Latest Reviews
There are way too many records released every week - which one should you listen to? We want to help you by reviewing lots of records every week and you can also check out a little teaser before reading the whole thing. And if you want to, you can also browse through our archive and have a look at the amazing records you might have missed out on.
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Akouphenom - Death · Chaos · Void
27 Nov 2023 - Lucia
Black MetalDeath MetalA journey into the depths of the underworld would not be complete without the proper soundtrack. On this occasion, Akouphenom not only provide the perfect music for it, but also gives us fair warning of what lies ahead and they do it in a way that will leave the listener in awe with their sound that is dark, enchanting, unforgiving and a full-on sonic assault that will leave the listener wanting more.
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SÂVER - From Ember And Rust
26 Nov 2023 - Simon
SÂVER obliterate the notion of the tricky second album by producing a stunning album of the highest order!
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Leonov - Procession
24 Nov 2023 - Knut
Atmospheric Post-MetalDarkwaveLeonov proves with this third full-length once more that they are one of the most creative and innovative bands on the Post-Metal, Post-Rock, Atmospheric Metal, Darkwave, Doomgaze or whatever-genre scene today.
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MMTH - Infinite Heights
19 Nov 2023 - Thorsten
Post-RockSynthwaveAttention. This switch is gonna change your body building blocks underneath the black (hole) sun opposite the enemy of Andre Agassi. Jk. Or not?
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Marthe - Further in Evil
15 Nov 2023 - Thorsten
Black MetalCrust PunkWith this new record by Marthe it becomes clear again, why people burnt other people at the stake and why the term “witch” is nothing but a surrogate for “person not accepting the rules of a patriarchal society”. Let’s follow that thought a little onward and let’s also follow Marthe a b bit Further in Evil
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Mary Lattimore - Goodbye, Hotel Arkada
13 Nov 2023 - John O.
AmbientExperimentalWaking up in your hotel room overlooking a narrow bay, the gleaming afternoon sun ricocheting in infinite golden reflections, finally over the jet lag, the salty Adriatic breeze buffeting your hair and skin, the smell of the sea and coffee waft into your senses. The clink of glasses and the murmur of the hotel bar reach your ears, along with seagulls and the distant thrum of patrons splashing in the pool. After a few moments, you’re fully awake and the memory of what’s about to happen to this magical place returns. Your last stay at the famous Hotel Arkada, jewel of the Adriatic, as it is remembered by so many. The next time you come, it will be a different hotel altogether as the planned renovations take shape. One can only imagine the memories created in such a place, the richness of the lives lived within its walls. A fitting subject for a soundtrack of sorts, and the subject of the new album by harpist Mary Lattimore - Goodbye, Hotel Arkada.
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Briqueville - IIII
11 Nov 2023 - Gene
The latest entry in the sequence of psychological thrillers shakes up the approach and leaves us shaking in the dark.
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Lolita Terrorist Sounds - St. Lola
09 Nov 2023 - Stephan
AvantgardeNoise RockIndustrialMusic reviewing 101, today’s lesson: Berlin. Berlin is not only a city, but also an adjective in music reviewing. It stands for a certain array of spirit, attitude and clichès, which most people caring for music will immediately recognize as associated with Berlin, even if they cannot explain it any further. So Berlin is a useful tool if you as a reviewer are too lazy to elaborate on a style and just want to put one sufficing term out there. As an example the new album of Årabrot sounds impressively Berlin for its Scandinavian heritage. Of course artists like Bowie or Blixa Bargeld, who even wear aliases alliterating with it, are even Berliner that that. However the Berlinest album coming to my attention recently is the the debut of Lolita Terrorist Sounds.
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Sidus - Seismos
07 Nov 2023 - Daria
Post-RockIt’s now a fact that my attention is always caught by records that have a particular concept behind their creation. My most recent find is this three song-concept album by Sidus. A balanced mix of Post-Rock with atmospheric and instrumental Post-Metal that revolves around the developing process of earthquakes and panic attacks. If you want to know how it goes, keep on reading!
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Bees Made Honey In The Vein Tree - Aion
04 Nov 2023 - Stephan
Doom MetalPost RockHeavy PsychIf you’re new to Bees Made Honey In The Vein Tree your first assumption about the group from Stuttgart could be that they are some kind of Earth tribute act. And both the Drone as well as the more laid back Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull sound of Dylan Carlson are indeed part of their DNA. But those strands are also only a small fraction of everything their third studio album has to offer.
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Ershetu - Xibalba
03 Nov 2023 - Thorsten
Avantgarde Black MetalWorld Death MetalWhen it comes to Metal with World Music influences there is always that thin red line (or razor’s edge, if you like) that the bands have to walk on. On the one side of the blade you will find Sepultura (and/or Soulfly) and on the other are bands like Ill Niño – you can decide for yourself which one is the good side. Now we get a new (symphonic) Blackened Death Metal band named Ershetu who perform on the Sepultura side of things and who have released their debut on Debemur Morti Productions. Really good stuff!
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The Black Garden Circus - Epochè
02 Nov 2023 - Knut
Post-RockA billowing current of energetic, fuzzy Post-Rock surges effortlessly from the softest touches of music and meanders through gushes of musical distortion. The trio of Paolo Cirillo, Gianluca Zannone and Libero Verardi knows how to fuse guitar, drums, and bass to create impeccable musical art as a way to develop the ideas behind their music.
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Rorcal - Silence
31 Oct 2023 - Thorsten
Black MetalGrindcoreNoiseWhich moment might be the hardest in all of the history of mankind? Answer Rorcal: That one moment – for each person individually or as a whole society – when we realize that the end is unavoidable that we cannot change it anymore no matter what we do about it. The moment of total silence. Of course, their new album is not one of complete Silence, it’s just the idea behind it. Nevertheless, this kind of “silence” might be one of the most brutal, devastating and haunting ones ever.
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Unruly Disturbance - Melodic Drone
27 Oct 2023 - John O.
AmbientDroneOn their accomplished debut album Melodic Drone, Unruly Disturbance deftly blends expansive electronic soundscapes and resonant, expressive melodies across a lengthy 16 tracks. With a run time of more than an hour and a half, there are plenty of immersive worlds in which to lose one’s self.
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Crystal Coffin - The Curse Of Immortality
27 Oct 2023 - Martin
Melodic Blackened MetalPssst, you…yeah, YOU! In search for new music? Then I have something special for you…a band still somehow relatively unknown, but oh so good. A hidden champion of Melodic Blackened Metal, just waiting for you to be unveiled. A maelstrom of heavy circular riffing, forward pushing drumming, sweeping melodies and intriguing storytelling, that will make an lasting impact, the second you hear it´s mesmerizing charm. Accompanied by unique visual elements and a warm, clear sound, you get the full package here. So, do I have your attention?! Then let me introduce you to Crystal Coffin and their new masterpiece The Curse Of Immortality.
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Slowdive - Everything is Alive
23 Oct 2023 - Thorsten
SynthwaveIndie-RockLush. If there is one thing that my wife and I cannot agree on, then it is my preference for soap of that name, because if I use soap and not some kind of creamy soap lotion or something, then I like that one. However, when putting on Slowdive’s new record everything is alive we both agree that lushness can be something great, because when there is a band with the ability to wrap you in a blanket and give you comfort that feels as lush as this one – then it’s a moment for the heart. Even though its background story is a very sad one.
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Novere - Nothing Stays Hidden in Daylight
22 Oct 2023 - Jeremy
Post-MetalSludge MetalThe soul crushing full-length debut from London based Post-Metal collective Novere has seemingly, for me at least, came out of nowhere to thrust themselves at the top of AOTY discussion.
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Dymna Lotva - The Land Under The Black Wings - Blood
21 Oct 2023 - Stephan
Post Black MetalWar. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!
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Ed Herbers - Coming of Age
20 Oct 2023 - John O.
AmbientElectronic Chill OutEd Herbers takes listeners on a “nighttime odyssey” with his latest album, Coming of Age. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Herbers’ contemplative piano and guitar sojourns evoke strong feelings of nostalgia through a rich compositional style focused on graceful melodies and gossamer soundscapes. The album explores themes of loneliness and angst that unfurl along the journey of a supposed protagonist of a movie that doesn’t yet exist.
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Årabrot - Of Darkness and Light
19 Oct 2023 - Hunter
When thinking about ‘Rock’n’Roll’, it is likely that someone might imagine their father talking about back when bands made ‘real music’, classic rock songs played on the radio, or cringe-worthy karaoke renditions of Journey witnessed at a bar. Over the decades, rock music has distanced itself from its blues-y origins and branched into innumerable genres and subgenres where the original moniker no longer provides an accurate portrayal of the music. At its best, rock is a blanket term. In most situations, however, describing music as ‘Rock’ has more or less come to mean ‘not Hip-Hop or Country music’. The wanton abandon and loosely-controlled sonic chaos of electric-blues music as well as the label created to describe the style in its infancy are relics of the past which have lost relevance and meaning long ago. What does ‘Rock’n’Roll’ even mean anymore? On their most recent release, Norwegian outfit Årabrot imbibes the essence of rock throughout an eclectic assortment of tracks.
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First Came The Shadow - s/t
18 Oct 2023 - Knut
Post-RockOn their third, eponymous album First Came the Shadow have widened their musical scope with a layered album with wonderful, complex orchestration where the instruments infiltrate each other. At times the music sounds elusive, sometimes dense and engulfing.
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Drache - Devenir le rien
17 Oct 2023 - Lucia
Black MetalThere are albums that I know I will immediately love without even listening to them and then be blown away by the beauty and the emotion. Such is the case of Drache’s Devenir le rien. This is music that will pierce your soul, a downpour of emotion, bleakness and all those haunting things and feelings that lurk deep inside, just waiting to come out.
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Melan Selas - Zephyrean Hymns
16 Oct 2023 - Daria
Black MetalAtmospheric Black MetalThis time I may have crossed a peculiar line. I always try to explain why I choose some records to review, and I have my reasons for this one as well. It may not be the kind of music that I listen to everyday but I have my reasons for this choice: female vocals (It’s always nice to feel represented in music), aggressive and intriguing riffs, use of a language that is not English (yes sorry, I’m a simple linguist, I see lyrics in a foreign language and I’m already intrigued). Another brief note to catch your attention: if you’re into black metal with an epic twist this record may be for you!
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Sulphur Aeon - Seven Crowns And Seven Seals
13 Oct 2023 - Martin
Death MetalIn times like these, do you also want to escape the harshness of reality without neglecting its very existence? Maybe even observing the power of fear embodied, the potential for chaos we experience, from close range, but nonetheless securely enjoyed in the safe space of the imaginary? You might be utterly captivated by the unknown and its presence intensively felt. So behold! I will convey to you the greatest ”pleasure” you can have with the embodiement of boundless evil this year: the mighty Sulphur Aeon and their newest sonical take on the Cthulhu -mythos of Lovecraftian lore. Melodic Blackened Death Metal at its most diverse and potent!
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Svalbard - The Weight Of The Mask
11 Oct 2023 - Gene
An incisive, fiery achievement unerring in vision and execution!
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