Black Metal

2021

Album Review: Wesenwille – “II: A Material God” 8/10 (Black Metal)

March 23, 2021 CarcassBOMB

Wesenwille is a Black Metal duo from the Netherlands; D. Schermann takes care of the drums and R. Schmidt handles the guitars, bass, and vocals. They specialize in a very modern style of Black Metal, not only in terms of their compositions but also in terms of their lyrical content. Whereas most Black Metal bands tend to focus on (anti) religious lyrical themes, this Dutch duo are anti-capitalist to their blackened core. Their lyrics offer scathing critiques of the industrialization of the modern world and place the listener solidly in the year 2021. Their 2018 debut was one of my favorite albums of that year and when I heard they were releasing another full-length, I was fully prepared to have my mind blown once again. Expectations almost met. […]

2021

Album Review: Spire – “Temple Of Kronos” 8.5/10 (Avant Garde)

March 8, 2021 CarcassBOMB

Last year I started following the Sentient Ruin Laboratories record label on social media. Fast forward to February of 2021 and they are just promoting the hell out of this new album from a band of which I had never heard. That band is the Australian duo Spire and the album is TEMPLE OF KHRONOS. Having enjoyed previous bands from this label like Shaidar Logoth and Novae Militiae, I FINALLY, almost reluctantly was like “Alright, fine. I’ll give it a listen. Stop taking up my Facebook feed, goddamnit!” […]

2021

Album Review: Grohot – “Creatio ex Nihilo” 7/10 (Black Metal)

March 8, 2021 Espi Kvlt

This first effort from black metal band Grohot is certainly enough to get my attention. I listen to a lot of black metal day in and day out, but my interest was immediately piqued when I saw they’re from Romania. A band from the home of vampires? Surely this will be great! While it didn’t necessarily meet my high expectations, it is a solid record, and I believe with time Grohot has the potential to polish up their sound and become great. […]

2021

Album Review: Maudiir – “La Part Du Diable” 7.8/10 (Black/Thrash)

February 12, 2021 zaxrecordreviews

There are certain bands and albums that I hear, like this one, that remind me why I do this, remind me why I spend countless hours listening to and writing about music, even if some of what I hear is bad or disposable. I do it, in part, to discover hidden gems, like Maudiir, or Descensum from last week. I love finding new bands with little to no label support, cause it feels like I’ve just been let in on an awesome secret and given the responsibility to tell anyone who’ll listen. […]

2020 Albums

Album Review: Shaidar Logoth – “Chapter III: The Void God” 9/10 (Black Metal)

November 3, 2020 CarcassBOMB

The fact that I wound up reviewing this album is serendipitous for two reasons. 1) Both myself and the band members live in Minneapolis, MN (no, I’ve never met them) 2) They are named after a city in the WHEEL OF TIME series by Robert Jordan (& Brandon Sanderson). While I’ve never read this particular book series, I’m a huge nerd for Adult Fantasy novels. I’ve listened to this album many times over the past few weeks, savoring all the different shades of black that this band has to offer. […]