2025 is fading in the rearview, but the Filters still need scrubbing. See what was left over after all the holiday debauchery.
Krisiun
Unmerciful – Devouring Darkness Review
“I’ve said it before. I’m not the biggest fan of tech-death. Sure, some of it can be fun, inspired lunacy, but I prefer my death dumb, ugly, and violent. I don’t need someone twanging away on a fretless bass or shredding a 30-string axe while I get my graveyard gorilla on. Thusly, Kansas-based tech-death luminaries, Origin, always left me somewhat nonplussed. Enter Unmerciful, the brutal death metal project featuring former Origin members, Clinton Appelhanz and Jeremy Turner. Though very talented musicians, these fiends prefer smashing skulls over parading a cosmic fuckton of notes past you while toying with quirky and off-kilter tempos.” Children of the gore corn.
Rebaelliun – Under the Sign of Rebellion Review
“It’s always an interesting leap into the unknown to review a band you have no experience with despite them having released several albums. Such is the case with Brazil’s Rebaelliun. They’ve been banging around the South American death metal scene since 1998 but haven’t been particularly prolific, releasing only 3 full-lengths prior to this their fourth platter, Under the Sign of Rebellion. With a sound similar to Krisiun, Morbid Angel, and The Ordher, they aren’t treading any virgin soil, but they’ve been trafficking in thrashy, blasty death for a long time and they know their chosen style well.” Up the Rebaels!
Cambion – Conflagrate the Celestial Refugium Review
“There’s a lot going on in death metal: there’s the swampy, smelly, drag-your-corpse through the mire old school sort; there’s the cosmic, existential, ponder-the-time-signatures-of-the-universe sort; there’s the thrown down, bro town, drag-your-grandma-through-the-pit sort; there’s the corpse riding, shriek gliding, casual-blasphemy-on-a-weekday kind. Then, there’s also death metal – the angry sort that starts angry and stays angry. Cambion’s gimmick is angriness and speed.” Spree-Cambion era.
Krisiun – Scourge of the Enthroned Review
“Metal fans are fucking hard to please. We bitch when a band becomes predictable, and then we bitch some more when they experiment outside of our comfort zones. But whether you’re a contrary bastard or not, dependability is always a risky approach. We can investigate the paradox, in part, by applying two methodologies. First: the Slayer Equivalency. The act of happening upon a winning formula and then bleeding it to death despite rapidly diminishing relevance. And the second: the Angel Corpse Optimisation. A fast and frantic existence, knowingly brief, but with enough foresight to burn out with a nuclear burst of atomic violence. Brazil’s fatal fraternity, Krisiun, are on the cusp of releasing their latest full-length, but on which side of the hypothesis do they stand?” Brazil returns to wax your ass.
Blood of the Wolf – II: Campaign of Extermination Review
“Blackened death metal is like pizza. Just as mediocre pizza is still generally satisfying, so too is decent blackened death metal still pretty enjoyable when you’re craving something extreme. Case in point: Chicago’s Blood of the Wolf.” Blood pizza (with pineapple).
Degial – Predator Reign Review
“It’s that time of year again where people are scrambling for gifts to buy people, malls to populate, and year-end lists to create. It’s also the time of year when I try to step outside of my blackened, doom-laden comfort zone and try my hand at less bleak, more visceral waters. In other words, I done burned myself out on black metal for a bit, and what better pick-me-up is there than Swedish death metal?” Satisfying like Swedeath Fish.
Nervosa – Agony Review
“Name the first band that comes to mind when I say Brazil. OK, now name a second one. With some countries like Sweden, the choices are endless. The two picks made are usually based on my favorite bands or bands whose albums were most recently spun. In the case of countries like Brazil, my mind goes straight to timeless classics. Old-school Sepultura and Krisiun. But this game only works once. If you ask me again to name the first two Brazilian bands that come to mind, I will give the same answers. But what if you ask me to name a third? In that case, I’d add Nervosa to the list.” This game isn’t a lot of fun.
Necronomicon – Advent of the Human God Review
“Despite being dubbed the “Chameleon of Rock” for his ever-changing style, the late David Bowie didn’t agree with this title. “For me a chameleon is something that disguises itself to look as much like its environment as possible,” he once said. “I always thought I did the exact opposite of that.” But fret not, you fanatical herpetophiliacs out there, Canadian blackened-death trio Necronomicon is proof positive that musical chameleons do, in fact, exist.” Those who deny the existence of musical chameleons may be musical chameleons themselves. Trust nothing.
70,000 Tons of Metal Live Review
“I don’t agree with my dad on everything, but there’s one thing we do agree about: cruises are the best way to vacation. Free all-you-can-eat buffets, breezy tropical weather, alcohol and entertainment available everywhere, and – most importantly – you’re always within walking distance of your room, so you never have to worry about getting a DUI or throwing up in an Uber on your ride back to the Red Roof Inn. But a cruise with 60 metal bands and over 3,000 fans from all over the world, making a four day round-trip to Jamaica with bars that never close? That’s a whole different beast entirely!” In the Navy, you can rock the seven seas!
