The black metal scene has often, and justifiably, been accused of being overly conservative and restrictive. Attempts to make progress within the style or to fuse it with other kinds of music have been met with resistance. Worse still, the stain of far-right politics that has marred certain bands and fans has never been truly rinsed out.
In late 2020, Foretoken warned the entire world of one thing: the Virginia Beach-based duo is on a mission to completely shake up the status quo. Three years later, Triumphs (Prosthetic Records) is proof positive the mission is so far a smashing success.
Signed to Los Angeles-based Prosthetic Records (Yatra, ACxDC, Pupil Slicer, Vile Creature) Richmond, Virginia six-piece .GIFFROMGOD bring you their latest release, an EP by the name of Digital Red. It sees the band’s first recorded output since 2019’s full-length debut Approximation of a Human.
“Understanding death as transformation could probably lead us to a better world, ecologically and socially speaking” says Stormo frontman; Luca Rocca. Over the previous year, Stormo have been causing chaos in their live shows in Europe, culminating with the band signing to Prosthetic Records at the end of 2022. With an album name like Endocannibalismo (The tribal act of eating relatives as a form of mourning), there’s only really one type of music that would be expected of the four-piece: chaotic & heavy. Stormo delivers on that in all areas.
The vaunted Mariana Trench is nearly seven miles deep underneath the ocean surface. Or in other words, it plummets down into the Earth more than Mt. Everest stands tall. The creatures that occupy that type of ecosystem need to withstand unimaginable pressure, cold temperatures and a complete lack of light.
And if that’s not terrifying enough, Dryad took this notion to the next level and crafted a thirty-five-minute opus that does as good a job as anything else in positing what the environs found down there might actually sound like via the medium of biting blackened metal: The Abyssal Plain (Prosthetic Records) captures and exploits the paralyzing nightmare of finding oneself in such an alien, unknown world. Foggy, muffled production represents the complete disorientation that would be felt so far below.
When one thinks about the Power Metal genre, several European bands might come to mind. There are the greats like Blind Guardian, Helloween, and Rhapsody of Fire that have carried this grandiose genre for many years. Yet things are beginning to change. A fresh take on speed, symphony, and big vocals is occurring in North America and Judicator is one of the bands making it happen. They have been around for ten years and are getting ready to release their sixth full-length, The Majesty of Decay (Prosthetic Records). Even with a handful of lineup changes over the past decade, the sound that made people’s ears perk is still there. Known for writing about historical events and people, this new release is a concept album that takes on a much darker theme.
Sometimes as a metalhead or underground fan it is easy to forget that not everyone knows what you mean when you describe things in ever smaller concentric circles of references, sub-genres or in-jokes. It seems totally clear to me what I mean when I say that Elvenking‘s ‘Silence de Mort’ sounds like if Megadeth had colorful power melodic hooks and a singer who wasn’t such a born-again know it all douche, but some folks might stare blankly at that description and blink at oncoming traffic.
Making something out of nothing is human nature. We are consistently forced to scrap together meager funds or make the most out of a much-too-cramped living arrangement. Continue reading
To follow the seven-year trajectory that is Languish’s ascent from debut to their third and most recent offering is rewarding and comforting. The Arizonan death grinders were born as an independent group that had neither the backing of a record label nor even song titles for their first album, opting instead to use Roman numerals. Now, the foursome has harnessed the support of Prosthetic Records and is finally starting to carve out a compelling identity, and that journey crescendos with Feeding The Flames Of Annihilation, the first full-length to feature artwork that isn’t monochromatic.
If Phobophilic was a tangible entity, it would resemble the abhorrent grime found inside of a dilapidated kitchen before Gordon Ramsay loses his shit.