Rain. Rain. More rain. I just can’t deal. Soooo tired of it and ready for dry and summer and longer days. Well, one out of three ain’t bad and if you read that and said ‘dammit, totally forgot to spring forward on my clock’ good luck explaining that one to the boss – happy Monday. We have a fix for the blahs though and it comes in the form of new metals. Read on friends…

It’s safe to say we’ve established Venom Prison as complete bad-assery and on Samsara they kick their venomous death metal up several notches since their last outing – is that even possible?! Anyway, everything about this album topples Animus and that’s no easy feat nor is it a slight to that album in any way, the band has grown and it’s obvious during the opening salvo of “Matriphagy.” Moving along, Noisem returns with a new lease on life and a new attitude on Cease To Exist which finds them stoking their death thrash with extremely confrontational grind and it’s a sound to behold. Next up is the debut, Nocebo, from MA’s Elizabeth Colour Wheel and the blackgaze tag seems too simple after the onslaught of 90s rock, noise and ethereal moments of bliss found all over this thing – it’s hard to pin down but it is a journey best left travelled and enjoyed, I very much have enjoyed it – just sayin’. Last up top is progressive death metal stalwarts Fallujah with their fourth full length Undying Light which finds them, once again, toying with tech death, blackened stylings, and proggy structures – definitely a step up and one you won’t want to miss.

Feeling better? See? I knew it and glad we could help. You’re welcome. Now, get to the rest of this list… Continue reading →