on the shoulders of the giants that came before, but the uncompromising, visceral talent of this Atmospheric Sludge Metal combo should have long ago earned it a place in the genre’s pantheon. But since the band, true to its name, remains underground, let me try to right this wrong by covering its newest mini-album.

Watch My Dying – Egyenes Kerőlő

I promise I have no Central/Eastern European agenda this year—it’s just what makes sense to review as the quiet month of January moves along. Watch My Dying is a Hungarian band with a long career, and at first, I wasn’t sold on the idea of listening to some strange industrial experiment. But Egyenes Kerőlő caught my attention when I read in the promo that they had collaborated with Thy Catafalque. You know we love anything that project puts out. Still, I wasn’t expecting a bootleg of that band—I wanted something more!

Druparia – The River Above

It’s that time of the year when everyone in our deranged community swallows a pack of stimulants and tries to assemble an end-of-year list. Because why not? Why not put yourself through this absurd stress right when you’re (hopefully) on holiday? Anyway, in another attempt to procrastinate this thankless task, I’m reviewing Druparia’s The River Above. I’m feeling generous, and a unsigned band releasing a debut at the end of the year feels fitting for the season. Let’s go—I have a Christmas dinner to eat!

Thunraz – Incineration Day

You look at that name, you look at that art, you even look at the few band members, and you know that Thunraz’s Incineration Day isn’t going to be an easy ride. It’s not going to be chill or fun. This looks like a trip straight into hell—everything unholy and obscene. But am I exaggerating? Am I falling for the solid marketing job by its creators? In a year brimming with complex and impressive Disso-Death, Thunraz will need something truly distinctive to stand out among the heavyweights. Enough talk—let’s dive in!

Witnesses – Joy

Pegah

“Suppose that pleasure and pain are so intertwined that whoever wants as much as possible of the one must also have as much as possible of the other – that whoever wants to know ‘rejoicing to heaven’ must be prepared for ‘grieving onto death’ as well?“

― Friedrich Nietzsche

Oriska – Oriska

In the sea of heavy releases we have this autumn, sometimes I feel like giving a chance to the little guy. It’s not the first time we do it, Oriska isn’t new here, it’s a True kvlt darling, but there was something else about Oriska‘s self-titled album that drew me into the bleak, crushing depths of its Post-Metal, where soundscapes feel as cold and isolating as missing the last train at midnight in the dead of winter. If you don’t relate—lucky you. But let me share my thoughts on Oriska anyway!

Melted Bodies – The Inevitable Fork

Alright, people, this isn’t going to be our usual review because Melted Bodies is a band so strange and out-of-pocket (in the best way!) that I’m still trying to wrap my head around The Inevitable Fork. Like, what even is that album title? What does it mean? If you think the band is as bizarre as its album art suggests, let me tell you—yes, but maybe not in the way you’d expect. I’ll elaborate a bit to guide you through this journey into the depths of absurdity.