#Hellhammer

2025-03-04

Grave Infestation – Carnage Gathers Review

By Steel Druhm

With so much classic heavy metal clogging up my review queue lately, I’ve been neglecting the baser caveman side of my reptilian brain. Canada’s Grave Infestation are back to fix that with their sophomore platter, Carnage Gathers. When they last slimed my doorstep in 2022 with the gruesome Autopsy and early Death worship on Persecution of the Living, they left a mucilaginous impression on my thick skull. Their grizzled and nasty take on old school death was exactly the kind of filth I love to wallow in. Not much has changed on Carnage Gathers, which is another putrid scuzzbucket full of grotesque sounds, primitive riffs, and an IQ below that of rudimentary tool users. It revels in the early days of the genre while fetishizing the lo-fi sound of Hellhammer. It’s all about ear abuse and carnal debasement, and I refuse to be threatened by a good time in the rot pit. Prepare to embrace the sump.

This is not a varied and complex work of art. It’s a tug of war between extremities as the band tries to crush your chestal cavity with ghastly doom segments and then shake your brain stem with bursts of speed and punky d-beats. The whiplash is intended to induce nausea, and it often does. Opener “Living Inhumation” has the bona fides to have appeared on Death’s Leprosy or Autopsy’s Severed Survival and fit right in like a bowel leech. It’s scabby, poo-encrusted offal of a high caliber loaded with jangled, discordant riffs and abysmal vocals. The guitar tone is absolute sewage, and everything is dank and reeking. The only downside is the length. At nearly 6 minutes, it overextends its welcome by the end. This is an unfortunately common trend here, with multiple songs of good construction outliving their trust funds of attention. I love many things about “Ritualized Autopsy,” especially the slimy riffs that ooze everywhere and make you feel unclean. I also appreciate its relentless, unstoppable assault. At points, the guitar work even reminds me of Destruction’s immortal debut EP, Sentence of Death, which is a very good thing. But it too plods on too long, losing some of its visceral impact.

Every track has things going on that I love. Grave Infestation have that sound I’m hopelessly drawn to, and the way they layer nerve-flaying fretboard abuse, bone-breaking grooves, stupid chuggs, and atmospheric noodling gets me every time. Lay some vomitous vocals and pounding drums over that shit and Steel comes to your yard for the gutshake. However, the band doesn’t know when enough is enough, and quality cuts with righteous moments like “Black Widow” and “Drenched in Blood” refuse to stop when they should. There are some absolute ball breaking though, like primal closer “Murder Spree” which just fucks up your shit with insane, panic-inducing riffs that won’t leave you alone. It’s like they took the best moments from Possessed’s timeless classic Seven Churches and sutured them roughly to early Autopsy demos. What more could you want? At 39:56 minutes, Carnage Gathers doesn’t feel too long, though certain tracks do. The production is perfectly mucky and raw, and the guitar sound is exactly the kind of abrasive my rusty metal heart wants.

I’m a big fan of the guitar work from Graham Christofferson and “BC.” It’s their horrific string mutilation that makes the material throb, and they have a knack for skin-removing riffs and twisted flourishes. They create the soundtrack to a madman’s nightmare while paying homage to classic early death albums we all know and love. At times, their riffs sound like those on Bathory’s The Return, which makes me unreasonably giddy. Graham Christofferson’s vocals are a match made in Hell – horrid, repulsive, and full of gut-busting throat exertions. He reminds me of Chris Reifert (Autopsy) at times and, at others, Jeff Beccera (Possessed), but he’s always disgusting. The entire band is solid, but the lack of editing is a nagging defect.

I desperately wanted to give Carnage Gathers a higher rating because I dig so much of what Grave Infestation does. They play exactly the kind of death metal I love, and their commitment to appalling excess speaks to my crude ape brain. If they trimmed the blubber off the best cuts, this would rise in the ranking considerably. As it stands, Carnage Gathers is a quality death metal album sure to please the sick and deranged. It could have been MOAR though!

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Invictus Productions
Websites: graveinfestation.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/graveinfestation | instagram.com/graveinfestation
Releases Worldwide: February 28th, 2025

Kenstrosity

Formed from members of Canadian antifascist crust/sludge metal outfit Ahna and known death filthifiers Ceremonial Bloodbath, Grave Infestation helped pull me out of a skull pit intent on suffocating me under a mountain of bullshit and dumped me right back into a different skull pit entirely—this one teeming with rot and cadaveric bouquets. I suppose I should be thankful, as this is the kind of thing that fills my pores with what some might consider the scent of WICTORY. So, without further ado, I dive deeper into the corpse pile that is Grave Infestation’s sophomore record, Carnage Gathers.

Death metal is a known quantity. We all know it when we hear it, and can describe it without much conflict or confusion. Such is the case for Grave Infestation. Carnage Gathers represents death metal at its most rank, channeling equal parts Asphyx and Incantation, with a membrane of slick Autopsy sleaze surrounding its diseased skin. It’s a combination that works wonders for those who search tirelessly for the nastiest of the nasty, and in that respect, Grave Infestation don’t disappoint. Buzzing and boisterous riffs abound, slammed into the earth below by the crushing heft of doom-laden chugs and yanked back upright by a relentless barrage of squealing solos. Cheering on these deadly antics, a vomitous wretch, brutally projected from afar, echoes its sickening cry across Carnage Gathers’ necrotic scenery. Drawing the line just shy of the caverns from whence Tomb Mold’s early work spawned, Carnage Gathers boasts a sound that exudes old school death at its prime.

Of course, that means that I’m drawn to Carnage Gathers almost by instinct, an animal magnetism against which mental fortitude and willpower crumbles at the slightest breeze. Choice cuts “Inuman Remains,” “Black Widow,” and “Drenched in Blood” take full advantage of my weakness here. Bridging the gap between Incantation’s sheer heft with the vicious onslaught of Autopsy’s violent ways, these songs juggle riffs and grooves engaging enough to motivate the necks of even the staunchest death dissident. “Black Widow,” in particular, marks Grave Infestation’s high water mark, boasting a punky d-beat swagger in conjunction with screeching dive bombs that make an instant memory. Songs like these show that Grave Infestation not only understand the kind of songwriting that made death metal an international underground phenomenon but also identify and implement subtle ways to invigorate that well-worn, comfortable style for a modern audience.

However, Carnage Gathers demonstrates understanding and implementation inconsistently. Pulling from many of its doomier segments, Grave Infestation’s writing outside of their ravenous tears and mid-paced stomps leaves a lot on the table. “Ritualized Autopsy,” “The Anthropophagus,” and “Murder Spree,” among a couple others, routinely inject slower passages characterized by generic chugs and repetitive solos, thereby undermining Carnage Gathers’ strongest material with filler. Considering several tracks reach past five minutes with the inclusion of these insubstantial sections of languid doom death, it seems a clear weak point in Grave Infestation’s repertoire. The undeniable fact that their ripping, death-focused outbursts regularly demolish everything in their path each time they rear their ugly heads only further illuminates the flat, featureless nature of their doom-laden dalliances.

As I surface from the Carnage that Gathers to breathe deep of stale, putrid air, I rest easy knowing that despite its flaws, Carnage Gathers isn’t half bad. Its best moments are a ten-ton anvil of repugnant fun, and the doomed detours that fail to resonate in any meaningful way also don’t derail the experience entirely. Instead, these flawed moments serve as an opportunity for growth. Grave Infestation are still young and have a ton of potential. It wouldn’t take much for them to further refine and empower their sound, launching the quality of their output into higher echelons. For the moment, though, Carnage Gathers is a simple, fun platter of filth, and that’s fine with me.

Rating: Mixed

#25 #2025 #30 #Ahna #Asphyx #Autopsy #CanadianMetal #CarnageGathers #CeremonialBloodbath #Death #DeathDoom #DeathMetal #DoomMetal #Feb25 #GraveInfestation #Hellhammer #Incantation #InvictusProductions #Leprosy #Obituary #PersecutionOfTheLiving #Possessed #Review #Reviews #ScreamBloodyGore #TombMold

2025-01-16

NECROMANIAC – Sciomancy, Malediction & Rites Abominable Review

By Tyme

Having toiled and troubled over a bubbling cauldron for the past thirteen years, London, England’s Necromaniac, is finally prepared to cast the spell of its debut album Sciomancy, Malediction & Rites Abominable.1 A multi-national coven consisting of musicians from Sweden, Spain, Greece, and Poland, Necromaniac are self-described practitioners of “morbid metal.” After 2015’s promising and well-received demo Morbid Metal dropped, in addition to 2018’s mini-EP Subterranean Death Rising, Invictus Productions signed on in 2024 to release Sciomancy, Malediction & Rites Abominable, promising listeners “A truly sinister musical journey containing nine forbidden rites steeped in witchcraft, necromancy and an overall occult and utterly macabre atmosphere.” So I wondered, is this pricking in my thumbs a sign that something wicked this way comes, or is Necromaniac‘s witchery nothing more than parlor tricks?

An elixir of blackened death and thrash, with synth-sprigs of thyme and dashes of doomsbane thrown in for atmospheric effect, the morbidity of Necromaniac‘s metal is steeped mainly in the olde ways. Conjuring strong Hellhammer and Morbid2 vibes, there’s a rawness to the sound of the organic mix that belies the DR score you see below. Ensorcelling ‘guitarmageddon’ is Sadistik Fornicator, who laces the swirling potions of Sciomancy, Malediction & Rites Abominable with Toxic Holocaustian riffage (“Daemonomantia”) and guitar passages that sound as if they could have come straight from the cutting room floor of Slayer‘s Show No Mercy sessions (“Teraphim (Skull Sorcery)”). Combine those riffs with the potency of The One’s ‘Basstard Tremblings’ and V. Pestilencia’s ‘Apocalyptic Drumonitions,’ and the thrashily blackened death metal Necromaniac offers up is ruthlessly effective. When things shift toward the more atmospheric, however, cracks start to show and highlight the most significant battle fought within the album’s walls, which pits the strength of its metal against its more melodramatic tendencies.

With nothing to dilute its potency, the metal of Sciomancy, Malediction, & Rites Abominable is razor-sharp and capable of carrying the weight of the entire album. One quaff of the black-‘n-roll draught of riffs from “Grave Mound Oath” will have you bobbing your head and wondering what the hell ever happened to Carpathian Forest. At the same time, the swirling speeds of “Great is the Thirst of the Restless Dead” and the remorseless “Swedenborg’s Skull,” with its ebb and flow of pummeling riff work and atmospherically doomy passages, are a satisfying earworm of harrowing hocus-pocus. Atop all these infernal conflagrations float the vociferous vocalizations of C. Howler, whose grunts, growls, and menacing howls perfectly complement Necromaniac‘s morbidly sharp metal blade. If this were all we had to speak of regarding Sciomancy, Malediction & Rites Abominable, the overall perception would have been mostly positive, but there are elements left to address.

Necromaniac‘s firm forays into the strictly atmospheric fall short, cloaking those elements meant to invoke spine-chilling shivers in shrouds of theatrically overwrought melodrama instead. Other than “Caput Draconis,” with its effectively doomy guitar work and King Diamond-esque warbling3 providing an atmospherically eerie opening to the record, other attempts to tap the same vein miss the mark. Supplied by and known here only as A Corpse Without Soul, the guest vocals on “Bring Forth the Shade” and “Conjuration of St. Cyprian” are a mixture of cantankerous chuckles and over-embellished groans, whispers, and wails, combined then with the half-baked doom instrumentation and synths, create an overall effect more cringe than creepy. These tracks, in tandem with the ten-plus minutes of overly-long closer “Necromancess / Cauda Draconis,” full of meandering drawn-out doom work, make Sciomancy, Malediction & Rites Abominable feel longer than its near forty-nine-minute runtime should, negatively impacting the flow and momentum this witchy metal seance might otherwise have had.

Necromaniac‘s strength lies in the metal of its sciomantic maledictions and less in the melodrama of its abominable rites. Songs like “Grave Mound Oath,” “Teraphim (Skull Sorcery)” and “Swedenborg’s Skull” prove Necromaniac has the chops to stand tall next to other bands successfully peddling this same form of blackened death metal, but using vehicles that end up conjuring an atmosphere more mawkish than macabre costs Necromaniac most here. And while I can’t fully endorse Sciomancy, Maledictions and Rites Abominable, there’s enough meat on this bone to have me scoping Necromaniac‘s next incantation.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Invictus Productions | The Anja Offensive
Websites: necromaniac.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/necromaniacUK
Releases Worldwide: January 13, 2025

#25 #2025 #BlackMetal #DeathMetal #DoomMetal #EnglishMetal #Hellhammer #InvictusProductions #Jan25 #Morbid #Necromaniac #Review #Reviews #SciomancyMaledictionsRitesAbominable #Slayer #TheANJAOffensive #ThrashMetal

2024-10-29

Bombus – Your Blood Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier

After a much-needed vacation,1 and being sick as fuck for weeks, ole Grier is back with something you might not want in your life but you need it. In 2016, AMG Himself reviewed the third record from Bombus, a little-known Swedish outfit. Like AMG, I was surprised that something so simple could plant a seed in my ear and keep me returning for more. But, I suppose it’s no surprise when surrounded by endless extreme metal that a palate cleanser like Repeat Until Death would find a home in my regular rotation. The band basically plays metalized rock with predictable song structures and hooking choruses, where nothing overstays its welcome. Three years later, we appeared to have missed the release of Vulture Culture. But maybe that was for the best considering it only contained a handful of new ideas and struggled to come together as a complete album. I was hesitant when I saw this year’s Your Blood in the bin. Though one spin in, I knew something magical was happening to Bombus and Your Blood turned out to be their most ambitious record to date.

After spending years with Century Media Records, Bombus has penned a new deal with Black Lodge Records. Not only that but co-founding vocalist and guitarist Matte Säker left the band. In his stead, not only was another vocalist/guitarist recruited (they have two), but a third guitarist was added to the mix to bring the band from a four-piece to a five-piece. With these newfound axes, the band traveled a new road that brought soaring solos, intricate leads, and harmonizing soundscapes. Your Blood also offers the most melodic collection of pieces the band has ever accumulated. The result is far less predictable than previous albums, introducing new twists that’ll pull at your heartstrings, bob your head, and raise an eyebrow (or two). If you know the band’s previous output, nothing will prepare you for what’s to come.

While one of the more straightforward ditties on the record, “Killer” does a decent job introducing you to the new Bombus direction. After opening with all three guitars lending their strings to soaring leads, the song settles into a melodic groove. As the song builds, the passion and sadness of the track intensifies, sucking you into its mere three-and-a-half-minute runtime. With an accessible piece setting the mood, things get real weird, real fast. The follow-up track, “The One,” zaps you into a time warp that introduces a slow-moving vocal style akin to Nick Cave and a poppy drum beat that could have come from The White Stripes. I know, it’s a couple of odd descriptors, but the song is absolutely hypnotizing as it weaves in and out of intense moments and drum-led spoken-word interludes. But, the weirdest track of them all is the title track. Like so many other bands these days, Bombus reaches into Spaghetti-Western influences. With cawing crows and more sinister Ghoultown vibes, this track slithers around like a sidewinder, erupting into the catchy chorus while passing through cold, dark desert nights.

Between these oddities, Hellhammer-esque nastiness, Motörhead beauty, speed metal licks, Pain-like psychedelics, and Volbeaty clapping segments,2 a couple tracks truly crawl to the top. “Carmina” is one of the most interesting tracks on the album, showing how much time the band spent to improve and diversify their sound. Probably one of the heavier tracks on the album, much like their style of old, this track uses a combination of hammering vocals, bass, and drums to set up the chorus. The chorus is interesting because it passes through two phases: first, punching Rob Zombie-ish shouts, and then low, overlapping vocals. After passing the midway point, the band settles into Chug Land, pounding away on a riff as the guitar leads swirl around the background chants. The best song on the album immediately triggered me in the strangest way possible. The simple riff of “Take Your Down” is almost identical to the soundtrack of one of my favorite revenge scenes in television history: when Frank Castle finally gets his hands on William Rawlins. It’s a powerful song with a fantastic chorus that punches on those revenge qualities and puts goosebumps on my arms.

Outside of the weirdly cool (but also still weird), synthy guitar work of “No Rules” and the howling wolf at the beginning of “The Beast,” which had me spitting out my coffee in laughter, Your Blood is a great new direction for Bombus. The songs are painstakingly structured for a style like this, the choruses are some of the best they’ve ever written, and the diversity makes it exciting on repeat listens. The album flow is also well done vocally. As the album plays out, the vocals get nastier and more pained. After introducing some cleans toward the beginning of the album, the back half finds them more and more raucous, concluding the record with the most desperate performance. Your Blood might not be the vicious metal record you want, but if you take a minute to explore the band’s discog, you’ll be surprised by the results of this new record. Everywhere I look on the interwebz, people ask, “Why are these guys not more popular.” And you know what? I have no idea.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 267 kb/s mp3
Label: Black Lodge Records
Websites: bombusmusic.com | facebook.com/bombusmusic
Releases Worldwide: November 1st, 2024

#2024 #35 #BlackLodgeRecords #Bombus #Ghoultown #HardRock #HeavyMetal #Hellhammer #Motörhead #NickCave #Nov24 #Pain #Review #Reviews #RobZombie #SwedishMetal #TheWhiteStripes #Volbeat #YourBlood

2024-10-13

Sathanas – Into the Nocturne Review

By Mark Z.

They always said consistency and hard work pay off. I’m starting to think they fucking lied. Pennsylvania quartet Sathanas have been peddling their witch’s brew of black, death, and thrash metal since 1988, yet the poor saps still have less than 1,000 monthly listeners on Spotify at the time of this review. That’s not for lack of trying, either. Over the years the group have released eleven full-length albums, along with a shitload of splits and even a few EPs. After listening to their back catalog, I’ve started to think that the group’s unwavering devotion to the old school makes them their own biggest enemy. Since their formation, the band have been practically militant in their refusal to progress beyond crunchy mid-paced songs that sound a bit like Hellhammer with whiffs of 90s black and death metal mixed in. Other than improvements in production, there is virtually no development throughout their discography, let alone many hooks or standout riffs. A lack of highlights was certainly my main gripe when I reviewed the band’s tenth album Necrohymns in 2018, but has the group finally upped their game with their twelfth record Into the Nocturne?

Opener “Beyond the Witch” certainly offers something slightly different. While the band’s typical primitive riffs and mid-paced rhythms are still here in full force, the track also features frosty chords that carry a more prominent than usual influence from 90s black metal. “Raise the Chalice” kicks off the record’s second half in similar fashion, with chilly and reflective progressions that are augmented by a catchy half-time thrash break and anthemic snarls of the track title. A slightly different strain of black metal appears on “There Will Be Demons,” with the song marching forward on stomping riffs that sound like a devolution of Bathory’s Hammerheart era. The vocals, which are presumably once again performed by guitarist Paul Tucker, consist of a biting and evil rasp that perfectly captures the wicked spirit of these songs.

Sadly, other than the aforementioned tracks, Into the Nocturne is largely business as usual for Sathanas. As before, many of these songs simply coast along on languid riffs that sound like transitional moments between better ideas that never actually come. “Reaperlord,” for example, is full of stock progressions that haven’t excited anyone since 1985, and the song’s shouts of the track title are hardly enough to redeem it. Much of the album also becomes monotonous, with many of these tracks featuring overly similar vocal patterns, riffs, and tempos.

While some attempts at diversity work, often they don’t go far enough. On songs like “To Bring the Sabbat,” drummer James Strauss (ex-Acheron) throws in a few brief blast beats, but doing so adds little energy to the proceedings and instead just feels like a halfhearted attempt to add variety. Closer “Where Death and Darkness Entwine” is more successful in this regard, with its peppier beats offering a sense of urgency and inspiration that’s lacking elsewhere. The album’s production also works well, with a sharp guitar tone, a clear overall sound, and a wide dynamic range that gives everything plenty of space. And, with the album moving through its ten tracks in just 33 minutes, neither any song nor the record as a whole feels too long.

This is exactly the kind of review I hate to write. Sathanas seem like a devoted bunch of dudes, and I can’t imagine they’re playing this music for any reason other than their love of it. They’re also competent musicians, and Paul’s raspy voice sounds more venomous and evil than many of his peers. Unfortunately, I just don’t find myself particularly excited about this record. If I want to experience this type of primitive extreme metal, I’d much rather listen to Gravewürm, who have a similar style but with far more catchy material in their spellbook. Though Sathanas have certainly put in the work over the years, it seems their steadfast devotion to a very specific sound has become their undoing. Into the Nocturne is, unfortunately, simply the latest example of this. Thus, despite a few decent moments, this album is ultimately not something I can heartily recommend.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 192 kbps mp3
Label: Moribund Records
Websites: sathanas666.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/sathanasmetal
Releases Worldwide: September 27th, 2024

#20 #2024 #Acheron #AmericanMetal #Bathory #BlackMetal #DeathMetal #Gravewürm #Hellhammer #IntoTheNocturne #MoribundRecords #Review #Reviews #Sathanas #Sep24 #ThrashMetal

Elend Murks ☣️bolle@metalhead.club
2024-08-25

Die letzten 3 Bands vom Samstag am #NOAF. #WallsOfJericho, #Combichrist and... #Hellhammer 🤘🤘🤘

The mighty Hellhammer on stage of the NOAF 🤘🤘🤘Combichrist auf der Bühne am NOAFWalls of Jericho auf der Bühne am NOAF

#TheMetalDogArticleList #BLABBERMOUTH TOM GABRIEL FISCHER Says He Has Talked To Ex-CELTIC FROST Drummer REED ST. MARK About Playing Together Again blabbermouth.net/news/tom-gab... #TOMGABRIELFISCHER #REEDSTMARK #CELTICFROST #TRIPTYKON #HELLHAMMER

2024-05-01

Darkthrone – It Beckons Us All……. Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier

As per usual with Darkthrone these days, a new record arrived without any notice and NO ONE got the promo until after its release. So, here I am trying to toss together a review at the last second for a band whose process is so annoying that I don’t even want to review them. But, I love Darkthrone. So I will ignore my annoyance and pen this fucking thing. Even after twenty full-length albums and nearly four decades in existence, Darkthrone can still surprise their fanbase with each new record—to the point that you don’t know what to expect. But, the last time I enjoyed a complete Darkthrone album was 2013’s The Underground Resistance and 2021’s Eternal Halls……. Keeping with the theme of the latter album, we have another record that uses unnecessary dots in its title. But, does It Beckons Us All……. have what it takes to keep these crusty old fuckers relevant after all these years?

Since the days when Fenriz started lending his voice to Darkthrone albums, things have undoubtedly become weird. But, the band’s commitment to an old-school sound that no longer relies on the yesteryears of Norwegian black metal glory has been enlightening. Chipping away at classic ’80s riffs from the likes of Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, and Sarcófago, Culto and Fenriz have been keeping old-man metal alive after pulling away from the first and second-wave scenes with Hate Them. Since then, they’ve been forging a path that has seen fans come and go, depending on which version of Darkthrone they prefer. But these two gents couldn’t care less. They could care so little that, as I type these words, I feel like I’m wasting my time. But, after listening to It Beckons Us All……., I wish they did care. Because this has to be one of the most disappointing things I’ve heard since Metallica’s 72 Seasons.

“Howling Primitive Colonies” kicks things off with some weird, psychedelic effects that remind me of that mapping bot from Prometheus. Then, it slides into a classic, mid-paced Darkthrone groove that transitions to some boring, slow sustains and perhaps one of Culto’s worst vocal performances. Hell, I wouldn’t even call them vocals. It’s more like raspy rambling than anything else. It picks up the pace at the midpoint, but the one-dimensional “vocals” remain. Thankfully, “Black Dawn Affiliation” arrives a couple of songs later to kick some major ass. This song might be one of the most badass songs to come from Culto’s fingers. For over six minutes, he takes a basic riff and continues to add layers upon layers, evolving it to a massive headbanging climax as distant clean vocals swirl around it.

The ten-minute closer, “The Lone Pines of the Lost Planet,” provides other interesting guitar moments. Specifically, the mid-section harmonizing work which also continues to evolve as it goes. It’s one of the more surprising pieces because it opens with reverberating clean guitars that feel like it’s about to morph into a Metallica ballad. It fails because it has so many worthless sections that drag it out unnecessarily. Plus, I swear to God, Culto says, “Sucking on hydrothermic chimneys.”1 But, at least it contributes something to the album. Unlike the absolutely worthless instrumental, “And in That Moment I Knew the Answer.” I could have spent those three minutes taking a shit instead of listening to this thing. “Eon 3” and “The Heavy Hand” also suffer in their own unique ways. While Culto refuses to sing on this album, Fenriz’s cleans on “Eon 3” are buried in the back and completely encapsulated in effects. And though “The Heavy Hand” has an engaging, haunting attitude, it spends four minutes going nowhere.

After reviewing Darkthrone albums for years, this is the first time I’ve been this disappointed. It Beckons Us All……. is the most uninspiring collection of work the band has released in some time. Outside of the top songs, the others feel thrown together and completely lifeless. And the vocals are either borderline talking or so distant that they’re barely backing vocals. There is some surprising guitar work in songs like “Black Dawn Affiliation” and “The Lone Pines of the Lost Planet,” but it’s not enough to carry the rest of the songs. It’s a shame because the album is so dynamic that if rats were running around the studio, you’d hear them. Though I’m one of the biggest fans of this band, I won’t be returning to this one.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Peaceville Records | Bandcamp
Websites: facebook.com/darkthroneofficial
Releases Worldwide: April 26th, 2024

#20 #2024 #Apr24 #BlackMetal #CelticFrost #Darkthrone #Hellhammer #ItBeckonsUsAll_ #Metallica #NorwegianMetal #PeacevilleRecords #Review #Reviews #Sarcófago

Friedhof der Kuschelbiere 🇺🇦🇮🇱HailSatan@metalhead.club
2023-12-05

#hellhammer finde ich übrigens bis heute #dumpfen #Mist.

2023-10-10

Gutenachtmusik.
#hellhammer

Client Info

Server: https://mastodon.social
Version: 2025.04
Repository: https://github.com/cyevgeniy/lmst