Album Reviews Archives - Page 26 of 550

SARGASSUS – VITRUVIAN RAYS

Jun 172025

(According to our own Andy Synn, now is the perfect time to get to know Finnish quartet Sargassus)

One thing I mentioned in the intro to yesterday’s review (which you can, and should, read here) was that while we don’t always end up covering some of the bigger bands out there, sometimes we’ll do it just because we enjoy doing so.

But what I failed to mention is that there’s another benefit to occasionally covering some of the more notorious names… because if and when those articles start doing larger numbers and attracting new readers (as has been known to happen every now and again) there’s inevitably a knock-on effect that brings more eyes to the smaller and/or more underground names we usually write about.

Which is why I’ve chosen to follow up my Cryptopsy coverage with some words about the recently-released debut album from Progressive/Melodic Black/Death Metal quartet Sargassus.

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): VANISHING EARTH — “THE BOUNDLESS”

Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET 1 Response »

Jun 162025

(written by Islander)

Anyone who was even a semi-regular visitor to our site from 2011 through 2023 will recognize the name Oak Pantheon. Over that period we wrote 24 articles about this Minneapolis band’s music, dating back to their first single and continuing through our review of their last album, 2023’s The Absence.

And yes, it did turn out to be their last album, because this past February Oak Pantheon announced that they were amicably splitting up. They explained on social media: “Drifting motivations and musical interests have made it difficult to agree on a cohesive path forward. We will likely work together again, just in different forms.”

Throughout the entirety of their existence and their quite varied musical expressions Oak Pantheon was principally a collaboration between Sami Sati and Tanner Swenson. Since the dissolution of Oak Pantheon neither of them has abandoned music-making. In the case of Sami Sati, we are happily announcing today that he has a new project called Vanishing Earth that serves as a continuation of his efforts and ambitions in Oak Pantheon.

And today we are also very happily hosting the premiere of Vanishing Earth‘s musical debut, a two-song EP named The Boundless that will be released on June 17th. Continue reading »

CRYPTOPSY – AN INSATIABLE VIOLENCE

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Jun 162025

(Andy Synn is here to feed your insatiable hunger for more Cryptopsy whose new album is out Friday)

It’s generally understood, by our regular readers at least, that we tend to favour covering smaller, up-and-coming, or less well-exposed bands whenever and wherever we can, largely because – at our level, at least – those are the bands who will benefit the most from our coverage.

That doesn’t mean we won’t cover bigger bands or more notorious names when the opportunity presents itself to do so… it’s just that, after a band reaches a certain level of popularity (or notoriety) it’s easy for our voice to just get lost in the storm of acclaim (or criticism) that tends to follow most releases of a certain magnitude.

Case in point – do Cryptopsy really need us to review their new album? Well, they’re currently on the cover of Decibel which suggests that a) no, they really don’t, and b) the movers and shakers in the industry might finally be coming around to the fact that the band are (still) kind of a big deal.

But just because a band doesn’t need our help doesn’t mean we don’t want to write about them, and to be quite honest I’ve been itching to put my thoughts about An Insatiable Violence down on paper (or, at least, on the internet) for you all to read for quite some time.

SHADES OF BLACK: STYGIAN, OSMIUM, DEATHWINDS

Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK No Responses »

Jun 152025

(written by Islander)

Sad to say, this Sunday’s column is much shorter than usual. I got a late start on it, but the bigger explanation is that early tomorrow I’m flying to my former stomping grounds in Texas to be at a Tuesday memorial service for a close friend and vital mentor, with an even earlier flight back to Seattle the next day. That means I need to get a head-start today on premieres I had agreed to host over the next three days before my old friend’s passing following a long illness. Continue reading »

RETURNING – NUMINOUS

Album Reviews No Responses »

Jun 122025

(Andy Synn returns to nature with the new album from Returning, out 20 June)

Ah, “numinous”… referring to something that arouses or engenders a spiritual or religious experience… what a perfect name for the new album from Returning.

If you’re not familiar with the band, the duo’s previous album (2023’s Severance) introduced us to their moody, mesmeric blend of earthen Black Metal and ethereal ambience, resulting in a haunting, often hypnotic, sound situated somewhere between the visceral vibrancy of Wolves In The Throne Room and the shadowy shimmer of Treha Sektori, with a dash of the mournful melancholy of early Agalloch on the side.

And while I’m not suggesting that the duo have found god – if anything, the divinity they’re seeking to commune with is that of nature itself – there’s certainly a sense of religious awe, if not ecstasy, to their new album.

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): GROG — “SPHERE OF ATROCITIES”

Album Reviews, Premieres No Responses »

Jun 122025

(written by Islander)

High-energy metal can make people pump their fists and bounce their bodies off each other. We see that, we do that. And although hell-raising music doesn’t really cause blood to boil or heads to spin (or Hell to be raised), sometimes that’s also a good way to describe the impact of a fist-pumping album like Grog‘s Sphere of Atrocities.

We’ve commented before about how unusual it is for this Portuguese band of brutal death/grinders, who’ve been plying their deadly craft since 1991, to hold together with the same lineup for the past 20 years despite the usual upheavals in personal life and the world at large, not to mention the constant upheavals in the realms of heavy music.

It’s even more unusual that after such a long career they’re still pushing themselves musically, still sharpening their execution and still finding new ways of getting the blood of listeners rushing and their heads wildly spinning. You’ll realize this for yourselves when you dive into our premiere stream of their explosive new album today, in advance of its June 13 co-release by Helldprod Records and Murder Records. Continue reading »

BEST OF BRITISH: CWFEN / DESOLATED / TRIVAX

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Jun 112025

(Andy Synn highlights three more homegrown heroes who represent the Best of British)

There is, as I have long been telling you, such a wealth of variety and talent in the UK scene right now that it’s impossible for anyone – even someone as handsome, intelligent, and… above all else… modest as I am – to cover it all.

Still, that’s never stopped me trying, which is why today I’m presenting a killer combo of doomy introspection, aggro intensity, and iconoclastic blackened belligerence courtesy of Cwfen, Desolated, and Trivax.

GRUESOME: “SILENT ECHOES”

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Jun 102025

(Here is Todd Manning‘s review of the tremendous new album by Gruesome, out now on Relapse Records.)

Critics love to beat up on bands that aren’t original enough, but to be fair, most bands try to downplay any obvious influences. Cross-continental death metal masters Gruesome are being very open about their latest album, Silent Echoes, due out on Relapse Records on June 6th. It is supposed to sound like Death’s 1991 masterpiece, Human. But the inspiration for such imitation comes from a very genuine, heartfelt place.

Drummer Gus Rios was mentored by and a close friend of Sean Reinert, the drummer who put such a unique stamp on the aforementioned classic record. Reinert passed away unexpectedly in early 2020, and Silent Echoes is a tribute to him. Continue reading »

OBSTRUKTION – THE END TAKES FORM

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Jun 092025

(Andy Synn investigates what form the new album from Sweden’s Obstruktion will take)

As has already been pretty well documented (if you’ve been paying attention, at least) I’m not a huge Thrash guy these days.

Don’t get me wrong, I acknowledge the seminal importance of the style – it does, after all, form the foundation of so much of what we listen to – and still have a lot of love for the classics (and will always have time for Kreator).

But, these days at least, it’s only when it gets mixed up in other styles – Death Thrash, Blackened Thrash, and especially the thrashier side of Hardcore – that it really gets my proverbial motor running.

And the new album from Obstruktion, which smashes a bunch of hefty Death and Thrash influences into the group’s central Hardcore sound, definitely ticks all the right boxes for me.

SHADES OF BLACK: UKHU PACHA, VAITARANA, IANTHIN, SUMERIAN TOMBS, LYUAOIEN, JORDFÄST

Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET No Responses »

Jun 082025

(written by Islander)

Welcome to another Sunday column focused (mainly) on black metal. This one goes pretty deep underground, with music from four debut releases, leavened with songs from two bands whose discography is more extensive.

I’m going to start with reviews of an album and an EP, to make sure I have time to say what I want to say about them, and then turn to a group of individual songs and videos. Continue reading »

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