NITE - Cult of the Serpent Sun review

 

NITE - Cult of the Serpent Sun

Season of Mist

Here we have the third full length by this four piece Blackened Heavy Metal act from San Francisco, California. I will have more to say about their genre tagline further along. But I just wanna say this release came in for review earlier this year. I thought that I had written a review for it. After checking I found out no I never posted a review. Also I just saw NITE perform last week and I'm still hyped up by em. I've got my physical copy of this release and well I've got a lot to say. 

First off the Blackened Heavy Metal tagline is kinda interesting. Yeah I know it's a thing nowadays. But the fact is that NITE musically are a full on Metal act. I mean the influences you notice are pure 1980's. You'll hear some MAIDEN -esque stuff along with MERCIFUL FATE / KING DIAMOND influences. All of that is courtisy of guitarist / vocalist Van Labrakis and guitarist / backing vocalist Scott Hoffman. 

These two not only provide some cool as fuck riffs but add in great solos. I'm talking about individual soloing, switch off soloing and combined soloing. Yeah if you're a Metal guitar lover then here ya go. The fuckin rhythm section keeping up with those guitars is also savage as hell. Props to thunderous bassist Avinash Mittur and the damm good drum work by Patrick Crawford. 

As far as the whole Blackened thing goes Van Labrakis vocals come off as something of a blast furnace DEATH METAL style. On the Death Doomish cut "The Mystic" it shows. Of course that's after the three opening songs which are total headbanging rockers. Then again lyrically NITE are all about the occult. So there ya go. 

In the end NITE's third album is a winner in my not so humble opinion. Then again if you're into Metal well here ya go true believers. I'm unfortunately part of some sites where I see people complain that there's no cool new metal. Well hey here's some great new Metal to bang your fuckin head to, along with blasting out of the speakers. 

As much as I like the three opening cuts which define this album: "Cult of the Serpent Sun", "Skull" and "Crow (Fear the Night)". There's "The Last Blade" and "Carry On" which are absolutly amazing on the second half. Basically this is a rocking album for 2025. It's definitely a favorite for me so is it for you?

https://www.season-of-mist.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://nitemetal.bandcamp.com/album/cult-of-the-serpent-sun

CRYSTAL SPIDERS - Metanoia review

 

CRYSTAL SPIDERS - Metanoia

Ripple Music

OK bias alert because this is a local band from where I live here in Raleigh, North Carolina. With that said I figured that CRYSTAL SPIDERS' debut full length, Molt from 2020, would register with Doom fans. I mean here's a female fronted Doom Metal band that was not playing in the cliche ways of the modern genre. So yeah in my not so humble opinion their debut album was damm good. They were doing their own thing which is cool. 

Unfortunatly I thought their second album, Morieris from 2021, was not as good. I mean it sounded decent but one would expect more then just going through the motions in my not so humble opinion. Seriously this band has the talent so show it. I expected their second album to be an explosion of cool fuckin Doom. Which brings us to this the band's third album and there are some changes on here which really show the band's potential for greatness. The third time is the charm 

There have always been two things about CRYSTAL SPIDERS which are the stand outs to me. You've got the iconic vocals by Brenna Leath who also plays bass. And guitarist Reid Rogers who's a devote' of Tony Iomni. Starting with Brenna Leath, on this release she's over the top with high end bluesy screams / vocals. Just listen to the album's opener "Torche". That's a force to be recognized. 

Brenna Leath's vocal performance throughout this album is sultry, damm cool bluesy and at times very powerful. Which is why this female fronted Doom Metal band is not cliche like all of the WINDHAND imatators in the past decade. Next it's guitarist Reid Rogers time to spotlight. Yes he know's the Tony Iomni style, he's all into the SABBATH - ian riff /groove. But he's more like a modern interpreter of that sound as opposed to a 70's ers copycat. 

The bottom line is that Reid Rogers is a great songwriter, riff master and an amazing lead guitarist. Now if you're gonna be SABBATH - ian then you need a drummer who's schooled in Hard Rock and Jazz style. This band has one in Aaron Willis. This guy is just amazing with his steady attack. I mean check out "21" which is a full blown attack on the kit combining with the guitar/bass and vocal barrage. Throughout this album Aaron Willis is in a cool attack with the guitars and bass. 

In the end yeah I'm bias. But hey I already had a favorite Doom Metal album which was a favorite set in stone. CRYSTAL SPIDERS' third full length shattered that one to pieces. Years ago I said this was a Doom Metal band to check out. Here we are now with their third album and CRYSTAL SPIDERS are on top as far as great US Doom is concerned. Yeah this is one of the best Doom releases of 2025.  

https://ripple-music.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://crystalspiders.bandcamp.com/album/metanoia

SERPENT CORPSE - Retaliate EP review

 

SERPENT CORPSE - Retaliate EP

Transcending Obscurity Records

Way back in January after listening to the 2025 label sampler from Transcending Obscurity Records I made a list of the bands on there I really wanted to check out. SERPENT CORPSE was one of those bands. They had a cut on there titled "Iron Corpse" which sounded pretty fuckin cool. So let's consider this an anticipated release. 

Just for some info and history SERPENT CORPSE are a four piece Death Metal act from Montreal, Quebec. They started out in 2020. Prior to this they released a four song demo cassette in 2021. Then in 2023 they put out a full length, Blood Sabbath, which came out on Temple of Mystery Records outta Canada. Just for the record I never heard any of that but maybe I should. 

Retaliate is a four song release and I have a hard time calling it an EP since the first two cuts are in the five minute range. The third cut is in the six minute range and the fourth and final cut is a nine plus minute epic piece. Now as far as this release is musically well imagine if four guys from Quebec went back and listened to a ton of late 1980's Death Metal demos and full lengths which came afterwards. They take that influence, add a modern take which ain't bullshit and put their own personal stamp to it. 

That's what I hear on Retaliate and it's cool as fuck. As an old school DM fan yeah sure I like hearing bands which remind me of the past to a point. But I really like bands who like the old ways and retro fit em to today's standards without being stupid, hipster or faking it. What you have here is bloodthirsty DM which will punch you in the face. Afterwards it's standing over your bloodied body reciting dark poetry.  

SERPENT CORPSE is Quebec's Death Metal band for the future. This four song release fucking rules in every way. Ya got hate filled real guy vocals, heavy handed riffs which switch to tech death style melodies on a few cuts. The drum work is fuckin massive. The guitar soloing is all over the place. 

This is real Death Metal 2025!

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://serpentcorpse-label.bandcamp.com/album/retaliate

THORN - Nebulous Womb of Eternity review

 

THORN - Nebulous Womb of Eternity

Transcending Obscurity Records

Back in 2023 I called this one man band's third full length "the perfect album for a Death Metal pot head". I said that because musically that release was brutally heavy Death Metal but with a huge amount of Doom atmosphere which to me seemed up in smoke. Then again there might've been some peyote involved. I'll get to that point sooner or later. 

Like I mentioned earlier THORNS is a one man band and musically it's Death Doom. The one man is Brennen Westermeyer from Phoenix, Arizona who performs all instruments. Personally Brennen is great with the cannabal vocals, the guitar riffs / song structures and the off sync guitar leads. But he does need a bassist and drummer. I'm just saying in my not so humble opinion.

Be that as it may this new release is not for pot heads or late night listening unless you're into Lovecraft. This is music which echos through the northern forests of this man's state. Then again it could flow upon the wind of the southern Arizona deserts. This is Death Doom which is actually scary. It's part of the modern take on the genre which has been going on now for a decade. 

I like this album more than the last one simply because it has a creepy vibe which bothers me a lot. I think about being in the wilderness by myself and there's something menacing around my camp. The trudging diabolical riffs and roared bestial vocals make it even worse. Everything about this new album is by far scary and vicious. Yeah it's cool but bothersome on the psyche. 

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://thorndm.bandcamp.com/album/nebulous-womb-of-eternity

BOCC - Obrint el taut The Ep Compilation

BOCC - Obrint el taut The Ep Compilation

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

If ya played this for me and said it was a reissue by an obscure band from circa 1988 - 1992 I'd believe it. I mean sound-wise this is the epitome of that early sound when we fans started using the term Death Metal to describe the heavy handed, bestial vocals, dirty sounding insanity which wasn't Thrash influenced at all. I say that because yeah early DM was the next evolution step away from Thrash. 

Now of course this is not an old obscure band from way back when. BOCC are actually a three piece act from Barcelona, Spain who started out in 2019. For the record the band has been fairly prolific releasing a bunch of demo's, EP's, Splits, a compilation and a full length since starting out. I refer to that as spreading the disease. 

Now obviously while this band was killing it in Spain the rest of us were looking elsewhere. Thankfully the good people at Horror Pain Gore Death Productions heard something we fans missed and decided to release something from BOCC. But instead of waiting for a new full length the label decided on a compilation of three previously released EPs by the band. Frankly that was a great idea.

So what we have here is the band's first EP Al La Forca from 2020, their Santa Eulalia EP from 2021 and their La Forja Dels Cranis EP from 2024. That last EP is unique because the final cut is a cover of "Black Vision" from PURTENANCE. And they do a good job / homage to that old Finnish band's song. Obviously they know PURTENANCE's Member of Immortal Damnation is one of the greatest Finnish Death Metal albums of all time.

So yeah there's a lot to be said. Nowadays this is called Death Doom and I accept that. But I'm old and remember the times when Death Metal was either fast, in-between or slow. BOCC are in-between sounding. So if you still blast AUTOPSY's second album or MORTICIAN's first one then BOCC is the band you need to hear now in 2025. 

This compilation is over an hour's worth of crush, kill and destroy Death Metal. This is the musical brutality ya need to hear before you go out and face the day in 2025. Trust me on that one because listening to this is like a mission briefing on how to deal with a fucked up world. Nuff Said!

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/obrint-el-tau-t

 

KING - K review

 

KING - K

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

So after reading about this band my first thought was to expect some traditional South American Blackened Death Metal. Yes you have that but there's so much more to this act. I'm not gonna say it's mind blowing. But there are so many surprizes on here that it's definitely something you least suspect. Then again if you're a Monty Python fan, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition. 

So for starters a little history for ya. KING is a four piece act who hail from Colombia, South America. The band started out back in 2005. Presently their guitarist / vocalist, Israel Bathroz, is their only original member. Now since starting out the band has released a handful of short form releases and two full lengths. This one here, K, is their third full length. 

Now like I said no one expects the Spanish Inquisition. And with this album no one expects a Blackened Death Metal band from Columbia to start off their album with an intro, "The Gathering" that sounds more like the opening credits background music for a Hollywood super hero flick. The actual album kicks in with "I-I" and that song reminds ya of VADER or BELPHEGOR. The vocal style is there but also the brutal and slightly Tech Death song structures. 

The next cut opens with an Eastern European Folk guitar style solo. I mean something out of Bulgaria but then kicks into some straight up Blackened Death from an Eastern European nightmare. I mean I could go on about how each cut on here displays something which you would not expect from a Blackened Death Metal act from Columbia. Even "Nine Angels Blazes", which is totally brutal, but also adds melody. There's a time they go full Death Doom on one cut plus later on the band covers a DEAD CONGREGATION song "Only Ashes Remain". I lost it by then in a good way. 

All in all KING's third full length is obviously a listener's pleasure for extreme insanity. Yes it's a great listen especially if you like uncomfortable sounding extreme music pitted against your own pre-conceived beliefs on what comes from where and why it ain't like that. Oops, you were wrong!  

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/k

PUTRIDITY - Morbid Ataraxia review

 

PUTRIDITY - Morbid Ataraxia

Willowtip Records

There are two sides of extreme sounding Brutal Death Metal in my not so humble opinion. The first is the raw, lo-fi and at times comical side. I'm talking about the brutal pounding sound, pig squeals and offensive song titles. I like that stuff simply because it makes me smile. I also view the bands as having more of a Punk Rock spirit of spitting in the face of culture. 

The other side of Brutal Death Metal is the respected one. That's where Italy's PUTRIDITY stand as far as this fourth full length by them is concerned. And yeah there are plenty of acts who are part of this side. But the latest release by this Italian five piece act really has something cool going for it. 

First and foremost the drum work on here is savage and technical. So when you add in the song structures as in slash riffs then there's a slight Tech Death Metal quality that's not overbearing. The songs are not out for laughs. In fact they're more intense psych punishment. The vocals are classic cookie monster but not in a cheap copy cat way. 

Song wise and style the majority of these eight cuts are fast punishing numbers which will have ya twisting in the wind. There's only one song on here that'll remind ya of CANNIBAL CORPSE. And the final track "Immersed in the Spell of Death", which is 12 plus minutes in length will have you thinking the album is over. But no it's not even if you think it sounds like a frog infested pond for a few minutes. The band eventually kicks in with their BDM finale. All in all a great album.

http://www.willowtip.com/home.aspx

LISTEN HERE:

https://putriditydeathmetal.bandcamp.com/album/morbid-ataraxia