patuleia<p>Ahab<br>[2023] The Coral Tombs<br><a href="https://album.link/pt/i/1649188755" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">album.link/pt/i/1649188755</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p><a href="https://patuleia.eu/tags/NowPlaying" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NowPlaying</span></a> <a href="https://patuleia.eu/tags/DeathDoomMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DeathDoomMetal</span></a> <a href="https://patuleia.eu/tags/DoomMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DoomMetal</span></a> <a href="https://patuleia.eu/tags/FuneralDoom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>FuneralDoom</span></a> <a href="https://patuleia.eu/tags/PostMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PostMetal</span></a> <a href="https://patuleia.eu/tags/whaleMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>whaleMetal</span></a></p>
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#deathdoommetal
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Angry Metal Guy<p><a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/ritual-ascension-profanation-of-the-adamic-covenant-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Ritual Ascension – Profanation of the Adamic Covenant Review</a></p><p><i>By Dear Hollow</i></p><p><em>Profanation of the Adamic Covenant</em> represents catacombs dripping with putridity and filth, the blasphemy called against the heavens from far below ground. It’s an upheaval from beneath our feet, the crawling and coagulant rot that spreads from abyss to abyss. The filth and blood clots our eyes, hearts, and minds, driving us deeper and deeper into the madness until our lungs are filled with mud. <strong>Ritual Ascension</strong> is transcendence and enlightenment achieved through the reveling and swallowing of the grime-soaked entrails through a vicious and ancient ritual, the lumbering deity whose mammoth footfalls and cloud of plague require payment in full. It’s a ritual to the god of the mud and disease, and a fist slammed into the underside of heaven.</p><p>Death/doom has many heads, but the one <strong>Ritual Ascension</strong> rears may be the ugliest. The Denver collective, alongside sharing all three members with <strong>Aberration</strong>, is comprised of members of <strong>Suffering Hour</strong>, <strong>Void Rot</strong>, <strong>Feral Light</strong>, and <strong>Annihilation Cult</strong>, promising a psychedelic affair inspired just as much by the classic death/doom acts of yore as the more experimental devastators. You’ll certainly find homages to <strong>Incantation</strong>, <strong>diSEMBOWELMENT</strong>, and <strong>Winter</strong> in its ten-ton doom hammers, but atop it is an opaque and occult breed of dissonant insanity reminiscent of <strong>Portal</strong> and a palpable filth only touched by the likes of <strong>Stenched</strong> or <strong>Rotpit</strong>, only kept in the realm of humanity by a palpable groove that reminds me of <strong>Ataraxie</strong>. <strong>Ritual Ascension</strong> offers the depths in ways few can, a collective far greater than the sum of its parts.</p><p></p><p>Crawling, slimy chaos is one hell of a first impression. Overload of down-tuned and filthy tremolo guide mammoth processions, whose dissonant constructions and atonal dirges provide a hypnotic otherworldliness. As displayed lumbering out of the gates, its attack is slimy, slow, and devastating, ultimately a feeling or a place rather than a collection of highlights – as any good doom album ought to be. From the subtle and simple chord progressions that dominate more minimalist pieces (“Womb Exegesis”) to the groovy and monolithic chugs that grace the climaxes of lengthy runtimes (“Pillars of Antecedence,” “Cursed Adamic Tongues”), interspersed by passages of blastbeats ranging from blazing to contemplative. DH’s vocals are a crucial element to the album’s subterranean and blasphemous atmosphere, ranging from the commanding chthonic bellows you expect from this breed of devastation to the tortured howls and groans more indicative of black metal.</p><p></p><p>If the first half of Profanation is subtle and crawling, then the second exists as utterly filthy slow-motion violence. I was initially disappointed that the <strong>Portal</strong>-isms were not as handily felt among the tracks of the first half, only gleaming in sporadic moments and within traditionally ominous diminished chord progressions. However, crossing into the second half with the scalding “Consummation Rites” and “Kolob (At the Throne of Elohim),” caustic slow-motion <strong>Ulcerate</strong> leads collide with the filthiest riffs <strong>Impetuous Ritual</strong> could muster, with DH’s most charismatic performances of the album. Unhinged and cutthroat are not words typically associated with doom, but the layers of overwhelm and dissonance meet the criteria with a bloodthirstiness and underlying craving for brutality. Looking back, it would have been relatively easy to incorporate the dissonant intensity in the first couple of tracks, but their later full fruition after a crawling crescendo makes them feel even more painful and overwhelming.</p><p>Even though the dissonance was not as immediate as I anticipated and the necessity for the patience required for this kind of beast goes without saying for its atmosphere – rather than a collection of songs – <em>Profanation of the Adamic Covenant</em> is transcendent. Encapsulating that crawling dread and ritualistic weight, monolithic groove, and dissonant layers in a tidy forty-eight minutes and held together by the dedication to unholy filth, it offers bounties aplenty for those willing to wade through the offal and mire. Bolstered by impressive performances in unpredictable percussion, riffs both mammoth and caustic, and vocals tortured and menacing, <strong>Ritual Ascension</strong> offers one hell of a debut. Get swallowed by the filth.</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> 4.0/5.0<br><strong>DR:</strong> 7 | <strong>Format Reviewed:</strong> 320 kb/s mp3<br><strong>Label:</strong> <a href="http://sentientruin.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Sentient Ruin Laboratories</a><br><strong>Website:</strong> <a href="http://instagram.com/ritualascension" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">instagram.com/ritualascension</a><br><strong>Releases Worldwide:</strong> February 28th, 2025</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/2025/" target="_blank">#2025</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/40/" target="_blank">#40</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/aberration/" target="_blank">#Aberration</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/american-metal/" target="_blank">#AmericanMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/annihilation-cult/" target="_blank">#AnnihilationCult</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/ataraxie/" target="_blank">#Ataraxie</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/avant-garde-metal/" target="_blank">#AvantGardeMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-doom-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathDoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/disembowelment/" target="_blank">#diSEMBOWELMENT</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/dissonant-death-metal/" target="_blank">#DissonantDeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/feb25/" target="_blank">#Feb25</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/feral-light/" target="_blank">#FeralLight</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/impetuous-ritual/" target="_blank">#ImpetuousRitual</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/incantation/" target="_blank">#Incantation</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/old-school-death-metal/" target="_blank">#OldSchoolDeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/portal/" target="_blank">#Portal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/profanation-of-the-adamic-covenant/" target="_blank">#ProfanationOfTheAdamicCovenant</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/review/" target="_blank">#Review</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/reviews/" target="_blank">#Reviews</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/ritual-ascension/" target="_blank">#RitualAscension</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/rotpit/" target="_blank">#Rotpit</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/sentient-ruin-laboratories/" target="_blank">#SentientRuinLaboratories</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/stenched/" target="_blank">#Stenched</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/suffering-hour/" target="_blank">#SufferingHour</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/ulcerate/" target="_blank">#Ulcerate</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/void-rot/" target="_blank">#VoidRot</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/winter/" target="_blank">#Winter</a></p>
Angry Metal Guy<p><a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/act-of-impalement-profane-altar-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Act of Impalement – Profane Altar Review</a></p><p><i>By Dear Hollow</i></p><p>Nashville trio <strong>Act of Impalement</strong>’s sophomore release <em>Infernal Ordinance</em>, in spite of the low-hanging HOA jokes, was badass. <a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/act-of-impalement-infernal-ordinance-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Its unfuckwithable blend of death and crust styles</a> led to a sore neck from endless headbanging, while its passages of doom tempos and thick weight did the sludge and doom influences justice. I still spin the likes of “Summoning the Final Conflagration” and “Erased,” reliving that pummeling that hurts so good again and again. You can imagine how excited I was, then, to discover <strong>Act of Impalement</strong> has a new album.</p><p>To accurately sum up <strong>Act of Impalement</strong>’s musical arsenal is an exercise in futility, and <em>Profane Altar</em> amps the obscurity – although the trademark groove remains stalwart. While Ethan Rock remains the band’s pivot point as primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist, a revamped lineup replacing bassist Jimmy Grogan and longtime drummer Zack Ledbetter emerges with its own streamlined take. As such, while <em>Infernal Ordinance</em> felt almost entirely like the one-man Ethan Rock show, <em>Profane Altar </em>finds bassist Jerry Garner adding more rumbling weight to the riffs while drummer Aaron Hortman brings a newfound manic energy and mania to the rhythms. While the influences remain the same in death metal royalty <strong>Bolt Thrower</strong>, <strong>Incantation</strong>, <strong>Entombed</strong>, and <strong>Asphyx</strong> – and the sound is deceptively straightforward – the streamlined approach, more pronounced black metal influence, and filthier riffs offer new planes for <strong>Act of Impalement</strong>.</p><p></p><p><strong>Act of Impalement</strong>’s biggest change is a more cohesive fusing of its sludge and death metal influences alongside its newfound obscure black metal bleakness. While opener “Summoning the Final Conflagration” from its predecessor set a precedent of buzzsaw riffs driven to a sludgy end, <em>Profane Altar</em> opens with “Apparition” – while the groove and riffs are similar, they are absolutely suffocating, a swampy tar filling every crevice of the sound. <strong>Act of Impalement</strong> is down with the thickness, and it grants them a fluidity that kept the disjointedness of its predecessor from truly soaring. From ten-ton bruisers dripping with patient swagger (“Apparition,” “Final Sacrifice”), filthy 6/8 death metal waltzes (“Sanguine Rites,” “Gnashing Teeth”) to vicious crust punk-influenced black metal beatdowns laden with blastbeats and shred (“Piercing the Heavens,” “Deities of the Weak”), their potentially disconnected collection of blasting and bruising is blessedly woven together by its all-consuming weight.</p><p></p><p>Brevity is the name of <strong>Act of Impalement</strong>’s game, and it no longer feels like a one-man show. No track exceeds five minutes for a total of thirty-one minutes, which is absolutely reasonable and almost necessary for this breed of intensity. While the professed styles don’t feel particularly unique, <strong>Act of Impalement</strong> manages to lay them atop the incredibly sturdy foundation of groove, which serves the brevity extremely well – the album hits hard and fast and never overstays its welcome. Better still, Garner’s bass shines throughout and Hortman’s percussion feels both unhinged in its blastbeats and steadfastly reliable in its plodding groove – both members shining alongside Rock’s riffs and hellish roars. That being said, <strong>Act of Impalement</strong> offers a brutal riff-fest with elements borrowed from death, death/doom, crust punk, and black metal, a tribute to the hallowed halls of metal history – but the product is remarkably straightforward in its punishing groove.</p><p>If you’re looking for a nuanced album that showcases a rich and layered approach to its songwriting, <em>Profane Altar</em> is not for you. However, if you’re okay seeing all its influences as riders of the one-trick pony called groove, it doesn’t get much better than <strong>Act of Impalement</strong>’s breed of pummeling. <em>Profane Altar</em> is fucking heavy, simultaneously a more in-your-face and obscure release for a band renowned for their breakneck intensity. Balance and the bravery to embrace its disparate blend of influences sets it apart from its already formidable predecessor, even though the shortsighted groove makes it blackened, deathened, crusty, doomy ear candy. <em>Infectiously groovy</em> ear candy.</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> 3.5/5.0<br><strong>DR:</strong> 6 | <strong>Format Reviewed:</strong> 320 kb/s mp3<br><strong>Label:</strong> <a href="http://www.caligarirecords.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Caligari Records</a><br><strong>Websites:</strong> <a href="http://instagram.com/actofimpalement" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">instagram.com/actofimpalement</a> | <a href="http://facebook.com/ActOfImpalement" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">facebook.com/ActOfImpalement</a><br><strong>Releases Worldwide:</strong> February 28th, 2025</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/2025/" target="_blank">#2025</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/35/" target="_blank">#35</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/act-of-impalement/" target="_blank">#ActOfImpalement</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/american-metal/" target="_blank">#AmericanMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/asphyx/" target="_blank">#Asphyx</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/black-metal/" target="_blank">#BlackMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/blackened-death-metal/" target="_blank">#BlackenedDeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/bolt-thrower/" target="_blank">#BoltThrower</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/caligari-records/" target="_blank">#CaligariRecords</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/crust-punk/" target="_blank">#CrustPunk</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-doom-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathDoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/doom-metal/" target="_blank">#DoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/entombed/" target="_blank">#Entombed</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/feb25/" target="_blank">#Feb25</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/incantation/" target="_blank">#Incantation</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/profane-altar/" target="_blank">#ProfaneAltar</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/review/" target="_blank">#Review</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/reviews/" target="_blank">#Reviews</a></p>
sariash<p><a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/NowPlaying" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NowPlaying</span></a> <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/MittwochMetalMix" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MittwochMetalMix</span></a> 15 years ago today, Spanish gothic/death-doom metal band Helevorn released their marvelous second full-length album: Forthcoming Displeasures 🖤 </p><p>bandcamp link:<br><a href="https://helevorn.bandcamp.com/album/forthcoming-displeasures" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">helevorn.bandcamp.com/album/fo</span><span class="invisible">rthcoming-displeasures</span></a></p><p><a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/Music" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Music</span></a> <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/Metal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Metal</span></a> <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/GothicMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>GothicMetal</span></a> <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/DeathDoomMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DeathDoomMetal</span></a> <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/Helevorn" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Helevorn</span></a></p>
Angry Metal Guy<p><a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/norilsk-antipole-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Norilsk – Antipole Review</a></p><p><i>By Thus Spoke</i></p><p>By quirk of circumstance, <em>Antipole </em>is the third French-language album I’ve reviewed in a row. <strong>Norilsk </strong>break the trend in one way, however, as they are Quebecois, not French<strong>. </strong><em>Antipole </em>is also not a debut (as my other 2025 subjects have been); far from it, <strong>Norilsk </strong>being a fairly established name in the Canadian death/doom sphere. With an approach that broadly leans towards the grit and grime of the two genres—rather than the grandiosity or beautification of either—but a tendency to flirt with post, they have garnered appreciation as solid riff-deliverers who can still keep things a little interesting. As its name might suggest, <em>Antipole </em>is a study of opposites, with the promo sheet highlighting the dualities <strong>Norilsk </strong>explore both conceptually and literally through the music’s evolutions. Such polarities are, in fact, key.</p><p>If not granted much attention, <em>Antipole </em>is serviceable doom-y death; deviations from the template rare enough to be forgettable. But it was when my listens moved from passive to active that problems began to emerge. Under a camouflage of unremarkability—a problem in itself—the true colors make themselves plain if you really look. Most melodies become frustrating in their wasted potential; most riffs lack presence; the overuse of essentially spoken-word delivery of the growled vocals gets ever more grating. But the greatest issue, encompassing all others, is that the compositions feel flimsy whereas they ought to feel hefty—instrumental and vocal elements not harnessed to their full potential, and highs dropped in without justifying set-up. Duality is one thing, but disjointedness is another, and it is the former that characterizes <em>Antipole</em>. But it is not a dynamic kind of disjointed—such as one might find in overambitious technical extreme metal—but quite the opposite: an apathetic lack of follow-through that’s insidiously vague, but ultimately brings the above problems into even sharper relief.</p><p></p><p><strong>Norlisk</strong> severely underuse key building blocks of both doom and death.<a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/norilsk-antipole-review/#fn-210471-1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">1</a> Rather than harnessing song lengths to execute builds and releases, to hint, deliver, and reprise refrains, they often repeat empty phrases (“Antipole,” “La chute du géant”), and simply switch into unearned flourishes (“Locus Sanctus,” “La fonte”), or discard a melody for stripped-back flatness (“Nunataks,” “Un chant pour les morts”). Instead of complimenting weighty riffs with soaring themes, or doubling down in grimy dissonance, (most) melodies are thin, barely develop, and carry about as much emotion as a bank statement. The emphasis on spoken word <em>and</em> approximately spoken or whispered delivery for harsh vocals gives much of the music a disinterested, placid effect, while the instances of more aggressive barking come across as put-on if not passable—though they are soon supplanted by the dominating whisper-growl anyway. Individual pieces—a groove here (“D’ombre et de glace (l’asphysxie)”), a riff there (“Nunataks”), the rare appearance of coherent thematic development in a beautiful solo (“La chute du géant”)—are good. But while shrouding the disconnection and the tameness at first blush, soon they make more evident how exasperatingly under-developed the whole is. These highlights themselves lose their sheen like gold dust in a pile of ash–not worth getting excited about, when you have to trawl through the rest to catch them. Let not the embed fool you: it’s possibly the best track.</p><p></p><p>Everything contained within <em>Antipole</em> is serviceable, but those stand-out elements prove that <strong>Norilsk</strong> are capable of much more than serviceable. Where they flirt with post (“Un chant pour les morts”) or a more energetic melodeath (“Locus Sanctus”) the music gains a hint of intrigue, but it loses it just as quickly because <strong>Norilsk </strong>don’t <em>do</em> anything with it, and settle back into comfortable, unremarkable death-doom. Some inconsistencies in the mix possibly contribute to the album’s problems. Harsh vocals sometimes fall back behind the guitars and percussion, meaning that when they would otherwise sound very good, with their resonant growls, they instead end up a little choked and feel non-committal. However, the spoken-word vocals usually appear right at the front of the mix, though they do not possess the requisite gravity for this prominence, and it makes them and the music accompanying them feel somehow flat. When the music is neither crushing enough to warrant a dense production—though at times it pretends to be—nor dynamic enough to justify a spacious one—though, again, attempts are made—the mix never feels just right; to my ears anyway. Perhaps <em>Antipole </em>has just driven me insane.</p><p>With apparent appreciation for <strong>Norilsk</strong> in the underground scene, and some stand-out moments—particularly on the front end—the true face of <em>Antipole</em> turned out to be an immense disappointment. There are approximately ten minutes of good death-doom hidden amidst the full 48, and whether or not this suffices to give <em>Antipole </em>your time is up to you. Maybe <strong>Norilsk </strong>have fallen from grace; maybe the fans were simply wrong all along.<a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/norilsk-antipole-review/#fn-210471-2" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">2</a></p><p><strong>Rating: </strong>Disappointing<br><strong>DR:</strong> 7 | <strong>Format Reviewed:</strong> 320 kb/s mp3<br><strong>Label:</strong> <a href="https://www.hypnoticdirgerecords.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Hypnotic Dirge</a><br><strong>Websites: </strong><a href="https://norilskdoom.bandcamp.com/album/antipole" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NorilskDoom/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Facebook</a><br><strong>Releases Worldwide:</strong> February 6th, 2025</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/20/" target="_blank">#20</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/2025/" target="_blank">#2025</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/antipole/" target="_blank">#Antipole</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/canadian-metal/" target="_blank">#CanadianMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-doom-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathDoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/doom-metal/" target="_blank">#DoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/feb25/" target="_blank">#Feb25</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/hypnotic-dirge/" target="_blank">#HypnoticDirge</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/norilsk/" target="_blank">#Norilsk</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/quebecois-metal/" target="_blank">#QuebecoisMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/review/" target="_blank">#Review</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/reviews/" target="_blank">#Reviews</a></p>
Angry Metal Guy<p><a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/choir-smithe-thee-smoldering-providence-things-you-might-have-missed-2024/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Choir – Smithe Thee Smoldering Providence [Things You Might Have Missed 2024]</a></p><p><i>By Dear Hollow</i></p><p>Bring them tired ashes to the black waters and sing an anthem for the famine! <em>Smithe Thee Smoldering Providence </em>is blasphemy, a molten and silt-laden horror that saturates every negative space with noise, desolation, and punishment. It dirges and roars like the gods that you thought were benevolent and merciful – their faces lurid and nauseating when you looked upon them. Hallelujah, you will go mad. You will embrace your fate with arms outstretched and feet running until you sink. You will vomit and rejoice at the coming of ruin. You will praise your master. <strong>Choir </strong>preaches to this manic truth and gospel of filth, recalling the memory of a ritual buried deep in a book of death-bathed dark. As you are baptized in the muddy river, buried with Christ, and raised to walk in newness of life, open your eyes and look below and you’ll notice the abyss of the dead and rotting staring back.</p><p></p><p><strong>Choir </strong>is a one-man act from Singapore consisting of musician/producer The Choir, offering extreme metal dredged in obscurity and violence. At once blending the pulverizing weight of death/doom, the raw hatred of black metal, and the cavernous echoes of death metal, crammed to the brim with misanthropic dissonance, dense atmospherics, and vicious noise, the act can be compared to the likes of <b>Impetuous Ritual</b>, <strong>Infernal Coil</strong>, <strong>Menace Ruine</strong>, and <strong>Primitive Man</strong>, but with an interpretation of pain all its own. While 2021’s first full-length <em>Songs for a Tarnished World</em> introduced this noise, its follow-up <em>Smithe Thee Smoldering Providence </em>hones it, <strong>Choir</strong>’s sound achieves relentless devastation and palpable purpose. And it’s a damn shame it was released so late in 2024.</p><p><em>Smithe Thee Smoldering Providence </em>consists of two twenty-two-minute songs, but the tracklist breaks them into three and four movements respectively – one of the few mercies you will receive listening to <strong>Choir</strong>’s relentless onslaught. Like 2024’s boundary-pushing <strong>Ingurgitating Oblivion</strong>, <strong>Choir </strong>combines the outer limits of extreme metal. However, contrary to the elegance, technicality, and grace of <em>Ontology of Nought</em>, <strong>Choir</strong> molds the festering and rotten loams of lumbering weight, blackened chaos, and ruthless dissonance into a lethal clay, encased in the thick grime of murk. Emerging like many-eyed and many-limbed creatures emerging from the muddy river, movements will sear themselves into your ears from out of nowhere, such as the <strong>Mitochondrion</strong>-esque chugging riffs (“Bring Them… I,” “Bring Them… III,” “And Sing… IV”), dizzying brain-bleeds and complete disintegrations into noise and dissonance (“And Sing… III”), full-on blackened assaults buried beneath the garbling <strong>Portal</strong>-esque weight of mud (“And Sing… I”), and ambient sprawls with a rotten hum and bilious distortion trembling beneath (“Bring Them… II”). Gorgeous synth melodies are sparse and stand in stark contrast during capitalizations of crescendos (“And Sing… IV”). While nonetheless bathed in the blood of distortion, they add a distinctly human feel that somehow makes the album much more punishing by contrast while also providing a jagged light at the end of <b>Choir</b>’s pitch-black tunnel.</p><p><strong>Choir</strong> has accomplished an insane feat, creating an experience that balances haunting hypnotism, primitive ritualism, and cutthroat punishment in its misanthropic blend of extreme styles. Simultaneously a thunderously colossal and lumbering beast and a hateful specter with teeth of lightning, <em>Smithe Thee Smoldering Providence </em>is a portrayal of divine smelt, god silt, and blasphemous murk. Molten and filthy, hypnotic and punishing, <strong>Choir </strong>is an easy triumph for year-end lists had it been released earlier.</p><p><strong>Tracks to Check Out</strong>: “Bring Them Tired Ashes to the Black Waters,” “And Sing an Anthem for the Famine”</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/2024/" target="_blank">#2024</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/ambient-black-metal/" target="_blank">#AmbientBlackMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/ambient-noise/" target="_blank">#AmbientNoise</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/black-metal/" target="_blank">#BlackMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/blackened-death-metal/" target="_blank">#BlackenedDeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/blackened-doom-metal/" target="_blank">#BlackenedDoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/choir/" target="_blank">#Choir</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-doom-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathDoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/dissonant-black-metal/" target="_blank">#DissonantBlackMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/dissonant-death-metal/" target="_blank">#DissonantDeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/impetuous-ritual/" target="_blank">#ImpetuousRitual</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/infernal-coil/" target="_blank">#InfernalCoil</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/ingurgitating-oblivion/" target="_blank">#IngurgitatingOblivion</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/menace-ruine/" target="_blank">#MenaceRuine</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/mitochondrion/" target="_blank">#Mitochondrion</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/portal/" target="_blank">#Portal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/primitive-man/" target="_blank">#PrimitiveMan</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/singaporean-metal/" target="_blank">#SingaporeanMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/smithe-thee-smoldering-providence/" target="_blank">#SmitheTheeSmolderingProvidence</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/things-you-might-have-missed/" target="_blank">#ThingsYouMightHaveMissed</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/things-you-might-have-missed-2024/" target="_blank">#ThingsYouMightHaveMissed2024</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/tymhm/" target="_blank">#TYMHM</a></p>
Angry Metal Guy<p><a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/pyre-where-obscurity-sways-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Pyre – Where Obscurity Sways Review</a></p><p><i>By Dear Hollow</i></p><p>Swedeath is one of those games I have zero skin in, but its close overlap with hardcore-influenced death metal and death ‘n roll makes that relationship complicated. Like I could not be bothered by <em>Left Hand Path</em>, but <em>Wolverine Blues</em> is a stalwart among my music collection; <strong>Bloodbath</strong> is regrettably not an act I return to regularly,<a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/pyre-where-obscurity-sways-review/#fn-210619-1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">1</a> but I consider <strong>Black Breath</strong> one of those rare successful intersections of grind, death metal, and death ‘n roll. My point is, I don’t know where the line is drawn between these styles but I know I like some of it and then can’t be fussed about the rest of it. With <strong>Pyre</strong>, the jury’s still out.</p><p><em>Where Obscurity Sways</em> is the Saint Petersburg quartet <strong>Pyre</strong>’s third full-length, and it wavers between full-on <strong>Entombed</strong> worship and something resembling <strong>Fuming Mouth</strong>. Professing a frigidity more closely resembling black metal coursing throughout, <strong>Pyre</strong> offers chunky riffs, feral vocals, tense tremolo and chuggy shreds, and a bouncy sense of ubiquitous buzzsaw and passages of doomier tempos, alongside a wailing lead guitar whose rip-roaring solos are owed to multiple members’ contributions to the traditional heavy metal sister act <strong>Blazing Rust</strong>. <strong>Pyre</strong> throws the kitchen sink at us, blurring the lines between hardcore- and Swedeath-influenced death metal, boasting that black metal chill and no-holds-barred attitude – only for <em>Where Obscurity Sways</em> to go in one ear and out the other.</p><p></p><p>That’s not to say you won’t swing your fists and break your neck across <em>Where Obscurity Sways</em>. Big groovy meatheaded fun is front and center with <strong>Pyre</strong>, a monosyllabic approach that’s as effective as its moniker, despite its various experimentalisms. In the sweet spot that finds itself between chunky riffs, wailing leads, and punishing weight at the mercy of the shifting tempos (“Murderous Transcendence,” “Writhing Souls”), the album pumps adrenaline, utilizing sticky chugging riffs as both capitalization of crescendo and simmering burn. When black metal rears its despondent head (“Murderous Transcendence,” “Prognostic of the Apocalypse”), the sound is transported to a cold second-wave atmosphere that it aims for. Composition is precise and effective, as a smart use of shifting tempos and proper utility of punk beats lead to satisfying conclusions of both intensity and doom (“Where Obscurity Sways,” “Pestilential Fumes”). Barked and howled vocals, provided by bassist Dym Nox, land squarely in crusty territory throughout, although the isolated occurrence of death metal gutturals (“From the Stygian Depths”) is a welcome change of pace for <strong>Pyre</strong>.</p><p><strong>Pyre</strong>’s monotonal vocals and inconsistent uses of tempos keeps it from achieving its true potential. The Russians run quite similarly into the same issues as Arizona’s deathgrind/death-doom band <strong>Thorn</strong>, in which the atmosphere and weight is communicated well enough, but nothing more breaks through the surface. <em>Where Obscurity Sways</em> is entirely inconsistent, <strong>Pyre</strong>’s tracks blur together in monotonous doom sprawls, but then utilize different tricks for each half of the album: the first half weaponizes wailing leads and ominous melodies, while the second dwells entirely in darkened tremolo. Each has its highlights (“Where Obscurity Sways,” “Pestilential Fumes”) and their droning sloggers (“Domains of the Nameless Rites,” “Chanting Ancient Incantations”). While the two instrumental pieces are decent enough to establish a semblance of atmosphere, their motifs are not utilized across the rest of the tracks for it to stick. In true crusty fashion, <strong>Pyre</strong> saturates its sound into a crusty, HM-2, Swedeath goo, so it’s easy to let the album at large settle into the background.</p><p>Apart from “Murderous Transcendence” and “Writhing Souls,” the whole of <em>Where Obscurity Sways</em> hangs out in relatively decent yet ultimately forgettable territory. Somehow <strong>Pyre</strong> makes the album seem too long even at a very reasonable thirty-six minutes, but when several songs blur together into a featureless expanse, it’s difficult to track. Some tracks are smartly composed, others painfully dull. Despite its attempt to blend Swedeath, hardcore, doom, and black metal, it keeps tripping itself up with inconsistent tempos and motifs. Utilizing more death vocals, sticky chugs, and black metal, <strong>Pyre</strong> will have a winning formula. As it stands, <em>Where Obscurity Sways</em> stays obscure.</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> 2.0/5.0<br><strong>DR:</strong> 7 | <strong>Format Reviewed:</strong> 320 kb/s mp3<br><strong>Label:</strong> <a href="https://www.osmoseproductions.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Osmose Productions</a><br><strong>Websites:</strong> <a href="http://pyredeathmetal.bandcamp.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">pyredeathmetal.bandcamp.com</a> | <a href="http://facebook.com/pyredeathmetal" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">facebook.com/pyredeathmetal</a><br><strong>Releases Worldwide:</strong> January 31st, 2025</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/20/" target="_blank">#20</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/2025/" target="_blank">#2025</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/black-breath/" target="_blank">#BlackBreath</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/black-metal/" target="_blank">#BlackMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/blazing-rust/" target="_blank">#BlazingRust</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/bloodbath/" target="_blank">#Bloodbath</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-doom-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathDoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/entombed/" target="_blank">#Entombed</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/fuming-mouth/" target="_blank">#FumingMouth</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/hardcore/" target="_blank">#Hardcore</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/jan25/" target="_blank">#Jan25</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/osmose-productions/" target="_blank">#OsmoseProductions</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/pyre/" target="_blank">#Pyre</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/review/" target="_blank">#Review</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/reviews/" target="_blank">#Reviews</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/russian-metal/" target="_blank">#RussianMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/thorn/" target="_blank">#Thorn</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/where-obscurity-sways/" target="_blank">#WhereObscuritySways</a></p>
Luke<p>I would like this excellent fresh <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/DeathDoomMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DeathDoomMetal</span></a> band from <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/Spain" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Spain</span></a> for this edition of <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/Saturdoom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Saturdoom</span></a>: Onirophagus. Their new record Revelations from the Void is an excellent way for me to discover this band.</p><p>The whole album is a demonstration of how to balance <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/deathMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>deathMetal</span></a> and <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/doomMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>doomMetal</span></a> without loosing focus, but the last song is a magnum opus, clocking in at almost 15 minutes. It truly descents to another level of reality when they add some voidgaze to the mix.</p><p>👥 Onirophagus<br>💿 Revelations from the Void</p><p>And if you want a single track;<br>🎶 Stargazing into the Void </p><p><a href="https://album.link/i/1785107996" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">album.link/i/1785107996</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p>
Angry Metal Guy<p><a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/faithxtractor-loathing-and-the-noose-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Faithxtractor – Loathing and the Noose Review</a></p><p><i>By Maddog</i></p><p><strong>Faithxtractor</strong>’s second biggest musical contribution was the comment section from their <a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/faithxtractor-contempt-for-a-failed-dimension-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">last album</a>. With a Farmers Only joke, a thread about metalcore album names, and a <a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/faithxtractor-contempt-for-a-failed-dimension-review/?commentID=c2190dce-89bb-4aa6-959c-d2fa4aca8076" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">story</a> that must be read to be believed, the birdbrain community’s mockery of <strong>Faithxtractor</strong>’s name has left me giggling for two years. Of course, the band’s biggest contribution was 2023’s <em>Contempt for a Failed Dimension</em> itself. Perhaps my favorite frill-free death metal record in recent memory, <strong>Faithxtractor</strong>’s fourth full-length dealt in riffs and also riffs. Unlike the other wannabes that litter the old-school death metal revival scene, <strong>Faithxtractor</strong> stood out through thoughtful songwriting. The album’s doom-tinged riffs were punchy, and its cohesive flow has withstood two years of wear. Ohio’s underground farmers are back with another slab of death metal. As I started spinning <em>Loathing and the Noose</em>, I knew what to expect.</p><p>At least, I thought I did. While <em>Contempt for a Failed Dimension</em> reveled in riffy simplicity, <em>Loathing and the Noose</em> is much more adventurous. <strong>Faithxtractor</strong>’s signature remains, with extra chunky riffs that alternate between furious death metal and <strong>Asphyx</strong>iating death-doom. However, while <em>Contempt</em> turned everything up to eleven, <em>Loathing</em> shatters the knob altogether. The most intense sections veer into blackened death-thrash, landing in between <strong>Morbid Saint</strong> and <em>Panzer Division Marduk</em> (“Fever Dream Litanies”). Even early <strong>Suffocation</strong> rears its head in <strong>Faithxtractor</strong>’s most bludgeoning brutal riffwork (“Flooded Tombs”). Spastic flailing guitar solos complement this unhinged assault on the senses. However, <strong>Faithxtractor</strong> ventures in the opposite direction as well. <em>Loathing</em>’s soaring leads and its melodeath-inflected riffs make it feel more melodic than <em>Contempt</em>. Meanwhile, the album’s starkest change lies in its bluer shade of doom. <strong>Faithxtractor</strong>’s melodic death-doom passages recall <strong>Swallow the Sun</strong>, displaying a newfound emotive side rather than merely adding heft. While <em>Loathing and the Noose</em> is far from an avant-garde record, it marks a sea change for <strong>Faithxtractor</strong>.</p><p></p><p>Miraculously, <strong>Faithxtractor</strong>’s experiments pay off. Even the most unexpected pieces are bafflingly powerful. Despite my knee-jerk skepticism, the melodic death-doom escapades are as evocative as the genre’s best (“Cerecloth Vision Veil”). Conversely, <em>Loathing and the Noose</em>’s speediest blackened cuts hijack my brain using frantic melodies and <strong>Marduk</strong> riffs (“Ethos Moribund”). These varied elements fit together with uncanny grace. The mid-section of opener “Noose of Being” mutates from blackened riffs to melodeath to sadboi death-doom to knuckle-dragging <strong>Autopsy</strong> worship, with fluid transitions that make each long jump feel like a natural step. Similarly, “Caveats” shines through its dynamic back-and-forth between an elegiac key melody and an enormous doom riff. While <strong>Faithxtractor</strong>’s round-trip transitions are sometimes abrupt, like the funeral-doom-and-back of “Flooded Tombs,” these are rare exceptions. Indeed, because it’s so well-crafted, <em>Loathing and the Noose</em> is an immediate hit despite its evolution; even the doomy seven-minute closer flies by, lodging into my memory by my second listen. Over-experimentation can be a turn-off, but <strong>Faithxtractor</strong> makes it work by whole-assing their every move.</p><p>Of course, it helps that the caveman segments slay. Even on its more adventurous tracks, <em>Loathing</em>’s overpowering death metal riffs are grin-inducing (“Cerecloth Vision Veil”). I have a soft spot for guitar solos paired with a dominant rhythm guitar, and <strong>Faithxtractor</strong> delivers on this with reckless abandon (“The Loathing”). If anything, <em>Loathing and the Noose</em>’s explosive tendencies make it a more visceral and infectious listen than its predecessor. And because the album’s climactic fury is sprinkled across each track rather than being sequestered, its 37 minutes are consistently lovable. While <em>Loathing</em>’s loud in-your-face master blunts its teeth, it remains a delight to revisit.</p><p>This is not the death metal album I was looking for. I showed up expecting a single-minded half-hour curbstomp. While <em>Loathing and the Noose</em> retains these simple roots, it does so much more. With influences ranging from blackened thrash to weepy death-doom, <strong>Faithxtractor</strong>’s newest record marks a transformation that initially left me worried. But its gargantuan death metal riffs, its smooth songwriting, and its excellence across its genre romps won me over. <em>Contempt for a Failed Dimension</em> was not just one of the <a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/thus-spoke-and-maddogs-top-tenish-of-2023/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">greatest albums of 2023</a>; it shocked me, revitalizing a subgenre that rarely rises above a 3.0. <em>Loathing and the Noose</em> sounds worlds apart, but checks the same elusive box. Mastermind Ash Thomas continues to understand my taste better than I do, releasing fantastic records in styles that often let me down. Keep an open mind and give this a shot.</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> 4.0/5.0<br><strong>DR:</strong> 7 | <strong>Format Reviewed:</strong> 320 kb/s mp3<br><strong>Label:</strong> <a href="https://www.redefiningdarkness.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Redefining Darkness Records</a><br><strong>Websites:</strong> <a href="http://faithxtractor.bandcamp.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">faithxtractor.bandcamp.com</a> | <a href="http://facebook.com/<strong>Faithxtractor</strong>" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">facebook.com/Faithxtractor</a><br><strong>Releases Worldwide:</strong> January 10th, 2025</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/2025/" target="_blank">#2025</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/40/" target="_blank">#40</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/american-metal/" target="_blank">#AmericanMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/asphyx/" target="_blank">#Asphyx</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/autopsy/" target="_blank">#Autopsy</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/blackened-death/" target="_blank">#BlackenedDeath</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/blackened-death-metal/" target="_blank">#BlackenedDeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/contempt-for-a-failed-dimension/" target="_blank">#ContemptForAFailedDimension</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-doom/" target="_blank">#DeathDoom</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-doom-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathDoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/faithxtractor/" target="_blank">#Faithxtractor</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/jan25/" target="_blank">#Jan25</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/loathing-and-the-noose/" target="_blank">#LoathingAndTheNoose</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/marduk/" target="_blank">#Marduk</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/melodic-death-doom/" target="_blank">#MelodicDeathDoom</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/morbid-saint/" target="_blank">#MorbidSaint</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/redefining-darkness/" target="_blank">#RedefiningDarkness</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/redefining-darkness-records/" target="_blank">#RedefiningDarknessRecords</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/review/" target="_blank">#Review</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/reviews/" target="_blank">#Reviews</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/suffocation/" target="_blank">#Suffocation</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/swallow-the-sun/" target="_blank">#SwallowTheSun</a></p>
BC BY-NC-SA<p>Sonus Mortis – Collapse The Mountain<br><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Metal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Metal</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/SymphonicDeathMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SymphonicDeathMetal</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Symphonicblackmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Symphonicblackmetal</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/blackeneddeathdoom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>blackeneddeathdoom</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/darkmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>darkmetal</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/deathdoommetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>deathdoommetal</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/ireland" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ireland</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/irishmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>irishmetal</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/melodicdeathmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>melodicdeathmetal</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/metal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>metal</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/sonusmortis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sonusmortis</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/symphonicdeathmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>symphonicdeathmetal</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Dublin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Dublin</span></a><br>CC BY-NC-ND (<a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/CreativeCommons" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CreativeCommons</span></a> Attribution Non Commercial No Derivatives)<br><a href="https://sonusmortis.bandcamp.com/album/collapse-the-mountain" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">sonusmortis.bandcamp.com/album</span><span class="invisible">/collapse-the-mountain</span></a></p>
Luke<p>It is <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/Saturdoom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Saturdoom</span></a> again, the day where we spotlight the <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/doom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>doom</span></a> genre until it hisses at the lights and draws back in to the shadows and gloom. Maybe we can draw it out again by sharing good music?</p><p>If you follow the hashtag you’ll find a good source of doom music of all kinds, from <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/psychedelic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>psychedelic</span></a> doom to <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/DeathDoomMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DeathDoomMetal</span></a>. Everything goes.</p><p>Please feel free to share your own favourite tracks!</p>
Arda Kılıçdağı<p>After a couple of listens, I can confidently say that Dan Lancaster fucked up so hard on Swallow The Sun's new album, Shining:</p><p><a href="https://centurymedia.bandcamp.com/album/shining-24-bit-hd-audio" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">centurymedia.bandcamp.com/albu</span><span class="invisible">m/shining-24-bit-hd-audio</span></a></p><p>Almost every instrument, even the vocals have unnecessary effects on them. The drums, the vocals and the guitars sound artificial and overengineered. I didn't like the new sound profile at all.</p><p><a href="https://micro.arda.pw/tags/swallowthesun" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>swallowthesun</span></a> <a href="https://micro.arda.pw/tags/metal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>metal</span></a> <a href="https://micro.arda.pw/tags/doommetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>doommetal</span></a> <a href="https://micro.arda.pw/tags/deathdoommetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>deathdoommetal</span></a> <a href="https://micro.arda.pw/tags/shining" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>shining</span></a></p>
Angry Metal Guy<p><strong><a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/ataraxie-le-declin-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Ataraxie – Le Déclin Review</a></strong></p><p><i>By Dear Hollow</i></p><p>Once again, as reflected in the French act’s fifth full-length, <strong>Ataraxie</strong> channels an existential crisis. <em>Le Déclin</em> is not just a soundtrack of its inspiration source (<strong>Ahab</strong>, <strong>Tyranny</strong>) or a dark meditation on devastation (<strong>Evoken</strong>, <strong>Bell Witch</strong>), it’s something more profound. Throughout its miasmic movements and stark artwork, I am called back to Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman’s opus magnum, the 1957 film<em> The Seventh Seal</em>, a knight’s struggle through the days of Black Plague allegorized as a chess game between himself and Death. Likewise, <em>Le Déclin</em> continues its predecessor’s bleak and tormented commentary on the “manipulation and obfuscation of the Masses, the cult of selfishness, dehumanization towards a parasiting [<em>sic</em>] virtual life, [and] global warming insolubility.” Through the lens of modern global anxiety and medieval self-flagellation, <strong>Ataraxie</strong> revels in the human torment beneath it all.</p><p><strong>Ataraxie</strong>, while not always unique in its viscous approach to punishing death/doom, has always been far more guitar-forward, forgoing the atmospheric bells and whistles of genre stalwarts. The first full-length <em>Slow Transcending Agony</em> expertly balanced the weight and tempo of funeral doom with the riffs and punishment of death metal in a unique breed that maintained a unique simmering energy. However, it wasn’t until the very well-received <em><a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/ataraxie-letre-et-la-nausee-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">L’Etre et la Nausée</a></em> and <a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/ataraxie-resignes-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><em>Résignés</em></a> that this fusion was successfully streamlined into a more palatable expression that balances tradition with punishment. Featuring three guitarists,<a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/ataraxie-le-declin-review/#fn-204525-1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">1</a> more sophisticated arrangements, and penchant for melancholy and desperation alike, the minimalist emphasis remains as punishing as ever. Although <em>Le Déclin</em> somewhat lacks the memorability of <strong>Ataraxie</strong>’s magnum opera, four lengthy compositions complete with earthshaking thunder and melodies like the tolling of death knells nonetheless collide to create one of the best doom albums of the year. It is <strong>Ataraxie</strong>, after all.</p><p></p><p>While the overwhelm of traditional funeral doom acts like <strong>Thergothon</strong> or <strong>Esoteric</strong> is certainly intact, that weight is powerfully balanced out by the death metal guitar influence of <strong>diSEMBOWELMENT</strong> or <strong>Winter</strong>. Slow growths across mammoth sixteen to twenty-two-minute runtimes give way to glorious eruptions of crushing heaviness and haunting melodies, punctuated by patient lulls. While the lack of ambiance can be seen as a detriment in the barren no man’s land of funeral doom, <strong>Ataraxie</strong> does a fantastic job of weaponizing dynamics and more traditional death metal motifs, such as blazing tremolo and blast beats (“Vomisseurs De Vide,” “Glory of Ignominy”), chunky climactic riffs, and pulsing undercurrents of energetic percussion (“Glory of Ignominy,” “The Collapse”). While adding to the muscularity of the already colossal album, bassist/vocalist Jonathan Théry’s charismatic and haunting shrieks, shouts, and roars add to the madness, keenly aligned with desperation and fury. <em>Le Déclin</em> is mixed nearly perfectly, <strong>Ataraxie</strong>’s weight and gloom felt through every movement, crushing down like the empty sky.</p><p>Most impressive about <strong>Ataraxie</strong> is its ability to balance sloth, melancholy, and aggression organically, without losing its conviction to starkness—and only with the bare bones of its triple-guitar attack. Because of this, the heavy-handed melo-drama of acts like <strong>Saturnus</strong> or <strong>Novembers Doom</strong> is absent in favor of desolation, reflected in elements like effective spoken word (“Vomisseurs de Vide”) and the dynamic motifs scattered throughout. The weaponized layered plucking or strumming may sound too hammy or heartfelt on paper, but when it sounds like tolling bells (“<em>Le Déclin</em>”) or progressions completely devoid of hope (“Vomisseurs de Vide,” “Glory of Ignominy”), the weight of every empty note feels just as devastating as the colossal funeral doom sprawls. Closer “The Collapse” streamlines the heft and barrenness seamlessly, its first act a steady crescendo that explodes into an outright death metal assault, its second act a blastbeat-infected climax into outright despair—<strong>Ataraxie</strong>’s nearly perfect dichotomy of beautiful and punishing.</p><p>The opening title track feels slightly less memorable than its successive three cuts, due to its more straightforward rhythm, but this criticism is trivial compared to the absolute sonic and existential devastation coursing through <strong>Ataraxie</strong>’s signature sound. Attention never sways across its hour-and-fifteen-minute length, with expertly composed lulls and crescendos guiding its movements. Cutting to the bone of funeral doom with the jagged blade of death metal, it dispenses with the frivolities and atmospherics for an album that is bleak and tormented to its very core – a chess game with Death in all its desperate victories and devastating losses. It’s the soundtrack of the crushed human spirit.</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> 4.0/5.0<br><strong>DR:</strong> 7 | <strong>Format Reviewed:</strong> 320 kb/s mp3<br><strong>Label: </strong><a href="https://www.arduamusic.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Ardua Music</a> | <a href="https://weirdtruth.jp/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Weird Truth Productions</a><br><strong>Websites:</strong> <a href="http://ataraxie.bandcamp.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">ataraxie.bandcamp.com</a> | <a href="http://facebook.com/ataraxiedoom" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">facebook.com/ataraxiedoom</a><br><strong>Releases Worldwide:</strong> October 25th, 2024</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/2024/" target="_blank">#2024</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/40/" target="_blank">#40</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/ahab/" target="_blank">#Ahab</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/ardua-music/" target="_blank">#ArduaMusic</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/ataraxie/" target="_blank">#Ataraxie</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/bell-witch/" target="_blank">#BellWitch</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-doom-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathDoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/disembowelment/" target="_blank">#diSEMBOWELMENT</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/doom-metal/" target="_blank">#DoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/esoteric/" target="_blank">#Esoteric</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/evoken/" target="_blank">#Evoken</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/french-metal/" target="_blank">#FrenchMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/funeral-doom-metal/" target="_blank">#FuneralDoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/le-declin/" target="_blank">#LeDéclin</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/oct24/" target="_blank">#Oct24</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/review/" target="_blank">#Review</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/reviews/" target="_blank">#Reviews</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/thergothon/" target="_blank">#Thergothon</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/tyranny/" target="_blank">#Tyranny</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/weird-truth-productions/" target="_blank">#WeirdTruthProductions</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/winter/" target="_blank">#Winter</a></p>
Döbbie03<p>Mourning Beloveth, now this is some top quality Doom Metal from Ireland.</p><p>So, so, so. so good.</p><p><a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/deathdoommetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>deathdoommetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/doommetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>doommetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/ireland" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ireland</span></a> </p><p>🤘 🇮🇪</p>
sariash<p>My <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/TheSundayStarter" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TheSundayStarter</span></a> (<span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://metalhead.club/@AqiDrago" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>AqiDrago</span></a></span>), the album Compassion Forlorn, released 10 years ago today by the Spanish gothic/death/doom band Helevorn 🎶</p><p>It's on bandcamp here:<br><a href="https://helevorn.bandcamp.com/album/compassion-forlorn" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">helevorn.bandcamp.com/album/co</span><span class="invisible">mpassion-forlorn</span></a></p><p>And I just realised that they released a new album called Espectres a few days ago, which I will listen to afterwards 😍</p><p>It's on bandcamp here:<br><a href="https://helevornofficial.bandcamp.com/album/espectres" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">helevornofficial.bandcamp.com/</span><span class="invisible">album/espectres</span></a></p><p><a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/Music" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Music</span></a> <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/Metal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Metal</span></a> <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/DeathDoomMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DeathDoomMetal</span></a> <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/GothicMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>GothicMetal</span></a> <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/Helevorn" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Helevorn</span></a></p>
Angry Metal Guy<p><strong><a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/monolith-lord-of-the-insect-order-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Monolith – Lord of the Insect Order Review</a></strong></p><p><i>By Dear Hollow</i></p><p><strong>Monolith </strong>is the herald of Earth’s new overlords: the insect swarm. Insects outnumber humans an estimated 1.8 billion to 1, so it was only a matter of time Once united by a hive mind, the planet doesn’t stand a chance. The twist though is that the master race, the <em>Lord of the Insect Order</em>, so to speak, is giant space caterpillars. While <strong>Monolith</strong>’s first 2024 release <em>Hornets Nest</em> focused on the general depravity of the human condition, <em>Lord of the Insect Order </em>brings the B-movies and pulp. It’s <em>War of the World</em><em>s</em> but with bugs, and you should be afraid, very afraid. In a tidy thirty-two minutes, <strong>Monolith </strong>takes us on a journey into humanity’s insignificance at the hands of insectoid overlords.</p><p>Their 2020 sophomore effort <em>No Saints No Solace</em> was <a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/monolith-no-saints-no-solace-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">received poorly</a> by the illustrious <span><strong>Saunders</strong><span> but things have changed: <strong>Monolith</strong>’s got range.<a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/monolith-lord-of-the-insect-order-review/#fn-202108-1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">1</a></span></span> 2024’s <em>Hornets Nest</em> was a foray into untouched territory, as the typically deathcore quartet dove headlong into crusty blackened hardcore that felt like <strong>Black Breath</strong>, <strong>This Gift is a Curse</strong>, and <strong>Nails </strong>got together for a brunch of tar and rusty wrenches—in perhaps one of the most surprisingly solid forays into unfamiliar territory. <em>Lord of the Insect Order </em>is back to its deathcore roots, but experimentation is still a heavy emphasis for this English quartet (from Devon and Cornwall). The first half creates more doom-oriented menace, a bit of <strong>The Acacia Strain </strong>sans hardcore scrappiness, while the second dives back into the <strong>Boris the Blade</strong> and <strong>Aversions Crown</strong> breakdowns-and-blastbeats bread-and-butter you expect from deathcore. Ultimately, thanks to tasteful length, emphasis on relentless beatdown, and never taking itself too seriously, <strong>Monolith </strong>towers with its cosmic caterpillars.</p><p></p><p>Truthfully, I’m not sure why more deathcore doesn’t dive into death/doom, because as <strong>The Acacia Strain</strong>’s <em><a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/the-acacia-strain-failure-will-follow-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Failure Will Follow</a> </em>taught us, the knuckle-dragging crunch fits like a glove into slow-motion pummeling. As such, the first act’s offerings like “Swarm’s Offering” and “Progeny Feast” slow things down to a menacing crawl that doesn’t necessarily forsake its breakdowns and down-tuned noodling, but weaponizes them alongside absolutely vicious vocals and haunting synths. Atmosphere shines most prominently in this half, with the yearning instrumental title track and lamenting “Planetary Hardening” offering synth-infected dirges that reflect upon the ruined landscape and eradicated race. The second act, ripped into creation with “Eclosion; Rise of the Imago Predator,” attacks with relentless brutality that recalls tempo-abusing interpretations like <strong>Aversions Crown </strong>or <strong>Osiah</strong>. The common thread of the yearning atmosphere infects “Parasitic Accession” and “Lonomia Pestilence” like a last tragic gasp before being wholly consumed – by a cosmic caterpillar. Neatly, these two sounds do not contradict, as <strong>Monolith</strong>’s viciousness is only highlighted by its ambiance. It concludes with the most bombastic track, “Unfurling of the Cosmic Caterpillar,” which borrows slightly from the doom palette for a song as epic as it is punishing—a suitable ending to an insane album.</p><p>While the differences between the two acts lend themselves to inconsistency, <b>Monolith</b>’s seamlessness between them and the natural resulting crescendo works like the plotline of an engaging story benefited by the influence of B-movie schlock. That being said, for thirty-two minutes, there are a few filler moments. Album intro “IRAS; Larval Comet” and “Holometabolism” do a solid job adhering to the album’s killer cosmic caterpillar theme and establishing the atmosphere in ways that reflect <strong>Aegaeon </strong>or early <strong>Kardashev.</strong> However, with such a short runtime <strong>Monolith</strong> would do well to trim the excess; the first half in particular could do with some more fleshing and breadth, as the three 3-5 minute doom tracks leave me wanting more. The second half, in particular, will not sway deathcore naysayers, as its emphasis on excess and constant breakdowns is never subtle. While <strong>Monolith</strong>’s theme is lighthearted, recalling the antics of <strong>A Breath Before Surfacing</strong>, their skill and brutality are certainly forces to be reckoned with.</p><p><strong>Monolith</strong>’s second 2024 full-length benefits from its frivolous B-movie influence and willingness to experiment. While I’d like to see more of the deathcore-gone-doom vibe, the second half is tight and uncompromising, the first is epic and formidable, and the atmosphere is a breath of fresh air amid the swarming instruments. <strong>Monolith</strong>’s range cannot be overstated, because <em>Hornets Nest </em>feels like a completely different beast but was equally formidable. <em>Lord of the Insect Order </em>flies by, will get your toe tapping and resurrect your fears of giant cosmic caterpillars overthrowing life as we know it.</p> <p><strong>Rating</strong>: 3.0/5.0<br><strong>DR</strong>: 6 | <strong>Format Reviewed</strong>: 320 kb/s mp3<br><strong>Label</strong>: Self-Released<br><strong>Website</strong>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/monolithuk/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">facebook.com/monolithuk</a> | <a href="https://bandmonolith.bandcamp.com/music" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">bandmonolith.bandcamp.com</a><br><strong>Releases Worldwide</strong>: August 23rd, 2024</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/2024/" target="_blank">#2024</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/30/" target="_blank">#30</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/a-breath-before-surfacing/" target="_blank">#ABreathBeforeSurfacing</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/aegaeon/" target="_blank">#Aegaeon</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/atmospheric-death-metal/" target="_blank">#AtmosphericDeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/aug24/" target="_blank">#Aug24</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/aversions-crown/" target="_blank">#AversionsCrown</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/black-breath/" target="_blank">#BlackBreath</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/boris-the-blade/" target="_blank">#BorisTheBlade</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-doom-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathDoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/deathcore/" target="_blank">#Deathcore</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/doom-metal/" target="_blank">#DoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/english-metal/" target="_blank">#EnglishMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/kardashev/" target="_blank">#Kardashev</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/lord-of-the-insect-order/" target="_blank">#LordOfTheInsectOrder</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/monolith/" target="_blank">#Monolith</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/nails/" target="_blank">#Nails</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/osiah/" target="_blank">#Osiah</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/review/" target="_blank">#Review</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/reviews/" target="_blank">#Reviews</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/self-release/" target="_blank">#SelfRelease</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/the-acacia-strain/" target="_blank">#TheAcaciaStrain</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/this-gift-is-a-curse/" target="_blank">#ThisGiftIsACurse</a></p>
Bauer Winter :misskey:<p><a href="https://misskey.de/tags/DenTagStarten" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#DenTagStarten</a><span><br><br>Heute mit </span><a href="https://misskey.de/tags/DeathDoomMetal" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#DeathDoomMetal</a><span><br><br>Katatonia - Burn The Remembrance<br><br></span><a href="https://yt.artemislena.eu/watch?v=ARgx1Z47xuo" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://yt.artemislena.eu/watch?v=ARgx1Z47xuo</a></p>
Döbbie03<p><a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/deathmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>deathmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/thrashmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>thrashmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/blackmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>blackmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/powermetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>powermetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/doommetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>doommetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/stonermetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>stonermetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/progmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>progmetal</span></a><br><a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/groovemetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>groovemetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/heavymetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>heavymetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/vikingmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vikingmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/warmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>warmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/blackeneddeathmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>blackeneddeathmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/deathnroll" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>deathnroll</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/melodicdeathmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>melodicdeathmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/symphonicmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>symphonicmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/deathdoommetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>deathdoommetal</span></a><br><a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/funeraldoommetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>funeraldoommetal</span></a><br><a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/sludgemetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sludgemetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/folkmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>folkmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/paganmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>paganmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/glammetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>glammetal</span></a><br><a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/gothicmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>gothicmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/grindcore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>grindcore</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/deathcore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>deathcore</span></a><br><a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/deathgrind" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>deathgrind</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/goregrind" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>goregrind</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/industrialmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>industrialmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/postmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>postmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/mathcore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>mathcore</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/dissonantdeathmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>dissonantdeathmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/dissonantblackmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>dissonantblackmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/neoclassicalmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>neoclassicalmetal</span></a><br><a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/speedmetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>speedmetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/crossovermetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>crossovermetal</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/nwothm" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>nwothm</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/nwobhm" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>nwobhm</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/djent" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>djent</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/metalcore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>metalcore</span></a></p>
Your Future Ex<p>From the beach, for <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://metalhead.club/@lpl" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>lpl</span></a></span>'s <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/SaturDoom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SaturDoom</span></a>:</p><p><a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/DoomVS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DoomVS</span></a>: Oceans of Despair</p><p><a href="https://song.link/k0wzqgtxgb8wb" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">song.link/k0wzqgtxgb8wb</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p><a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/DeathDoomMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DeathDoomMetal</span></a></p><p>FFO <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/Ar%C3%B0" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Arð</span></a> <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/Intaglio" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Intaglio</span></a> <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/Krigsgrav" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Krigsgrav</span></a></p>
Your Future Ex<p>For <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/ThursDeath" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ThursDeath</span></a>:</p><p><a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/MarcheFun%C3%A8bre" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MarcheFunèbre</span></a>: After the Storm</p><p><a href="https://song.link/wqfcchxvs6gkn" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">song.link/wqfcchxvs6gkn</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p><a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/DeathDoomMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DeathDoomMetal</span></a></p><p>FFO <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/Calliophis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Calliophis</span></a> <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/EtMoriemur" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>EtMoriemur</span></a> <a href="https://metalhead.club/tags/MotherOfGraves" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MotherOfGraves</span></a></p>
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