Stuck in the Filter: August 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity

The heat persists, but now the humidity comes in full force as storm systems wreak havoc upon the coasts. I hide in my cramped closet of an office, lest I be washed out once again by an unsuspecting deluge. However, I still send my minions out into the facility, bound by duty to search for those metallic scraps on which we feast.

Fortuitously, most all of those imps I sent out came back alive, and with wares! BEHOLD!

Kenstrosity’s Galactic Gremlin

Silent Millenia // Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil [August 26th, 2025 – Self-Release]

Have you ever seen such a delightfully cheesy cover? Probably, but it’s been a while for me. I bought Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil, the second raw symphonic black metal opus from Finnish one-man act Silent Millenia, on the strength of the artwork alone. Little did I know that what lay beyond this crimson veil was some of the most fun melodic black metal this side of Moonlight Sorcery. The same low-fi roughness that personifies Old Nick’s work grounds Silent Millenia’s starbound songwriting as it traverses the universe with an energetic punch reminiscent of Emperor or Stormkeep (“Awaken the Celestial Spell,” “Daemonic Mastery”). To help differentiate Silent Millenia’s sound from that of their peers, a gothic atmosphere ensorcells much of this material to great effect, merging eerie Victorian melodies with galactic adventurism in an unlikely pair (“Enthrone the Spectral”). Swirling synths and sparkling twinkles abound as well, creating blissful moments of interest as frosty tremolos and piercing blasts take full advantage of the false sense of security those entrancing clouds of synthetic instrumentation create (“Benighted Path to Darkness Mysterium,” “Reign in Cosmic Majesty”). Simply put, Celestial Twilight is an unexpected gem of a symphonic black metal record, bursting with killer ideas and infinite levels of raw, unabashed fun. You should hear it!

Kronos’ Unexpected Unearthments

Street Sects // Dry Drunk [August 15th, 2025 – Self Release]

Dry Drunk sticks to your inner surfaces, draining down like cigarette tar along paralyzed cilia to pool in your lungs until the cells themselves foment rebellion. Once it’s in you, you feel paranoid, wretched, and alone. So it’s the proper follow-up to Street Sects’ visionary debut, End Position. Like that record, Dry Drunk plumbs the most mundane and unsavory gutters of America for a cast of protagonists that it dwells in or dispatches with a mixture of pity and disgust, with vocalist Leo Ashline narrating their violent crimes and self-hatred in a mixture of croons, shrieks, and snarls that cook the air before the speakers into the scent of booze and rotten teeth. And like that record, Shaun Ringsmuth (Glassing) dresses the sets with a fractal litter of snaps, squeals, crashes, gunshots, and grinding electronics, caked in tar and collapsing just as soon as it is swept into a structure. And like End Position, Dry Drunk is a masterpiece. The impeccable six-song stretch from “Love Makes You Fat” through “Riding the Clock” ties you to the bumper and drags you along some of the duo’s most creative side-roads, through the simmering, straightjacketed sludge of “Baker Act” to the chopped-up, smirking electronica of “Eject Button.” Swerving between addled, unintelligible agony and unforgettable anthems, Dry Drunk, like End Position before it is nothing less than the life of a junkie scraped together, heated on a spoon, and injected into your head. Once you’ve taken a hit, you will never be quite the same.

Thus Spoke’s Frightening Fragments

Defacement // Doomed [August 22nd, 2025 – Self Release]

There’s music for every vibe.1 The one Defacement fits is an exclusively extreme metal flavor of moody that is only appreciable by genre fans, made tangibly more eerie by their persistent idiosyncratic use of dark ambient interludes amidst the viciously distorted blackened death. Audiences—and reviewers—tend to disparage these electronic segments, but I’ve always felt their crackling presence increases the analog horror of it all, and rather than being a breather from the intensity, they prolong the nausea, the sense of emptiness, and the abject fearfulness of head-based trauma. This latter concept grows more metaphorical still on Doomed, where the violence is inside the mind, purpose-erasing, and emotionally-detaching. The ambience might be the most sadly beautiful so far (“Mournful,” and “Clouded” especially), and the transitions into nightmarish heaviness arguably the most fluid. And the metal is undoubtedly the most ambitious, dynamic, and magnificent of Defacement’s career, combining their most gruesome dissonance (“Portrait”) with their most bizarrely exuberant guitar melodies (“Unexplainable,” “Unrecognised”). Solos drip tangibly with (emotional) resonance (“Unexplainable,” “Absent”) and there’s not a breath or a moment of wasted space. Yes, the band’s heavier side can suffer from a nagging sense of homogeneous mass, but it remains transporting. While I can appreciate why others do not appreciate Defacement, this is the first of their outings I can truthfully say mesmerised me on first listen.

ClarkKent’s Heated Hymns

Phantom Fire // Phantom Fire [August 8th, 2025 – Edged Circle Productions]

While I waded through the murky depths of the August promo sump, Steel implored me to take the eponymous third album from Phantom Fire. “The AMG commentariat love blackened heavy metal,” he said. I disregarded his advice at my peril, and while I ended up enjoying what I grabbed, it turns out this would have been solid too. Featuring members from Enslaved, Kraków. Hellbutcher, and Aeternus, Phantom Fire play old school speed metal that harks back to the likes of Motörhead and Iron Maiden’s Killers. Thanks to healthy doses of bass and production values that allow the instruments to shine, each song is infused with energetic grooves. The music sounds fresh, crisp, and clear, from the booming drums to Eld’s “blackened” snarls. Early tracks “Eternal Void” and “All For None” show off the catchy blend of simple guitar riffs and a hoppin’ bass accompanied by energetic kit work. While placing a somewhat lengthy instrumental track in the middle of a record usually slows it down, “Fatal Attraction” turns out to be a highlight. It tells a tragic love story involving a motorcycle with nothing but instruments, an engine revving, and some police sirens. The second half of Phantom Fire gets a bit on the weirder side, turning to some stoner and psychedelia. There’s a push and pull between the stoner and Motörhead speed stuff on songs like “Malphas” and “Submersible Pt. 2,” and this blend actually works pretty well. It turns out that they aren’t phantom after all—these guys are truly fire.

Burning Witches // Inquisition [August 22nd, 2025 – Napalm Records]

With six albums in eight years, Swiss quintet Burning Witches has really been burning rubber. While such prolific output in such a short time frame generally spells trouble, Inquisition is a solid piece of heavy/power metal. Burning Witches dabbles in a mix of speedy power metal and mid-tempo heavy metal, often sounding like ’80s stalwarts Judas Priest and Def Leppard. With Laura Guldemond’s gruff voice, they produce a more weighty, less happy version of power metal than the likes of Fellowship or Frozen Crown. While the songs stick to formulaic structures, tempo shifts from song to song help keep things from growing stale. We see this variety right from the get-go, where “Soul Eater” takes a high-energy approach before moving into the more mellow “Shame.” There’s even a pretty solid ballad, “Release Me,” that grounds the back half of the record. Songs of the sort that Burning Witches write need catchy choruses, and fortunately, they deliver. “High Priestess of the Night” is a particular standout, delivering a knock-out punch in its delivery. It helps that the instrumental parts are well-executed, from crunchy riffs to subdued solos to booming blast beats. Anyone looking for a solid bit of power metal that’s not too heavy on the cheese will find this worth a listen.

Deathhammer // Crimson Dawn [August 29th, 2025 – Hells Headbangers Records]

Celebrating 20 years of blackened speed, Deathhammer drop LP number six with the kind of energy that exhausted parents dread to see in their children at bedtime. This is my first foray with the band, and I am in awe of the relentless level of manic energy they keep throughout Crimson Dawn’s 39 minutes. If science could learn how to harness their energy, we’d have an endless source of renewables. The two-piece out of Norway channels classic Slayer on crack and even has moments reminiscent of Painkiller-era Judas Priest. They play non-stop thrash cranked to 11, with persistent blast beats and some dual guitar parts that leave your head spinning from the rapid-fire directions the riffs fire off in. The heart of the mania is singer Sergeant Salsten. His crazed vocals are amazing—snarling, shouting, and shrieking in a way that took me back to the manic pitch Judge Doom could reach in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? He sings so fast that on the chorus of “Crimson Dawn,” it sounds like he says “Griffindor,” which had me searching confusedly for the Harry Potter tag. This was probably my favorite song, not just because of the Griffindor thing, but because that chorus is so catchy. Either way, it’s tough to pick a standout track because they all grip you by the throat and don’t let go. Crimson Dawn is a ton of fun and a must listen if you like your music fast.

Grin Reaper’s Bountiful Blight

Kallias // Digital Plague [August 14th, 2025 – Self Release]

Machine gun drumming, spacey synths, Morbid Angel-meets-Meshuggah riffing, Turian-esque barking and Voyager-reminiscent vocal melodies…what the fuck is going on here? The only thing more surprising than someone having the moxie to blend all these things together is how well they work in concert. Kallias doesn’t hold back on sophomore album Digital Plague, and the result is a rocket-fueled blast through forty-four minutes of eclectic, addictive prog. The mishmash of styles keeps the album fresh and unpredictable while never dipping its toes in inconsistent waters, and staccato rhythms propel listeners through eight tracks without losing steam. As with any prog metal worth its salt, Kallias brandishes technical prowess, and their cohesion belies the relatively short time they’ve been putting out music.2 The mix is well-suited to spotlight whoever needs it at a given time, whether the bass is purring (“Exogíini Kyriarchía”), the drums are being annihilated (“Pyrrhic Victory”), or a guitar solo nears Pettrucian wankery (“Phenomenal in Theory”). The end result is three-quarters of an hour filled with myriad influences that fuse into a sound all Kallias’s own, and it’s one I’ve returned to several times since discovering (also, credit to MontDoom for his stunning artwork, which helped initially draw my attention). Check it out—you’ll be sick if you avoid this one like the Plague.

Luke’s Kaleidoscopic Kicks

Giant Haze // Cosmic Mother [August 22nd, 2025 – Tonzonen Records]

Whereas many of my colleagues are bracing themselves for cooler conditions and harsh winters to come, in my neck of the woods, things are warming up. While my own wintry August filter proved scarce, there was one particular summery gem to lift moods with burly riffs and fat stoner grooves. Unheralded German act Giant Haze seemingly emerged out of nowhere during a random Bandcamp deep dive. Debut LP Cosmic Mother channels the good old days of ’90s-inspired desert rock, featuring grungy, doomy vibes via a groovy batch of riff-centric, hard-rocking and uplifting jams, evoking the nostalgic spirit of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Clutch and perhaps even a dash of Danzig. Punching out raucous, groove-soaked hard rockers with skyscraping hooks (“Geographic Gardens Suck,” “King of Tomorrow,” “Panic to Ride”), summery, funk–psych jams (“Sunrise”), and bluesy, punk-infused fireballs (“Crank in Public,” “Shrink Age”) Giant Haze get a lot of things right on this assured debut. The songwriting is deceptively diverse and punchy, bolstered by solid production, tight musicianship, and the swaggering, ever so slightly goofy vocal charms and powerful hooks of frontman Christoph Wollmann. Inevitably, a few rough spots appear, but overall Cosmic Mother showcases oodles of budding potential, an impactful delivery, cheeky sense of humor, and infectious, feel-good songcraft.

Spicie Forrest’s Foraged Fruit

Bask // The Turning [August 22nd, 2025 – Season of Mist]

Last seen in 2019, Bask returns with fourth LP, The Turning, a concept album following The Rider as she and The Traveler traverse the stars. They still peddle the unique blend of stoner rock and Americana Kenstrosity reviewed favorably in 2019, but 2025 sees them looking up for inspiration. The Turning incorporates a distinct cosmic bent (“The Traveler,” “The Turning”) and post-rock structures (“Dig My Heels,” “Unwound”). These augmentations to Bask’s core sound are enhanced by the masterful pedal steel of new official member Jed Willis. Whether floating through the firmament or tilling earthly pastures, Willis creates textures both fresh and intensely nostalgic. The infinite shifting vistas of The Turning’s front half coalesce into singular timeless visions on the back half, supporting its conceptual nature in both content and form. Like a combination of Huntsmen and Somali Yacht Club, Bask weaves riffs and melodies heard across the plains and through the void above with an unguarded authenticity felt in your soul.

Dolphin Whisperer’s Disseminating Discharge

Plasmodulated // An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell [August 1st, 2025 – Personal Records]

Stinky, sticky, slimy—all adjectives that define the ideal death metal platter. Myk Colby has been trying to chase this perfect balance in a reverb-wonky package with projects like the d-beaten Hot Graves and extra hazy Wharflurch, but vile death metal balance is hard to achieve. However, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell contains a recklessly pinched Demilichian riffage, classic piercing whammy bombs, and spook-minded synth ambience that places Plasmodulated with an odor more pungent than its peers. With an infected ear that festers equally with doom-loaded, Incantation-indebted drags (“Gelatinous Mutation ov Brewed Origin,” “Trapped in the Plasmovoid”) and Voivod-on-jenkem cutaways to foul-throated extravagence (“The Final Fuckening”). An air of intelligent tempo design keeps An Ocean from never feeling trapped in a maze of its own fumes, with Colby’s lush and bubbling synth design seguing tumbles into hammering deathly tremolo runs (“Such Rapid Sphacelation”) and Celtic Frosted riff tumbles (“Drowning in Sputum”) alike, all before swirling about his own tattered, trailing vocal sputters. Steady but slippery, elegant yet effluvial, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell provides the necessary noxious pressure to corrode death metal-loving denizens into pure gloops of stained-denim pit worship. Delivered as labeled, Plasmodulated earns its hazardous declaration. We here at AMG are not liable for any OSHA violations that occur as a result of Plasmodulated consumption on the job, though.

#2025 #Aeternus #AmericanMetal #Americana #AnOceanOvPutridStinkyVileDisgustingHell #Aug25 #Bask #BlackMetal #BlackenedDeathMetal #BurningWitches #CelestialTwilightBeyondTheCrimsonVeil #CelticFrost #Clutch #CosmicMother #CrimsonDawn #Danzig #DarkAmbient #DeathMetal #Deathhammer #DefLeppard #Defacement #Demilich #DigitalPlague #Doomed #DryDrunk #DutchMetal #EdgedCircleProductions #Emperor #Enslaved #Fellship #FinnishMetal #FrozenCrown #FuManchu #GermanMetal #GiantHaze #Glassing #Hardcore #HeavyMetal #Hellbutcher #HellsHeadbangersRecords #HotGraves #Huntsmen #Incantation #Inquisition #IronMaiden #JudasPriest #Kallias #Kraków #Kyuss #MelodicBlackMetal #Meshuggah #MoonlightSorcery #MorbidAngel #Motörhead #NapalmRecords #NorwegianMetal #OldNick #PersonalRecords #PhantomFire #Plasmodulated #PowerMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal #RawBlackMetal #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #SilentMillenia #Slayer #Sludge #SludgeMetal #SomaliYachtClub #SpeedMetal #StonerRock #Stormkeep #StreetSects #StuckInTheFilter #StuckInTheFilter2025 #SwissMetal #SymphonicBlackMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheTurning #TonzonenRecords #Turian #Voivod #Voyager #Wharflurch

Infernal Thorns – Christus Venari Review

By Kenstrosity

You may ask if the world needs yet another Satan-worshipping, demon-loving, God-forsaking metal band. The rational answer is probably a resounding no. And normally, I would agree. But I recognize that moving away from those themes is a lot to ask of the metalverse. Chilean thrashy death metal imps Infernal Thorns certainly aren’t inclined to stop reveling in hellish delights just because it’s a stereotype. They’ve been doing it since 2003, after all, and doing it quite well. So well, in fact, that after spending two weeks with third tome Christus Venari, I hope they never listen to me and keep churning out killer tunes from the nine circles for all eternity.

Evoking the same raucous debauchery that made icons like Goatwhore famous, Infernal Thorns prioritize riffs, fun, and blistering energy above all else on Christus Venari. A veritable smorgasbord of thrashy outbursts, squealing solos, demonic growls and banshee rasps, and pummeling percussion awaits listeners as they venture through 38 minutes of all-out destruction. With full-bodied tones, serrated distortion, and a clear—but not overly polished—mix, Christus Venari is as pleasing to the ear as it is threatening to the spine. It’s a classic, no-nonsense approach to scorched death metal that honors what made the genre the phenomenon it is today, but with a little bit of infernal magic to keep it fresh and exciting.

Christus Venari is a record capable of overriding the critical thinking process, replacing all higher functions with mindless headbanging and stank-face grimacing. It does this primarily by invoking an endless horde of memorable motifs, thoughtful transitions, and risky songwriting choices that pay dividends. From the outset of pounding opener “Death Chants” to the relentless call and response of “Implore Me,” Infernal Thorns embody the sounds of hell with a salacious enthusiasm sure to infect the minds of millions. This is where those memorable motifs and buttery transitions shine best, especially highlighted by the tremolo-spiced flourish of “Christ Distressed,” the Incantation-ized stomp of “Black Flesh,” the charred one-two knockout of “Finis Incipiet” and “Officiate Lapidation,” and the regal brutality of “Desde El Infierno.” When possessed, “Profane the Mass” comes close to its final throes, Infernal Thorns throw a daring vocal trick into the mix. Modulating death growls into an arpeggiated melody—complete with a pitch shift three repetitions in—Infernal Thorns creates an outright terrifying effect. Another big swing, epic eight-minute closer “Illuminated by the Flames” forges a spine-tingling guitar melody that persists in various forms throughout, drilling its form into my brain for an age, but convincing me of its worth with remarkable consistency.

Considering every song earned mention in a paragraph dedicated to Christus Venari’s virtues, it’s natural to wonder, “What are its sins?” The truth is, Infernal Thorns crafted this record so well that most of its sins are minor, and all are disguised by the sheer amount of fun and the endless vitality it exudes. With time and very focused listens, I found that as successful as closer “Illuminated by the Flames” is, it’s still about two minutes too long with most of its bloat manifesting in an overly extended fade out. Additionally, albeit strong tracks like “Black Flesh” and “Death Chants” are liable to recall influences more strongly than they are to strike a novel chord. Put another way, Infernal Thorns rely on established tropes and beloved genre conventions to hook listeners in with some of these numbers. Consequently, there’s less room to showcase more of the creative songwriting choices that make the most compelling material here (“Profane the Mass,” for example) stand out.

These are but minor quibbles. In sum, Christus Venari is a high-energy, high-reward record, blazing the sky with killer songwriting. It’s been difficult to put down, and with each new spin, I grow fonder of it. It’s not the most creative example of the style, nor will it challenge the status quo of hell-centric death metal. However, it’s the most fun I’ve had with the subject in this style since Nexorum’s incredible Death Unchained, and that’s high praise. Miss this at your own peril.

Rating: Very Good!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Personal Records
Websites: infernalthorns.bandcamp.com | infernalthorns.com
Releases Worldwide: September 12th, 2025

#2025 #35 #BlackMetal #BlackenedDeathMetal #ChileanMetal #ChristusVenari #DeathMetal #Goatwhore #Incantation #InfernalThorns #Nexorum #PersonalRecords #Review #Reviews #Sep25 #ThrashMetal

The Infernal Deceit – The True Harmful Black Review

By Alekhines Gun

In a year that already looks to be filled with heady pomp and artistry, there’s something to be appreciated about some straightforwardness in back-to-basics. You don’t always need the ultra highbrow and thought-provoking violence – sometimes you just want to throw on an album and veg out. Such wants prompted my newest scourings of the promo pit for something more immediate, something to get fists pumping and bootie shaking with blackened frowns to be had by all. Answering this call is German duo The Infernal Deceit, a self-described black/death hybrid outfit who are dropping their sophomore effort The True Harmful Black this month. Sporting some admittedly cool artwork and an uncommonly legible logo, I dove in to see what harms await in the promised black.

When The Infernal Deceit put their best foot forward, what results is a fun, riff-centric album with bounce and groove to be found in fair measure. The True Harmful Black slings some congenial black metal of the punky, catchy stylings ala Spectral Wound or Hulder with production pulled straight from the book of modern death metal. This gives moments like the “everybody clap your hands” buildup of “The Great Seducer, The Greatest Deceiver (Dethroned)” and the sprawling melodies of “The Primordial Maze and The Crawling Chaos” some real bop-to-the-nose force without losing the requisite trebly underpinnings. Songs wrapped around neck bobbing hooks demand attention and imply greatness ahead, with no genuine surprises to be found, instead opting for a handful of rote but well-implemented ingredients.

Instead of targeting for all rage all day, The True Harmful Black opts for a melancholy approach as much as a riff-centric one. Vocalist “R” has a suitably gruff bark, straddling the overlap between a blackened shriek and a deathly growl without neatly falling into either category. His somewhat monotone delivery helps the musical presentation, as he sounds at home whether the music blasts or crawls. Multi-instrumentalist “C” offers up a platter of songs which alternate between the expected bpm pushing swipes at Necrophobic melodies while frequently bringing the tempo to a much more somber, mood-drenched drawl. This saves the album from becoming too homogenous despite a bit of an overly familiar palate of riffs and lead stylings. Clean acoustics also litter the album, both as extra instrumentation as well as interlude and closer, offering up a nice flow and easy listening.

The Infernal Deceit peddle an enjoyable sound, but the album doesn’t seek to be much more than that. The constant changing of tempo eventually works against the band, particularly in the back half of the album. The True Harmful Black is at its strongest when bringing the pain (“In the Wilderness of Pernicious Black”), but its quest for atmospheric theatrics robs the riffs of much of their staying power. The clean acoustics are pretty when implemented as instrumental flourishes, but focusing on them robs the album of momentum. Combining that with the aforementioned frequent brake pumping leads to an album that doesn’t flow as much as it stutters. This is a bit disappointing because individual moments hint at some truly good stuff waiting to be unearthed; solos in particular rip and shred with delightful melodic prowess. An album with a filthier mix, more consistent strength in riffs, or some more extremity in the disparaging tempos would create a Deceit that could be Infernal indeed.

The True Harmful Black is a pleasant album, just not a remarkable one. There’s nothing wrong with that; not every album needs to be an earth-heaving, forest-felling, giant slaying leviathan of artistic intent. The Infernal Deceit are a competent pair who can craft solid moments and good melodies, but are still on the prowl for that x factor which will launch them further to stand shoulder to shoulder with their peers. I believe they have better in them, and will certainly check out what their next offering holds for us. For the moment, while certainly not challenging for any end-of-year placements, listeners on the quest for a quick black metal fix could do far worse, and might find some select moments of real harm waiting for them in the depicted black maze above.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Personal Records
Websites: Official Bandcamp | Official Facebook
Releases Worldwide: April 11th, 2025

#25 #2025 #Apr25 #BlackMetal #DeathMetal #GermanMetal #Hulder #Necrophobic #PersonalRecords #Review #Reviews #SpectralWound #TheInfernalDeceit #TheTrueHarmfulBlack

August Moon – Something Eldritch and Macabre Review

By Steel Druhm

Written By: Nameless_N00b_87

As Listurnalia hits these hallowed halls with the year-end release doldrums in full swing, scraping the pit to unearth one last juicy morsel before the holidays can be a fool’s errand. Luckily, I didn’t have to scrape much as August Moon’s debut Something Eldritch and Macabre was gifted to me from the bone pile. Conceived at the epicenter of Finland’s renowned 90’s death metal scene as a side project and think tank of avant-garde ideas not suitable for their main band, As Serenity Fades, August Moon are a testament to patience. After a brief one-year run and the release of two demos, the group disbanded in 1994 before re-emerging in 2014 to continue crafting their debut. Though it took another decade to materialize, their initial four-song EP finally saw the light of day at the start of the year. Impressed, Personal Records took notice and promptly commissioned five more tracks within twelve months. Now finally, through the clouds of decade-long breaks, Something Eldritch and Macabre arrives.

Rooted in the Scandinavian melodeath scene of olde, one might expect August Moon to be a mere revival of early Sentenced or Amorphis. Yet, there is more lurking in the shadows than meets the eye. August Moon blend black, thrash, and power metal with hints of 70’s rock, and even flashes of 80’s synth (“Journey to Other-Worldly Realms and Beyond”), to craft appealing, dramatic compositions that are both engaging and gratifying. Amongst Something Eldritch and Macabre’s core elements are swarming tremolos, Gothenburg harmonies, Hammond-style organ refrains, thrashy Omnium Gatherum-esque melodic hooks, proto-metal grooves, and power metal panache filtered through raw and unrefined production. Underpinned by Tom Hendriksson’s rock syncopations and boosted by great songwriting, Peter Viherkanto’s fiery shredding works in lockstep with Mikko Sorja’s sharp bass and demonic growls to render August Moon’s genre-bending arrangements.

Something Eldritch and Macabre’s success thrives on dynamic songwriting that balances ambition with restraint. Viherkanto’s creative riff craft frames gripping transitions, unexpected shifts, synth and organ overtures, and triumphant crescendos which balance tension and release. Soaring organ lines following heavy blasts in “Constellations Dislodged from the Night Sky” and driving thrash riffs amidst relentless tremolo in “As Cataclysms Swept Across the Cities,” create irresistible headbanging moments that highlight Something Eldritch and Macabre’s strength. Elsewhere, the familiar Gothenburg harmonies embedded within the bridges of “Exitus” or “Summoning of the Feathered Serpent” act to counterbalance the thrash-heavy staccato marches, menacing slides, and frequent stops and starts that resurface throughout the record’s nine tracks. Hendriksson’s measured strikes give Viherkanto’s fretwork space to flourish, employing stylish and inspired rock-centric syncopations with periodic blasts, gallops, and modest tom patterns that enhance August Moon’s tactful songwriting with a selective hand. Though precarious a line it may be to walk, August Moon avoids the pitfall of going for broke and risking Something Eldritch and Macabre becoming a haphazard mess.

But Something Eldritch and Macabre’s pacing falters early and stumbles late. Opener “In the Gallery of All Things Macabre,” and penultimate track “Something Eldritch Up in the Heavens Soon to Wreak Havoc Down on Earth” feel like underwhelming and ordinary bookends to an otherwise great album full of artistic vigor, while closer “The Vulture Stone (Pillar 43 to Commemorate the Apocalypse)” is an apathetic finale. Additionally, Sorja’s growls are jarring at times and struggle to find their place within a treble-heavy mix that lacks low-end heft. Exacerbated by inconsistencies with volume, the raw production would benefit from a more balanced mix to settle Sorja’s growls and give punch to Hendriksson’s kick. Nevertheless, August Moon maintains my interest thanks to the material’s powerful hooks coupled with its concise 39-minute runtime.

Something Eldritch and Macabre is a pleasant surprise and a strong way to close out the year. While production issues and a few weaker tracks evidence that some fine-tuning remains, August Moon’s songwriting and unique blend of aggression and melody give me everything I want in a melodeath record. August Moon has proven that their decades-long journey has been worth it, and this first offering has only whetted my appetite for more.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Personal Records
Websites: Too Kvlt for da Webz
Releases Worldwide: December 13th, 2024

#2024 #30 #Amorphis #AsSerenityFades #AugustMoon #BlackMetal #DeathMetal #Dec24 #FinnishMetal #MelodicDeathMetal #OmniumGatherum #PersonalRecords #PowerMetal #Review #Reviews #Sentenced #SomethingEldritchAndMacabre #ThrashMetal

Fumes – Skeletal Wings Threshold Review

By Alekhines Gun

As we slide from the snow-filled January to the rainy and fog-laced February, the mission remains the same: Checking out young hopefuls and their debut releases. This time on the roulette wheel of analysis is Fumes, a Mexican black metal band founded a mere three years ago. With sole EP Stellar Murders Upwards under their bullet belts,1 they’ve wasted no time in preparing their first full-length Skeletal Wings Domain. Is this the album to finally give Mexico a defined sound on the global scene, or do these wings need more meat on their bones?

Rejecting the stereotypical frosty Norwegian sound, Fumes present the listener with an album with a degree of weight to the compositions. Guitarists Henri and Alanis slather the album in meaty tones more adjacent to modern Ragnarok or Hades, with much more emphasis on bottom-end boom than trebly terrorizing. This gives a bounce and bite to the punky riffs, with songs constantly switching from obligatory melodic trems to Immortalized walk-in-place marching tempos. Moments like the outro of “Suppuration Tunnels” conjure up a genuinely evil mood, and solos litter the album with melodic flair while drummer Minos reliably blasts away in place. The sound is pleasing, immediate, and relatively accessible, with Alanis’s vocals echoing menacingly across the space with an expressive, enunciated bellow.

Where Skeletal Wings Threshold fails is in its memorability, and it fails in grand style. Things start well enough, true; “Stellar Ascension Infernal” wastes no time in going straight for the listener’s throat, but all too quickly Fumes suffer a startling dip in quality and album pacing. “Carrier of Venenifyer” doesn’t have enough interesting riffs to justify its six-minute run time, and multiple songs begin to fade into each other from bloat and pacing. Fumes try their best to offset this with heaps of solos, many of which are excellent (“Dead Morning Star” being a real highlight), but the end of such virtuosity leads right back to okay-tier riffing. Attempts at expected tempo assaults invariably give way to tired, slower passages, sounding less like tonal diversity and more like an album that refuses to commit to a mood. This inconstancy undermines the more impactful moments, reducing a full listen to far less than the sum of its parts.

Compounding this issue is the back half of the album, where Fumes saw fit to place no less than three interludes. These interludes are meandering, with no sense of flow or beauty, and seem to only pad out the album’s length. One of them is re-recorded from Stellar Murders Upwards, and still another ends the album in an outlandish attempt at post-auditory assault calm. There’s no need for three separate pauses in the music, and there’s certainly no need to stack them all in the back half of the album one after another. On top of that, the “real songs” from the EP were also re-recorded, stripping them of the raw charm the original production offered. Removing the re-recordings and two new interludes leaves us with five songs of descent to disposable black metal, and suggests the material would have best been served as a second EP. As it stands, songs replete with boilerplate hooks and bizarre track listing order give a sense of overwrought listening to an otherwise reasonable 38-minute runtime.

This is frustrating because I think Fumes can be a good band. Returning to “Suppuration Tunnels” in particular shows creative riffing, some deliciously dark-sounding moments, and a sudden grasp of good composition. But when taken as a whole body of work, Skeletal Wings Threshold doesn’t have the immediacy to stand next to its peers, let alone in the shadow of its influences. With their old material used up in re-recording, the real test will come at their next release. An extra tablespoon of blackened brutality, more immediate riffing, less interludes, and keeping those solos will do well in helping them carve a more memorable identity. For now, this is easy-listening black metal, from a threshold entirely disposable.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Personal Records
Websites: Album Bandcamp | Official Facebook Page
Releases Worldwide: February 7th, 2025

#20 #2025 #BlackMetal #Feb25 #Fumes #Hades #Immortal #MexicanMetal #PersonalRecords #Ragnarok #Review #Reviews #SkeletalWingsThreshold

Onirophagus – Revelations From the Void Review

By Alekhines Gun

2025 has gotten off to a picturesque start. It seems like half my country caught fire, and in the half I dwell in, I woke up to discover my car covered in a pile of icy slush for literally the first time in my life. Such dichotomous, if not ominous, happenings to kick off the review year have me reaching out for appropriate background music, and the fusion of death/doom has answered the call. Hailing from Spain, Onirophagus are one of a legion of bands who were gaining some traction before the Great Tour Cease of the early 20’s. Some lineup shuffling and dedicated writing later, they’ve returned with Revelations From the Void, sporting some fantastic artwork and a soundtrack to kick off the year in a depressive, destructive style.

Much like the multi-eyed creature adorning the cover, Revelations From the Void sounds layered, expansive, and intimidating. The drumming of Uretra sounds fantastic, laced with reverb that gives the crunching riffs an open, arena-rock vastness even as the guitars attempt to crush with extreme prejudice. Guitarists Moregod and Obzen drop weaving, interlacing leads over grooving blows and slow dirges that erupt into pit-combusting speeds (“Landsickness”) without ever sounding forced or awkward in transition. Most songs treat riffing as a one-and-done concept, evolving and unfolding as they progress. As a result, Onirophagus have mastered the art of seamlessly switching between requisite plods and sudden head-shattering blasts without awkward pauses or the crutch of amateurish feedback buildup, ensuring each song possesses strength of character and personality.

Onirophagus aren’t content to merely weave apocalyptic signals of destruction in their sound. The doomier passages allow for very emotive, somber expressions. The spirit of Monolord (particularly their excellent No Comfort) is spread throughout the slower passages, giving moodier and far more human flourishes to what would otherwise be tar-drenched riffs. “Hollow Valley” masterfully weaves mournful melodies under harmonized leads, allowing for peaceful introspection before catching you with a baseball bat from behind to ruin (or improve) your well-being. The fiercer moments unsurprisingly chant the Incantation but sound far more filled with blood and vinegar. Vocalist Paingrinder in particular does a fantastic John McEntee impression, spewing a stomach-gurgling growl and tortured shouts which sound like they crawled from the bottom of ye olde abandoned well.

Revelations From the Void is at its best when it experiments. A few riffs are ridden far too long, particularly in “Black Brew”, which takes a nonsensical amount of time to build up to an unexpected and welcome violin abuse by way of Adaestuo. On the rare occasion Onirophagus do choose to repeat sections, not every obligatory chug-a-thon hits with the same impact, particularly in “Landsickness.” Sporadic flourishes with bells, background choirs, and even excellently placed spoken word pepper the album. Closing track and easy album best “Stargazing into the Void” pulls out all the stops with masterfully paced build, a double violin solo and a vaguely triumphant, uplifting ending, a glimmer of light in an eldritch-laced view of space. Falling into a few genre trappings of prolonged riffing and unequal impact do little to dent the mood presented to us through the album, and this concluding destination is worth the journey.

The year begins in uncertainty and disaster, and as always, metal is here to answer the call. I am pleasantly surprised by the quality found in Revelations From the Void, particularly for a sub-genre that isn’t generally predisposed to experimentation and evolution. An album of much less literary songs of ice and fire, the pairing of dark filth with excellent emotive expression have made for a thematic, artsy beginning to the adventures in store for 2025. Hopefully, Onirophagus continue to spread their artistic wings further and push the limits on what can be done in the death/doom wheelhouse. For now, lovers of the sound should dive in, and if the genre styling tends to leave you cold, give it a chance. You never know what Revelations are waiting for you at the end of the road.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Personal Records
Websites: onirophagus.bandcamp.com/album/revelations-from-the-void-3 | Facebook.com/Onirophagus
Releases Worldwide: January 17th, 2025

#2025 #30 #Adaestuo #DeathMetal #DoomMetal #Incantation #Monolord #Onirophagus #PersonalRecords #RevelationsFromTheVoid #Review #Reviews #SpanishMetal

The debut full-length album from death metal band Cryptorium is Descent Into Lunacy. Review at FFR, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2024/12/18/cryptorium-descent-into-lunacy-personal-2024/ #metal #heavymetal #rock #hardrock #Sweden #Cryptorium #PersonalRecords #deathmetal #osdm

Festergore – Constellation of Endless Blight Review

By Kenstrosity

The old school death metal revival burgeons as profusely as ever. Countless buzzsaws, endless riff salads, and innumerable gravelly roars populate the landscape of the genre, with only the occasional differentiation to be found in the gene pool. Yet, we metalheads at large eat it right up. From aesthetics all the way down to engineering, albums released under the OSDM umbrella use and abuse a long-standing formula way past its expiration date, and still bangers abound. This, interestingly, makes the field an especially challenging one in which to excel. Staten Island’s newest old-school death quintet, Festergore, place their first bid in the pot with their debut Constellation of Endless Blight. Is endless blight fatal enough?

If you’ve heard anything from Cannibal Corpse, Rotpit, earlier Tomb Mold, or the more energetic side of Incantation, you know exactly how Festergore sounds. Chunky riffs, big grooving rhythms and beats, and vomiting vocals litter the record with a total disrespect for their surroundings. This is the way it should be. That’s the way it is. Constellation of Endless Blight houses no surprises nor twists, no novelties nor nuance. Meat and potatoes is the only item on the menu, and for what it’s worth, everything is prepared by the book with unflappable consistency.

Reliability is a virtue, and Festergore’s debut record is nothing if not reliable as far as sound and execution are concerned. Top bangers “Ironborn,” “SMA,” and “What Once Was Proud” excel in their delivery of properly crafted death, yet each take their own course to that satisfying result. “Ironborn” dabbles in the doom-tinged Incantationanigans of olde, but supplements them with a punkier Master personality to give the whole extra oomph. “SMA” is just pure Cannibal Corpse filth, boasting excellent riffcraft and an infinitely repeatable lyrical phrase, “DIE, DIE, DIE WITH YOUR EYES OPEN.” Closer “What Once Was Proud” possesses the same kind of grooving swagger as Tomb Mold’s material usually does, though simplified for maximum headbangability. In all these examples and others, the greatest rewards come from living and listening in the moment, as there is absolutely nothing that can stop this runaway train of killer riffs sourced from the tried and the true.

Unfortunately, that adherence to influence renders Constellation of Endless Blight predictable and derivative. By the time “The View from Halfway Down” passes by, the initial thrill of great riffs and infectious rhythms starts fading out of focus. In its place, the persistent vague impression that I’ve heard every note of this record before. “Surrender to Madness” and “Cryogenic Display,” for example, lose a lot of their charm simply by mimicking the charm of at least two of the aforementioned reference points at a time. While stitching together an amalgam of techniques perfected by great bands is a respectable way to enter a crowded field, I crave something more creative that Constellation of Endless Blight simply can’t deliver. Furthermore, the inclusion of not one, but two fluffy instrumental interludes on a thirty-three-minute record just feels cheap. It’s not enough to totally ruin the experience—after all, four minutes of disposable waste product will never be enough to taint a full twenty-nine minutes of ripping tuneage in my house—but it is enough to mildly annoy me until the next track beats my battered face against another curb.

Constellation of Endless Blight is more than a competent execution of a well-worn style of death. It is also, on the other hand, built almost entirely out of other band’s building blocks. I don’t mean to imply that Festergore have committed plagiarism of any sort. They haven’t. But the lack of creativity I can detect out of this seven-song (I am subtracting those interludes) lineup disappointed me in the end. Constellation of Endless Blight offers a lot of bang for the buck if the buyer is already a fan of the style. I definitely fit into that demographic. However, as a work of art, it lacks a distinct identity to help it stand out from an undoubtedly overpopulated crowd.

Rating: Mixed
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Personal Records
Websites: festergore.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/profile.php
Releases Worldwide: November 29th, 2024

#25 #2024 #AmericanMetal #CannibalCorpse #ConstellationOfEndlessBlight #DeathMetal #Festergore #Incantation #Master #Nov24 #OSDM #PersonalRecords #Review #Reviews #Rotpit #TombMold

Understanding PR in the Gym: What It Really Means https://monannausa.com/understanding-pr-in-the-gym-what-it-really-means/ #PersonalRecords

Vomitrot – Emetic Imprecations Review

By Mark Z.

Somewhere along the way I got pegged as this website’s “vomit” guy, and I can’t say I’m bothered by that. Seeing the word “vomit” in a band name tells you absolutely nothing about whether the music will be good or bad, but it does tell you that what you’re about to hear will probably be fukkin nasty. And that’s exactly the way I like my music. Thus, when I learned a band called Vomitrot had an album in our promo bin, I couldn’t wait to get my grubby little paws on it. Formed in 2019 by members with experience in the funeral doom band Gravkväde, this Swedish trio first spewed their filth upon the world with a 2020 demo before retching up their debut album, 2022’s Rotten Vomit. Somehow my trusty vomit detector didn’t pick up on that record, but with song titles like “Apex Vomit,” “Upheaval of Vomit,” “Rotten Vomit,” and “Bludgeoned by Puke,” you can bet your ass I enjoyed that album. With second album Emetic Imprecations, the band have apparently cut down on their dinner portions, as this puke pile consists of a mere six tracks in just under twenty-six minutes. But is this foul expulsion still worth your bile?

With a bludgeoning approach and a dense amalgamation of surprisingly varied riffs, Emetic Imprecations treads an interesting line between war metal and death metal. The group roughly sound like they were crafted in the same factory as Antichrist Siege Machine, only before they reached the end of the assembly line, some poor underpaid worker lost his lunch all over the components. Unsurprisingly, the result is dirty, disgusting, and utterly unconcerned with whether you enjoy it or not. Opener “Envomited” fittingly begins with a sample of someone puking before erupting into a shitstorm of hammering blast beats, belligerent riffs, lurching chugs, garbled growls, and even a brief bout of squawking notes that recalls Concrete Winds. It all sounds like a vat of vomit churning itself into sentience, and things only get better from here.

Imprecations works because it knows how to keep things engaging. The songs frequently shift between ideas but rarely feel overstuffed, and while the music is relentlessly heavy, the use of different tempos and riffing styles results in plenty of notable moments. Second track “Emtophilic Cro-Magnon” employs rushing black metal riffs as a counterpoint to the more visceral assault of its predecessor, while “Odious Fetid Aberrations” invokes its inner Incantation with tremolo riffs that alternately swirl and strain for the heavens. “Heinous Sulphuric Phlegm” opts for a more punishing approach, beating the listener into submission with bouts of fast lockstep chugs before collapsing into a segment that could pass for slam. Both guitarist “Rotted Vomitor” and bassist “Vomitroth” contribute vocals, and the two ensure everything remains suitably vile and barbaric with their gurgling rasps and monstrous growls. Combined with the hostile and pounding drums, the overall effect is like being caught in the middle of an epic war between rival Neanderthal clans.

My biggest complaints about Imprecations are essentially quibbles. The aforementioned opener “Envomited” feels like it crams a few too many ideas into its three-minute runtime, and the album slows down a bit too much in its back half. In particular, closer “Vomitous Execrations” feels like it needs a few more blast beats to give the record the explosive ending it needs, even if its sharp recurring motif works well overall. Fortunately, the production is great, with a thick cavernous sound that retains more than enough dynamic range to let the riffs breathe.

Emetic Imprecations is a real treat. On paper, this album seems like it should have the IQ of a caveman; in actuality, the record’s primitive pummeling comes via some unexpectedly complex compositions. The result is an album that gets in, hurls all over you, and leaves you dripping in disgust as you sort through all the various bits and pieces that have just been coughed up. Fans of Infernal Coil and Of Feather and Bone will likely eat this up, as will those who like war metal that oozes with the primal aggression of bands like Caveman Cult. Vomitrot is a young group, but with Imprecations, they’ve easily joined the hallowed ranks of artists like Vomitor, Slutvomit, Witch Vomit, Anal Vomit, Death Vomit, Funeral Vomit, and Vomitheist. Get ready to retch, and hail the fukkin vomit!

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Personal Records
Websites: vomitrot.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/vomitrot
Releases Worldwide: August 24th, 2024

#2024 #40 #AnalVomit #AntichristSiegeMachine #Aug24 #BlackMetal #CavemanCult #ConcreteWinds #DeathMetal #DeathVomit #EmeticImprecations #FuneralVomit #Gravkväde #Incantation #InfernalCoil #OfFeatherAndBone #PersonalRecords #Review #Reviews #Slutvomit #SwedishMetal #Vomitheist #Vomitor #Vomitrot #WitchVomit