Old School Death Metal

Scythe – Boiled Alive Review

By Grin Reaper on February 13, 2026 in Reviews, Death Metal, 55 comments

“In the midst of a recent metal deep-dive, Romania’s Scythe skulked out from a Bandcamp back alley and bludgeoned me with the flat side of their blade, knocking me senseless with scuzzy shenanigans. We weren’t graced with a promo for Scythe’s self-released debut, but Boiled Alive packs in so much grimy panache that after my first listen, I had it shortlisted as someThing You Might Have Missed. Rather than wait several months before bringing attention to Boiled Alive, though, I volunteered to burn some midnight oil and write about this quartet from Constanța.” Get in the pot!

Terror Corpse – Ash Eclipses Flesh Review

By Saunders on November 17, 2025 in Reviews, Death Metal, 19 comments

“Already boasting a killer debut EP to their name in 2025, courtesy of the sick, old school deathgrind mayhem comprising Systems of Apocalypse, Texan wrecking crew Terror Corpse hit the ground running in their short time together. The newly minted outfit come seasoned with underground cred, featuring members that have logged time in the likes of Malignant Altar, Oceans of Slumber, Necrofier and Insect Warfare. Recording the EP as a five-piece, debut full-length Ash Eclipses Flesh finds Terror Corpse stripping back to a trio and shifting tact musically” Death walking Texas Rangers.

Retching – Charming the Decomposed Review

By Saunders on August 28, 2025 in Reviews, Death Metal, 46 comments

“Throwing their hats in the old school death revivalist ring, relative newcomers Retching explode out the rusty graveyard gates with a no-nonsense, pretension-free blast of old school death. Seeking to add their own spin and identity to separate themselves from the horde of old school aficionados, while leaving reinvention for other folks, the Rhode Island duo unleash debut, Charming the Decomposed.” Singles night in the rot pit.

Entrails – Grip of Ancient Evil Review

By Saunders on July 21, 2025 in Reviews, Death Metal, 21 comments

“Rooted in the fertile graveyard turf of the Swedeath golden years, veterans Entrails occupy an interesting place in the revivalist old school Swedish death metal scene. Originally conceived in 1990 by sole original member Jimmy Lundqvist, the band lay dormant until Lundqvist resurrected the outfit with new bandmates in tow, unleashing a couple of long-gestating demos before eventually releasing their impressive debut Tales from the Morgue in 2010.” Guts is enough!

Ritual Ascension – Profanation of the Adamic Covenant Review

By Dear Hollow on March 9, 2025 in Reviews, 23 comments

“Profanation of the Adamic Covenant represents catacombs dripping with putridity and filth, the blasphemy called against the heavens from far below ground. It’s an upheaval from beneath our feet, the crawling and coagulant rot that spreads from abyss to abyss. The filth and blood clots our eyes, hearts, and minds, driving us deeper and deeper into the madness until our lungs are filled with mud. Ritual Ascension is transcendence and enlightenment achieved through the reveling and swallowing of the grime-soaked entrails through a vicious and ancient ritual, the lumbering deity whose mammoth footfalls and cloud of plague require payment in full. It’s a ritual to the god of the mud and disease, and a fist slammed into the underside of heaven.” Punishment rituals.

Gutless – High Impact Violence Review

By Saunders on November 29, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, 9 comments

“In a banner year for death metal of especially brutal, dissonant and challenging varieties, as we close in on the end of another action-packed year for metal, it’s time to return to the simpler joys of the death metal genre. Enter rising Australian upstarts Gutless. Following their 2018 demo release, the quartet finally unleashes their debut LP, High Impact Violence. Gutless make it clear from the outset they are wired into the old school framework of ’90s flavored death, pulling no punches.” Impact and violence, hold the guts.

Kaivs – After the Flesh Review

By Saunders on October 28, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, 6 comments

“Enter Rome, Italy’s Kaivs, dropping their full-length debut, After the Flesh, upon the masses. This unheralded act skews towards the traditional; eschewing advanced technicality, dissonant chaos, or songwriting trickery to instead bludgeon and heave through eight tracks, taking cues from the classic Swedeath scene, including legends such as Grave and Dismember.” Flesh and buzz.

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….

Evilyn – Mondestrunken Review

By Dear Hollow on August 16, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 22 comments

“At first glance, it appears that international death metal act Evilyn only has your demise and destruction in mind. Mondestrunken is uncompromisingly heavy, riffs pushed to their shimmering limits like oil from the collapsing god machine, hellish growls from beyond the stars, and drums funneled through warp speed directly into the collapsing horror of a black hole. It feels like a background of cosmic noise, lifeless, unfriendly, and directionless, but patience yields results: obelisks emerge into the view. Not that they were ever absent, but that our eyes could not behold them.” Evil in dark spaces.

Construct of Lethe – A Kindness Dealt in Venom Review

By Dear Hollow on July 2, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, 49 comments

“Construct of Lethe embodies a constant limbo of underrating, often in cahoots with acts like Desolate Shrine or Lantern in that they lay delicate fingers upon dissonance and grime without diving headlong into them, oft sporting a blackened edge. Instead of buying into mimicry, Tony Petrocelly’s quartet Construct of Lethe has embodied a darkness all of their own.” Constructed to destroy.