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FAUST – Death From Beyond – Review

Before we dive into the realm of 2026, let’s peak back at this killer 2022 release from Faust. If you are a fan of mid 90s Melodic Black Metal, you are in for a fucking treat.

The album wastes little time setting the scene before blasting off with razor sharp fury with some killer melody. This is an album that grabs you by the throat from the get go before fully pulling you in. The vocals perfectly match the intensity that follow  the rest of the assault.

Michael Hellstorm is the single maniacal madman behind this project. The fact that there is only one person behind all of this chaos is truly surprising. Without any additional song writers, Hellstrom crafted an immersive listing experience as each track pulls you in even further.

The pace slows down a bit with the haunting “Ashes,” followed up quickly with “Night Eternal,” which really showcase Hellstorm’s vocals. Adding in the background vocals and some killer grooves this may be one of my favorite tracks on this album.

The production on this album is incredible, especially for a “Black Metal” album. While it may lack the conventional “recorded in a medieval dungeon’s bathroom” approach reserved for most black metal bands, don’t let that stop you from giving this album a spin. On its surface it may appear to be yet another band trying to recapture the dark spirit of the classic Melodic Black Metal scene but Faust continue to develop that sound.

I am excited to hear what they do next.

 

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EXILLIUM NOCTIS – Pactum Diaboli – REVIEW

 

 

Pactum Diaboli roughly translates to “pact with the devil,” from Latin and with a quick look at the album cover, it dosen’t look our dude walked away with a good deal. Back with their sophomore album, the Greek black/death metal  are out to prove why they are one of the best bands to come out of the Greek extreme metal scene.

Starting with the out a haunting instrumental, Exilium Noctis brings the pain with the second track, “All Shall Burn.” With it’s rapid vocal delivery, frenzied riffs and blasing beats  It’s technically brutal musically and evil AF lyrically. While the sound is and production are mostly clean, Exilium Noctis does not waste a note on superfluous solos or needless noise.

Exilium Noctis’s blends in plenty of death metal with their black metal and it tastes great. The technical skills here are tight and the production is clean as can be. They can also be raw and nasty.This combined with a heavy helping of black metal give us plenty of darkened chaotic mayhem.

And that’s just the way we like it.

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KIRITSIS – REVIEW

This past week, managing to make it outdoors should have come with some sort of trophy. It’s hot, thick and sludgy and just generally nasty.

Just like this debut album by Indianapolis Doom/Hardcore band, Kiritsis.

Starting off with, “Knuckles,” Kiritsis launch a heavy head nodding attack with their first strike. It’s a nice lean and mean that excently leads the charge. “Locusts,” delivers a more intense galloping feel that will no doubt wake up the kids looking to mosh.

The mixture of both hardcore and sludgy doom here is an interesting one. The influence of hardcore tones and shouted vocals work well to establish the a new blend to an old genre.

“It Ain’t Easy,” takes a turn and goes deep into all of the atmospheric dread you may or may not have been looking for. This track slowly builds and builds until it completely buries you. “Like the Taste” fires off next with a hardcore fury that wants to snap your neck. It’s brief but it’s animosity leaves a mark.

 

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ASHEN – Ritual of Ash – Review

Ashen released a pretty rad debut EP, Godless Oath back in August or 2021. This little EP was able to spark enough fury with it’s no nonsense approach to which can be considered “classic Death Metal.” No gimmicks, no “retro inspired” tracks. Just straight up kick you in the balls , born in the fire Death Metal.

Yee Haw. Let’s flppin’ go.

Ashen first full length, Ritual of Ash was released in January of 2023. Opening with “Ritual,” Ashen starts off with a slow crawl while managing to include pretty sick groove. “Deadsight,” follows much of the same path almost slowing down into Doom territory in moments. Don’t get too comfortable though as their is still plenty of tremlo and blast beat terror mixed within.

Threshold and Blood slow things down a bit here and there in order to deliver either a new killer hook or more savage vocals. “Cursed Rebirth” starts off with an awesome melodic riff that plods the track along. Personally, this is my favorite track off the album, part fist pumping, part face bashing, all awesome!

The next 2 tracks feel like they step out of the early 90’s. Old school Death Metal fans take note here. “Embrace of Extinction,” and “Gravemind,” are classics in the making. Here are some incredible vocals with some real nasty riffs.

“Buried in Ice,” is another track for the Melodic Death Metal fans. The riff here really reminds me of Glasgow era Arch Enemy. (That’s a compliment) “Inhuman,” isn’t the best song to close the album on. It’s not bad in the least but fails to leave as much as a lasting impression as other songs may have.

If you are looking for some “Old School” Death Metal but are tired of so many bands trying too hard, this Bud’s you.

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PYRRHIC SALVATION – Manifestum – REVIEW

You gotta love life’s “happy little accidents.” Sometimes some of the best things in life came to be from unexpected sources. Pyrrihic Salvation began as online band sending tabs through the digital universe. With that, they began to create a technical death/black metal monster. Their most recent release is, When Society Crumbles, but for this review let’s look at their 2022 release, Manifestum.

With just 4 tracks and under 30 mins, Pyrrhic Salvation perform a rather ambitious amount brutality within those limited constraints. Hell, the second track is a 2 minute instrumental!

The EP is crushingly heavy. Plenty of brutal vocals with noisy underlying grooves can be instantaneously be felt. Darkness just oozes throughout the tracks. Plenty of chaotic energy. What really stands out here and calls for additional  listens is the amount of densely packed and multi layered technical sound going on here. What is equally interesting here is that the band does not limit this recording technique to the tech death metal side alone put includes plenty of black metal elements as well.

With plenty of eerie and dark elements fused with some impressive tech death work Pyrrhic Salvation prove early on in their careers that they can meld many different styles together.

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WYNDRIDER – Revical – REVIEW

We are back with a second helping of Stoner Doom for the month of January. This time around, things are a little soft and calm with WyndRider at the helm.

WyndRider emerged from the Appalachian Mountain area of Tennessee in and released their debut self titled album in 2023. Their must be something in the water of the Bible Belt because this is some serious good ol’ Southern Doom.

This album lazily floats you along with deep, warm and fuzzy tones instantly gets your body moving. Vocalist Chloe Gould perfectly bluesy/soul/haunting vocals blend into the groove perfectly. As the tracks plod along you’ll feel if you can actually feel a smoky haze start to feel the room around you. WyndRyder do a great job of capturing that early Black Sabbath feeling in Metal; Occult rock with great grooves and plenty of dark atmosphere.

Listening to Revival you will instantly feel the Sabbath influenced riffs with an almost distinctive tone. Don’t let that discount the band as another simple Sabbath worship band. Gould’s warm and haunting vocals really add a bit of a swagger that helps WyndRyder over the pack.

Album #2 for WyndRyder is yet another step forward for the group.  With 2 strong releases in a relatively short time, WyndRyder is a band to watch.

 

 

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Faster than the Devil 3 – Review

 

Here we go again!

Wise Blood’s Faster than the Devil compilation series, started in 2022, has quickly become one of my favorite album releases to look forward to each and every year. Sure 2025 looks nutty but at least we will get Faster than the Devil IV! 

Remember the legendary Metal Blade’s Metal Massacre compilation series that introduced the world to some of the biggest names in Thash such as Slayer and Metallia something or other. That’s exactly what’s happening in this series. So if you’ve always wanted to be into a band before they got big, you’re looking for something fresh and cool or if you’ve been wondering if the new kids can still Thrash, this comp is for you.

The 4 bands included this time around are Bloodletter (Chicago), Ninth Realm (Maryland), Acid Mass (Cincinnati) and Grozov (Philadelphia.) Each band provided 3 tracks of brain melding thrash metal that runs the gambit of the genre.

Faster than the Devil 3 has it all. Old school early 80’s traditional thrash, nasty black metal and crust and some more light hearted (but still awesome) tracks.

Grozov’s closing track, “Bitchin’ Leather,” is a fun bop to listen to as I wait for the announcement  of Faster than the Devil IV. 

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A LA CARTE – Born to Entertain – REVIEW

 

I’m not a big turkey guy when it comes to Thanksgiving. Sure, I’ll savory some on the day but for me the real stars of the meal are the abundant offering of side dishes available. Among my favorites are mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and cranberry sauce (but only if it retains its traditional dog food can shape.)

If A La Carte’s new album is any indication, I will be trying a few new sides this year. “Ashtray Souffle,” “Chamber Pot Pie,” and “Maxi Pad Thai,” are just a few of the scrumptious options available on their latest release, Born to Entertain. 

A La Carte out of Lima, Ohio accurately describes itself as “Brutal gruesome food porn with a beat.” Beyond the humorous gimmick is an incredible band that has already upped their game from their debut album, Soup Dejour. Opening with the title track, A La Carte waste no time with thunderous beats, devilish dual vocals, some killer riffs.

The sound bites are the perfect palate cleanser as you move on to the next dish (or track). While the song titles and lyrics are goofy and fun don’t let that cause you to sleep on the band’s incredible musicianship as the songs are incredibly technical and savage. The dual vocals really up the game from their previous release. “Chamber Pot Pie “is one of the best offerings from this meal.

There are also plenty of good ol’ monster and caveman riffs to keep even the most jaded Death Metal fans happy. These cannibalistic cooks certainly know their way around a recording studio just as well as they know their way around a kitchen. Born to Entertain does just that and you will find yourself going back for seconds (and thirds).

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MORGUE TERROR – Violent and Murderous Thoughts – Review

 

Fuck this holiday shit. Let’s get Nasty. Morgue Teror is back with again with their second EP of 2024, Violent and Murderous Thoughts. The band, fitting from Buffalo New York, with their down and dirty, murky as fuck old school Death Metal are here to chase away any of those pesky Xmas Carols or Karens.

From the moment the needle drops on this EP, you are punched square in the jaw and kicked in the bread basket for good measure. The addition of drummer Dustin Klimek (ex Full of Hell) Morgue Terror is already showing significant growth since their debut EP earlier this year. Klimek’s aggressive assault adds plenty of power to an already violent sound.

The vocals are super guttural and savage. I can’t understand a thing he’s going on about. He could be singing about his recent trip to the grocery store for all I care. The album tracks are mostly about murders committed by serial killers and other tales to tell your children before sending them off to bed.

While this EP is filled with plenty of break neck brutality there are plenty of groove elements as well. “Poisonous Prayer,” starts out with funky filling bass line before settling into some nice infectious and nasty grooves.

Morgue Terror has shown some impressive growth from their last EP which was just released earlier this year. With their uncompromising brutality of classic Death Metal that is raw and nasty with a touch of more modern production.

Turn this one up!

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RESTLESS DREAMS – Review

 

I freakin’ love Graveripper. Loud, fast and filthy they are totally my jam. Corey Park is the vocalist, guitarist and one of the main writers for Graveripper, and his latest offering, Restless Dreams is another banger but for completely different reasons.

Parks created an eerie soundscape with his Restless Dreams project that is heavily influenced by the survival horror video game series, Silent Hill. Having never played a game in the series, I can’t compare the album to the game but I can totally feel the uneasiness, wonder, and terror tensions in the music.

Unlike other ambient albums, Ward goes for more of an industrial approach, leaning into much more of a video game feel. The opening track sounds exactly like what one would hear as they load the title screen and begin their epic adventure.  Whereas, the closing track sounds like something that would play over the closing credits.

Again, I’m not sure how well the songs aline with the source material, I can confidently say even without any of that knowledge, I enjoy the hell out of this release.

Now I’m going to hunt down a cheap copy of Silent Hill.