Steel Druhm summarizes his experiences on the recent 70000 Tons of Metal Cruise while downplaying and concealing crimes committed in international waters.
Skeletal Remains
Morbikon – Lost Within the Astral Crypts
“When he’s not dealing in the Slime and Punishment of Municipal Waste or pissing off the neighbors with Iron Reagan, axe-wielder Phil “Landphil” Hall channels his focus into Morbikon. Formed in 2020, Hall’s black metal side-project earned recognition from AMG Industries when FeroxFerox highlighted the supergroup’s debut, Ov Mournful Twilight, as his surprise record of 2022. Rooted in all things kvlt and trve, the album’s second wave frostbitten anthems plunged into the remnants of burned churches and stale corpse paint, resulting in “eight meloblack rippers calibrated to bring winter to your soul and whiplash to your neck.”” Gaze into the Morb.
Barbarous – Initium Mors Review
“Death metal boasts a lush buffet of subgenres. From mind-flaying technicality to chilling dissonance to wanton mirth, there’s something for everyone. Unmoved by how much the genre has evolved, some folks just want the straightforward, grass-fed variety that defined American death metal in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. And what bloodsport that was!” More bloodsport for the bloodsport god!
Molder – Catastrophic Reconfiguration Review
“Welcome to the modern age of death metal, where it seems half the newer bands people are hyping up staggered into existence via Maggot Stomp before their chuggy chuggy unga bunga riffage started eliciting enough precum from the hardcore kiddos to catch the attention of bigger labels, ultimately resulting in even more unwarranted hype and overcrowded tours with Jesus Piece and Dying Fetus. Of course, there are exceptions. Like Skeletal Remains, Molder are loyal pupils of death metal’s old school, the kind of band that’s influenced by many but isn’t copying anyone in particular.” Olde is the Molder.
Skeletal Remains – Fragments of the Ageless Review
“In the realm of reliable old school death metal, Skeletal Remains looms large. Over their decade-plus existence, they’ve provided quality, high-energy brutality with strong similarities to classic Morbid Angel and pre-prog/pre-AI fetish Pestilence. Albums like Condemned to Misery and The Entombment of Chaos brought the bat and the boots to the beatdown and gave fans everything they could want. They’re masters of the basic death metal experience and don’t dabble too much with their sound from album to album.” Morbid bones.
GardensTale’s and Ferrous Beuller’s Top Ten(ish) of 2020
GardensTale and Ferrous Beuller uncork their best spirits of 2020 and share iron libations with everyone. Cheers!
Six Feet Under – Nightmares of the Decomposed Review
“They say the best things in life are free. They also say honesty is free, but it’s not. In fact, it usually comes attached to a very high price. That moment you have a few too many and tell your partner what you really think of their mum. Explaining to your brother that you sold his son’s spleen on the black market just so you could buy more vinyl. Or the crushing fact that not all death metal is created equal. The genre’s favorite whipping boys Six Feet Under are living proof of this.” Six Feet Underwhelming.
Cemetery Filth – Dominion Review
“For such an iconic band, there aren’t many modern groups that sound very much like Death. Sure, Gruesome’s whole schtick is sounding like them and Skeletal Remains have a hearty Death influence, but compared to the legions of bands that mimic Entombed or Incantation, Chuck Schuldiner’s brainchild seems underrepresented. After Live Burial answered the call earlier this month, Atlanta’s Cemetery Filth are here with their Dominion debut to profess their own love of Schuldiner’s work.” I am become Death.
Opprobrium – The Fallen Entities Review
“Opprobrium actually started life as Incubus. No, not the band whose name you were cursing the 10,000th time you heard “Drive” on the radio back in 2002—this Incubus was an early American death-thrash group who drew comparisons to Sepultura with their two classic albums, 1988’s Serpent Temptation and 1990’s Beyond the Unknown. Brothers and founding members Moyses and Francis Howard even share Sepultura’s Brazilian heritage and were inspired to write a third album after a trip to their homeland in 1999.” Beast from the past.
Mark Z.’s and L. Saunders’ Top Ten of 2018
More lists for the list machine! The men who unwisely go by their real names, Mark Z. and L. Saunders boldly proclaim their best albums of 2018.
