Many have noted the rise of the music in the intersection between martial industrial, synthwave, dark ambient and dungeon synth which has produced a number of offshoot genres. Coming to us from China, Psycho Survivors (失常幸存者) attempt to meld death metal and synthwave music into a new form that has the techniques of industrial with the compositional sensibilities of death metal.
16 CommentsTags: china, demo, psycho survivors, review, synthwave
Tau Cross regress from playing Motorhead and Killing Joke influenced crust punk and heavy metal on Pillar of Fire to mainstream 1990s alternative rock similar to Amebix‘s Sonic Mass swansong. Boredom awaits.
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Tags: alternative rock, crustcore, dumbing-down, hard rock, pillar of fire, Post-Punk, relapse, relapse records, review, rob miller, tau cross
Review by Linus Douglas.
Pek brings death metal of the traditional, direct kind to your table that advances through simple but effective melodic phrases in low register and makes ample use of chromatism. Pek makes a progression between riffs happen, but it is more of an exchange than something that feels “through-composed”. Instead, we find cyclic structures that help expand simple content into longer songs simply by playing upon the replayability of the collection of riffs as narrative paragraphs, which helps the music support itself on more than the complexity of a single riff.
1 CommentTags: 2008, belgium, Black Metal, death metal, pek, preaching evil, review
Review by Linus Douglas.
Heresiarch is the only band to have made so-called ‘war metal’ into something that was not just head bashing and blood splattering nonsense.
38 CommentsTags: 2017, dark descent, dark descent records, Grindcore, heresiarch, new zealand, review, Thrash, thrash metal, War Metal
Heavy metal was born in very late 60s and early 70s as a merger of heavy rock, proto-punk, horror film scores and progressive rock, carving out a new form of dark music that spelled out longer phrases than rock by using moveable power chords in complex riffs.
60 CommentsTags: 1973, article, composition, hard rock, king crimson, lark’s tongues in aspic, metal history, music theory, narrative, progressive, progressive rock, proto-metal, review, robert fripp, through composition
Review contributed by Jon Browning.
Whoredom Rife are exactly what is wrong with modern “underground” “metal”. All these posers do is take a bunch of riffs from records over twenty years old, chop them up, and randomly attach a few of them together to make… a track.
13 CommentsTags: black 'n roll, dommedagskvad, funderground, melodeaf, metalcore, modern metal, norway, poser metal, posers, poseur metal, poseurs, rehash, review, scenesters, terratur possession, terratur possessions, trash, trends mosh core fun, whoredom rife
Sandwiched between keyboard compositions which attempt to sound random while hiding a simple progression in notes that initially seem like tangential harmony, Silencioso Dolor Que Aniquila consists of moderately successful compositions using the language of Hellhammer but a sensibility more like a late speed metal band.
8 CommentsTags: Black Metal, Guatemala, malicia, review, silencioso dolor que aniquila, Speed Metal
Expulsion are a self-proclaimed grindcore band who rarely grind on their debut crossover thrash album Nightmare Future.
3 CommentsTags: Crossover, crossover thrash, expulsion, metalcore, nightmare future, relapse, relapse records, repulsion, review, thrash metal
Review contributed by Seth Berg.
The only available demo from their brief term in black metal, Myrkskog managed to make a simple homage to In the Nightside Eclipse era Emperor whilst infusing it with their own distinct, though simple, mode of expression.
13 CommentsTags: 1998, apocalyptic psychotica, Black Metal, demo, emperor, myrkskog, norway, Norwegian Black Metal, review
Article by Lance Viggiano. Read his take on Transilvanian Hunger here.
I was essentially swindled into purchasing the gorgeous gatefold edition of this Averse Sefira LP which showcases some rather magnificent and captivating artwork as well as an above average execution of the band’s themes, concepts, and symbolism in visual form.
31 CommentsTags: 2008, Advent Parallax, article, averse sefira, Black Metal, boring, counter-review, death metal, jeff tandy, lame metal, lyrics, modern metal, re-review, review, techdeaf, tek-deth, texas, vapid, wanking
