Author: acertaintaste

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…)

You are a stowaway on an alien ship. Why? That’s a story for another day. The AI piloting the ship knows you are there but for some reason, you have not yet been found. She speaks to you with an angelic voice but it doesn’t reach you through your ears. She speaks directly to your brain. Your internal voice has a partner. She has never addressed you, not really. But she does sing, and it is haunting.

The rhythmic thumping of the ship’s engine changes pattern from time to time but it’s always an infectious rhythm that you subconsciously tap your feet. You recognise the various cycles by the pattern of the thumps each makes. Sometimes it stops completely and all you are left with are the beautiful synthy noises of the ship’s electric hum. It’s a lot nicer than you thought it would be. While it lasts…

Space should be a bigger influence on metal than it currently is. Space is metal as fuck. It’s extremely hostile to every living thing, it is unimaginably huge, and it is extremely black and cold. The Harvest by Welsh psychedelic doom act MWWB sounds exactly like the space trip I opened this review by describing. (more…)

I don’t know why it continues to surprise me when I get a really interesting promo that I enjoy and find out that the band have a rich discography and are pretty well-known. In case you’re new here, I realised a few years ago I hadn’t paid any attention to new music since the early 2000s and that I should really catch up.

On this journey I’ve discovered entire genres that I never thought I enjoyed but dive deep and come out the other end a complete fanboy. Then there are bands that I really shouldn’t enjoy on paper but end up falling in love with. Loviatar are one such band. Slaegt have now been added to that list. (more…)

Despite this being their third album, Playgrounded came out of nowhere for me. That might say more about me than the band’s stature or following, but I have a feeling it’s a bit of both. Band members from both Rotterdam and Greece combine huge Massive Attack style electronic soundscapes with the dark, prog rock of Karnivool or Porcupine Tree to stunning effect. (more…)

It’s very easy to become jaded and disinterested as a music writer. We get hundreds of promos each week and it’s hard to sift through the chaff to find the chunks of gold. That’s not how that saying goes but that’s part of the problem. Even metaphors are boring now.

When I feel like this and the thought of reading tonnes of PR spiel to work out if this is a band I might be interested in (the good ones give you an FFO, the band ones give you a wholly inaccurate FFO) makes me feel tired, I force myself to do it knowing that there absolutely will be albums in my inbox that will not get the deserved attention or coverage because their record label hasn’t hired of the boutique PR agencies to ensure they get the cover of Metal Hammer. That’s why I started writing reviews, after all. And that’s the story of how I found Copse. (more…)

On Saturday 22nd January 2022, Jute City Hardcore in conjunction with Conroy’s Basement put on a benefit show that raised £486.30 for Maggie’s Dundee.

I could talk about how/why* live music has been harder to find the last few years, but with the quality of music and atmosphere on offer I would have honestly needed reminding of that half-a-song in. (more…)