Yearly Archives: 2013

‘Vertikal’ is the sixth album from Swedish post-metal, atmospheric sludge giants Cult of Luna, and their first since 2008’s ‘Eternal Kingdom’.

Heavy metal and machinery have always gone hand in hand since Black Sabbath were originally inspired by the constant mechanical pounding noise of industrial Birmingham. The album is based upon Fritz Lang’s timeless Metropolis and this album really does manage to convey that very well.

Although not intended to be considered a companion piece to Metropolis, when listening to this album and watching metropolis at the same time (I need no better excuse). It really does add to the atmosphere of the film and capture the essence of the film far better than the original score. There’s a calculated and...

Swedish 3 piece Kongh are back for their third outing of 4 slabs of crushing sludge. This is their first album on Agonia Records, a label known for some great death and black metal releases.

The 10 minute title track, ‘Sole Creation’, starts with pounding tribal drumming with David Johansson’s twisting riffs erupting into sweet sludgy groove. David’s blackened tinged screams lead into soaring clear vocals somewhere between Mastodon, Alice in Chains and Callisto. The track winds down into haunting riff that builds back to that great opening assault and those soaring vocals.

Second track is entitled ‘Tamed Brute’, but there's nothing tame about this track as it stomps its way forth like...

Old school death metal (OSDM) has become something of a catchphrase in recent years, a term descriptive of a relatively consistent onslaught of contemporary bands employing a sound and approach to the genre of death metal reminiscent of it's late 80's and early 90's pioneers in a more often than not genuine and authentic manner. As with any sub-genre experiencing a flood of popularity there comes a surge in the output of current bands alongside the formation of new blood and, with this, a hell of a lot of mediocre and forgettable material. Of course wherever there is shit, gems will shine. 2011 saw the releases of bands such as Mitochondrion, Sonne Adam, Necros Christos & Disma deservedly making plenty of well-respected end-of-year lists and forging through into 2012 the trend continued. Germany's Chapel of Disease released at the beginning of 2012 their debut recording, a demo under the title "Death Evoked" which was soon followed up by a split with fellow countrymen Lifeless and lastly, in the winter of the year, their debut full-length "Summoning Black Gods"; a thrashy, energetic and captivating affair...