RUNAWAY DEVILS - Blood Must Be Shed to Enchant Your Head review

 

RUNAWAY DEVILS - Blood Must Be Shed to Enchant Your Head

Godz ov War Productions

This label, Godz ov War Productions, has always been known for great Black and Death Metal. Trust me because I write about their great releases. What we have here is something so out of the box that I'm shocked, shocked I say that this label released this. 

What we have here is a four piece all female band who are musically producing a sound that's basically Blackened Punk. The first time I listened to this my first thoughts were it's the PANDORAS (an all female Garage Punk act from Los Angeles, California in the late 1980's) doing Black Metal. 

I'm gonna take a guess and say this is the band's original cassette release put out on CD by the label. In all honesty it's horrible. 

http://godzovwar.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/blood-must-be-shed-to-enchant-your-head

MORGUE - Herald the Dawn review

MORGUE - Herald the Dawn

Godz ov War Productions

This is the sixth full length by France's MORGUE. I first got into this two piece Death Metal act back in 2022 with their fourth album, Lowest Depths of Misery. Since then they've been consistent with releasing a new album every two years. That's pretty good considering the fact that the band first started out in 1997 and had a sporadic timeline on releases. 

Be that as it may when it comes to Extreme Metal I consider MORGUE to be France's best export since their nation's 1990's era of Black Metal. And they've just gotten better with each album. This latest one just takes what MORGUE has done before and pushes it to a better level. The band is still Max Lobier on vocals, guitars and drums with Jerome Blandino on bass. On here they've got a couple of guests on vocals and a guitarist supplying some lead work. 

Musically I've always called MORGUE's sound a cavern of hate. You've got your brutal beat-downs plus atmospheric touches. It's like Blackened Death Grind with creep filled horror movie touches. Add to that the band kicks in melody which ends up falling into a fuckin diabolical pit of disgusting Blackened hate. 

Max Lobier's vocals are a combination of having a burnt Satanic throat and smoking three packs of cigarettes a day. The guy is an amazing drummer to say the least. Plus the way he kicks in with the riffs makes him more of a composer than a simple musician. 

Many years ago I said Black Metal musicians were the present day composers as in classical music. So you listen to a band like MORGUE (yes they're Death Metal but with some blackened touches) and think it's more than quality Extreme Metal. It's more of a grand experience going on while listening to this release. For me MORGUE are just getting better over time which makes this latest release a winner. 

http://godzovwar.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/herald-the-dawn

THRONEUM - Love Is the Law But Death Is the Frame review

 

THRONEUM - Love Is the Law But Death Is the Frame

Godz ov War Productions

Here we have the eleventh full length by Poland's THRONEUM. This Black Metal act released their first demo in 1998. For some of you reading this that was when your parents were into Black Metal. Of course that's if you had cool parents. I know my son told his friends years ago that his dad was into Black Metal, Death Metal, etc.They all thought that was cool.  

Anyways when it comes to Black Metal, THRONEUM are weird. Seriously decades ago I thought ABRUPTUM from Sweden were the weirdest act in Black Metal. But no THRONEUM has em beat. I learned that back in 2020 with their last album, Oh Death Oh Death Determinate, Preach and Lead Us Astray. I was gonna go back and find some of their earlier material but that never happened.

So why is this album weird? Well first off it all sounds like a sick sermon. I mean mainman and vocalist Tomasz Hanuszkiewicz (aka: The Great Executor) sounds like a drunken priest who's given up the faith. Oddly enough he's joined by a guest female vocalist who sounds like a nun who got into the wine as well.

Sound-wise this album sounds like a blackened musical ritual. I mean should go out back into the yard, kill a goat and toss it into a burning pit of fire? I can't wait for my neighbors seeing me do that. Which is all of what you got here musically. Given all of that there's creepy sounds, some cool Black Metal stuff and a touch of Death Metal. 

Like I said earlier THRONEUM are weird and for fans only.  

http://godzovwar.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/love-is-the-law-but-death-is-the-frame

STRICKEN - From Dark Dimensions An Unspeakable Presence Awakens review

 

STRICKEN - From Dark Dimensions An Unspeakable Presence Awakens

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

While listening to this release I was checking out the band line-up. So I see that their drummer is Chris Wozniak who's also in LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR from Chicago, Illinois. Just for the record I'm a huge fan of LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR's early albums. But their comeback album this year was not that good in my not so humble opinion. . 

So getting into this release was at first like thinking it's gonna be LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR minus one. And it's something different. STRICKEN are a Sludge Metal band hailing from Seattle, Washington. And what they are doing is not YOB or anything from the NOLA side of the genre. 

A few months ago I was checking out a local NC band who were Sludge Metal but were pushing a more sonic approach to the sound. I mean the old school is there to like but the genre needs to be improved not in a stupid way but in a Metal way. And this local band was doing so.

STRICKEN are doing the same thing and I like it a lot.

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/from-dark-dimensions-an-unspeakable-presence-awakens

BEHEMOTH - I, Scvlptor review

 

BEHEMOTH - I, Scvlptor

Massacre Records

Before I even touch an opinion upon this release I'll just point out the obvious. Most modern BEHEMOTH fans were once GHOST fans because BEHEMOTH has better videos. Look if you're a modern day BEHEMOTH fan then I doubt you ever heard "Wolves Guard My Coffin" or "From the Pagan Vastlands". Hell the first album I got into em was Grom from 1996 and it took years to get into all of their previous material while the band was putting out new material. 

Be all of that as it may yeah I'm a BEHEMOTH fan and own all of their full lengths plus other stuff. So I look back on all of their releases as fuckin amazing, damm good or decent. Their last one, The Shit ov God, was decent. In other words that CD will gather dust upon it before I play it again. So it's not a big surprise that this EP came out. Hey let's keep old fans like myself interested. OK ya got me so what's on here.

First off you've got two cuts from The Shit ov God album which are outtakes but still are not that good. "Lord of the Horizons" is supposedly a new track but I doubt that. It's a throwaway cut from their last sessions. The good stuff comes next when the band brings back demo songs from their Black Metal days. We're talking about "The Return of the Northern Moon" from a 1993 demo. "Pandemonic Incantations" from 1998 is not so good. 

That brings us to the cover songs.Yeah BEHEMOTH were so cool to do a bad version of a VENOM cover that they invited Shagrath from DIMMU BORGIR to sing on it. At least their live version of BATHORY's "The Return of Darkness and Evil" sounds great. It's my favorite cut on here. The final cut, a rough mix of "Lord ov the Horizons" is forgettable. 

In the end this release, like previous EPs and live albums by BEHEMOTH, are for completists only. 

https://massacre-records.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://behemoth.bandcamp.com/album/i-scvlptor

MISOTHEIST - De Pinte review

 

MISOTHEIST - De Pinte

Terratur Possessions

So here we have the fourth full length by Norway's MISOTHEIST. This is a one man Black Metal act. The one man is Brage Krabol who sings and performs everything. Although there are reports that it's actually a real band but until I see evidence then I'll go with what I know. Brage Krabol also has a one man BM act called ENEVELDE. As far as opinions go ENEVELDE put out a killer full length in 2024 titled Pandemonium. The CD version came out in 2025 and on this label. I highly recommend you check that one out.

As far as my experience with MISOTHEIST goes I didn't care for the self titled debut from 2018 nor did I like the follow up, For the Glory of Your Redeemer, from 2021. Which is probably why I never bothered checking out the third album, Vessels by Which the Devil Is Made Flesh, from 2024. But I do like this release. On this album MISOTHEIST can best be described musically as a Black Metal act with one foot firmly planted in BM's 2000 era with the other in the modern day. 

De Pinte is just four cuts with the first three being of average length while the fourth one is a twenty-plus minute opus. I'm gonna start with the opus which is also the title cut. To me this is Brage Krabol's laying open his soul to Black Metal. The influences are all there. You've got the creepy ambiance, the haunting atmosphere and then comes the blitzkrieg of fury via guitar and drum work. Yes the great wall of blackened noise from Norway in all it's tormented beauty. I've said for years that Black Metal is the only Metal genre that can project beauty and rage in the same vein and here it is in one amazing track.

Going back to this album's beginning the first two tracks on here, "Unanswered Thrice" and "Blinded and Revealed" are the best material MISOTHEIST has ever done. First off Brage Krabol is an amazing BM vocalist. He's got that bestial barritone working for him which works perfectly in this recorded in a cavern sound. Take away the atmospheric parts which come through these songs. And just concentrate on the BM fury, especially on "Blinded and Revealed". The third track, "Kjetterdom" is more like a bridge to the final cut which comes across as blackened doom with Brage Krabol sounding like a drunk priest denouncing his faith.

If you're an old school fucker who believes over the past bunch of years Black Metal has been on zombie land status, corrupted by hiptards or just can't achieve greatness in this modern era. Well every once in a while a release will come out that will change your mind. I know they're few of em out there but hey this is one of em.    

https://terraturpossessions.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://terraturpossessions.bandcamp.com/album/de-pinte

COSCRADH - Carving the Causeway to the Otherworld review

 

COSCRADH - Carving the Causeway to the Otherworld

20 Buck Spin

COSCRADH are an Irish four piece Blackened Death Metal act who I've been into ever since I checked out their self titled demo from 2016. That release came out on Invictus Productions out of Ireland. The band followed that up with a couple of EPs. But in 2022 the band finally released their full length debut Nahanagan Stadial which also came out on Invictus Productions. 

So here we are a few years later on a different label but the band's sound is far more ferocious. COSCRADH are standouts when it comes to modern day Blackened Death Metal. First off the vocals are chaotic as in they run the gambit of being every type of hate filled vocal style in Extreme Metal. 

That's works perfectly well since the song structures are violent guitar passages with amazing drum fills and power blasts. To me it's like Hell's version of blitzkrieg with a possessed guy on vocals and a horned demon ripping out guitar solos. This is what you want to hear after a hard night's work especially if you've been subjected to crappy music at your place of business. 

All in all what COSCRADH did on their first full length was just a taste on how insanely corrupt they could be. I've said many times that the modern day sound of Blackened Death Metal is generic. COSCRADH are far from that which may be why they're on this record label as opposed to another one who puts out generic sounding shit these past years. 

Anyways this might be one of my favorite listening experiences of the year. I mean the name coscradh is  translated into “triumph in slaughter”. So hell fuckin yeah!

https://www.20buckspin.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://coscradh.bandcamp.com/album/carving-the-causeway-to-the-otherworld

HECATE ENTHRONED - The Corpse of a Titan, a Lament Long Buried review

 

HECATE ENTHRONED - The Corpse of a Titan, a Lament Long Buried

M-Theory Audio

Here we have the seventh full length by this English Symphonic Black Metal act. I don't want to get too bogged down in this band's history. I'll just say that bassist Dylan Hughes and guitarist Nigel Dennan have kept this band going since 1995. I also give credit to guitarist Andy Milnes who joined in 1997. Other than those three this act has gone through plenty of members especially when it comes to vocalists. 

The skinny on HECATE ENTHRONED has always been that they are CRADLE OF FILTH's better or worse twin. Since I only owned two full lengths by em my opinion on that point doesn't matter. I have the band's 1997 debut, The Slaughter of Innocence, a Requiem for the Mighty, because you have to. It's part of black Metal history so you have to own the originals. The other HECATE ENTHRONED full length I have is 2019's Embrace of the Godless Aeon. 

Present vocalist Joe Stamps (who joined the band in 2015) debuted on Embrace of the Godless Aeon. I really like this guy's vocals as far as Symphonic Black Metal goes. He's got the harsh screams down as well as the baritone vocals and that whispering thing really nails it. I think he's more influenced by Ihsahn as opposed to Dani Filth. In the end he does this band well.

Something else I like about this album is that the compositions are pretty cool. I mean if you go back twenty years ago Symphonic Black Metal was kind of a joke. I'm not pointing fingers but when DIMMU BORGIR got big you had plenty of copycats following their lead. Thankfully this album is not like that. 

I liked 2019's Embrace of the Godless Aeon but it needed to be better. Half a decade later we have that type of release which is harsh as fuck but also melodic as well as majestic for a cool late night blast. HECATE ENTHRONED just put out a decent album which Black Metal fans should like. Hey HECATE ENTHRONED don't wait half a decade or change your line-up before you release your next album. 

https://www.m-theoryaudio.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hecateenthroned.bandcamp.com/album/the-corpse-of-a-titan-a-lament-long-buried

UNBOUNDED TERROR - Through the Dark Desperation Compilation review

 

UNBOUNDED TERROR - Through the Dark Desperation Compilation

Abstract Emotions

File this one under the title; For Collector Scum Only. But first I need to explain a few things. So last year I checked out the newest album by one of Spain's oldest Death Metal acts UNBOUNDED TERROR. That album was Something Is Rotten in Humanity which was the band's fourth full length since starting out in the early 1990's. The release came out on the Xtreem Music label and it was fucking great. I highly recommend you pick up this album. 

Now when writing about this band and seeing their history I wondered how cool it would be to hear some of their early demo stuff. Boom baby because here it is to a point. Through the Dark Desperation consists of their Growing on Sorrow demo from 1992 plus their Through the Dark Desperation (Evil Laughs Stronger) demo from 1993. 

Also on this release there's live stuff from 1992 and 1993. Ok sure that's cool and it all sounds good. And oh hell yeah I wish I was at those shows. But for me the demo stuff rules. Also if you hear it then you'd realize it's easily equal to more familiar DM acts from the 1992 / 1993 era. 

Which brings up the question from the asshole in the room who thinks he knows it all. That asshole will say so how come I didn't know about em? The answer is that the record labels mainly focused on Death Metal from Sweden and the US back then. Anything else was secondary or third tier. The fourth realm, which I think a ton of bands were at, was overlooked. 

Thankfully, if you're an old school fucker like me who enjoys this stuff as if it was brand fuckin new, then here ya go. 

https://abstractemotions.com/en/

LISTEN HERE:

https://unboundedterror.bandcamp.com/album/through-the-dark-desperation

NUNSLAUGHTER - Satanic Chaos Legions review

 

NUNSLAUGHTER - Satanic Chaos Legions

BLKIIBLK Records

So last year I was all excited because NUNSLAUGHTER was playing downtown on my off night from work. But then we had a weather problem. A Winter storm hit with snow and ice typical of North Carolina Winters the day before. Our boss came into work that night and shut us down early. He even gave a few of us a ride home in his four wheel drive vehicle. 

The next day our city closed the roads because of ice. I figured the NUNSLAUGHTER show was cancelled so I stayed home. But I was wrong because the Kings of Devil Metal did play that night and I missed it. And all I got was to watch their set on Youtube. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWfZZbgsUhc

Be that as it may I thought NUNSLAUGHTER's previous full length, Red Is the Color of Ripping Death, from 2021 was damm good. This one basically continues where that one left off. NUNSLAUGHTER are more into Death Thrash with ferocious riffs that pummel the fuck out of ya. Don of the Dead's vocals are better than ever. 

Once again ya gotta give credit to new drummer, Joe Lowrie, who took over the sticks after longtime drummer Jim Sadist passed away. A big seat to fill he has done well. Also new bassist Mike Jochum, who joined in 2022, is an amazing asset to these songs. 

Yeah I'm an old school NUNSLAUGHTER fan. My favorite album by em has always been Hells Unholy Fire from 2000. Mainly because I love the album cover but damm the songs were great too. Right now, Satanic Chaos Legions is my favorite. Fast and furious Devil Metal rules! 

https://frontiers-us.shop/pages/blkllblk

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsrkJ_Qm8BQ

EXUMER - Death Mask Messiah review

 

EXUMER - Death Mask Messiah

Metal Blade Records

There's a bunch of stuff to unload here. First off I'm an EXUMER fan. I think their first two albums from the late 80's are classic. With that said EXUMER came out with their fifth album, Hostile Defiance, in 2019 and it was damm good. Add to that they were always considered fifth tier as far as German Thrash goes. 

Now in my not so humble opinion in 2019 EXUMER were better than their contemporaries. I mean KREATOR blew. I don't remember TANKARD doing anything cool. And SODOM and DESTRUCTION were just repeating generic albums. So yeah EXUMER were cool as fuck and leading the charge of German Thrash. 

But then that was it for a while as in seven years later with this latest release. On this one old blood meets new blood to keep the influences on your sleeves act alive and kicking ass. Of course there's Mem von Stein on vocals with Ray Mensh on guitar keeping the early original line-up and sound alive. Guitarist Marc Brautigam, who joined in 2013, completes the older line-up. 

On board now is a radical rhythm section consisting of bassist Alex Voss, who joined in 2024 and new drummer Jerome Reil who joined in 2025. Basically they're the new blood keeping things exciting. Which means overall I don't care about influences worn on sleeves especially in 2026. 

We're talking about Thrash here in an era where sounding like something that doesn't exist anymore is cool in my book. Let the naysayers, who weren't even around back in the day, cry and criticize. For me I hope EXUMER doesn't take a half of a decade to put out their next album.

https://www.metalblade.com/us/

LISTEN HERE:

https://exumerofficial.bandcamp.com/album/death-mask-messiah

VIANDE - Monument aux morts review

 

VIANDE - Monument aux morts

Transcending Obscurity Records

This is the second full length by VIANDE a four piece modern Death Doom act from France. A few years back I really liked their debut full length, L'abime devore les ames. that came out in 2022 and on Transcending Obscurity Records. Now as regular readers of this blog know (and frankly who isn't) over the past couple of years I've been brutally negative in my opinion of modern day Death Doom. I think it's become over-saturated. 

So why did I like VIANDE as a standout amongst the generic a few years ago? Maybe it was because their band name translates into English as "meat". Maybe it sounded like it was recorded in an hellish abattoir. Then again it could've come in for review on a good fuckin night. either way VIANDE's debut was damm good. 

So how do you surpass that? Well on here the band sticks with the basic modern Death Doom formula aka: GRAVE meets INCANTATION and adds PORTAL to the mix. But then injects enough horrific atmosphere as if this was recorded in the Paris catacombs. The overall sound comes across as putred barbaric filth with a stench of disemboweled things. 

In the end yeah VIANDE's second full length is a winner. You've got the bestial vocals as well as horrific screams. There's the guitar dynamics which are a combination of rich doom riffage and sometimes chaotic time changes meets dissonance darkness. The rhythm section is amazing especially the drum work. All in all it's an amazing album.

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://viandeband.bandcamp.com/album/monument-aux-morts

CRYPTORIUM - Through the Bowels of Ceaseless Dissonance review

 

CRYPTORIUM - Through the Bowels of Ceaseless Dissonance

Transcending Obscurity Records

The tagline on this release is old school Swedish Death Metal. OK sure but they might be the grand children of DISMEMBER. In all honesty they're cousins to FERAL and CRAWL. They're two bands who, were on this label, ripped the shit out of the whole old school Swedish DM style with some cool Hardcore influences. 

CRYPTORIUM is basically following through with the obvious progression. I mean the intro on here is not my type of thing but then I hate bad intros. After that it's cool as fuck rip roaring hate. Whether it's the blitzkrieg of riffs that'll punish your face, the hate fueled vocals or the whole amazing tempo of extreme meets atmospheric craziness. 

It's 2026 and with extreme metal we're at the death of creation. So let's check out new bands again who love the old ways but have fire in their belly. On this their second full length CRYPTORIUM are far more than a band with the right patches on the battle vests. To me this sounds like a great representation of the new with old stuff clinging on like webs. 

Yeah this is one of the best Death Metal albums of the year. 

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://cryptorium-label.bandcamp.com/album/through-the-bowels-of-ceaseless-dissonance

F.A.M. - Pleasure Of Torture review

 

F.A.M. - Pleasure Of Torture

Selfmadegod Records

Just for some clarity F.A.M. stands for Furor Arma Ministrat. They are a Brutal Death Metal act hailing from the great Extreme Metal nation of Poland. The band has been around since 2005 and here's a shocker. I know about em. 

So yeah a decade ago I learned about this band because they had an album out, Human Cargo, which was billed as Brutal Death Grind from Poland. As an Extreme Metal fan knowing that Poland has great Grindcore and great Death Metal so why not a combination of the two plus tossing in the Brutal aspect or what we here in the states call "Brootal". 

Unfortunately Human Cargo had no Grind at all. Sure it was Brutal DM but on an average scale. Whichs brings us to now with this their fourth full length. Obviously I missed one or two but anyways I'm pissed because there's really no actual Grindcore on this album even though it was billed as Brutal Death Grind (again). 

As far as the positive points go F.A.M. are good at producing some decent low brow punishing Brutal Death Metal which any sub-genre loving neanderthal will like. I mean chaotic riffs abound with sick pig squeal / bestial vocals. Plus the beating on tupper-ware or pickle barrel drum sounds are evident. Yeah average for this sub-genre but hey if you're a knuckle draggier then here ya go.

https://selfmadegod.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://selfmadegod.bandcamp.com/album/pleasure-of-torture

MEAN GREEN - Castle review

 

MEAN GREEN - Castle

Self Release

So here we have the second full length by North Carolina's MEAN GREEN. Personally I like the band name. They're a three piece Sludge Metal / Stoner Doom act from Boone, North Carolina. Just for the record Boone, NC is known for a few things. First off it's in the Western part of the state where the Blue Ridge Mountains are. Appalachian State University is out there also known as App - State. Graduates from there are also called Boone Hippies. But hey years ago their football team beat Michigan which was a major upset. 

Anyways when it comes to Sludge Metal / Stoner Rock, North Carolina (aka: my state) has had it's share of great bands in this genre. Just to name a few there's been SOUL PREACHER, WEEDEATER, BONGZILLA and a few more. Some people like to say BUZZ-OVEN are an NC band but honestly they moved around from NC to Virginia, to Louisiana and back again depending on the drugs available and people they screwed over because of it. CORROSION OF CONFORMITY were never a Sludge Metal or a Doom band despite what revisionists (who never lived in NC) say on the internet. 

With that all said MEAN GREEN on this release will not get any old school fans to jump up and shout as saviors of a genre in need of help. They're all burned out anyways and maybe will show up at a EYE HATE GOD reunion show long enough to buy a new shirt and call an Uber to get em home before eleven PM.

But to new school fans it could be different. I'm sure MEAN GREEN has been playing to audiences who drink Michelob Ultra and swear to WIDESPREAD PANIC. Musically I'm not down with their whole psycho Sludge stuff early on this release. Better yet I like when they go into their Stoner atmosphere Metal style. I'm not gonna name drop. Instead I'll just say the sound reminds me of cool stuff by past acts I already like. 

Add to that the quality of the musicians involved. The cool bass lines from Cole Franklin are totally head banging. James Matthews is an amazing drummer. Finally there's Jake Helms who delivers a thick, sick guitar tone. The same thing can be said for his vocals. The guy produces a blackened venomous singing tone which is cool in my book. 

Like I slightly mentioned earlier MEAN GREEN are probably a perfect example of a new school bringing life and excitement to an old worn out genre. In so doing they bring in new fans who probably didn't know this type of extreme metal existed. To me that's cool and I give this band props for it. In all honesty I'd rather sit home and blast this then go downtown and see WEEDEATER for the tenth time. Nuff Said!

 

LISTEN TO AND BUY IT HERE:

https://meangreen.bandcamp.com/album/castle

MANGLED CARPENTER – Between Blood and Silence EP

 

MANGLED CARPENTER – Between Blood and Silence EP

Broken Curfew Records

I believe I've found my Extremely Brutal Insane release of the year and even better it's an EP. Plus the cover artwork is damm good. MANGLED CARPENTER is a three piece Brutal Death Metal / Grindcore act who have been around since 2005. Fuck me running because this is my first time hearing them. 

Other then two full length releases, Under the Shadow in 2021 and Salvation Syndrome from 2023. This band is pretty much a short form release act. And they've got a ton of singles and EPs to back that up. As far as this latest one goes it's savage and brutal insanity which I like. 

The band is made up of Seth Metoyer on guitar and guttural fuckin vocals along with spoken word parts. Kris Olson is on bass and does the pig squeal backing vocals. Finally there's Mac Hine who does some drumming but also is more into the whole programmed drum thing. 

This is musically a cruel and calculated brutal performance. There's six cuts on here. "The Absence of Light" is definitely my favorite cut on here. The rest of the release is like a fuckin ritual of the bizarre with the exception of their MORTIFICATION "Terminate Damnation" cover which is straight up. In the end this release rules!

LISTEN TO & BUY IT HERE:

https://mangledcarpenter.bandcamp.com/album/between-blood-and-silence-ep

WATCHER - Mistress of Our Time review

 

WATCHER - Mistress of Our Time

Dying Victims Productions

A few years ago I was at a show wearing an IRON MAIDEN "Killers" shirt and this young person came up to me asking a question. He was, according to him, all into NWOBM stuff but wanted more. So I told him to check out the bands on the Dying Victims Productions label. Did he do it, I don't know? Then again ya don't see many people wearing a MAIDEN "Killers" shirt at local shows. A close friend of mine might wear his.

Anyways I guess it's obvious that this release here is NWOBHM influenced. This is the second full length by WATCHER who hail from Sweden. The band started out back in 2023. Actually it was a one man band featuring Viktor Gustafsson who sang and played everything. After a year he brought on guitarist Max Warnby and drummer Jakob Nilsson. After that bassist Oscar Nyberg joined and this year guitarist Timmy Lindgren has been added to complete the line-up.

Musically yeah it's MAIDEN-esque all the way. Personally I like the vocals by Viktor Gustafsson. He's a real guy vocalist who can hit a Heavy Metal scream once in a while. I like Max Warnby's lead guitar work on here. He's subtle in his leads which is cool. The rhythm section is strong in conveying solid song craft. 

In the end yeah this is a cool album with ten cuts all perfect. The promo info hints that this is classic Swedish Heavy Metal. Look I'm just an old Metal guy who owns two HEAVY LOAD CDs, yeah reissues, and maybe two other old Swedish Heavy Metal CDs, yeah reissues, and I don't care what a friend of mine says. EUROPE sucks! But WATCHER is great.    

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/mistress-of-our-time

MIDNIGHT PREY - Jenseitsritt review

 

MIDNIGHT PREY - Jenseitsritt

Dying Victims Productions

This month of August I've been musically getting nostalgic for 80's music which I still like a lot. Of course I share it on Facecrack with friends. They can handle it because they're younger. When I do the 70's or late 60's that's when they're going yeah I heard this in the 80's or 90's. It's always a good laugh for me. 

With that in mind it brings us to the question what if you hear a new release in 2026 and it actually sounds like something from 1978 to 1982 or more? That's what I got here with the second full length by Germany's MIDNIGHT PREY. The band originally started out back in 2012. Their debut full length, Uncertain Times, came out in 2019. And here we are today with their second full length. 

Musically this sounds like a late 70's Hard Rock release meets 80's NWOBHM along with, hold your breath, 1990's Post Punk elements. I chalk it up to the guitar work and vocal style of Winston Ziller. As a musician he's a Renaissance man creating an amazing sound that grasps everything cool from the past and reproducing it without a copyright held against him. 

Winston is joined with great partners on bass with Daniel Friesen and drummer Hannes Ruhland. This rhythm section gives a solid foundation though out this release which either rocks your ass off or cools you down. The bottom line is that you have a cool listening experience with this release.  

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/jenseitsritt

TERATUM - Ordnance of Spiritual Warfare review

 

TERATUM - Ordnance of Spiritual Warfare EP

Dying Victims Productions

This is the four song EP debut by Sweden's TERATUM. They're a four piece Black Metal act that started out in 2024. The band members are not new to the scene since they've been in bands like DIE HARD, DESULTOR, PUTRIFIED and GOATSODOMIZER. you should not be shocked that I know all of those bands as well as owning releases by em.

Musically for the record TERATUM are not reinventing the wheel here or destroying it. This is basically a fresh take on classic Swedish BM which in my not so humble opinion needs it. After listening to this a few times I think this band needs a full length. I mean the vocals are perfect aka: burning hot and aggressive. The rhythms are razor like melodic as well as punishing. The drum work is very impressive and yeah there's some bass sound. 

All in all TERATUM should be the next cool thing from Swedish Black Metal. 

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/ordnance-of-spiritual-warfare

RAW POWER - Live CBGB's NYC 1998 review

 

RAW POWER - Live CBGB's NYC 1998 

Time To Kill Records

Honestly I saw RAW POWER on this tour. They played the club I worked at here in North Carolina. It was a decent show but turnout could've been better. It was a 80's Hardcore band, and yeah legendary if you were into Hardcore, playing in the late 1990's. So it was tough to get kids who got into Hardcore in the 1990's to come out. Also those crusty political punks didn't wanna pay to see the show. They rather have bands play their "punk house" and get paid in Ramon noodles and Bean soup.

The band had a new album out at the time titled Reptile House. Personally I didn't think much of that album. As far as RAW POWER goes their debut LP Screams from the Gutter from 1984 is their best. Their second album, After Your Brain, from 1986 is good along with their Wop Hour EP also from 1986 which was the first release I owned by em. 

Now as far as this live album goes it is pretty much what I heard / saw when they played the club I worked at. The set list is a mix of their tunes off of Reptile House as well as old 80's cuts. The crowd sound seems the same as well. They probably had the old crowd in the back while the new metal-core baldies were up front doing the whole push and shove wanna-be slam pit. Sound-wise it's a decent enough recording.

https://timetokillrecords.com/en-us

LISTEN HERE:

https://rawpowercbgb.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-cbgb

LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR - I Hail I review

 

LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR - I Hail I

The Grind-House Records

So there's a lot to unpack here. As far as anticipated albums go this was an obvious pick for me as far as 2026 goes. This band's last album, Evil Power, from 2010 is definitely a classic in my book. It was their fourth album and definitely their best. Plus I was already a fan of them from two previous albums.

LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR hail from Chicago, Illinois. They started out in 2003 as a three piece Sludge Metal / Thrash act. Now for you ignorant types, Sludge Metal came about when late 1980's Hardcore musicians started listening to BLACK SABBATH. They started incorporating the fast meets slow ideal. There are way too many early examples but by the 1990's you had bands coming out in the Metal scene who were Sludge Metal. 

When LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR finally hit the scene it was easy to like em because they came from Chicago, Illinois which had a history of Extreme Metal acts who didn't color inside the lines when it came to certain genres of Metal. Hell I'm still a USURPER / BONES fan till this day and that's just two name drops. 

So that was then and this is now some sixteen years later. As far as the line-up goes it's still Steven Rathbone as vocalist, guitarist and he adds the keyboards. Drummer Chris Wozniak is still in the fold. But on bass they have a new recruit who is well known in the Chicago area not only as a musician but a producer. I'm talking about Sanford Parker. 

As far as I Hail I goes it's not a great come back album as one would hope for. The first half of the album is reminiscent of their past aggressive work. I like that to a point other than being more causal than extreme. "Fucked Inside Out" and "Prowler Twin Sister" are memorable tracks. Everything else is kinda lackluster. It's kinda like drinking a six pack and by the fourth beer you're like I think I'm done. 

The last two cuts on this album sealed my overall opinion. "Vulture Worship" was a throwaway track but "Tartarus Apocalypse" is a seven minute plus Sludgey Doom boring opus of banality. Hey you were hot years ago but now your dead. Trust me, it comes with age. Except it or look pathetic.

https://www.thegrind-houserecords.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://lairoftheminotaur.bandcamp.com/album/i-hail-i-2

SQUELCHING - Squelching Compilation review

 

SQUELCHING - Squelching Compilation

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

So while listening to this release I had a bunch of thoughts. The first one is years ago when I was at a show watching a Brutal Death Metal act on stage. Why didn't I bust a beer bottle across the bar, cut myself across the forehead with the sharp end and then run into the crowd like a bloodied brutalizing maniac to start a savage pit?

Looking back and being a knowledgeable person of pro wrestling (especially Japanese wrestling) I knew where to cut. But in all I wasn't that out of control. Of course that's my not so humble opinion. Close friends might differ on my perspective of history. 

Which brings us up to this release here which is a compilation of some output by a one man band, Once again years ago when I was a collector, I hated these things but now I'm not. So what we have here is a compilation of SQUELCHING material. SQUELCHING is a one man Brutal Death Metal act hailing from Indiana. The one man is David Sueoka who's musically responsible for everything. 

Even though David Sueoka started SQUELCHING back a few years ago. He has been fairly prolific in short form releases starting out in 2020. What we have here is a compilation of material from his 2020 A Fatal Procession EP from, the Backbreaker EP from 2025 and a few latter tracks from 2025. Musically this is not the sick twisted stuff nor your basic sound from the mid-1990's. 

Instead David Sueoka actually turns this sub genre into a gruff and yet brutal sound with an atmospheric touch. Even better is that he's not relying on that hiptard Prog style shit. He focuses on creating a developed sound instead of just a handful of songs. To me that's cool as well as interesting. David Sueoka does come from the MORTICIAN school of Brutal DM so that makes him a winner in my book.

I like this compilation a lot and if you're interested yeah you will to. It's what I like to call late night after work music. It's hate for those other people you have to deal with. Now with that said I really wanna hear what David Sueoka comes out with next and hopefully it's a full length. Nuff Said!

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

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

IMPURE DECLARATION - Of Veins, Tendons and Bones review

 

IMPURE DECLARATION - Of Veins, Tendons and Bones

Old Temple

A couple of weeks ago I was leaving work. I said goodnight to the front of house staff. The one woman bartender asked what I was gonna do later because it was only 10:30 on a Saturday night. So I said I'm gonna go home, drink some beer and listen to some Satanic Metal. While I was walking down the stairs I heard the gay guy bartender say "is he serious"? The woman answered "of course he's serious. Have you looked at those band shirts he wears"?

And so here I am after work listening to some Satanic Metal. This is the debut full length by Poland's IMPURE DECLARATION. The band, who are a five piece act, started out in 2017. Prior to this the band released two EPs and a split release with a German band called NEKUS. 

Musically what we have here is modern day Blackened Death Doom. All of the standards are touched upon as in it's bestial vocals like a bear woken up during hibernation. A filth ridden riff atmosphere that conveys a blackened storm. The drum work is dynamic as hell like thunder. All in all it has this enjoyable atmosphere of hate as well as a standard of style which has gone on now for at least twenty years. 

If you are a regular reader of this blog (and frankly who isn't ?) then you know over the past few years I've called out the generic bullshit which are bands just repeating Blackened Death Doom acts from the past bunch of years. At least Poland's IMPURE DECLARATION sound like it's new and fresh to a point. In other words this release sounds like something I bought twenty years ago as opposed to something I heard a few years ago. 

IMPURE DECLARATION come across as dedicated followers of hate. This debut release is eight cuts but since there's an intro and outro you're really getting six for Satan. Be that as it may they're from Poland the most Extreme Metal nation on the planet. 

https://www.oldtemple.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://oldtemple.bandcamp.com/album/impure-declaration-of-veins-tendons-and-bones