Testimony Records

Slaughterday – Dread Emperor Review

By Tyme on February 13, 2026 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 25 comments

“Longtime readers of AMG may remember the last time German OSDM stalwarts Slaughterday graced these digital pages. It was long enough ago that EPs were still getting the full-on review treatment, which enabled Slaughterday’s second release, Ravenous, to land a respectable 3.0/5.0 rating. What I was surprised to discover was the lack of any additional coverage, despite Slaughterday dropping three subsequent long players since then. Whether this fact boils down to a lack of promo or a lack of interest is irrelevant, considering I was able to wrestle Slaughterday’s newest offering of odorous offal, Dread Emperor, from the murkiest depths of the sump.” T.G.I.S.

Stuck in the Filter: June 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity on September 10, 2025 in Reviews, Stuck in the Filter, Ambient, Deathcore, Drone, Electronic Metal, Folk Metal, Heavy Metal, Industrial Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal, 149 comments

Filters are hard to keep clean because of all this filth. Don’t make it worse!

KHNVM – Cosmocrator Review

By ClarkKent on September 9, 2025 in Reviews, Death Doom, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 14 comments

“While it looks like a jumble of consonants, KHNVM actually has an easy pronunciation: Kha-noom. Their sinister new album, Cosmocrator, derives its title from a Greek word that roughly translates to “ruler of the world” and can also refer to Satan. However, these guys aren’t Greek. Rather, KHNVM is based out of Germany, and frontman Obliterator was born in Bangladesh. Though there are three members pictured in the band photo below, Obliterator does the Billy Corgan thing and records everything but the drums. KHNVM released their first album, Foretold Monuments of Flesh, in 2019, and now six years later, Cosmocrator marks their fourth record. In that short span of time, KHNVM has gradually shifted from putrid death metal to a more nuanced death-doom sound.” Letters from the death trenches.

Azure Emote – Cryptic Aura Review

By Owlswald on July 29, 2025 in Reviews, Death Metal, Progressive Death, 25 comments

“Azure Emote is the project of two very busy musicians, vocalist Mike Hrubovcak (ex-Monstrosity, ex-Vile) and guitarist Ryan Moll (Hypoxia, Total Fucking Destruction). In between their work with many acclaimed death metal acts, the duo reconvenes every five years or so to craft a new Azure Emote record. What began in 2010 with Chronicles of an Aging Mammal as an experimental think tank for their genre-defying ideas has steadily evolved into their own eclectic brand of avant-garde death metal.” Emotions of brutality.

Leper Colony – Those of the Morbid Review

By Tyme on April 30, 2025 in Reviews, Death Metal, 45 comments

“Have you ever played Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? When you try to connect another actor to Kevin Bacon via the films they’ve been in, winners make that connection in the fewest “degrees” possible? A quick reference of the Archives convinced me Rogga Johansson may be the Kevin Bacon of the Swedish metal scene, perhaps the entire metal scene. You’d be hard-pressed to argue that but not to connect many other musicians to him in six degrees or less, as Rogga contributes to forty-eight active bands and has seventeen past outfits on his resume. Rogga’s longstanding relationship with German vocalist and friend Marc Grewe (Morgoth) culminated in the 2020 formation of Leper Colony, which hit the ground running with its self-titled debut in 2023.” Keep it together!

Carnal Tomb – Embalmed in Decay Review

By Steel Druhm on November 4, 2023 in Reviews, Death Metal, 34 comments

“Prior to the Great Plague, Holdeneye discovered the vile charms of Germany’s Carnal Tomb and was quite taken with their sophomore outing Abhorrent Veneration. He appreciated the mixture of old school and Swedeath and the band’s ability to weave in restrained proggy elements without upsetting the corpse cart. Several years and many weird societal shifts later, we get their third helping of gruesome bits, Embalmed in Decay. The band’s basic template remains in place though it shifts the focus more completely to old school death with fewer Swedeath d-beatings taking place.” Sex after death.

Sodomisery – Mazzaroth Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on September 8, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 74 comments

“The Great Demise combined Dissection black, Hypocrisy death, and Amon Amarth melodeath to deliver a rollercoaster of intricacies, riff changes, builds, and atmospheres. At times, it worked. At times, it didn’t. As a whole, The Great Demise was missing the fluidity to pull everything together. Now they’re back with a Covid-inspired follow-up whose theme concerns mental health. This concept alone instills high-charged emotion into the album. But how Sodomisery delivers it completely floored me.” Sodom misers!

Temple of Dread – World Sacrifice Review

By Holdeneye on July 20, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, 18 comments

“Temple of Dread play a style of death metal that is fervently faithful to the old school version of the genre. Worshiping at the throne of Pestilence and early Death, the band wastes little effort on trivialities like atmosphere or innovation, but instead takes pleasure in beating you across the face over and over with their thrashy riffs.” The world had it coming.

Sodomisery – The Great Demise Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on May 26, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 34 comments

“Sweden’s Sodomisery began as a project that included live members from the monstrous Diabolical, as well as Katatonia’s Niklas Sandin on bass and Netherbird’s Johan Fridell on vox. At the completion of their 2017 self-titled EP, Fridell and Sandin left and a new lineup formed. Borrowing from their experiences with Diabolical, Sodomisery unleashes a crushing mix of black, death, Swedeath, thrash, and melodeath for their debut, The Great Demise. I know what you’re thinking: that’s a lot to digest. Well, at least the record title sounds uplifting?” Big death, big prizes!

Carnal Tomb – Abhorrent Veneration Review

By Holdeneye on July 26, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Testimony Records, Death Metal, 27 comments

“I’m sitting here watching the sun illuminate the leaves of the many trees in my gigantic new backyard, and I’m finally allowing myself to entertain a glimmer of hope that this all might work out. Ask Mrs. Holdeneye and she will tell you that I can become quite despondent and Eeyore-like when exposed to even mild amounts of stress, so moving twice this year has affected my baseline mood significantly. Perhaps this explains why I’ve been listening to far more death metal during the last few months than is my norm — I’ve been unconsciously trying to vent the frustration that comes from uncertainty and constant change, things I love just about as much as Ron Swanson does.”Stressball deathball.