Petrale – Goat at Sunset Review By Alekhines Gun

We often wax eloquent on the distinctive factors between good and great. In a writing sphere where we are strictly commanded to avoid “artistic bullshit” in our analysis in favor of more clinical, scientific examination, pinning down elements that distinguish the enjoyable from the memorable and the well-made from the impactful can make for a fun thought experiment or a maddening exercise in futility and thesaurus perusing. A few months ago, this very topic was brought up in the halls, and while staffers hemmed and hawed over nebulous ideas of quality, the ever-wise Dolphin Whisperer chimed in with a straight-to-the-point insight which stuck with me: “For me, the difference between good and great is whether I’d buy this for ten dollars.” Hailing from Croatia, one-man black metal project Petrale have arrived with some creepily straightforward artwork and an equally straightforward album title; will this be relegated to your ever-flowing streams, or have you reaching for your wallets?

Though classified as “raw black metal”, Goat at Sunset sidesteps stereotypes in presentation. Produced entirely on analogue open reel tape, this album contains the warmest, richest sound I’ve heard in some time. Rather than raw by way of underproduction like Fell Omen or draped in overly reverbed fog ala Black Cilice, each instrument has a charmingly clear enunciation while being mixed roughly around the edges with an organic, welcoming tone. Full, thick major(!) chord progressions (“Dorsal Horn”) give way to looping doses of Ulcerate-isms, which manage to be much more straightforward in execution while carving their own atmosphere of distant menace. The drums carry a dollop of modern Darkthrone in their presence, with the double bass successfully muddying the riffs just a touch, emphasizing the rawness in the nature of the production without relying on deliberate self-sabotage of aesthetic.

Goat At Sunset by Petrale

In that sound lies a standout assembly of riff which does a masterful job of evoking the artwork accompanying it. Far from being a nonstop collection of hazy blast beats and trem pickings, Goat at Sunset uses a healthy sense of dynamic composition and tempo changes to carry the listener through the entire body of work. Frequently throughout the album, breaks are used which evoke something spiritually akin to smokehouse lounge vibes (“The Postulating Conduit (Sunset)”, “Hunter”) while sometimes sandwiching more energetic riffs into doomy plods (“The Wedge That Was Supposed to Prevent Sin”). As the art shows the ominous goat head, far away but clearly defined and present, the reliance on dissonant foundations with sudden flourishes of clarity channels a soundtrack that doesn’t seek to quite open the gates of hell as much as let the listener observe such a thing from a long way off.

The net result renders Goat at Sunset as a genre offering that manages to hit a sweet spot of fusion between accessibility and roughness, and with atmosphere and musicianship. Special attention must be paid to the bass, carrying an absolutely delicious tone which permeates throughout the release, and is given multiple opportunities to shine and echo leads rather than down strumming through chord progressions. Even the concluding cover song (a cover of an artist called Sven Väth) channels a heavy dollop of upbeat major progressions into something that seems like an organic conclusion to the release rather than a merely tacked-on bonus track. It’s true that near the end, the album loses some of its steam and places more emphasis on slower theatrics rather than raw riffage, particularly if you disregard the cover and let the album end on its proper, more “official” note. Nevertheless, Petrale have crafted an album replete with memorable moments, unusual time signatures (the 7/4 break in “Dorsal Horn” being a real standout) and a fully realized atmosphere and mood.

Raw black metal stands alongside genres like stoner doom as being difficult to execute in a way worthy of a coveted 4.0. Petrale have come as close as I’ve heard in years by inverting, rather than rejecting, genre stereotypes. A production which is warm instead of abrasive on the ears, chords which carry harmony as much as dissonance, emphasis on dynamics as much as blast beats are all cobbled together to create an album which carves a clear personality for itself within the genre trappings. Rich enough in sound to welcome genre casuals while bleak enough to entice genre aficionados, Goat at Sunset has been a dark delight. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find my wallet and buy one of the 100 CD-R copies available. Hopefully, for ten dollars.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: n/a | Format Reviewed: Stream
Label: Self-Released
Website: Album Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: February 1st, 2026

#2026 #35 #BlackCilice #BlackMetal #CroatianMetal #Darkthrone #Feb26 #FellOmen #IndependentUnsigned #petrale #Review #Reviews #Ulcerate

Moon Mother – Meadowlands Review By Grymm

I grew up with a slew of friends who dabbled in the visual arts throughout the years. One in particular blew me away by stating that the greatest artists aren’t the masters of their trade in every aspect, but rather they know what they don’t have, or rather don’t need, to make a sizable impact. You don’t need to own the most expensive paint set, a wide array of colors at your disposal, or to fill up the canvas with stuff. You have to just create your vision with what you have, and let the negative space do the work for you. Swedish duo Moon Mother knows this. On their second full-length, Meadowlands, they paint a lush, aural landscape teeming with anguish, grief, and trauma, while also crafting a sense of wonder, peace, and a smidge of hope.

You probably scrolled down to the tags section and decided to nope out in record time, especially at the sight of the “Not Metal” tag, and that’s entirely your loss. What guitarist Patriec Ahlström and vocalist Sara Mehner crafted in Meadowlands is nothing short of breathtaking, and their usage of negative space to allow for Ahlström’s melodies and gentle strums to reverberate and roll through the sleepy landscape they’ve crafted. “Wilderness,” with its finger-plucked strings and gentle electric guitar hums, is a class example of what you can build with only what you’ve got. It’s not the high production values or expensive instruments that carry you through. Rather, it’s knowing what to say, how to say it, and when not to say anything at all.

And Mehner’s angelic voice is the perfect complimentary component. Whether it’s her powerful howling (opener “High Houses”), somber melodies (closer “Windhover”), or her achingly beautiful near-yodels (“Wilderness”, the awesome “Be a Forest, Child!”), Mehner’s ability to wring out the most emotion out of a song or melody rivals that of Chelsea Wolfe or Emma Ruth Rundle in terms of performance and power. The way her gentle wailing closes out the title track stirs up so many raw emotions that will have you feeling both heartbreak and catharsis, no matter how it manifests within you. Singling out certain moments on Meadowlands proved difficult because, in reality, her standout performance, coupled with Ahlström’s musical backdrop, is best enjoyed in a single, uninterrupted, and fully focused listening experience.

If there was a bone to pick with Meadowlands, it’s in the production, and even then, it’s not a dealbreaker. Meadowlands is drenched in reverb, and I mean drenched in reverb. Coupled with the compressed mix, it makes it a bit busy, especially during the second half of “High Houses.” That, and the album is loaded with cathartic moments in the album’s second half, almost to the point of being overwhelmingly so. But the last time I’ve been hit this hard, this potently, by a doom/folk hybrid was with Darkher’s debut album. That is some absolutely stellar company to be with, and Meadowlands connects viscerally on that level.

Sure, I know what the name of the website is, and Meadowlands is a colossal anomaly in that aspect. And yes, I’m sure my colleagues will give me a reasonable (re: absurdly high) amount of shit for giving it the score it’s getting, but Moon Mother crafted an album that’s simultaneously the perfect album to purge your emotions, and an album you can use as a backdrop for a dew-filled foggy morning with a mug of your favorite heated beverage of choice. In creating an album to signify grief and hope, they gained my attention and my adoration. Give it your time, and it most certainly will do the same for you.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format: WAV
Label: Independent/Self-Release
Websites: Official | Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: February 6th, 2026

#2026 #ChelseaWolfe #Darkher #EmmaRuthRundle #Feb26 #IndependentUnsigned #Meadowlands #MoonMother #NotMetal #Review #Reviews #SwedishRock

Redivider – Sounds of Malice Review By Grymm

I’ve always wondered why there aren’t more bands that use palindromes as names.1 Think of the perfect symmetry you can get with your logo! While I’m not sure that’s what Louisville, Kentucky’s Redivider (complete with sharp, symmetrical logo!) was aiming for when they were coming up with a name, it does make them stand out in the field of bands with gory overtones, creative combinations of food/pain/sexual positions, or what-have-you. It doesn’t hurt that their debut, Sounds of Malice, helps them stand out a little bit more due to the tightness and musicianship on display.

If you’re looking for psychedelic embellishments to channel your inner third eye, or are yearning for creative interpretations of scales and modes in a dizzying array of progressive dalliances, Sounds of Malice is not for you. This is as meat-and-potatoes death metal as it gets, with emphasis on the meat, because hoo-boy, there are riffs aplenty. Guitarists Jake Atha and Paul Nunavath stuff every one of the seven tracks full of chunky riffing and squealy pinch-harmonics that look back to the likes of Immolation and Cannibal Corpse while slamming shit up. Opener “Quartered & Devoured” and the title track deliver that head-caving one-two punch combo that sets a brutal stage for a rightful trouncing.

That one-two punch, however, reveals all of Redivider’s tools early on. While none of the songs on Sounds of Malice are bad, it does blur with repeated listens as the album continues. “Shackled to Existence” feels like a continuation of the opening two-song salvo, and the fake-out ending doesn’t help matters when the song “ended” just fine without it. When a song does possess a solo, such as the Morbid Angelic closer “Left to Rot,” it acts as a breath of fresh air amongst the (cannibal) corpses, a moment you can latch on to and recall. Jacob Spencer’s sub-guttural growls and wretched pig squeals do an effective job at amplifying the brutality, but even they begin to blend into one another with each passing song.

The Dan Swanö mastering helps each instrument to breathe, which is remarkable given the lack of dynamic range. I appreciate being able to hear bass in my death metal, and Xander Farrington is no slouch as a bassist, so hearing his bass among the riffs and James Goetz’s pummeling is a welcome treat. For as heavy as the riffs and production are, however, there needs to be a tightening of the song structure and writing. Even though Sounds of Malice is a brisk sub-thirty-minute album, it does feel like it drags in certain areas. Not enough to kill the vibe, but it’s definitely noticeable.

But don’t let this deter you from checking out Sounds of Malice on your own. It’s not often we get a strong debut in the beginning of the year, but this is a fun romp that respects your time while it plays out. Sometimes, no-frills death metal does the job just fine, and there are far worse bands doing it than Redivider are, and this is only their debut. If they keep at it, things will look bright indeed for these guys, or my name isn’t Tacocat. Wait…

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Unsigned/Independent
Websites: redividerdeathmetal.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/redivider.louisville
Releases Worldwide: January 9th, 2026

#2026 #30 #AmericanMetal #CannibalCorpse #DeathMetal #Immolation #IndependentUnsigned #Jan26 #MorbidAngel #Redivider #Review #Reviews #SoundsOfMalice

After Taste – Hungry For Life Review

By Grymm

I’ll be the first to admit, right now, that I miss Type O Negative. Chances are that you do, too. When bassist/vocalist Peter Steele died in 2010, he and his merry cohorts of doom and lust left a massive, gaping hole in the world of metal that no one to this day could replace or replicate. That hasn’t stopped others from trying, however. After Taste, hailing from the Netherlands and featuring Dave Meester of God Dethroned on guitar and vocals, are the latest in a line of those who worship at the altar of Black and Neon Green. With their second album, Hungry for Life, these Dutch doom-peddlers are hoping you will give in to your carnal cravings.

On a couple of songs, they do the trick. “Morning XTC” gives off a Host-era Paradise Lost vibe, with its somewhat upbeat, danceable rhythms and simple-yet-catchy riffs. Elsewhere, “Mind Over Body” could slot itself alongside Katatonia’s Night is the New Day in both atmosphere and performance, but with Meester aiming for Peter Steele instead of Jonas Renkse vocally. Their influences are sound, and their passions are in the right places when it comes to capturing a particular snapshot of a lifestyle of non-stop partying, and the grotesque, inevitable come-down afterwards.

So why doesn’t this land as well as it should? In their one-sheet, they’re aiming for a sound that’s equal parts Type O Negative, Rammstein, and Alice in Chains with electronic and synthwave vibes. Instead, what this reminds me of are the Century Media bands of the late 90s and early 2000s that decided they weren’t metal anymore: Morgoth, Moonspell, and Tiamat. Not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, but Hungry for Life sounds exactly like those aforementioned bands that were once inspirational, but had gone pedestrian with their sound, and this album captures that complacency a bit too well.

For example, opener “Sustain Me” crawls along at a snail’s pace and doesn’t move the needle much in terms of melody or memorability. “Lost at Sea” could have been a strong single, but it drags out for too long, all while being a scant four-and-a-half minutes, due to its repetitive nature. “Methmouth” and “Liquid Courage” both aim for lyrical grossness, especially in the former (“You’re lips are locked/’Round my member/Yet your breath still fills the air”), yet don’t really go anywhere of note musically to back it up. Granted, the last band to impress me going this direction lyrically and stylistically was Voices, but London was released a long time ago at this point, and that band backed it up with chilling performances, compelling songwriting, and tight musicianship, all things that Hungry for Life lacks.

I wanted to like Hungry for Life more than I did. It had all the ingredients in place to make for a fantastic album. Sadly, other than a scant few moments, it did little to quell my thirst for music in the vein of New York’s sorely missed goth overlords. I can only recommend this album for those that really, really miss Type of Negative, and even then, it’s not going to hit the same way as the originals did, and the end result yields an aggressively okay album. It’s a shame, because it feels like it could be a whole lot more.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Independent/Unsigned
Websites: Facebook1
Releases Worldwide: June 6th, 2025

#20 #2025 #AfterTaste #AliceInChains #DoomMetal #DutchMetal #GodDethroned #HardRock #HungryForLife #IndependentUnsigned #Jun25 #Katatonia #Moonspell #Morgoth #MyDyingBride #ParadiseLost #Rammstein #Review #Reviews #Tiamat #TypeONegative #Voices

Sonus Mortis – Synapse the Hivemind Review

By Grymm

Ever since I was awoken by the editorial staff here rap-tap-tapping on my coffin lid earlier this year, I’ve been 3 for 3 in terms of albums by one-person bands. Completing the hat trick this time around is Sonus Mortis, a prolific death/doom act navigated by one Kevin Byrne, who was originally the bassist for Irish upstarts Valediction before splitting off on his own. His eighth album in 12 years,1 Synapse the Hivemind sees Byrne tackling personal privacy in a world that’s continuously being overrun by A.I. and the all-seeing eye of the camera. But what interested me was that, despite the output, I’d never heard of Sonus Mortis before, or his claims that Byrne’s band is a mix of death/doom with symphonic black metal elements. So what does that even sound like, both on a musical and conceptual level?

Melodeath. It sounds like melodeath. Mind you, that’s not a bad thing at all, especially considering that it sounds a great deal like Andy Gillion-era Mors Principium Est in many ways, right down to the incredible guitar and keyboard leads that Byrne lays down throughout the album. His screams also recall Matt Moss of the dormant-but-much-missed Slugdge, hissing about drones (“Eyes in the Sky”) and the modern working wage (the title track) with venomous intent. Byrne’s got the musical chops to carry his vision to fruition, raging against literal machines and reigniting the passion to win one’s humanity back against technological oligarchies and the need for systemic control.

I just wish the same could be said for the songwriting. One of the complaints I have against modern melodeath rests in the fact that if you’ve heard one song on an average melodeath album, you’ve pretty much heard the whole damn thing. Sadly, it applies here, as Synapse suffers from the songs almost using identical tempos, motifs, and patterns from each other. Listening to the whole album in one sitting just feels like a well-practiced and impressively-performed blur of leads and atmosphere, making it hard to differentiate from one song to the next without making a lasting impact. Due to this familiarity and extreme deja vu, 50% of the album’s problems exist here.

The other 50% rests in Byrne’s singing voice, which can best be described as an acquired taste. His screams and growls are on-point, and get the blood pumping just right. His cleans, however, do not fit the music at all, either trying for James Hetfield-esque melodrama, complete with Hetfield’s “YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAH!!!” inflections that pull me out of the game entirely (opener “Biomechanical Horrors”), or aiming to dethrone Mikael Stanne’s haunting croons but whiffing it (the title track and “The Perfect Host”)2 they act as a stark reminder that if you can’t perform a certain way, you can always seek help from the outside. There’s no shame in doing so.

One final bit of advice, and I experienced this personally all-too-recently: the grind mindset. I respect the hustle, I really do. Eight albums in twelve years sounds impressive (and it is), but the factory-like churning of albums causes a negative impact on your art. Slow it down a bit, take time away from what you’re working on (if you can manage), and let your piece breathe a bit. Assess what can be added. What can be taken away? What can be improved upon? Because all these things will benefit not only your music, but you personally. Because while Synapse the Hivemind has some cool ideas and amazing musicianship trapped behind okayish songwriting, I know Byrne and Sonus Mortis are capable of much, much more.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 192 kbps mp3
Label: Unsigned/Independent
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: March 27th, 2025

#25 #2025 #IndependentUnsigned #IrishMetal #Mar25 #MelodicDeathMetal #MorsPrincipiumEst #Review #Reviews #Slugdge #SonusMortis #SynapseTheHivemind #Valediction

Eigenstate Zero – The Malthusian Review

By Maddog

After a six-month hiatus from writing (and most everything else), I couldn’t resist reviewing an artist with eigen- in their name. My excitement for linear algebra drew me to Eigenstate Zero’s third record, despite my inkling that “eigenstate zero” was a nonsense phrase.1 Unsurprisingly, Eigenstate Zero is a solo prog project, and The Malthusian offers 78 indulgent minutes of off-kilter death metal from Sweden’s Christian Ludvigsson. The album is full of surface-level variety, mixing riffy goodness with keyboard melodies and copious genre experimentation. And yet, its strengths and weaknesses are exactly what you’d expect, for a 78-minute prog-death album with a sci-fi name.

The Malthusian combines hit-or-miss death metal with hit-or-miss prog tropes. The death metal foundation of Eigenstate Zero’s sound is executed with mixed success. Even The Malthusian’s shorter straightforward tracks sometimes misfire with by-the-books riffs that lack the genre’s power (“Serfs & Zealots,” “Reset”). Conversely, The Malthusian slays when it remains laser-focused on engaging its listeners. The title track’s hefty riffs could hold their own against death metal’s best, while its creative rhythms and keys lean deftly into Eigenstate Zero’s prog sensibilities. Meanwhile, groovy bass lines (“Telomeres”) and thoughtfully ballistic drums (“Mindcrime”) make the rhythm section a highlight throughout. Despite those successes, The Malthusian struggles with prog idioms. Digressions like the waltz of “Spiritdebris,” the theatrical clean vocals of “Thingfish Diaries,” and the gratuitous wind sections of “Holomind” feel like weirdness for weirdness’ sake. Echoing Serdce’s craziness without Serdce’s writing prowess, The Malthusian’s proggy bits often lose my interest.

The Malthusian’s frequent lack of cohesion makes it a jumbled listen. The album’s ambition is admirable, but it tends to long jump between disparate styles without the requisite effort to glue them together. The Malthusian’s proggy shenanigans often feel jammed between unrelated neighbors, like the cabaret melodies and keyboard detours of “Black Pages.” At their worst, these aren’t just isolated missteps; rather, tracks like “Orch Or” fall flat by cobbling together jigsaw pieces from different puzzles for their entire runtime. Still, The Malthusian’s choice cuts demonstrate songwriting excellence. Album highlight “Mindcrime” channels Alustrium with caveman riffs, proggy rhythms, an acoustic break, and soaring solos, blended together perfectly and tied up with a thoughtful bow. I wish the rest of the record had followed suit.

Now for the elephant in the room: The Malthusian is elephantine. Even the better songs could use a trim, like the fluid but beefy ten-minute title track. The back half of the record is particularly bloated, housing all but one of the album’s chunkiest pieces. As a result, The Malthusian is a tiresome listen, extending for nearly eighty minutes with only enough compelling material for half of that. Adding to the excess, the album’s crushed production makes it difficult to identify interesting melodies above the din. Exhausted by both sonic clutter and a glut of content, I struggle to distinguish or recall much of The Malthusian. Indeed, it took me multiple spins to realize that the promo materials included an extra copy of “Telomeres” in place of “Reset.” Some more restraint would go a long way for Eigenstate Zero.

While The Malthusian doesn’t have any single fatal flaw, its missteps hold it back. The album’s riffs and melodies suffer from inconsistency, especially when they veer into prog exhibitionism. On a macroscopic level, the lack of restraint in The Malthusian’s composition and production hampers the final product. The record’s apexes display a talent for melody and composition that’ll keep me hopeful for Eigenstate Zero’s next release. But despite its ambition, The Malthusian hasn’t left much impression on me. In the linear transformation of my ears, Eigenstate Zero’s newest release has eigenvalue zero.2

Rating: ​2.0/5.0
DR:​ 7 | ​Format Reviewed:​ 320 kbps mp3
Label: ​Self-Released
Websites: ​eigenstatezero.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide​: May 17th, 2024

#20 #2024 #Alustrium #DeathMetal #EigenstateZero #Independent #IndependentRelease #IndependentUnsigned #May24 #ProgressiveDeath #ProgressiveDeathMetal #ProgressiveMetal #Review #Reviews #Serdce #SwedishMetal #TheMalthusian