2021 Archives - Page 17 of 21

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. […]

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. […]

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

April 2, 2021 Noob Heavy admin

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. […]

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

March 31, 2021 Noob Heavy admin

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. […]

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

March 31, 2021 Noob Heavy admin

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. […]

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. […]

Album Review: Unflesh – “Inhumation” 7/10 (Death Metal)

March 24, 2021 Kep

A while back, in his review for the new Orecus album, John Angel asked “How do you like your death metal?” It’s a good question, and so, with a tip of the hat to John, today I’d like to ask you the same. What is your death metal flavor of choice? Do you like it technical, precise as hell and complex? Maybe you prefer it on the melodic side, with soaring guitar lines and a touch of power metal flair. Or do you want it blackened, icy with just the right amount of evil filth? […]

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

March 23, 2021 Noob Heavy admin

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. […]

Album Review: Obvurt – “The Beginning” 8.2/10 (Brutal Death)

March 20, 2021 zaxrecordreviews

When thinking of genres that don’t really see much innovation, brutal death metal may be somewhere near the top of your list, and for good reason. I like brutal death metal, it’s a fine genre, but it’s not one that’s really adventurous. It’s gory, meat and potatoes, punishing death metal 99% of the time, which is fine, but it’s the bands that can think outside of that box that end up being memorable in the long run. […]

Album Review: Violblast – “Lazarus Abandoned” 8/10 (Thrash Metal)

March 19, 2021 Kep

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t *dislike* thrash. I just don’t, like, like it. It’s never done much for me. Maybe that’s because I got into metal later than lots of metalheads; by the time I was diving in, instead of being introduced by bands like Metallica and Anthrax and Testament, I was checking out Meshuggah and Fear Factory and Arch Enemy. My gateways were bands with thrash influences, sure, but definitely not thrash bands. […]