blackened thrash

Album Review: Demiser — “Through the Gate Eternal”

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Demiser - Through the Gate Eternal

You know what you’re getting into when you see that brutal wood-cut cover art, a dripper scythe standing in for an “i” in the band’s name. If that didn’t seal the deal for raucous blackened thrash that South Carolina’s Demiser churn out on their debut Through the Gate Eternal then maybe this description from the band’s press kit will help: whiskey and speed fueled, demon-worshipping metal from hell. This is the sound of a band taking European and American thrash and crushing it into the dirt of black metal with the ash-stained heel of Motörhead. In other words, right up my alley.

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Embracing the Descent: May 19 – 25, 2019

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EMBRACING TEMP LOGO

Welcome back to another edition of Embracing the Descent and another opportunity to catch some fire from this week’s incoming metal. At this point we’re pretty sure you got it but for a recap: if it’s your first visit, we briefly discuss a handful of the current week’s new releases that stood out for whatever reason and maybe, from time to time, a week behind. We won’t be hitting everything because a 40 – 60 entry piece ain’t happening and who’s got that kind of time anyway. Let’s jump in and don’t forget to check out the full listing from Monday’s Initial Descent. Continue reading →

Nine Circles ov…More Recent Albums I Only Have Time to Review in One Sentence

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9C one sentence reviews

Well, we’re here again.  Another deadline looming and another herculean pile of promos and new releases to get through.  Gotta have an opinion on it all, man!  Gotta get your view HEARD on the Net of Inter, the tangled web of social media that serves as the roaring voice of the DISCERNING MASS!  Nuance?  Never heard of it!  Just shout AS LOUD AS YOU CAN ABOUT WHATEVER HALF-FORMED THOUGHT YOU HAVE IN YOUR BRILLIANT HEAD SO EVERYONE KNOWS YOU WERE FIRST! YOU WERE THERE AT THE BEGINNING! NO ONE CAN FOOL YOU!

What the hell…let’s join the Body Eclectic and get our malnourished and quivering need for acceptance and acknowledgement out there.  And since considered thinking is at a premium, let’s keep this edition of Nine Circles ov snappy once again with one-sentence summaries of nine recent releases. Continue reading →

Album Review: Lucifera – “La Caceria De Brujas”

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Lucifera - La Caceria De Brujas

Sometimes you just want that nasty shit, amirite?  Toss away the time changes, the exotic instruments and the polished production, get those choirs and orchestras right out the door.  Grab some beer, head to the nearest dank and sweaty basement and just blast until the sun rises.  Step into the light with the king of all hangovers and the festering rot of a thousand razor sharps cuts from all the riffing.  That was me the first time I heard Colombia’s Lucifera back in 2017.  And I’m happy but sore to report that two years later nothing’s changed with new album La Caceria De Brujas. Continue reading →

Nine Circles ov…Recent Albums I Only Have Time to Review in One Sentence

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9C inbox

Sometimes you hit that point in your inbox where you just want to take the poor thing outside and put it out of its misery.  The glut of things unassigned, unread or untouched is a sight to behold.  We tread in fear of accidentally clicking on a link and having the whole thing fall in on our heads, Romanian hardcode tolling against the latest skate punk out of California busting heads with Australian progressive black metal and whatever the hell that weird buzzing sound is coming out of Europe.

It is, as they say in the parlance of the time, swole.

So for this edition of Nine Circles ov…. I thought I’d try to run through a few recent releases and give them a little space here on the site, and also ease the burgeoning hemorrhage our inbox is suffering.  But time is short, and I can already see the next wave of promos coming in, so we’re gonna make this quick and relegate each release to a single sentence.  Ready? Set? Go!   Continue reading →