Tag Archives: Peaceville

Cancer – Shadow Gripped

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It is interesting to see how a band who has not released new material for a significant period of time – twenty-four years in the case of Midlands (UK) Death Metallers Cancer – will react to the task. As we know, Carcass, the test case, was an overwhelming success as Surgical Steel (Nuclear Blast) refined their previous styles into a singular, focused direction of travel with added bite. Subsequently, At The Gates also returned with a show of strength, albeit with a more reflective tone to this year’s output; once again, an alteration to previous ideas was the way forward for that troupe. Both acts showed deference to their seminal works, choosing not to take them head-on, referring to their past with respect, while carving a newer niche.Continue reading →


Bloodbath – The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn

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Despite being established as Death Metal stalwarts, and already perhaps even close to attaining legendary status, the road for Bloodbath has often been seemingly a little bit bumpy. Admittedly a band that wasn’t always the main priority for its various members, over their time Bloodbath has had to lurk in the shadows waiting for busy schedules of to align. With alumni from the likes of Katatonia and Opeth, and more recently Paradise Lost, it has meant live shows are a rarity and album release schedules somewhat inconsistent. However, with Katatonia now on hiatus, it feels like Bloodbath can become a more prominent concern, which certainly seems evident with the fact that The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn (Peaceville) is quite possibly their most vibrant and strongest effort to date.Continue reading →


Violation Wound – With Man in Charge

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I hit an interesting (well, mildly) milestone today. Today I learned that it is indeed possible to get too much of a good thing. Violation Wound are strictly in the metallic punk business and With Man in Charge (Peaceville) is all about that life. Think of it as a slightly more polished version of the musical filth Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals gleefully dabble in.Continue reading →


Beneath The Silt – Sludge/Doom/post-Metal Roundup: feat Godthrymm, Mournful Congregation, Vile Creature

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A début EP can be a very worthwhile investment for a new band, indeed. A chance to introduce the world to their sound and style, without having to commit to (or wait until you’ve written) a full albums worth of material; a chance to not just test the water, but begin to feel out what really works and what doesn’t within a band’s prospective oeuvre. And in the case of Godthrymm, boasting a cast of talented beasts a-plenty, they’ve more than made the most of the opportunity to plant their dark and melancholic flag. Continue reading →


On Thorns I Lay – Aegean Sorrow

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Over the course of their history, Greek metallers On Thorns I Lay have undergone some significant shifts in sound and hit across waves they haven’t always been capable of riding. After name several name changes and a more death metal style, their first outing under the On Thorns I Lay moniker saw a Gothic/Doom/Death sound creep in; culminating in 2003’s messy attempt at an alternative progressive rock sound akin to Radiohead or Porcupine Tree which ultimately saw them split up soon after, due to losing sight of their musical identity according to the band themselves. Continue reading →


Autopsy – Puncturing The Grotesque

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When Death Metal legends Autopsy decided to call it a day back in 1995, very few could have foreseen the Californian act resurrecting themselves over fifteen years later in such impressive fashion. Unable to reach the heights of their classic début, Severed Survival, or it’s follow-up, Mental Funeral, the band split shortly before the release of 1995’s Shitfun, before transforming into Abscess, the side project of vocalist/drummer Chris Reifert and guitarist Danny Coralles. Eventually choosing to leave Abscess behind, Reifert and Coralles reformed Autopsy, and after recording the five-track EP, The Tomb Within, released highly acclaimed comeback album Macabre Eternal in 2011, following it up with the equally impressive The Headless Ritual in 2013, and Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves in 2014.Continue reading →


Fleurety – The White Death

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If there is one definable moment when 20th Century history took the wrong path, it’s when we decided to remember Prog as being safe. Yes, by the end it was all twenty-minute drum solos and Rick Wakeman in a dress, but Prog grew out of the thrill of experimentation, the desire to subvert and transgress against rock orthodoxy, and the best of it always had a sense of danger at its core. Continue reading →


Mork – Eremittens Mal

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I’ll be honest I really wanted to start the review with a Mork calling Ghost Cult gag. I mean REALLY wanted to, had it planned out and everything. The problem being is that Eremittens Mal (Peaceville) is such a damn good album it kind of felt wrong to pluck that low hanging fruit. Mork is a Norwegian one-man black metal band and a damn good one at that. Continue reading →


Morta Skuld – Wounds Deeper Than Time

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The name Morta Skuld may ring familiar to the seasoned extreme metal fan. You know the type. The nameless ghouls on the edge of the pit armed with their grimy battle jackets and salty disposition at Summer Slaughter every year. For the denim-less, know that Morta Skuld were one of the dozens of death metal bands lost in the mid-90s shuffle, but reanimated in 2012. Oh, and Wounds Deeper Than Time (Peaceville) is their first proper LP since 1997.Continue reading →