Monstrosity – The Passage Of Existence (2018)

by Brett Stevens on October 30, 2018


Monstrosity – The Passage Of Existence
Metal Blade Records, 2015

Working within an establishment genre presents a challenge to the musician: the major patterns are known, and the audience has been inundated with an abundance of bands who can play the style of the classics note-perfectly, meaning that musicians have to either add new aesthetics to attract a lot of fans, or play a subtle take on the older for those with some knowledge.

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Azazel – Witches Deny Holy Trinity (2015)

by Brett Stevens on October 30, 2018


Azazel – Witches Deny Holy Trinity (2015)
Werewolf Records

Black metal finally clarified traditionalism for me. There is an inner spirit to things, like a shape that unifies form, and then there is an outer appearance, which is more like material properties and methods. The inner spirit is how you assemble your mind to understand something and roughly how it fits into the broader pattern of the universe.

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Sometimes Drama Is Just Drama

by Brett Stevens on October 25, 2018

Living in a dying age presents us with lugubrious entertainment that always boils down to a struggle for power. When everyone is equal, everyone also becomes an attention whore because the goal then is to rise above equality through utilitarianism (also called demotism) which rewards whoever gets the greatest number of votes, purchases, attaboys or “likes” on Faceplant.

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Retortion Terror – Retortion Terror (2018)

by Brett Stevens on October 25, 2018

Grindcore reduces music to basic chromatic riffs which operate solely by pattern contrast in the changing of phrase and rhythm, making it one of those rare musical instances that creates a new “space” within music where other musicians do not deign to tread. This makes grindcore often resemble a kitchen sink: you turn on the tap, and grindcore pours out, about like all other grindcore.

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Sammath – “Across The Rhine Is Only Death” (2018)

by Brett Stevens on October 24, 2018

Notorious violent black metal band Sammath gained a fanbase among the black metal horde for refusing to tone down the intensity of black metal, and instead mixing it with elements of fast technical death metal to achieve an uncompromising sound. Following up on the epic Godless Arrogance, the band faces a massive challenge in exceeding what it has already achieved, but a new demo suggests that this Dutch-German black metal assault has done just that.

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