Suffering so you don't have to!
Metalcatto
I keep exploring things I would normally pass on. Everyone else at MER Industries is busy with life, so it’s time for me to try the old school Hard Rock and Heavy Metal ride that Who on Earth is planning to deliver with It Takes the Village. I wonder: to do what? Raise a child? Maybe I’m missing something, but I’ll dive in and find out.
Metalcatto
When I think of 20 Buck Spin—kind of an expensive spin, honestly—I think of old school, rancid, and dirty Death Metal dragged up from the sewers. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Leila Abdul-Rauf has been part of this label forever. Andros Insidium is not the kind of stuff we tend to review around here, but hey, we can always try to break free from our own preconceptions, right? So, forget all the distortion and the edgy riffing for once, because today we’re diving into Dark Ambience.
Metalcatto
Mega Colossus clearly has a thing for size. This Heavy Metal act comes with artwork and an album title that couldn’t be further from each other in terms of what they convey. Everything was telling me this was going to be another okay album, but at the same time, this battered subgenre has had a surprisingly good year so far. Hence, why not dare to not be a total hater for once? Let’s try.
Metalcatto
Protrusion is the name you want to hear when it comes to Death Metal, right? I mean, you clearly didn’t picture cute kittens after reading it. Even less after seeing the album title The Last Suppuration. Nothing optimistic or pure could come out of that combination. The only real question is how pummeling and retro this album is going to be in practice.
Metalcatto
Monstrosity is a band that remains criminally underrated in the grand scheme of Death Metal. Not many bands this old can still produce decent work, let alone material that stands alongside its best. The Passage of Existence was nothing short of impressive back in 2018, a genuine comeback that reminded everyone why the band mattered. Since one return isn’t enough, the band has taken almost another decade to release Screams From Beneath the Surface. So the question is: is this going to be Carcass-style aging or Morbid Angel-style aging? The time for fear is now.
Metalcatto
It brings me joy that a band we reviewed long ago, back when it was nothing but a humble one-man project, is now back with bigger and faster ambitions. So yay! The project didn’t just die and fade into nothingness. We can now enjoy Never-Ending Quest for Purpose by Legionary. Short title, right? Let’s see if this thing has anything to add to the long and often disappointing history of MeloDeath and Thrash.
Metalcatto
If you thought Highgate‘s Prophecies of Eternal Doom was a Speed Metal album, then I don’t know what you’re doing with your life. However, if you thought it sounded like Doom, then you figured out something ridiculously obvious. Good for you. Anyway, how about we dive into this pool filled with pee and despair? You first.
Metalcatto
We have a special one today. Hessian Firm sent us the physical album again, and though I’m later than a German train, Desolation Manifest by Execrari offers cosmic and Brogressive Black Metal. No, you actually read that right. This almost never happens, so I’m allowed to have some expectations for once. I just really hope by Prog the band doesn’t mean: “I play 20 minutes of the same riff.” Fingers crossed!
Metalcatto
Ashbringer is Minnesota’s answer to Deafheaven. For some time now, the band has been delivering emotional and heartbreaking Post-Metal richly layered with atmospheric touches. While Absolution continues to stand as my personal favorite (and arguably one of the best Post-Metal albums ever made!), We Came Here to Grieve was a fascinating, if decidedly weirder, successor. My expectations for this new album, Subglacial, are therefore absurdly high. The fact the band has stated it was created with minimal financial investment only fuels my excitement further! Let’s begin.
Vicky
Being highly passionate about foreign languages and particularly Latin, I have to begin by telling you that Post Luctum comes from “post”, meaning “after”, and “luctum” (from “luctus”), meaning “grief”. At the same time, Timor Lucis also comes from Latin, with “timor” meaning “fear”, and “lucis” (from “lux”) meaning “light”. Ergo, to conclude my complex and meaningful introduction, the band After The Grief will soon release the album Fear of the Light.
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