The weight of the USA’s influence on everything in the UK from politics to sweet treats to new slang is hard to ignore sometimes. When it comes to music, especially metalcore, the influence of American bands is virtually unavoidable.

Lift up this veneer, however, and you’ll find a near-inexhaustible source of UK bands writing furious and pissed off music that simply couldn’t come from outside this small, bigoted island. One band who thoroughly deserves to be spoken of in the same breath as the likes of now major label darlings Mastiff and Venom Prison is Casket Feeder.

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Some musicians (and fans) are comfortable with their music existing comfortably inside an easy to define (and defend) sound. There’s nothing wrong with this. You like what you like. Some people prefer to know exactly what they are getting and for each album by each band they like to be more or less consistent with the sound they know they already love.

Others see genres as a set of toolboxes from which to construct their own sound. The epic, progressive black metal of Tómarúm sits in this camp. Liberally borrowing from different genres can be hit or miss. Often the key is to not be greedy. Following on from their ambitious debut EP, Wounds Ever Expanding, my main thought was how Tómarúm balanced this. (more…)

Following on from 2019’s long sold-out demo Blood Countess return with a blood-soaked debut album Occulta Tenebris

The album makes an immediate impact with the thunderous Storms Over Carpathia – this was the track that Blood Countess selected as a premiere before the album’s release, so it’s fitting that it should be the first of the album. This is followed by hands down my highlight track of the album Ad Altare Sanginem – for me, it’s the most menacing and visceral of the debut and every single element weave in effortlessly and those drums are phenomenal. (more…)

So here it goes – to say I was excited about this show would be an understatement, from its initial announcement to the furious pacing on the day the tickets went on sale to the feeling like Charlie Bucket knowing that I had a ticket and clearly, I wasn’t the only one as it seemed the show sold out incredibly fast.

So why all the giddiness I hear you ask?  quite simply the UK Exclusive show of the enigma that is Lamp of Murmurr also, the show was put on by a label I have been fond of for a long time and have made frequent purchases from Death Prayer Records.

The show had 5 bands in total: (more…)

Music, dance, and other forms of physical art are excellent ways to keep in touch with an ancestral culture that imperialism, colonialism and whitewashing all do their best to stamp out and replace with a monoculture. The trouble is often finding and accessing authentic examples from which to learn. Indigenous cultures, especially those of long-gone civilisations are typically reduced to stereotyped caricatures that “other” any non-white culture to the point they feel alien even to descendants of that culture. Thankfully there are bands who revel in exploring their heritage as well as their love for heavy music.

It’s not quite true to say that Mayan death-doom is new to me because I was a big fan of the initial Tzompantli EP, Tlamanalli, from 2019. If you never caught that before now, it’s very likely this will be your introduction to Mayan death-doom. Xibalba guitarist Brian Ortiz (known here at “Big o)))”) has filled out the line-up since that initial EP to turn this formerly solo side-project into a band proper and has unleased debut album Tlazcaltiliztli upon the world. (more…)

Ante-Inferno’s previous release Fane was a collection of bleakness and widely received upon its release, two years on the band return with new album Antediluvian Dreamscapes – luring the listener into an underworld of nightmares – don’t believe me? just look at the album art. (more…)

As Saklas are Chilean, this review is in both Spanish and English. Also, Erin wanted to practice her Spanish. Divertirse!

SPANISH

La música extrema es una cosa muy difícil para hacer correctamente. Se necesita la habilidad técnico para tocar los instrumentos, definitivamente, pero tambien se necesita un talento para composición. Por supuesto, eso es verdad para cualquier genero, pero especialmente para metal. Demasiado bandas que toca extreme metal son “one-note bands,” en mi opinión, con nada más que blasting desde el empiezo hasta el final. Me encanta este tipo de música, no me malinterpres, pero a veces quiero algo un poco diferente. Quiero un poco más variedad en mi música.

Saklas’ “The Ones Who Swallowed God,” proporciona este variedad. El EP encuentra un equilibrio entre disonancia y melodía, entre brutalidad y ambiente. Nunca está aburrido. Es muy corto, si, y no tiene mucho tiempo para desgastar su bienvenida, pero Saklas son compositores tan talentosos que un full length sería igual de entretenido. (more…)

Whenever something gains prominence, there will inevitabley be those who want to make it known that it is objectively terrible and anyone who likes this thing are idiots.

Undeath play old-school death metal about gore and torture and dead bodies, with Bill Steet style leads and killer grooves. If you’re looking for genre-defining or innovative music, not only is this the wrong band, but it’s entirely the wrong genre. Much the same path as Sanguisugabogg, Frozen Soul, 200 Stab Wounds and… the last Undeath album. That’s not to take anything away from the band, album or genre at all. Consistent high-quality output is to be lauded, not derided. (more…)

I don’t want to hear about anything being Unslayable. I’ve gone straight from my 6th attempt at starting and getting into Dark Souls (1) into Elden Ring and practically everything is impervious to death, as part of the plot and the world. I’ve both killed the same groups of enemies and been killed by the same stupid jumping dudes or fellas with spears countless times. What a world to explore.

At the same time, I’ve also listened to Unslayable, the debut album by Scottish antifascist black thrash outfit Tyrannus. Coincidentally they appear to have named their album after Malenia, Blade of Miquella who has never known defeat. With this being their first album (3 years after their first demo), Tyrannus has also never known defeat. If only I could be so grossly incandescent. (more…)

20 Buck Spin, along with Willowtip, have to be one of the most consistent metal labels in the last few years. Wode, Cerebral Rot, Worm, Aenigmatum, Atrae Bilis, Dream Unending, Witch Vomit, and probably some more I’m missing saw 20BS absolutely smash 2021. 2022 is also shaping up to be a good year with albums from the likes of Tzompantli, Predatory Light and Hulder on the horizon. But today we’re here to talk about Egregore, and their debut album The Word Of His Law. (more…)