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