Album Reviews

The second album “En Gildere Død” from Trondheim, Norway’s Enevelde, a solo project helmed by B. Kråbøl (Misotheist). Though it appears that the new offering is a natural continuation to cement the sound into a memorable Norse atmosphere that has the blueprint of dark and raw grim black metal. While Trondheim has been a home for many Norwegian bands such as Mare, Whoredom Rife, and Keep of Kalessin to name a few, the multi-instrumentalist depicts an obscure and majestic brand this time.
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Thrash metal has been on revival for at least two decades now, and some prominent bands were leading the movement, like Power Trip. The sudden passing of vocalist Riley Gale in 2020 was unfortunate for the thrash metal genre as a whole and put Power Trip on an extended pause. Virginia’s thrash metal/crossover powerhouse Enforced is the next in line to carry the torch, this is simply because their music is aggressive, fast, and unrelentingly brutal. “War Remains” is the follow-up to the band’s second full-length album “Kill Grid” and was released via Century Media Records on April 28th, 2023.
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One of the biggest surprises of the year in the genre of death metal comes from the Atlanta, Georgia progressive technical death metal band Lunar Chamber. The debut EP “Shambhallic Vibrations” was released on April 28th via 20 Buck Spin, which can be described as enlightenment through the practice of zen meditation and the experience of the music itself is mind-boggling and full of earworm hooks.
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Long-running Italian melodic black/death gothic metal act Graveworm returns from a long hiatus of eight years. Being one of the early bands in the dark gothic metal style? they took influence from their contemporaries like Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth. The tenth album 'Killing Innocence' released on AFM Records on April 28th, 2023, sees the Italians do what they do best. The founding members Stefan Unterpertinger (guitars, keyboards) and Stefan Fiori (vocals) alongside Eric Righi (guitars), Florian Reiner (bass) and Moe Harringer (drums) have leaned towards beautiful connotations of symphonic gothic melodies.
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One decade since its inception Atlanta, Georgia-based gothic/black metal act Cloak realized it was time to create its magnum opus. 'Black Flame Eternal', the third studio album, offers impressive sonic standards. Cloak has not forgotten its roots. Therefore, the songs are laden with crafty rhythms and swaggering guitars, instantly being catchy.
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International black metal outfit RUÏM is a collaboration of one of the genre’s underrated musicians Blasphemer AKA Rune Eriksen (ex-Mayhem, Vltimas, Aura Noir), and the French drummer CSR (Thagirion, Agressor). There is no doubt that guitarist Blasphemer played an important role as a songwriter when he joined Mayhem in 1994 and left his marks on albums like 'Wolf’s Lair Abyss', 'Grand Declaration of War', 'Chimera' and 'Ordo AD Chao'. While the debut album 'Black Royal Spiritism – I – O Sino da Igreja' has some similarities to Mayhem’s past work, the flawless songwriting defines the spectacular talent of Blasphemer.
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You might know Dorthia Cottrell as the enigmatic lead singer of Windhand. Now while the latter is a psychedelic riff juggernaut in the vein of doom lords Electric Wizard, her solo work takes you on an altogether different kind of journey that leads you down a perhaps even more dismal path, but far less doom. In fact, this is as far removed from anything resembling metal as you can find.
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Hailing from Norway, Ekrom is a newly formed band whose lineup consists of drummer Thomas Ødegaard (Nocturnal Breed) and vocalist, guitarist, bassist, and keyboards Kharon (ex-Covenant). On their first full-length album “Uten Nådigst Formildelse” released on June 6th, 2023 via Edged Circle Productions, the duo focuses on the mid-90s heyday style of black metal bringing the classic flair of the second wave. The expert songwriting and inspiration makes the album so appealing, especially that the music evokes the dark, foggy atmosphere.
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Portland-based death metal four-piece Torture Rack released its third full-length album titled “Primeval Onslaught” on June 9th via 20 Buck Spin. Since its inception in 2012, Torture Rack cited as an inspiration the forefathers of death metal such as Cannibal Corpse, Autopsy, and Mortician. The band plays some barbaric slow-paced style, their primitive sound conjures levels of brutality that often comes in the vein of Autopsy. Having a five-year gap Torture Rack breaks its chains and will have your skull bludgeoned with rusty bones.
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Everlasting Spew Records is a boon for signing new death metal bands, as they have repeatedly managed to introduce an impressive number of new acts in the last couple of years. With the latest signing of South Carolina’s blasphemous death metal act Olkoth, the Italian label has dropped another bombshell. The debut “At The Eyes of Chaos” which was released on May 26th, is instantly brutal and technical, in fact, the songwriting ticks all the boxes. The heavier sound production, the guttural bellows, the pummeling drums, and the technicality of the guitar department is spot-on throughout.
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