Category Archives: Album Reviews

ALBUM REVIEW: Khost – Buried Steel

Posted on by

Those who’ve known me for some time will have had their ears blunted by my constant praise for Birmingham, UK Industrial Doom duo Khost. Equal parts sampled violence, malevolent strings and vocal apocalypse, beautiful Eastern lamentations often deflect from that harsh path and create a nuance flavoured by the likes of VAST and Moby. Their fourth album Buried Steel (Cold Spring Records) sees a band now truly at ease with its style, happy to have edgy two-minute psalms populating a set in the knowledge that they serve a purpose for the whole.

Continue reading →

Advertisements

ALBUM REVIEW: Human Impact – Human Impact

Posted on by

Comprising members of Unsane, Swans and Cop Shoot Cop, New York quartet Human Impact embrace all of those bands’ qualities and add a rebellious Noise element which belies the middle age quickly enveloping the protagonists. Debut album Human Impact (Ipecac Recordings) sees that collective maturity provides a focused, prowling edge. Continue reading →

ALBUM REVIEW: Testament – Titans Of Creation

Posted on by

Whenever the time-honoured, if ultimately pointless “if it had been a Big Five…” question raises its ugly head, Bay Area bruisers Testament always find themselves at the forefront of the conversation. Even alongside names such as Exodus, Overkill, and Kreator, such is their… ahem, legacy (sorry), it’s not uncommon to find them as one of the top two preferred choices. Continue reading →

ALBUM REVIEW: Heaven Shall Burn – Of Truth and Sacrifice

Posted on by

It’s been four years since the German Extreme Metal act, Heaven Shall Burn, released their last album. After Wanderer (Century Media Records) came out, these hard-hitting fellas took a very justified break. Now with batteries recharged, they’re back with an adventurous new release. The band gifted us with the double album, Of Truth and Sacrifice (Century Media Records) earlier this month and it’s making quite the impression. Known for their aggressive sound and topical lyrics, this ninth full-length release is taking these extreme characteristics to a new level. The band has been around for nearly twenty-five years and they are still taking their massive sound to some exciting, uncharted territories. Continue reading →

CLASSIC ALBUMS REVISITED: Faith No More – “King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime” Turns 25

Posted on by

“What if there’s no more fun to have?” This seems to be a common sentiment among many when looking at the state of the world these days. Here at Ghost Cult, we’re hoping to bring a little joy, perhaps, dare I say, a will to live? If you’re anything like me, music is as essential to you as the air that you breathe, the blood in your veins, or Matt Pike’s lack of a shirt. Continue reading →

ALBUM REVIEW: White Stones – Kuarahy

Posted on by


If you know, have interacted with me through social media, or have seen my list of top albums of 2019, you would already know that I’m an Opeth fanboy. I love, basically, everything that the band has released. You would also probably know that I’m a bass player and (yes, you guessed it!) Martin Méndez is my favorite bass player and one of my top inspirations to play the four-stringed instrument. So, when I heard that he was releasing a new Death Metal project, called White Stones, I was equally excited and confused. When talking about the release of the infamous Heritage (Roadrunner Records), Mikael Åkerfeldt, singer, songwriter, and guitar player from Opeth, stated that they wrote a Death Metal record as a follow up for Watershed (Roadrunner Records), which is their last heavy record, but Méndez talked him out of it stating that was not the music that he should be writing for Opeth. Can you understand my confusion now? Continue reading →

ALBUM REVIEW: Velnias – Scion of Aether

Posted on by

This is a really interesting release to say the least. Velnias have been crafting what they call, ‘Oppressive Rocky Mountain Dirge’ for well over a decade and have had a continual place on my radar. This upcoming release though, Scion Of Aether (Eisenwald) seems to be something else, something greater. The band has managed to fuse their progressive tendencies with post-black metal in order to craft something transcendent and powerful. This record leaps from peak to peak and seems to continually prove that this band is one of a kind. Continue reading →