November 2019 - Noob Heavy

Album Review: Bull Elephant – “Self-Titled” 8/10 (Prog/Doom)

November 29, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

There isn’t much information as to the identity or location of Bull Elephant, as they choose to stay anonymous. Their debut record is a concept album, and despite having listened to this record several times I still couldn’t tell you what’s going on in my own words, but their Facebook bio sums it up pretty well, “Bull Elephant is the story of a slain African elephant that occultist Ahnenerbe SS attempted to bring back from the dead as a new form of battle asset. However, before re-animation could be completed it was intercepted by a mysterious witch-shaman, pursuing her own agenda and redirecting the undead creature’s purpose.” […]

Album Review: Carcinoid – “Metastatic Declination” 7.8/10 (Death Metal)

November 27, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

Carcinoid are a fun band to me, there’s something inherently goofy about it without it actually being a joke. This is raw af sludgeoned black death doom metal that will do things you haven’t really heard before, like absurdly clean bass tones and unexpected lofi melody. It’s not very accessible though, perhaps only existing for the sake of the most nihilistic and misanthropic metalheads around. There’s just so much sludge and generally ominous shit, this isn’t supposed to be accessible or palatable. It will be a sure hit for those like myself who enjoy super abrasive death doom, which is a lot of the metal cassette community. […]

Australian Heavypedia: Abu Ghraib (Grindcore)

November 24, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

I encountered Abu Ghraib on the Metal Archives while first scouting for this project and their band photo was so funny and endearing I ended up saving it “for later” which I guess is now because they’ve recently released a massive grind album that surpasses even their sublime memery in ability and entertainment value. There was no sign of this beast earlier in the year with just a demo to their name and hardly an online presence but now I’m convinced they are going to be huge, well, as huge as grindcore can get in this country. […]

Album Review: Mental Cavity – Neuro Siege 8.6 (Death/Grind)

November 24, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

Do you like death metal? Do you like hardcore? The easy answer to both of these questions is fuck yes! And so you’ll quite enjoy this dark and gritty stomper of a release from Australia. We can’t make any kind of music without throwing a thick layer of sludge on it and that makes me really bloody happy. It’s the cheese of music, you can put it on almost anything. Considering there’s already the presence of hardcore and death metal stylings, this album is basically like locking a bunch of random neighbourhood dogs in a room that’s just got a grimed up tarp on the floor. […]

Album Review: Golden Core – Fimbultýr 8.5 (Stoner Doom)

November 23, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

Fimbultýr is a dazzling lofi blend of stoner doom, hard core, death rock and a bunch of stuff. It’s an incredible work that hits just right.This is the right mixing levels for the genre, it’s an older more analogue sounding fuzz. It’s very much the Electric Wizard school of doom and it’s of the highest grade. There’s also grunge and post rock elements that are used effectively, making Fimbultyr an overall engrossing record that should not be overlooked by doomers looking for a harsher longer buzz. […]

Album Review: Crusadist – “The Unholy Grail” 7/10 (Death/Thrash)

November 23, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

A solid name combining the ideas of violent holy crusades and pure human sadism, Crusadist are a Chicago based death metal band with a helping of thrash influence. Their debut LP The Unholy Grail is generally a modern style of death metal but with the old school thrash metal hooks. It’s here that people may divide, depending on how they feel about thrash metal in general, personally I find it to be a stagnant genre that brings a lot of repetition to this album. Others may say it brings more groove to the album. In reality, it’s likely to be somewhere in between with the solid mixing and recording evening it all out. It’s an interesting album either way and a hearty independent release, check out the new lyric video for the track “For Blood And Conquest” below. The Unholy Grail drops on black friday 2019 (29th November). […]

Microdose: À l’Ombre d’Héméra – En Route Vers Le Grand Vide (Post Metal)

November 21, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

En Route Vers Le Grand Vide is a really tight post metal EP from Qeubec, Canada. As I often do with releases that complex me in some way, I’ve gotten some insight from the bands drummer Dieter who shed some light on the meanings starting with their name, “À l’Ombre d’Héméra means in the shadow of, so it literally means in the shadow of daylight.” says the drummer, “We think it fits well with the music because we try to play with contrasts, hard and heavy, but also fragile and breakable.” […]

Album Review: Wandar – Zyklus 9 (Black Metal)

November 19, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

Zyklus is an outstanding black metal record that not a lot of people have heard over here and I’m honestly surprised. The quality and creative direction are both high end and it’s presented eloquently. Wandar are a German band who have been around since 2006 putting out music independently. I received the cassette from indie tape bistro Repose Records earlier this year and it has since become one of my favorite tapes. It’s also out on Vinyl, very recently actually. I’d recommend this to any black metal fan, especially those I see on social media growing weary of post-black releases this year. Wandar encompass most forms of black metal and won’t bore you about it. […]

Album Review: Oak – Lone 8 (Death Doom)

November 18, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

Is this Treebeards band? The vocals deadset sound like they’re coming for a colossal fucking tree. I shit you not. OAK are a death doom duo from Portugal and this is Lone, their debut LP featuring the artwork of Paolo Gerardi. There’s a strong presence with OAK that I think has carried over from their experience writing black metal songs in the band Gaerea. While it is certainly death doom, it is sometimes coated in black influence – particularly the song structure and vocal execution. Lone will be a memorable late year release many doom heads will take with them into 2020. […]

Microdose: Xeno Ooze – Parasligm Shift (Grindcore)

November 17, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

Xeno Ooze are a unique new force in the grind underground. They formed in 2018 – making this their very first LP, but you couldn’t guess that just from listening. I love the level of vocal commitment on this album, it’s a hardcore style that sounds super throaty. It plays well the trebelled out mix of lofi grind and sludge riffage. It’s also a lot of fun, something important for any grindcore album no matter how bad ass the covers get. […]