VEILBURNER - Longing for Triumph, Reeking of Tragedy review

 

VEILBURNER - Longing for Triumph, Reeking of Tragedy

Transcending Obscurity Records

If you're a fan of this blog (and frankly who isn't) then you know over the past bunch of years I've sung the praises for this two piece Blackened Death Metal act from Pennsylvania. Mainly because they're not cliche in style of what you would expect. I don't like using hiptard terms like "experimental" or "avantgarde". Previously I've said VEILBURNER are a Blackened Death experince that will weird you out. 

Now I thought their last album, 2024's The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom, was like H.P. Lovecraft put to Extreme Metal music for late night listening pleasures and haunts. This new one goes a bit further into the realm of complete hysteria. I mean the opening title cut is so fucking pychotic and angry sounding that you're like what the fuck at first and then it get's jazzy to a point which is weird. 

But from there this album grows to peak insanity. There's absolutely brutal sounding cuts and then it's Blackened filth meets Tech Death. Cross that with BAUHAUS meets FUNERAL MIST in an ecletic theater of hallucinagentic drug extesy. I thought their last album was a masterpiece. But hey "That Which Crypts Howls Grandeur" is so fuckin out there. The final cut "Reeking of Tragedy" just blows up your pitiful mind. 

This is an easy pick for Exreme Metal greatness. VEILBURNER either get better with each new release or they just get creepier. If you wanna fuck with people's minds then play this. 

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://veilburnerband.bandcamp.com/album/longing-for-triumph-reeking-of-tragedy

GLORIOUS DEPRAVITY - Death Never Sleeps review

 

GLORIOUS DEPRAVITY - Death Never Sleeps

Transcending Obscurity Records

So after work I always stop at my favorite convenience store for a six pack of good beer (aka: IPAs) to finish the night off. At the store I always frequent they've got a new clerk who works two nights a week. On this one night the guy is wearing a Metal band shirt. So I'm like "So you're into Metal"? He was like yeah. Now while the transaction was going through I told him that I knew of the band on his T-shirt (it was WHITE CHAPEL ala Death Core). I then told him I'm not a fan of them. 

When I was leaving he told me to have a good night. To which I told em "well yeah I'm gonna drink this beer and listen to some fuckin Death Metal"! Then I threw him the horned fist salute and walked out the door. The DM band I ended up listening to that night was GLORIOUS DEPRAVITY and hell yeah it's some great stuff.

GLORIOUS DEPRAVITY are a five piece USDM act who hail from New York (I don't know if it's from the city or up state). They started out in 2017. Their debut full length, Ageless Violence, came out in 2020 on Translation Loss Records. By the way Translation Loss Records is a good label. I've got more than a handful of releases by bands on that label. But switching over to Transcending Obscurity Records is a good thing because, in my not so humble opinion, they're a great label that knows Death Metal. 

With that said Death Never Sleeps just starts off with a face ripping cut "Slaughter the Gerontocrats". That's right, no boring instro intros just a straight fucking DM attack that's old school NYDM as hell. What's really funny is that 3/5th's of this band was in a New Jersey BM act called WOE. While another band member spent time in New York's Blackened Death act MUTILATION RITES. There's no BM influences at all on here. 

Death Never Sleeps is a perfect nine track DM album that runs a few seconds over thirty four minutes. In that time span you've got cool brutal yet monster like vocals by Doug Moore. He also adds a few harsh blackened screams. Musically is where the DM fun erupts. The riffs diverge between crushing, headbanging fun to thrashy I wanna start a slam pit and hit somebody type of stuff. The guitar soloing is typical lightning dive bomb stuff which is classic. 

In the end overall this year I've listened to a bunch of DM acts who in the past I was a huge fan of. But in 2025 they bore me. GLORIOUS DEPRAVITY is a damm good sounding DM band. I mean play this release in the morning play it at night. Hell play it while you're fucking. Yeah this is one of the best DM releases of the year.

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://gloriousdepravity-label.bandcamp.com/album/death-never-sleeps

CASTLE RAT - The Bestiary review

 

CASTLE RAT - The Bestiary

King Volume Records

I first learned about this New York City act back in 2024. There was a lot of hype about em on the internet, mostly by hiptards. But I first checked out a live performance video they did at a hipster club in Brooklyn, New York City. Now despite the hype I thought they were decent. 

Their debut album Into the Realm from 2024 was pretty good. It was basically that whole NWOBHM meets Occult Doom style. I liked it especially The Rat Queen's (aka: Riley Pinkerton) vocal style. But that was then because on my first listen to this their second album I can say things have changed. After a few more listens you can understand the changes. 

Basically CASTLE RAT have become more atmospheric and bombastic in their overall sound. In other words it's like the difference between a club sound band and one that plays arenas. The NWOBHM style has been replaced with an almost Power metal influence. The Doom edge is still here and there. The production has been amped up especially on their drum sound which is thunderous. 

The collaboration of The Rat Queen's dynamic vocals as well as guitar riffs, The Count's (aka: Franco Vittore) cool lead guitar work, the thunderous bass by The Plague Doctor and newest member (Charley Ruddell) and drummer extrodinare The Druid (Josh Strmic) make this a powerful fuckin album. 

To me this feels like a concept album with instro interludes that break from the explosiveness conveyed musically. For me I do like the rawness of their first album. But after a few listens this one is an epic piece of work. How you surpass this one is another story and good luck to em. In the end it's a damm good release.

https://www.facebook.com/kingvolumerecords

LISTEN HERE:

https://castlerat.bandcamp.com/album/the-bestiary