(written by Islander)
In this fifth installment of my Most Infectious Song list I’ve concentrated on tracks that create varying intersections of black and death metal. No two of them are quite alike, but all three have left lasting impressions. I’ve included the first one despite the fact that the album it comes from will be a 2026 release, because the song itself was released as a single last August.
Without further ado, let’s get straight to them. Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
Six years after their last EP (Choose Death, enthusiastically reviewed here by our Andy Synn), the New York black/death trio Ordeals are returning with their debut album, which has the hard-to-forget name Third Rail Prayer. It will be released on September 26th by Eternal Death.
Much like the kind of mental imagery conjured by the album title, Ordeal‘s new music is convulsive, but its electrified (and electrifying) spasms shake and twist in often unpredictable directions, providing a collage of dread, damnation, delirium, and doom that’s disturbingly distinctive. Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
Yesterday I doubted I’d have time for a roundup today due to picnic preparation participation (the post-pandemic PPP). But as you can see, I did, due to waking up way earlier than I thought I would.
I’m going to miss those extra hours of lost sleep by the time this day and night end, but getting to delve into these four tremendous new songs, three of which arrived with excellent videos, is the silver lining to that wearying cloud.
The keywords for what follows are “immensity” and “intensity”. Continue reading »
(In this column Andy Synn compiles reviews and streams of six new EPs — by Engulf, Lvcifyre, Maladie, Ordeals, Phobocosm, and Ultha.)
Damn, today is a busy one for big releases isn’t it?
We’ve got Alcest, The Great Old Ones, Vastum, Leprous, Hour of Penance, Fit for an Autopsy, Vacivus (more on them soon), Dawn Ray’d, and about a bajillion others all coming out on the same day.
So, to address this overload of new albums… I’ve decided to write a piece covering a bunch of recently released EPs instead.
Who said I wasn’t helpful? Continue reading »