USA – Page 9 – Metal Eclipse Reviews

As I Lay Dying – Through Storms Ahead

It’s time to travel back to more angsty times—and less angry ones. It’s the late 2000s, the peak of Metalcore. The world is about to be hit with a recession so devastating that we collectively decided any pack of imbeciles could run nations just as well. Oh, sorry! Did I say something controversial? Is it any more controversial than the drama surrounding As I Lay Dying and its new album Through Storms Ahead? I don’t think so! But, like any wannabe professional, I’m going to refrain from edgy commentary and focus on the music. Shall we?

Molder – Catastrophic Reconfiguration

SonikGoat

What’s to be done with a corpse, you may ask? To most, a corpse is just a swiftly decaying pile of blood and guts—a mess, an inconvenience. Sure, you could burn it or dispose of it, but it will cost you time and effort. Wouldn’t it be more useful to repurpose it somehow? Let Molder show you the way. The band knows how to take a cadaver, reanimate it, imbue it with an undead will, and let it thrash around for 30 minutes or so. A most excellent and entertaining use for a heap of remains, wouldn’t you agree?

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!

QAALM – Grave Impressions Of An Unbroken Arc

SonikGoat

Extreme Metal, in all its guises, seems to oscillate between two states: on one hand, the worship of the comfortingly familiar—usually through the repetitive perfection of rigid forms; on the other, the “outer limits” of Metal serve as a home to a ceaseless churning of these forms. 2024 has seen several excellent releases that together confirm that for every clutch of bands setting out to achieve perfection in older styles, there are those striving to take Metal in new, sometimes startling directions. Thus, we have Blood Incantation fusing ripping Death with the rich analog sounds of seventies Prog Rock and synth; Ingurgitating Oblivion pushing the envelope of avant-garde composition and technicality; or Iotunn fearlessly combining Prog innovation with Heavy Metal passion.

Sleepless – Through Endless Black

Stargazer Scholar

Let’s face it, genre debates have become as much a staple of Heavy Metal culture as battle vests and band t-shirts. Is it Thrash or Death? Is this record more Technical than it is Brutal? And if it happens to be Black, is it more Melodic or Atmospheric? Oh, and most importantly—ubiquitously, inescapably—tell me: is it, by chance, Prog?

Barren – The Hanged Man

Pegah

Sometimes, carrying on, just carrying on, is the superhuman achievement.
― Albert Camus

Massacre – Necrolution

It’s time to fire up the time machine and travel back to the least glorious decade of humanity: the ’80s. At MER, we understand that nostalgia fuels today’s economy, and Massacre knows this well, too. Necrolution is clearly intended as a tribute to the early days of Death Metal, but with a level of production that some of us, at least, can appreciate. It’s a delicate balance, giving these Florida veterans the respect they deserve while keeping this review honest—but I’ll do my best not to retch too much at the ’80s.

One With the Riverbed – Succumb

SonikGoat

If Kalamazoo, Michigan, conjures the exoticism implied in the phrase “from Timbuktu to Kalamazoo”, then a band name like that of Kalamazoo natives One With The Riverbed immediately signaled to this writer an expectation for something rooted in the ever-growing Post-Metal genre. My mind went straight to ArcTanGent—that stellar UK festival that curates the best of Post-Metal and Post-Rock. Would Succumb merit the attention of the ATG scouts, a surefire marker of rising prominence for any young band?

Gigan – Anomalous Abstractigate Infinitessimus

Stop the social media machine for a second because we have an OG here! Yes, this has been the year when Disso-Death and Disso-Black have taken over Metal for good, but if there’s one band that was already melting flesh in this style before it was cool, it’s Gigan! The Order of the False Eye remains, to me, a classic that anyone in love with this inhumane style should have in their collection. Honestly, Gigan has always delivered quality, so my expectations for Anomalous Abstractigate Infinitessimus are gigantic (pun intended!). Let’s dive in!