Weekly Digest August 30 — September 5
What’s up today? New Iron Maiden, more classic heavy metal by Portrait and more colorful one by Green Lung, death metal with the breakdowns from Carnifex, as well as some album design discussions, a little about RPG and metallic hardcore and it’s all in our Weekly Digest.
Bataille — Reverb
The music from a French fan of RPG, old video games, Summoning, heavy and black metal. Epic and atmospheric music, perfectly suited for playing board games or wandering in the woods.
Beyond Grace — Our Kingdom Undone
An example of how expectations may not match reality. Looking at the cover, I like everything except the band's logo, and it is so easy to fix, just move it a little to the right and up and you would get yourself a great album cover… Sorry, I got distracted. So, looking at album cover, reading the name of the album and the band, I expected to hear power metal, trad doom or heavy metal with a very recognizable vintage sound, but turning on the album I got a dose of technical death metal. And I wasn’t mad at it.
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Carnifex — Graveside Confessions
The fans of fast death metal and long heavy and merciless beatdowns will not go hungry this week, Carnifex's eighth studio album will make a desire to break things come true.
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Defacement — s/t
Wow, Defacement made the cover of their self-titled album so good, that their name will definitely be remembered, because I haven't seen such an aesthetically pleasing gore imagery in a long time. Musically, the residents of I, Voidhanger Records released a long, full of horror, disgust and self-digging album of blackened death metal that gives me goose bumps. It is also worth noting, that the band Defacement is an international band, consisting of 2 Libyans, an Italian, and a Brit, who, by the way, released a wonderful technical thrash / death metal album "Visitation from Enceladus" with his main band Cryptic Shift last year.
Foreign Pain — Death Of Divinity
The metallic hardcore quintet from Los Angeles, California. On their debut album, musicians cover themes of anger, isolation, and personal tragedies, related to how what may seem like a personal distance, growing between you and a loved one, may actually be a cry for help. A heavy, emotional, and honest hardcore release.
Iron Maiden — Senjutsu
Legends, kings, but also older people. The new, almost one and a half hour album by Iron Maiden did not cause as much anticipation as usual. Well, the singles were frankly weak, it is clear that the high-energy Iron Maiden with Bruce Dickinson, flying back and forth on, are no longer there. "Senjutsu" turned out to be a pleasant album, because it’s damn Iron Maiden, but without almost any bangers, synths and almost orchestral arrangements sound decent, but in my opinion, it’s the album for a few listens at best. Still definitely worth a listen.
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Portrait — At One With None
For those, whose feelings about new Iron Maiden LP are something like "well, I don't know, it´s not the same for a long time now, not like the first 5 albums". Portrait will successfully quench your thirst for classic heavy metal. So if you want old Iron Maiden – feel free to turn on Portrait. It is not an easy thing to be inspired enough and to continue the work of one of the most important bands in the history of metal, not to spoil and to develop the music. Thank God for the heavy metal revival.
spotify | apple music | youtube music
SOL KIA — Zos Ethos
The Belgian duo SOL KIA mixes drone and ferrous metal in their music, and the result is the sound that twists from the inside. I really liked the apt comment on SOL KIA – that it is black metal, if one was dirty with demons of sleep paralysis. Well, you understood – turn on this release if you want discomfort.
Wharflurch — Psychedelic Realms Ov Hell
And something completely different for dessert today. I have already pointed out above how the album cover may cause certain expectations which reality does not always meet. So ok, looking at this trippy psychedelic design with melted skeletons and a death metal logo, I expected it to be at least interesting. Wharflurch is a project of two members of the Florida d-beat band Hot Graves, who decided to arm themselves with all the good stuff of the Florida death metal scene, add synths, and psilocybin, and create a mesmerizing and mind-expanding metal. A very atmospheric and unusual release.
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