Review

2021

Album Review: Labored Breath – “Dyspnea” 7.5/10 (Black Metal)

April 14, 2021 CarcassBOMB

The black metal scene is full of one-man bands, so what’s one more to add to the pile? Labored Breath’s sole member is JK. You might not think that a person who lives in the sunny state of California could create music this cold ad furious, but Dyspnea is one of the iciest albums I’ve listened to this year. The name of the album is a medical term, meaning “difficult or labored breathing”. Not the most original to just have your band name be the definition of your album title but I suppose it’s very fitting with the ongoing COVID pandemic. […]

2021

Album Review: Mother Of All – “Age Of The Solipsist” 8.2/10 (Prog Death)

April 10, 2021 zaxrecordreviews

This is one of the most interesting death metal records I’ve heard in a while, and it comes out on April 23rd! Before I dive into the sound, let’s dig into this wild lineup first. Technically, Mother Of All is a solo project, with Martin Haumanm at its helm. Martin Haumaan is a Danish man who has spent the majority of his career drumming, most notably playing live drums for Afsky and Myrkur, he flexes his vocals with this project along with his drumming! For this record he’s recruited the help of guitarist Frederick Jensen, and on bass, he has none other than Steve DiGiorgio, legendary Death and Testament bassist. […]

2021

Album Review: Malformity – “Monumental Ruin” 9/10 (Death Metal)

April 8, 2021 Kep

Malformity has had about as uncommon a journey to their debut full-length Monumental Ruin as any band ever. 2021 marks a full THIRTY YEARS since bassist Eric Snodgrass and guitarist Dan Ratanasit first got together and formed the group in 1991, and 26 since they added a drummer and second guitarist and released their first demo, Black Holes to Heaven, in 1995. After those two demos, they split up entirely for nearly TWENTY MORE YEARS before re-forming with new members Craig Vogel and Glenn Sykes on drums and guitar in 2014. Now, after two well-received EPs (Lectures on the Apocalypse and The Rapturous Unraveling) in ’15 and ’18, Malformity is finally, finally ready to drop their first full album into the world. […]

2021

Album Review: Karma Violens – “Mount of the Congregation” 8/10 (Blackened Death)

April 3, 2021 zaxrecordreviews

This might sound a little cheesy, but there are some albums that come along and make me think, “This is exactly what metal is supposed to sound like.” The atmosphere, the guitars, and the vocals all scream metal… without actually having to say it like some cringey limp dick power metal band. These albums are the epitome of metal to me, I felt this way about the new Raider album last year, and I’m thinking we may have another case of that here from Greek blackened death metal band Karma Violens. […]

2021

Album Review: Cannibal Corpse – “Violence Unimagined” 9/10 (Death Metal)

April 2, 2021 CarcassBOMB

I am a weird kind of Cannibal Corpse fan, in that most fans will know more about the band as a whole than I do, but I’ve also spent half my life listening to Cannibal Corpse. However, I primarily listen to Bloodthirst and have for a long time. It’s exactly what I want from the band, perfectly summed up in one album and so it hits the spot every time, why move on? Violence Unimagined is one good reason to move on and marks the beginning of an exciting decade for the band. […]

2021

Album Review: Devastating Light – “I Have Already Failed You” 6.5/10 (Post Metal)

March 31, 2021 CarcassBOMB

Depression is a difficult subject to approach no matter the medium. How do we address something that is so intensely personal in a meaningful way, a way that isn’t cliched or trite, and in a manner that both respects the human behind the depression and is honest about the effects it has on others? There’s no one right answer, and it’s likely that every person will feel a bit different about it. One thing is for sure, and that is that music is the most personal and intimate of art forms, and every person who gives voice to their struggles is to be commended for baring an extremely tender part of their soul to the listener. […]

2021

Album Review: NaKhArA – “The Procession” 9/10 (Prog Death)

March 31, 2021 CarcassBOMB

Sometimes a music publication can overlook a release from a smaller artist that kicks just as much ass as those from bigger acts. Lord knows I’ve read about it countless times in columns on underground music. As the fine folks at Heavy Blog is Heavy point out, we’re living through a golden age of underground music and there is an absolute flood of new releases at all times. I’m still new to writing music reviews for Noob Heavy (six weeks strong!) but I already find the number of communications soliciting reviews for upcoming releases a bit overwhelming. And I only see the releases for 4-5 subgenres! So it’s perfectly understandable that some gems from smaller and/or newer acts get overlooked in the deluge of press kits and review requests. That being said I want to right one such oversight today with this review for The Procession by NaKhArA.  […]

2021

Album Review: Next Door To Heaven – “Inside” 6.5/10 (Progressive Metalcore)

March 26, 2021 Ellis Heasley

You’ve got to admire the ambition of Next Door To Heaven. The St. Petersburg-based four-piece describes the sound of their new EP, entitled Inside, as “a mixture of metalcore, prog metal, alternative metal, melodic metal and rapcore.” All that seems fair, although the very latter may be a bit of a stretch. Realistically, it’s probably best described as progressive metalcore, kind of in the vein of a band like Spiritbox, albeit with the notable absence of harsh vocals. […]