Album Reviews

It's been a while since Sonata Arctica released any new material, as the last two albums were acoustic versions of already existing songs. In addition, the last few Sonata Arctica albums have felt a little less inspired and more mainstream, so it's nice to see that with 'Clear Cold Beyond' they seem to go back to their faster and heavier roots. I think we haven't heard this Sonata since 'Winterheart’s Guild'.
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French black metal quintet Merrimack are back with their sixth album “Of Grace and Gravity” released on March 8th via Season of Mist Underground Activists. Considering how nihilistic the French black metal bands are, Merrimack takes the genre in a direction that fans of Antaeus, Watain, Valkyrja, Deathspell Omega, and Ofermod would approve of. While still sounding pure and evil we get treated with a hellfire of tremolo-picked riffs, slow catchy melodies, and above all the new material is arguably amongst the band’s best work.
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California-based death metal act Skeletal Remains ultimately brings forth their newest album “Fragments of the Ageless” scheduled for a release date on March 8th, 2024, via Century Media Records. Thirteen years in existence, the band has enormously grown into a top-tier band. Skeletal Remains' fifth record is abrasively harsh and brutal. Everything from the instrumentation to the monstrous growls and riffing of Chris Monroy to the cyborg-like drumming of Pierce Williams (Azath, Ænigmatum), the mastery of guitarist Mike De La O (Morfin) with rumbling bass and keyboards of Brian Rush (Ænigmatum) bring the quartet in a visceral cohesion.
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U.S. death metal band Dipygus’ third self-titled album was released via Memento Mori on January 22nd, 2024. One might wonder what the definition of Dipygus is. So, I looked it up on Google and found some disturbing images, and I dare you to look at these deformed pictures. It is a rare deformity due to genetic environmental or teratogen factors that are presumed to be implicated early in intrauterine life thereby affecting the embryonic cloaca and notochord derivatives and seems all too fitting for a band that plays some disgusting death metal...
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It took around six years for Portland, Oregon-based death metal squad Petrification to return with a new album. The band was formed in 2014 and launched its debut EP “Summon Horrendous Destruction” in 2017 which was followed by the first studio album “Hollow of the Void”. Falling under the category of old-school death metal Petrification is mostly inspired by bands like Autopsy and Bolt Thrower. Still, the composition and songwriting lie in the groovy aggressive mixture. Their songs don’t focus on fast-paced tempos and blast beats with the guitars stimulating galvanic riffs.
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Norway's progressive/folk metal quintet Borknagar delivers another stunning album “Fall” out now via Century Media Records on February 23rd, 2024. The 12th studio album truly captures the essence of Borknagar where the band continues its legacy with the guitarist and founder Øystein Garnes Brun, vocalist bassist ICS Vortex (ex-Dimmu Borgir, Arcturus), vocalist and keyboardist Lars A. Nedland (Solefald), drummer Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow and, lead guitarist Jostein Thomassen. “Fall” follows in the melodious spectrum of “True North” as there is a balance between the guitars, clean and harsh black metal vocals, and the keyboards sweeping in vividly, but for the most part, the songwriting is quite catchy.
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Wrought by the imaginative and the wizardry of V-Khaoz (Vargrav, Embryonic Slumber, Olio Tähtien Takana, etc.) whose talent in exploring vast sonic works in the realms of symphonic black metal and dungeon synth requires no further introduction. For years now, the unique fantasy world of Druadan Forest has been rooted in the sub-genre of epic black metal and dungeon synth but with the fifth installment “Dismal Spells Part 2 - The Night Circus” V-Khaoz invites us to traverse through his sonic creation, the album is set for a release date on February 23rd, 2024, via Werewolf Records.
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A lot has changed for the Swedish metalcore band Dead By April since their last release 'Worlds Collide' from 2017. In 2020 the band stated that lead singer Jimmie Strimell had been dismissed from the band for a second time due to his continued drug and alcohol abuse. He would be replaced by lead growler Christopher Kristensen. Since then, they worked hard on a new album, not easy in that Covid-19 period, but they did it. Releasing a lot of singles and some of them came back on this new album. It has been 7 years, but they are finally back with their already 5th album.
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Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, Vircolac is a death metal band formed in 2013 by drummer NH (Sol Axis, ex-Kingdom, ex-Lunar Gate, ex-Cruachan) vocalist Laoghaire (ex-Sol Axis) and later guitarist BMC joined the band in 2015. The unique approach of the trio has been cited on their debut EP “The Cursed Travails of the Demeter” it was released in 2016 and followed by the band’s first full-length album “Masque”. However, one can see the similarities to bands like Venenum and early Tribulation, but Vircolac succeeded in crafting something different. Upon listening to the sophomore “Veneration” out via Dark Descent Records on February 23rd, 2024, the atmosphere and the catachrestic heaviness are showcased.
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One of the most anticipated albums of the year 2024 comes straight from the Denver, Colorado-based death/doom metal act Spectral Voice, which finally returns after seven years of silence. Comprising members from reputable acts such as Blood Incantation and Black Curse such as guitarists Morris Kolontyrsky and Paul Riedl, and bassist Jeff Barrett drummer and Eli Wendler vocalist/drummer. The sophomore release “Sparagmos” out via Dark Descent Record on February 9th, 2024, presents the epitome of supreme death doom that combines dreary ambient sound with spectral uncanny atmosphere.
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