ALBUM REVIEW: Alchemy of Flesh – By Will Alone


 

With the end of the year approaching swiftly, new albums are dropping and trying their damndest to make it onto different Album of the Year lists.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Fuming Mouth – Last Day of Sun


 

Nothing makes me feel more proud than when a local band from the Boston scene makes it. I’ve been a big fan of Fuming Mouth over the years of their growth and was pleased to find their sophomore full-length, Last Day of Sun (Nuclear Blast Records), in my bin.

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ALBUM REVIEW: END – The Sin of Human Frailty


 

Sometimes a good ol’ dose of angry music is what the doctor ordered. This year certainly had some bangers of this category, but one of the best so far is END’s latest effort, The Sin of Human Frailty (Closed Casket Activities). Thirty minutes of sonic aggression comes jam-packed in the form of this metalcore supergroup’s sophomore full-length.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Ghorot – Wound


 

You know it is autumn in the Northern Hemisphere when the leaves fall from the trees, the days get shorter, and new doomy black metal albums drop into your ears. This year’s first taste of hopelessness in the dying of nature is Ghorot with their sophomore full-length release, Wound (King of the Monsters).

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ALBUM REVIEW: Go Ahead And Die – Unhealthy Mechanisms


 

It’s one thing to see siblings together in music, but two generations in one band is not as typical. Go Ahead And Die features legendary Max Cavalera (ex-Sepultura, Cavalera Conspiracy, Soulfly, etc.) and his son, Igor Cavalera Jr. (Healing Magic, Lody Kong). What’s more, Johnny Valles (live drummer for Cerebral Rot, Black Braid, etc.) has picked up the drumming role on their latest album, Unhealthy Mechanisms (Nuclear Blast Records). The three-piece specializes in a groovy death metal band with some crossover punk spilled over the top.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Harm’s Way – Common Suffering


 

Normally I defend how anger is not the only emotion found in heavy music, but the new Harm’s Way album, Common Suffering (Metal Blade) is full-force rage, so strap on a helmet and get ready to fall into madness. Through the years, the Chicago-based band has really hit their stride with an even mixture of death metal and hardcore punk, bonded together by industrial blasts.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Guilt Trip – Severance


 

There’s just something about the last handful of years and releases that are classified as either crossover Thrash or Metallic Hardcore that absolutely kills it. Moreso, when an album drops that has a mix of both of these subgenres, like the UK-based Guilt Trip, it’s just everything you want out of aggressive music on a bad day. With that, unleashed onto the world is Severance (via Malevolence’s label, MLVLTD), Guilt Trip’s sophomore full-length, an album that puts you through the grinder and spits you out for thirty-four minutes.

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EP REVIEW: Worm Shepherd – The Sleeping Sun


 

While many may consider Deathcore to be a stagnant movement, the bands that espouse its styles continues to evolve as more artists come together to push boundaries. Brockton, Massachusetts natives, Worm Shepherd, have dropped their first EP (following two full lengths), The Sleeping Sun (Unique Leader Records), and the mixture of deathcore, symphonic death metal, and sprinkles of black metal themes ended up growing on you.

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ALBUM REVIEW: UADA – Crepuscule Natura


 

Black metal, in and of itself, can be very polarizing due to the imagery, lyrical content, and if the band is “true” black metal or not (side note: what a stupid debate to have). One such polarizing band, UADA, has dropped their fourth full-length album, Crepuscule Natura (Eisenwald Records) and is some of their best work to date. Sticking to their signature melodic black metal sound with lyrics mostly about nature and the cosmos, the Portland, Oregon, four-piece put us on a spiritual journey for forty minutes.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Outergods – A Kingdom Built Upon the Wreckage of Heaven


 

Many bands over the years have incorporated H.P. Lovecraft’s work into their projects. Newcomers from Nottingham, England, Outergods, not only named themselves after the big baddies from the Cthulhu mythos, but even their overall sound instills fear and madness. A little over a half hour in length, A Kingdom Built Upon the Wreckage of Heaven (Prosthetic Records), debuts the haunting blend of black metal and grindcore this UK outfit has unleashed into the void for gods and mortals alike.

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