Imperial Triumphant

Gorrch – Stillamentum Review

Gorrch – Stillamentum Review

“Founded in 2010 and hailing from Cavaso del Tomba in northeastern Italy, Gorrch is the unsettling black metal project of fraternal duo, Chrimsicrin and Droich. Now, a decade after 2015 debut Nera estasi, Gorrch plumbs the depths of the abyss, seeking to give voice to the primal fear and disgust of being covered in roiling, writhing masses of maggots.” It’s NOT a gorrch!

ByoNoiseGenerator – Subnormal Dives [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]

ByoNoiseGenerator – Subnormal Dives [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]

“Me, falling in love with a jazzgrind record? Of all the things that surprised me this year, that takes the cake by a wide margin. Of course, it follows that the band responsible for this change of heart is no less than my (formerly) least favorite act in the turboniche subgenre, Russia’s ByoNoiseGenerator.” Panic at the jazzgrind emporium.

Lychgate – Precipice Review

Lychgate – Precipice Review

“Dense, dark, and demented, Lychgate’s Precipice breaks nearly six years of silence with music as unsettling as the concept it’s built upon. The album’s primary inspiration draws from E. M. Forster’s short story “The Machine Stops,” a dystopian tale first published in 1909 that cautions against over-reliance on technology. In it, The Machine enables people to govern their lives from isolated chambers, interacting virtually rather than in person after the Earth’s surface becomes uninhabitable. Integrating notions such as blind obedience to technology, instantaneous communication, and climate change furnishes a lavish backdrop for London’s Lychgate and their fourth LP.” Throw open the gate!

Strigiform – Aconite Review

Strigiform – Aconite Review

“Sometimes, you catch a glint from deep within the festering promo heap and you know exactly what kind of beast you’re about to prod. Strigiform’s debut, Aconite, radiates the unmistakable stench of “I, Voidhanger-core”—that wonderfully cursed strain of aural decimation that critics slobber over while normal metalheads back away slowly, usually on smaller wierdo labels like I, Voidhanger or Transcending Obscurity. Think along the lines of AMG darlings from this year like Hexrot, Patristic and Ritual Ascension.” Voidbanger.

Abhorrent Expanse – Enter the Misanthropocene Review

Abhorrent Expanse – Enter the Misanthropocene Review

“How experimental is too experimental? That’s the question Chicago’s Abhorrent Expanse posits. It’s clear from the title: Enter the Misanthropocene enters to play jazz and fuck shit up, and “Bitches Brew” is on its final notes. When the Lord of the Promo Pit designated the quartet as “death-drone,” I was intrigued and gobbled up rights. It was clear from the jump that Abhorrent Expanse was not the death metal act with a mammoth guitar tone I had hoped, but an improvisational free jazz quartet that decides to do extreme metal sometimes, with death metal, grindcore, and, yes, drone metal making short-lived appearances.” Expansive ambitions.