Album Reviews

Dutch brutal death metal act Severe Torture returns with the sixth album 'Torn from the Jaws of Death' out via Season of Mist on June 7th, 2024. Severe Torture is one of the bands that emerged in the early 2000s and became known in the Netherlands and European scene with their straightforward, brutal inclinations of modern and old-school death metal. The band’s lineup consists of Dennis Schreurs (vocals), Thijs van Laarhoven (guitar), Marvin Vriesde (guitar, ex-Dew-Scented), Patrick Boleij (bass), and Damiën Kerpentier (drums).
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After Mark Shelton’s passing in 2018, the remaining members disbanded Manilla Road and reformed under the new moniker Sentry. With Shelton being the main and consistent driving force behind this legendary band since the late seventies, it would have been a vain exercise to try and continue under the same name.
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Know, oh prince, that in the years following their self-titled debut, there was an age undreamed of for Stygian Crown, whose shining doom epics lay spread across the record like vinyl gems beneath the stars. Hither came ‘Funeral for a King’, their sophomore record, heavy riffed, soaringly vocaled. Fists in the air, with gigantic melodies and gigantic doom, to tread the beer-drenched stages of your summer festivals under their sandaled feet.
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Dark and brimmed with evil atmosphere the Chilean death metal band Rotten Tomb has set a structural method for its sophomore 'The Relief of Death'. The songwriting reflects inspiration from the genre classics of death metal à la Incantation, Krypts and Grave Miasma, but Rotten Tomb's latest work is beyond anything I have heard this year. The band is comprised of C. (guitars and bass), Deathbringer (guitars and vocals), Utukku (bass guitar) and, A. Prophaner (drums).
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California-based death-doom formation Tzompantli portray the Aztec mythology and language on the sophomore record 'Beating the Drums of Ancestral Force' out via 20 Buck Spin since 17th May 2024. The new album sees them perfecting their craft and sounding a lot heavier than the first full-length album 'Tlazcaltiliztli'. The songs here turned out to be bolstered by mid-paced riffing with bulldozing drums and deep guttural growls.
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Raw and melodic, these two words personify the third album 'Dark Superstitions' of the Tucson/Phoenix, Arizona death metal five-piece Gatecreeper. Sounding brilliant in their knack for Swedish HM-2 distortion-filled riffs, they keep things in the Entombed and Dismember classic quality. The returning lineup consists of Metal Matt (drums), Eric Wagner (guitars), Chase H. Mason (vocals), Israel Garza (guitars) and Alex Brown who has recently joined the band.
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Greek black metal stalwarts Funeral Storm returns with their sophomore offering 'Chthonic Invocations' out via Hell's Headbangers Records on May 10th, 2024, five years after releasing their stellar first full-length album 'Arcane Mysteries' which manifested its grim unholy traits of true Hellenic black metal by spreading its occult mysticism in the classic method of bands like Rotting Christ and Varathron.
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It’s hard to find a hybrid style of operatic and symphonic black metal nowadays, but it takes some lofty aesthetic for a band like Folterkammer (German word for torture chamber) to present something worthy to the table when these syntheses are combined into one skillful travesty boasted with fresh and unbridled operatic brilliance. The sophomore 'Weibermacht' is musically compelling in a baroque, European way that mixes the interchanging vocal pitches of the talented Swiss female singer Andromeda Anarchia who archives excellent vocal performance. The songs on the album are draped in the themes of anti-religion and an elaborate baroque atmosphere.
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The legacy of the Hellenic black metal masters Rotting Christ has never waned through time. Since the onset in 1987 Sakis Tolis (guitars, vocals) inspired generations of bands in Greece and the international arena. The enduring style of black metal was prominent in their early studio albums like 'Thy Mighty Contract' and 'Non Serviam' the evil façade then had gone through some change in direction towards gothic signature melodies. The 14th studio album 'Pro Xristou' maintains their professional skills and carries on in the direction of the predecessor 'The Heretics', but with compelling song structures.
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It’s been 4 years since ‘2020’, synth rock duo Zombi’s latest regular album dedicated to that doomed year of the pandemic. Now, that doesn’t mean they’ve been lazy or took a sabbatical or anything. They’ve actually been quite prolific under the guise of Zombi and friends. This offshoot incarnation could best be described as the imaginary house band of the Zombi Loveboat. I kid you not. With a range of covers and a slew of revolving guest appearances, they took on sugar sweet, velveteen tunes like “Captain of Her Heart’ and 'Eye in the Sky'. Moreover, these were executed rather faithfully to the originals and not just for laughs, even though you can clearly hear they were having loads of fun with it.
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