Altarage hail from the Spanish city of Bilbao in northern Basque Country. Their identities buried beneath black veils, Altarage are a band whose music stands and falls on its own merits. Their murky, disorienting species of blackened death metal is dragged straight from the depths of Lovecraftian horror, as chilling howls cry out from the
Tagblackened death metal
PLAGUE WIDOW return with new EP DESPAIR
Californian blackened deathgrind/blisteringly-heavy-as-fuck band Plague Widow have returned from something of a hiatus. They released their stunning split EP with London’s Oblivionized, “This Black Earth”, in 2013, but in 2015 entered a period of inactivity, which they attribute to “many complications over the past couple years such as various lineup changes, relocating to another city, and set-backs
Live review: Bölzer, Svartidauði, Eggs of Gomorrh, Archgoat @ Sound Control, Manchester (06/10/17)
If you’ve ever talked to me about music, you probaly know I’m a huge fan of Bölzer. I think they’re the most exciting band playing in extreme metal today, bar none, and their string of releases over the last few years as well as renowned live shows have cemented their place as one of the most
Review and Interview: Nexion
I first came across Nexion at their performance at Oration Festival MMXVII in Reykjavik. A friend of mine knew them, and made me aware that they were well worth seeing. Their blistering show suggested a band with real experience on stage, despite having not yet released any recordings under the name Nexion. As it transpires, vocalist
Live report: Zhrine / Auðn / Hubris (23/04/2017)
The prospect of seeing two of Iceland’s very best black metal bands performing at a free-entry show in a small pub in London was simply too much for me to resist, so I caught a coach down from York in eager anticipation. Since the release of their album Unortheta (probably my favourite album of all
Interview: Sathamel on death metal, touring, and their upcoming album
Sathamel are one of the most exciting extreme metal acts to come out of Yorkshire in years. Known for their blackened death metal and blistering live performances, Sathamel have honed their craft touring across the UK for the past several years. Their performance at Northern Extremity XI at the Fulford Arms in York was a
Interview: Devouring Star on Antihedron, Satanism, and Death
In the process of writing my recent review of Devouring Star‘s fantastic new EP ‘Antihedron’, I came to realise that there was a rare depth and maturity to the record, both musically and conceptually. They recently published brief explanations of some of the themes and meanings behind both their debut album ‘Through Lung and Heart’ and ‘Antihedron‘. But there are
Review: Draugsól – “Volaða Land”
Volaða Land is the debut record from the recently-formed Icelandic group Draugsól. The band describe themselves as black metal, and by and large that’s accurate, but to my ears there’s a whole lot of death metal influence going on here as well, with a prominent low-end sound, heavy palm-muted guitar riffs, and guttural vocals. In
Review: Devouring Star – “Antihedron”
Devouring Star’s new EP ‘Antihedron’ is the sound of worlds collapsing in on themselves, a black hole devouring a solar system. Antihedron describes “negative planes and shapes”, and discusses the three central concepts of birth, existence, and death. Each song serves to highlight a separate facet of the human experience, as beings whose experience extends across each
Review: Bölzer – “Hero”
Bölzer’s debut full-length album ‘Hero’ is finally here. It’s a testament to the quality of their music that they have succeeded in setting the metal underground on fire with less than an hour’s musical material to their name. Because Bölzer has set such a high standard with their music so far, and the media buzz around