Relapse Records

Temple of Void – The Crawl Review

By Steel Druhm on March 4, 2026 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 44 comments

“Detroit’s death-doom institution Temple of Void had an interesting journey over their 12-year career. Their 2014 debut split the baby between 90s Peaceville doom and nasty death metal like Asphyx and Bolt Thrower, and the end product was heavy as fook. 2017’s Lords of Death shifted toward death metal without losing any of the crushing, venomous intensity. It wasn’t until 2020s The World That Was that Temple of Void really started experimenting with the scope of their sound as influences like post-metal crept in. When 2022s Summoning the Slayer arrived, it seemed like the band was losing the plot, as their sound became overly pared down and simplistic, causing tedium to set in. That brings us to their fifth album, The Crawl.” Null and void?

Exhumed – Red Asphalt Review

By Saunders on March 2, 2026 in Reviews, Death Metal, 33 comments

“Unfortunately, the mighty Relapse stable now floats down the shitty stream for promos. As such, we are slow on the uptake with the latest platter of splatter from legendary underground gorehounds, Exhumed. Always searching for fresh inspiration for their deathly brand of precision butchery, tenth album Red Asphalt channels inner road rage via good old carmageddon mayhem and vehicular violence as its overarching conceptual theme.” Blood upon the highway.

Hoaxed – Death Knocks Review

By Maddog on March 2, 2026 in Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Occult Rock, 19 comments

“Death Knocks isn’t the most extreme album out there, but it straddles the metal boundary more than enough to earn a spot here. While I hadn’t heard of Hoaxed before, their new release caught my eye through its album art and its impressive lead single, “Where the Seas Fall Silent.” This three-piece from Portland plays metal-edged occult rock that aims for an eerie atmosphere as much as for melodic gems.” Deep fake or deep cuts?

Primitive Man – Observance [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]

By Spicie Forrest on December 11, 2025 in Things You Might Have Missed 2025, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Noise, Sludge, 29 comments

“It’s been a decade since Primitive Man last graced these halls with 2015’s tepidly received Home is Where the Hatred Is, but they haven’t been idle. In the meantime, the Denver trio has released 2 LPs, a full-length EP, a split with Unearthly Trance, and a collab with Full of Hell. Those ten years were spent experimenting, learning, and honing their sound into something so incredibly bleak that not even the promo pit could contain such hopeless darkness.” Man against earlier man.

Author & Punisher – Nocturnal Birding Review

By Dear Hollow on October 7, 2025 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Drone, Electronic Metal, Industrial Metal, Noise, 37 comments

“Contrary to the plethora of one-man metal projects out there, Author & Punisher’s mastermind Tristan Shone, has always stayed on this side of innovative, consistently riding the line between apocalyptic/dystopian atmospheres and the heaviest electronics since Godflesh. Much like Igorrr’s Gautiere Serre, Shone’s genius has been just as much in song construction as instrument construction, having put his experience as a mechanical engineer to the configuration of his “drone machines” and “dub machines.” This skill has allowed Shone a flexibility in his compositions, with albums like Ursus Americanus and Beastland boasting formidable anthemic brutality, while the more subdued Melk en Honig and Krüller rely on sprawling atmospheres that feel as fiery as they are dense. Nocturnal Birding takes a unique concept and spins it for a trip down Riff Lane.” Punishment diaries.

Stuck in the Filter: February 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity on May 9, 2025 in Stuck in the Filter, Black Metal, Death Doom, Death Metal, Folk Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Post-Metal, post-punk, Rock, Technical Death Metal, 105 comments

February was a filthy, dirty month and the Filter Techs are gonna tell you all about it,

Yer Metal is Olde: Mastodon – Leviathan

By Saunders on October 27, 2024 in Yer Metal Is Olde, Progressive Metal, Sludge, 87 comments

“Back in their early days, Atlanta’s progressive sludge juggernaut Mastodon could do little wrong. I remember perusing my local independent record store and being taken by the striking artwork and Relapse seal of approval on 2002’s debut Remission, roughly around the time of its release. After being crushed and destroyed by the iconic opening track, my love affair with Mastodon began.” Whale tales.

Dreamless Veil – Every Limb of the Flood Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on October 1, 2024 in Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 34 comments

“Dan Gargiulo, once of a celebrated period for Revocation and a leading force for Artificial Brain, finds himself at the nexus of one such budding—Dreamless Veil. Assembled with now bandmate Mike Paparo (Inter Arma, Artificial Brain) and Psycroptic kitsmasher Dave Haley, can these friends, all top-tier performers, implement the supergroup form honestly?” Band and superband.

Ripped to Shreds – Sanshi Review

By Saunders on September 29, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, 36 comments

“Four albums deep into a promising and increasingly impressive career, California’s death mongers Ripped to Shreds continue to hammer away and chisel a jagged path to the hearts of old-school death-loving folk. Following back-to-back bangers, the band’s prolific mastermind and guitarist/vocalist Andrew Lee (also of Azath, Houkago Grind Time, Draghkar amongst a plethora of other projects) readies his battle-hardened companions for another sick, ugly dose of grind-injected old school death mayhem.” You’re in for a surprise….

Yer Metal is Olde: Amorphis – Tales from the Thousand Lakes

By Grymm on July 12, 2024 in Yer Metal Is Olde, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 71 comments

“Now here’s a desert island pick if there ever was one… Back in 1994, I discovered The Karelian Isthmus, the 1992 debut album by Finnish death metal upstarts Amorphis, at my local Newbury Comics. Upon hearing that its follow-up was due to drop soon, I played that album front-to-back on numerous occasions in preparation of its arrival, fully expecting a continuation of the debut’s doom/death musical motifs. Instead, the then-quartet added a keyboardist, discovered progressive rock, and took such a musical and lyrical left turn that not only turned heads.” Of olde lakes and timeless music.