Album Reviews

One of the greatest surprises of 2024 for me comes from Italy’s progressive death metal quartet Bedsore, whose sophomore full-length “Dreaming the Strife for Love” seems like one of those 70s progressive rock bands. Although the debut album “Hypnagogic Hallucinations” showed definite signs of potential from these Italians; they have finally honed an effective craft derived from the classic progressive rock appeal.
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Hailing from France, Omegaeternum is a black metal band, their music imparts a mystical sense of atmosphere. The debut full-length album “1248” was released via Van Records on November 25th, 2024. Omegaeternum conjures something much more menacing to create a gloomy sensation, with keyboards and your standard black metal screeches sounding dark and the tremolo pickings cascading from the furious drums; the epic hooks enhance the raw atmosphere.
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Stockholm-based black metal outfit Mörk Gryning continues holding its legacy in the same ilk of Necrophobic, and Lord Belial. The founding members Goth Gorgon (bass, backing vocals) and, Draakh Kimera (lead vocals, and guitars), C-G (drums) make their seventh offering in the melodious style, and with the addition of the recording lineup Aeon (keyboards, backing vocals) and S-L (lead guitars, backing vocals) deliver wonderful melodies.
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The history of As I Lay Dying is not a walk in the park. Formed in 2000 and all went well. In 2014 Tim Lambesis (vocals) was arrested because he hired a hitman to murder his wife. What he didn't knew was that this hitman was an undercover agent. He was sentenced to six years in prison but was released earlier because of good behavior. In 2018 after a lot of excuses the band reunited. After the release of 'Shaped By Fire' in 2019 the band crumbled, leaving only Tim and Phil Sgrosso left. The members were replaced by Nick Pierce, Ryan Neff and Ken Susi, who all left the band recently together with Phil just before this new album 'Through Storms Ahead' was released, let's dig in.
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Djevel earned authenticity in the Norwegian black metal scene since its inception, the showmanship of the guitarist and vocalist Trånn Ciekals along with drummer Faust and vocalist and bassist Kvitrim resulted in some of the best black metal albums in my opinion. The end of the trilogy with the symmetry of the word “Natt” albums once again brings the trio to validate their artistry of Nordic aesthetics. “Natt Til Ende” is the follow-up to the 2022 album “Naa skrider natten sort” and is immediately distinctive when you think of other Norwegian black metal acts such as Taake, old Satyricon, and Kvist; however, the trio in Djevel took this influence and created a grim sound.
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Two years ago, U.S. death metal band Molder showed great promise when they released their sophomore “Engrossed in Decay”. Now the quartet has set its record in stone, returning for a third studio album “Catastrophic Reconfiguration” out via Prosthetic Records on November 8th, 2024. Aaren Pantke's retro-styled growling is very much in the vein of bands like Obituary and Asphyx; the slow cave-man riffs like Autopsy and the killer grooves of guitarist Carlos Santini make a fantastic combination of slow mid-tempo riffs and the brutal drum fills of Kyle Pooley are layered with solid bass riffs of Dom Vaia.
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After debuting their self-titled EP in 2022, Finnish death metal five-piece Ashen Tomb masterly accomplished a crushing record, the full-length “Ecstatic Death Reign” offers galloping and dynamics full of abrasive drumming and deep guttural growls. This incredible exploration of the new album will not disappoint fans of Disma and Incantation, the eight songs maintain a powerful intensity that makes it a top-tier release.
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The second full-length album “Sorceries of Sanguine & Shadow” from the Finnish black metal duo Pestilent Hex takes a melodic and symphonic approach whilst simultaneously giving an aggressive sound, their composition and style are similar to 90s black metal bands. The album consists of seven tracks and falls between dark melody and beautiful orchestration played by vocalists M. Malignant and L. Oathe (Convocation, Desolate Shrine) offering sinister guitar riffs and rapid drumming adding blast beats; with the nocturnal black metal screeches followed by symphonic arrangements.
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U.S. death metal juggernaut Sentient Horror is established on a solid foundation. In less than one decade the quartet has proven to be among the worthy bands in the newer wave of underground death metal bands in the U.S. The fourth studio album “In Service of the Dead” out via Redefining Darkness Records on October 25, 2024, is an extension in sound and vivacity.
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After releasing countless demo releases, the Swiss black metal project known by the name Paysage d’Hiver returns with the third studio album “Die Berge” released via Kunsthall Produktionen on November 8th, 2024. Paysage d’Hiver has long been swathed under the black cloak of the multi-instrumentalist Tobias Möckl aka Wintherr, the composer launched the first studio album “Im Wald” in 2020 and departed from the underground lo-fi domain, however, the music resolutely embraced the aesthetics of grim and frosty black metal.
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