ALBUM REVIEW: Ruim – Black Royal Spiritism – I – O Sino da Igreja


 

Rune Erickson aka Blasphemer has created an impressive career in black metal. After a decade-long run in Mayhem, he has also found himself performing with Aura Noir and Hammer of the Gods, along with many other side projects that fall into other sub-genres of metal. Here is his newest project which sonically falls closer to Mayhem. This was started in 2020 with Aggressor drummer Cesar Vesvre.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Legion Of The Damned


 

After a four-year break, Dutch death/thrashers Legion of the Damned return with The Poison Chalice (Napalm Records), the band’s eighth full-length studio release their inception in 2005. Originally called Occult, only drummer Erik Fleuren and frontman Maurice Swinkel remain from that early incarnation spawned in 1992, the band never deviating far from their original sound, consistently honing their attack into an even more effective riff machine with each successive record.

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INTERVIEW: Gwyn Strang and Sean Bilovecky of Frayle Talk “Skin and Sorrow”


We recently caught up with Gwyn Strang and Sean Bilovecky of Frayle to discuss their new album “Skin & Sorrow” – due out soon from Aqualamb Records! We chatted about the new album, the evolution of the group both live and on record, Salem Massachusetts and the infamous witch trials, their attention to detail for visuals, their recent music video, and much more!
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ALBUM REVIEW: Bewitcher – Cursed Be Thy Kingdom



Bewitcher has always stood out for having a more melodic slant than their Blackened Speed Metal peers and that distinction is at its most apparent on their third album. The band’s Venom meets Running Wild style leans much in the latter’s favor on Cursed Be Thy Kingdom (Century Media Records). The guitar rhythms are noticeably more accessible with more flamboyant leads above them and more dynamic song structures to match. Even the blatant Welcome To Hell worship on ‘Satanic Magick Attack’ has an almost Hard Rock flair to it.

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ALBUM REVIEW: High Priestess – Casting the Circle – Ripple Music


When LA trio High Priestess‘s eponymous debut High Priestess (Ripple Music) landed in 2018, it took my breath away with its mesmeric, Doomy hypnosis and occasional brutality. Waxing lyrical about it then, I was already eager and anxious to see if they could follow it. I needn’t have worried: sophomore set Casting the Circle (Ripple Music) maintains the impossibly high standards of that first album while enhancing the entrancing elements of their sound.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Yatra – Blood of the Night


Yatra‘s 2018 début album Death Ritual (Grimoire Records), rather than being a “grower”, receded in appeal due to the unflinching harshness of their slow, Doom-laden sound and the voice of Dana Helmuth, which sounds as if Gaahl had been gargling on hop-bombs. There were flickers of invention in the Maryland trio’s sound, however, and these are further explored in follow-up Blood of the Night (STB Records).Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Black Royal – Firebride


 

After five years honing their craft with live shows and a trail of EPs, Finnish Stoner/Sludge quartet Black Royal garnered decent praise for 2018’s debut album Lightbringer (Suicide Records). Follow-up Firebride (also Suicide Records) delivers more of the same but with a certain refinement and increased maturity to that Death-flavoured, filthy anger.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Blackwater Holylight – Veils Of Winter


Blackwater Holylight (RidingEasy Records), the début album from the Portland, Oregon-based doomstresses of the same name, delivered not merely an enlivening quality but also realised founder member Alison ‘Sunny’ Faris‘ intent of giving heavier rock a new lease of life by incorporating more tuneful, lighter music into that sound. With second album Veils Of Winter (RidingEasy Records) the band, now a quintet with the addition of guitarist Mikayla Mayhew, aim to expand on that formula and the buzz created by that first release.

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Arrowhead – Coven Of The Snake


Aussie fuzz rockers Arrowhead have hammered the Sydney underground since 2009, releasing two albums and an EP in that time but levelling many of their home city’s smaller venues in the process. Newly a quartet, third album Coven Of The Snake (Ripple Music) is nevertheless full of the expected trippy imagery but is titanic in its power and weight.Continue reading


Sacri Monti – Waiting Room For The Magic Hour


Another outfit from the lysergic dreamlands of San Diego, Sacri Monti left a sizeable impression with their self-titled 2015 debut album (Tee Pee Records) which was a psychedelic trip through heavy vibes. The quintet’s sophomore effort, Waiting Room For The Magic Hour (Tee Pee Records), is another faithful journey through drifting sands and heady atmospheres but shows a pleasing maturity and willingness to experiment.Continue reading