Alekhines Gun

The Lion, the Blog, and the Black Metal

Korp – And Darker It Shall Become Review

By Alekhines Gun on September 9, 2025 in Reviews, 5 comments

“One of my favorite things about metal is how there’s always some name you’ve never heard of who helped kickstart (or at least evolve) our beloved genre. For every towering pillar we are all familiar with, there’s always a lesser heralded name toiling away in the shadows of history, making their unsung contributions to the development of sound and song. Today’s subject comes from Sweden under the moniker Korp (Swedish for “raven”), founded in the 90s and unleashing a trio of albums from ’97 to 2001 before calling it a day a few years later. They made a return in 2017, and a series of EPs in subsequent years have tenderized and marinated their comeback full-length, And Darker It Shall Become.” Korpus delectable?

Blutsauger – Nocturnal Blood Tyrants

By Alekhines Gun on August 29, 2025 in Reviews, 48 comments

“Raw black metal is a tricky proposition. There’s an extremely thin line to walk between production choices designed to add mood and atmosphere to compositions via a wall of auditory fog and production choices that sound like someone threw their equipment down….wait, haven’t we done this already? We sure have, and boy oh boy have we landed on the opposite side of the coin. While Italy is most known for its symphonic (Fleshgod Apocolypse) and tech death (Hour of Penance) scenes, its black metal collective is also alive and well, doing their own thing in their dark corner of the world. Today’s offering is the debut release by duo Blutsauger (German for “Bloodsucker”), coming hot off the heels of sole demo Path of the Bleeding Dead.” MidsommerBlut.

Fell Omen – Caelid Dog Summer Review

By Alekhines Gun on August 15, 2025 in Black Metal, 94 comments

“Raw black metal is a tricky proposition. There’s an extremely thin line to walk between production choices designed to add mood and atmosphere to compositions via a wall of auditory fog and production choices that sound like someone threw their equipment down a block of concrete stairs and deemed it “artistic.” Countless one-man projects launch all the time to throw their hat in the ring with the Black Cilices and Paysage D’hivers of the world, with results ranging from formidable to unlistenable. Hailing from Greece, Fell Omen are newcomers to this arena, with their second album dropping a meagre six months after their first. Such a rapid turnaround implies either a deep creative well or a collection of kiddie-pool shallow ideas, so let’s dive in and see what these dog summer days have to offer.” Never unchain(mail) the knight.

Grimnis – The Path ov the Flame Review

By Alekhines Gun on August 12, 2025 in Reviews, 45 comments

“The great Gardenstale may be on a bit of a hiatus, but his mission for 2025 remains ingrained: give more attention to bands brave enough to hit us up directly. No label interference, no wanky paragraphs of how life-changing an album is, just a collection of fellows submitting themselves to our lashings. Imagine my surprise to see in our contact forms some honest-to-goodness Germanic deathcore, and a fresh debut at that! Deathcore proper is received questionably around these parts, with fellows Iceberg and Dear Hollow as its more staunch defenders. Still, Grimnis was brave enough to reach out directly, so let’s reward their optimism and subject their own release to our blackened flames.” MOAR core??

Symphobia – Hideously Traumatic Review

By Alekhines Gun on July 22, 2025 in Reviews, 39 comments

“Another day, another fresh debut by a slab of young hopefuls. Today’s offering comes by way of Indonesia in the form of trio Symphobia, dropping their first LP Hideously Traumatic after a sole self-titled demo the year before. At a concise two songs and sporting some charmingly ghoulish artwork, that demo was a vile little slab of promising violence, which leaned more into the modern slam trappings of Submerged than the usual brutal death proper Indonesia is known for. No member turnover and a short gap between releases imply a band with a musical vision and an eagerness to slot themselves into the next generation of woe-bringers; do they offer enough to get you back to therapy?” Indonesian nastiness.

Recorruptor – Sorrow Will Drown Us All Review

By Alekhines Gun on July 20, 2025 in Reviews, Death Metal, 40 comments

“One of the most entertaining things about describing death metal in any of its iterations is the limitless well of hyperbolic descriptors one can conjure. Older monikers like “crushes,” “brutalizes,” and “heavy” have given way to fun artistic notions like “being attacked by killer bees,” “gored by rabid rhinos,” “and “being mated with by a coked out giraffe.” My own newest favorite phrase came by way of one of our loyal commentariat in the phrase “Taint kicker.” Michigan locals Recorruptor have arrived with their third LP, Sorrow Will Drown Us All, and it seeks to continue to force the listener to dig deeper into their well of artistic metaphors to describe the raw carnage on display.” Words for violence.

Putridity – Morbid Ataraxia Review

By Alekhines Gun on June 30, 2025 in Reviews, 20 comments

“Formed in the early 2000s, Putridity are an Italian brutal death band. With roots as a solo project by a former member of Obscene Perversion, the outfit grew from a one-man-basement dream into a fully fledged lineup of slowly increasing reputation from infrequent release to release. A decade has passed since the previous full-length Ignominious Atonement, though the recently released Greedy Gory Gluttony EP finds the band with a refreshed but stable lineup and an enhanced taste for lethality.” Not Glutton-free.

Cryptopsy – An Insatiable Violence Review

By Alekhines Gun on June 19, 2025 in Reviews, 88 comments

“We all know the score for Cryptopsy by now. It’s been thirteen long years since their apology letter/fan service/throne rebuilding mission statement attempted to right the wrongs in the brutal death stalwart’s camp. But the wounds were too deep, the fanbase’s rage too visceral, and in the end, an otherwise excellent album passed by without much of the fanfare it deserved. In subsequent years, two slabs of incredible EP’s and one monster full-length have worked to regain the graces of death aficionados the world over.” The long road back from sellout.

Affliction Vector – Contra Hominem Review

By Alekhines Gun on June 16, 2025 in Reviews, Black Metal, 59 comments

“Affliction Vector have presented an album whose production is devoid of any real defining features. Somehow, at once lo-fi in mix yet hi-fi in tone, Contra Hominem offers a listen which avoids the abrasive, sharp tones of the brutal assault it pretends to offer, yet blends any melodies or riffs down into the mix until the entire album passes by in a listless haze.” Sound affliction.

Ossuary – Abhorrent Worship Review

By Alekhines Gun on May 19, 2025 in Doom Metal, Death Metal, 34 comments

“These days, it seems like people get their idea of what “cavernous” should sound like from people who read about caves in books. Incantation are supposed to be the torch bearers for the subgenre, but they have sounded more like a facsimile of the sound for decades, and even more filthy modern equivalents like Funebrarum or Vastum still manage to sound like a studio imitation of what should be a raw and organic aural depiction. Drilling through the limestone and sporting some concerningly bloody tools, Ossuary have arrived with their debut full-length Abhorrent Worship, with the promo itself promising the album will open up a cave for you, dear listener, to die in.” Turn your head and cave.