Lavender Larcenist

Weaned on Whalecore

Shivered – Chains Review

By Lavender Larcenist on November 9, 2025 in Reviews, Doom Metal, 14 comments

“Not much is more metal than having to put your life on the line to play the music you love. For Iranians, that is an everyday reality, forced to play underground or flee their home country for fear of persecution. Metal is considered blasphemous (hell yeah) in Iran, and the most famous example of a band suffering under these draconian laws is Confess. I imagine Mohammad Maki, the one-man band that is Shivered, has to struggle with these same challenges. A concept album focused on the end of humanity through collective mass suicide probably isn’t making anyone happy who takes umbrage with metal’s dark themes and brutal nature. But that is exactly what Maki has served up with a heaping helping of gothic doom, a little bit of death, and a whole lot of atmosphere.” Forbidden dooms.

Ravager – From Us with Hate Review

By Lavender Larcenist on October 20, 2025 in Reviews, Thrash Metal, 23 comments

“What can one reasonably say that hasn’t already been proclaimed in the halls of AMG over and over again about throwback thrash bands? In a genre that continues to pump out music for over forty years, breaking the mold is like chiseling out of your prison cell with a spoon. Doable? Maybe. But true escape is improbable. Germany’s Ravager peddles in the same stylistic trappings that you have seen a million times before from bands like Havok, Lich King, Warbringer, Gamma Bomb, and so, so many others before them. While many of these throwback acts ended up evolving their sounds and peeling themselves free of the mozzarella mosh of pizza thrash, will Ravager do the same on their fourth LP, From Us with Hate?” Change hate or hate change?

God’s Funeral – El Despertar Dels Morts Review

By Lavender Larcenist on August 30, 2025 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Funeral Doom, 19 comments

“Metal is full of niche genres, and within that sphere, doom metal is full of unique variations. Funeral doom, doom metal’s basement-dwelling offspring, is as impenetrable a metal genre as some of the nastiest bands in the business. Trudging, droning song structures, distorted, bellowing vocals, and (as the genre tag suggests) the vibe of being at a funeral can make for a taxing listen on a good day.” Oh, promising.

No Shelter. – Remission/Resolve Review

By Lavender Larcenist on August 20, 2025 in Reviews, Blackened Death Metal, Hardcore, 26 comments

“No Shelter. is a five-piece from Münster that peddles in D-beat brutalization with a heaping helping of Boss HM-2 pedal worship. Its latest, Remission/Resolve, is a bass-driven freight train of Swedish-coded blackened death metal, crust punk, and hardcore, conjuring direct comparisons to genre stalwarts like Nails, Rotten Sound, and Trap Them. Can No Shelter. stand in the spotlight with some of the most vicious rippers around, or is it flying too close to the sun, wax wings ready to send it to hell with the rest of the copycats?” Entombing the unsheltered masses.

Ba’al – The Fine Line between Heaven and Here Review

By Lavender Larcenist on August 14, 2025 in Reviews, Black Metal, Hardcore, Metalcore, Post-Metal, 38 comments

“Post-anything is a tough genre to pin down. Does the music eschew genre trappings, rightfully identifying as post in the way it challenges previous norms? Or does it draw from the well that identifies as post, infusing itself with spacey tremolo riffs, heavy atmosphere, and lengthy, non-traditional tracks? If the Sheffield UK post-metallers Ba’al have anything to say, it is the latter.”