USA – Page 10 – Metal Eclipse Reviews

Immortal Bird – Sin Querencia

Stargazer Scholar

Immortal Bird has developed an especially vicious brand of Death Metal. Seasoned with Black, Sludge, and Crust undertones, its music is as intricate as it is pummeling. That being said, listeners were left to conjecture about the next step in the band’s evolution, as its previous full-length had already reached the respectable age of five. Personally, I was favoring a more progressive, sprawling approach, being an ardent appreciator of the lengthier tracks from the prior releases. You can imagine my surprise, then, when I received the promo for the long-awaited Sin Querencia and discovered that, contrary to my expectations and hopes, Immortal Bird opted for concision.

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.

Blood Incanation – Absolute Elsewhere

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Blood Incantation is one of Death Metal’s underground darlings and that its first two albums are already modern classics of space Metal. However, the band pulled an “Ulver move” with Timewave Zero, alienating much of its fanbase. Even after what many would call a misstep, I remained optimistic about what Absolute Elsewhere could offer. Now that the band had gotten all that intense psychedelia out of its system, could it return to something more familiar for us Metalheads, or would it fully embrace the path of Ulver? Let’s find out.

Valetta – Summer

Is it sarcastic to drop an album named Summer in autumn, with that cover art? It sure feels like a provocation for those of us who are about to not see the sun for months. Anyway, we’re here to judge the music, not the sense of humor. Valletta promises something rooted in the past but, at the same time, fresh. The band might be relatively new on the scene, but its members are experienced and ready to show us what dirty Black N’ Roll has to offer. Let’s move!

Glacial Tomb – Lightless Expanse

Alright, we’re picking up where last week’s madness left off. What can I say? If you look at Glacial Tomb’s album art, you’ll think, “Oh wow! This album has to slap”. It even has the perfect name: Lightless Expanse. If an album has an abstract or almost senseless title, you know it’s going to try to kill you. I’m sure some of you are coming in with your opinions already set. So instead of being an obnoxious contrarian just for clicks, I’ll try to add something meaningful to the discussion. Anyway, you’re here to find out if Glacial Tomb kicks butt or not. Let’s go!

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!).

The Black Dahlia Murder – Servitude

The Black Dahlia Murder is a pinnacle of consistency. There hasn’t been an album in its long career that sucked. Even though the band has remained strict in style, TBDM has never fumbled the bag. However, it had to face its biggest challenge ever after the tragic loss of Trevor Strnad (everyone in the community struggled when the news hit, let’s face it), which is why I’m approaching this review differently. More than just jokes and expectations, I’m rooting for the band to show us that, despite how irreplaceable Trevor was, they can continue honoring his memory. Oh, and it’d be great if we love Servitude too! Let’s dive in.

Maul – In The Jaws of Bereavement

In the unforgiving landscape of the Death Metal scene, it’s hard for a band to find its own voice. Everyone has done it all—been too brutal, too technical, too weird—and we’ve loved and hated it all. Maul’s approach in its upcoming release, In the Jaws of Bereavement, aims to stand out from the sea of distortion and blast beats. Nobody said it would be easy, but I’m sure it’s going to be wild! So, let’s dig into this meat and potatoes now!

Satan – Songs in Crimson

Satan is the coelacanth of Metal. You’re probably wondering, what the fudge is a coelacanth? Well, my uneducated child, it’s a fish once thought extinct long ago, until we discovered it was still alive, swimming away, indifferent to our existence. The same goes for Satan, a band once presumed dead for decades, but since Life Sentence, they’ve made a remarkable comeback. The question now is: can Songs in Crimson continue this legendary run of heavy fun? Welcome again!

Ævangelist – Perdition Ekstasis Meta

Whoever said that Industrial Metal is boring and commercial has clearly never listened to whatever Ævangelist has been up to. Do they even know what they’re doing? Ever since De Masticatione Mortuorum In Tumulis, the band has developed this bizarre blend of Death, Black, and Industrial Metal, all wrapped in the most lo-fi production possible. It’s such a dense listen that I was genuinely worried I might hate Perdition Ekstasis Meta. Was it because it’s so far removed from anything we might consider enjoyable, or because it lacks something previous it previously had? Either way, I came in ready to give this disturbing album a chance. Let’s go!