Dissection

Malefic – Impermanence Review

By Andy-War-Hall on March 2, 2026 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 22 comments

“A tabby cat is what you get when you let nature take its course. Nearly every stray is a tabby because, without selective breeding from human interference, cats just end up looking like that most of the time. Similarly, Atlanta’s Malefic feel to me what you’d get if you let the faster variants of extreme metal reach their natural conclusion. Playing a style that draws from thrash, black and death metal, Malefic formed in 2007 with the stated goal of modernizing black metal. In doing so, they’ve imbued in their slow-cooked debut Impermanence, an intensity and drive befitting a genre-forwarding record.” Maleficent.

Necrofier – Transcend into Oblivion Review

By Creeping Ivy on February 23, 2026 in Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 30 comments

“Houston’s Necrofier first came on my radar when they played the 2024 Decibel Magazine Tour with Hulder, Devil Master, and Worm. Sadly, I missed their opening set, but gladly, I caught a recording of it on YouTube. Their raucous, crowd-pleasing performance compelled me to check out their recordings. At 36 minutes, debut Prophecies of Eternal Darkness (2021) is a lean, mean barrage of melodic black metal, while Burning Shadows in the Southern Night (2023) ups the ante with 47 minutes of stronger, more polished material. Necrofier’s (lone?) star seems to be on the rise since Decibel 2024, as their third album arrives on the mighty Metal Blade Records.” Necro is the new 6-7.

Withering Soul – Passage of the Arcane Review

By Andy-War-Hall on November 13, 2025 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 13 comments

“Much has changed in the decade since Withering Soul last graced this website. I was in high school when Madam X placed a scarlet 2.5 on Adverse Portrait, a scoring I would agree with wholeheartedly. It was an enjoyable but unfocused work, and its Moonspell-akin gothic tendencies didn’t mesh well with the band’s Dissection worship.” The withering will continue until morals improve.

Thron – Vurias Review

By Grin Reaper on October 30, 2025 in Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 45 comments

“For the uninitiated, German quintet Thron peddles black metal in the vein of Dissection and Naglfar. They’ve had a sporadic history with AMG, where their self-titled debut and third outing Pilgrim earned very good marks, while sophomore album Abysmal never made it to the promo sump. In 2023, fourth record Dust put Thron on my radar with their seemingly effortless skill to fuse hooky leads and traditional black metal with snatches of black ‘n’ roll. After two-and-a-half years, Thron returns with Vurias, their fifth platter in a decade.” Thron: Legacy.

Ofermod – Drakosophia Review

By Angry Metal Guy on September 29, 2025 in Reviews, Black Metal, 46 comments

“The occupational hazard of reviewing music is a love of novelty. At a certain point, you have heard the same riffs so many times that you can fall asleep to even the most unhinged blast attack. This bias should raise problems for a band like Ofermod, known for playing black metal of the most orthodox variety.” Drakosophistry from The Big Man Himself.

Imperialist – Prime Review

By Owlswald on September 3, 2025 in Reviews, Black Metal, 38 comments

“Crafting a great or excellent record is a remarkable feat. But it’s another challenge entirely to consistently churn out banger after banger. This kind of consistency is the not-so-secret sauce that can launch bands into the upper echelons. While examples are numerous, California’s Imperialist is poised to demonstrate their potential for genuine longevity with third LP, Prime.” Prime moving.

Urn – Demon Steel Review

By Mark Z. on March 26, 2025 in Reviews, Black Metal, Thrash Metal, 53 comments

“As a U.S. government employee, I’ve spent way too much time lately thinking about RIFs and not enough time thinking about riffs. Fortunately, Finland’s Urn is here to change that. Helmed by vocalist, bassist, and former guitarist Jarno Hämäläinen (a.k.a. “Sulphur”), this black/thrash troupe raised hell throughout the 2000s via albums like 666 Megatons and Dawn of the Devastation, both of which blasted with reckless abandon and hit with all the subtlety of a hand grenade.” You Urned it!

Kryptan – Violence, Our Power Review

By Tyme on February 21, 2025 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 50 comments

“Atmospheric black metal band Kryptan is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist and thirty-plus-year Swedish metal scene veteran Mattias Norrman. Having spent a decade (1999-2009) as the bassist for Katatonia, Norrman is now most known for his guitar work in October Tide and Moondark. Long influenced and fascinated by black metal, however, especially the Norwegian and Swedish scenes of the nineties, Kryptan represents a passion project, providing Norrman an outlet for yet another avenue of extreme exhibition.” Black tides.

Legendarium – For Eternal Glory Review

By Eldritch Elitist on November 16, 2024 in Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal, 27 comments

“Powerdeath. That’s the genre tag attached to Legendarium’s fifth album For Eternal Glory, and one I’d almost certainly roll my eyes at, had I not been following this curious project since its debut LP. Through arcane magics of ancient origin], I became aware of Legendarium, the brainchild of singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Laurence Kerbov and drummer Stefano Vaccari, in its earliest stages as a charmingly amateurish blend of traditional metal and classic punk. 2022’s Death’s Hand in Yours changed their status quo, not only by amping up their power metal side and introducing death metal elements to the mix, but also by being the first Legendarium record to be legitimately good. For Eternal Glory is their logical next step.” Legendary genre blend?

Spectral Wound – Songs of Blood and Mire Review

By Carcharodon on August 20, 2024 in Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 73 comments

“2021 seems a long time ago. So long, in fact, that I had utterly forgotten half of my year-end List. Imagine my surprise then, to discover, while checking for previous references on our auguste site, that I had listed Spectral Wound’s last outing, A Diabolic Thirst. That was as nothing, however, compared to my shock when I discovered that, not only had Deafheaven-groupie Doom_et_Al awarded it a list spot, so had avowed BM skeptic Ferrous Beuller. Perhaps this spread says something about what Spectral Wound achieved with its third record.” Common wounds and cross-genre sympathies.