Posts

Coscradh - Carving the Causeway to the Otherworld

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  Coscradh is a blackened Death Metal band from Ireland that formed in 2015. Their latest album, “ Carving the Causeway to the Otherworld ” is their second full-length album; they have also released a demo, two EPs and a compilation. This is my first experience with the band, but it isn't one I will soon forget. It's fast, tightly played, and vicious. It might be a ripping solo, a blackened scream, or a riff that delivers the final blow, but this album will eventually knock you on your ass. But it’s also steeped in an ancient veil of mysticism, something ancient and profound but also horrific beyond modern understandings. “ Carving the Causeway to the Otherworld ” can be a scary album too. When the band plays inside their considerably deep pockets and finds a groove, they chill straight down the spine before ripping it out. What makes all this so convincing is the band's songwriting skills and the musicianship that fuels them.  It takes a lot of talent to play extreme met...

Haissem - Aeon Citadel

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Haissem is a one-man black metal band from Ukraine, who formed in 2014.  “ Aeon Citadel ” is the project's 10th studio album; two EPs have also been released. Andrey Tollock (who also has an incredible doom project called Sunset Forsaken ) handles all the instruments and vocals. He's had a long time to hone his craft and “ Aeon Citadel ,” proves that he only gets better as time passes. I've reviewed several Haissem albums in the past and “ Aeon Citadel ” may just be the band's best.  The album has a really good flow. It's just four songs but none of them are less than 8 minutes and just one is under 10. These songs definitely don't feel long as they are written very smartly, pieced together by daring moments of creative passages and memorable melodies.  It dives fully into its blackened sound, but it is adventurous and uses the time well to provide each song with reasons to not only keep listening but also a reason to return.  Each song fits into the overall ...

Perdition Temple- Malign Apotheosis

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Perdition Temple is a blackened Death Metal from Florida who formed in 2009. Their latest album, “ Malign Apotheosis ,” is their fifth full-length album; they also released an EP and a split. “ Malign Apotheosis ,” is pretty much what I expected from this band—and that isn't a bad thing at all. This album finds the band zeroing in on being as fast, abrasive and nasty as possible. Sure, it isn't reinventing the wheel but it does fucking destroy it. And that is all it needs to do. The production is a little more muted and dismal than previous efforts but it works better for their sound this time around. With a band like this, I don't expect (or even want) crystal clear production. The songs are riff based, riding the often thin line between the extremes of black and death metal. But the genres may share extremity are different—but this album definitely balances the two styles well. The drums are absolutely insane and compliment the songs—bulldozing with a purpose. Much can...

Eximperitus - Meritoriousness of Equanimity

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Eximperitus is a death metal band from Belarus, who formed in 2009.  Their latest album, “ Meritoriousness of Equanimity ,” is their third full-length album; they have also released two demos, an EP, and a compilation.  The band used to have a really dumb long name and I’m not going to waste my time typing out because it would take as long to do as it does to listen to this album (just under 34 minutes).  I’d much rather listen to this album because it is an absolute hellride.  If every death metal album released after this one is even half as good, then the genre will have a legendary year. It’s so easy yet so hard to describe what exactly this album is.  On one hand, it’s death metal (or noise, if you hate death metal).  Easy, right? On the other hand, it’s beyond death metal into realms of brutality that some bands labeled as brutal death metal can’t even touch.  It’s also technical.  It has ambient/atmospheric sections.  There are even s...

Eigenstate Zero - A Thousand Blind Windows

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Eigenstate Zero is a one-man progressive death metal band from Sweden, formed in 2018 by scene veteran Christian Ludvigsson.  The latest album, " A Thousand Blind Windows ," is the project's fifth full-length album. Muted fury and strange spoken words open the song “ A Thousand Blind Windows ,” but it feels more like being exhausted from trying so damn hard yet still willing to back down. The project isn't any stranger to unconventional structures and guitars that are seemingly thrown against the wall just to see what sticks—and somehow making it work in strange favor. Much remains the same, yet the band continues to act as a force of nature…so change is still constant.  It feels in these early moments of the album like a bit more focus has been found but it's more like the wild animals have been cornered instead of tamed. Nothing is more dangerous than an animal with nothing to lose not because it's at the end of the line but simply because it has zero fear w...

Graves For Gods - Last Light Fades

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  Graves For Gods is a death/doom metal band from Australia who formed in 2020.  Their latest album, “ Last Light Fades ,” is their second full-length album.   I missed out on their debut but I’m glad “ Last Light Fades ” made its way to my inbox.  As the cover art suggests, this album is one born of pure darkness and all the unseemly things that come with it.  However, it is also filled with surprisingly catchy moments and can be quite melodic when needed. The first song, “ Prepetua Fell ,” is a great example of this, particularly in how the lead guitar adds flavorful layers to the songs and helps steer it in and out of dark territories. The heavy riffs from the rhythm/bass are simple but earworms within themselves while the harmonies stick out in the mind.   I like how the song is slow enough to let the music seep into the spaces between, but it doesn’t languish or meander too much—the band knows exactly where it wants to go.   The vocals are f...

Eldrovian - The Hourglass of Apathy

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Eldrovian is a one-man funeral doom metal band from Iceland, who released their debut EP “ The Forgotten Element , “in 2025.  Little time has been wasted—the project now consists of three EPs and a full-length album.  That’s amazing, especially when you consider the same musician behind this project also does Dauðaró (one of my favorite doom metal acts of the past few years), Dread of Immortality , Synthabsentia , and Skynbrögð ).  What I’m reviewing today is the project’s latest EP, “ The Hourglass of Apathy .”  It may “just” be an EP but there is over 27 minutes of music across its two songs—and both are worthy of your time and of the funeral doom pantheon.  I like the production/mix.  It’s definitely not crystal clear nor is it raw; it sits somewhere comfortably in between the two worlds.  This offers all the details to be heard (of which there are many) yet it still sounds bottomless.   As with any funeral doom, this is an esoteric exp...