Finally, after twelve years of waiting British death metal veterans Benediction return with a highly anticipated album ‘Scriptures‘. And goddammit, what a massive album they’ve delivered! Benediction represents the core element of the Birmingham style of old school death metal, Dave Ingram‘s charismatic vocals give the songs such a bold identity. Drums often initiate at crushing double bass providing a massive rush to many songs. Tracks like ‘Iterations of I, Stormcrow‘ and ‘Rabid Carnality‘ are all powerfully driven by tempo heaviness. The most outstanding part of the album is how the veterans maintain the flow of aggression. Although there is a forcible blend of assertiveness the music never gets brutal. Read my full review here.

Finland’s institutional black metal act Horna return with their long awaited tenth album, ‘Kuoleman kirjo‘ (The Spectrum of Death), which marks the band’s best offering to date. It is another successful output which shows the consistency and ingenuity of the music. The entire breadth of ‘Kuoleman kirjo‘ centers on diversity and unmatched musical prowess come to full materialization. The formidable force of the menacing evil of Horna’s musical traits includes catchy rhythm guitars, titanic drum pace and grooves. These elements are combined to make each track stand on its own. Read my full review here.

Faceless Burial‘s music interfaces with the obsolete methods of old school death metal. The band defines their identity by focusing on the semi-technical riffs. ‘Speciation‘ is a churning death metal album where it takes a full course of thirty-eight minutes to reveal the musicians’ incredible performance. Faceless Burial present themselves as the new generation of Australian death metal. ‘Speciation‘ is without doubt one of the best death metal albums of the year. Each second of this masterwork is attained by monstrous growls and grinding percussion through which they manage to create a twisted form of death metal. Read my full review here.

The year 2020 sees the return of Tobias Möckl, a.k.a. Wintherr, the mastermind behind the creative work of black metal/ambient project Paysage d’Hiver. Formed almost two decades ago in Bern, Switzerland, the sole member is also active in Swiss black metal outfit Darkspace. Paysage d’Hiver creates a broad spectrum of multi-layered synth and fast-paced drums that break into a torrential blizzard. However the quality of this debut portrays the rich and atmospheric harshness of layered guitars. The music encapsulates the full range of the cold wintery fashion of atmospheric black metal. This often results in many hypnotizing and majestic soundscapes that are beautifully layered within the song textures. ‘Im Wald‘ will take you on a deeply spiritual voyage to the cold icy plains of the wintery realms. Read my full review here.

Since the establishment of this Finnish death metal group, Gorephilia released a single EP and two albums that were seemingly inspired by U.S. death metal. What really differentiates them from other Finnish death metal bands, is their loyalty to old school brutality. Gorephilia have their own style. They infuse sludgy riffs and an obscurity which makes their songs sound dark and heavy. ‘In the Eye of Nothing‘ spews monolithic tones of the 90s death metal. There is no doubt the band created another monstrous record with many heavy riffs and guitar licks that capture the early style of Morbid Angel. In the range of diversity Gorephilia provides tracks with an undoubtable dose of headbanging grooves. Jukka Aho may be the main force behind the songwriting but the band as a whole prove that their fundamental qualities are quite vigorous. Read my full review here.