Armored Saint – La Raza
Symbol of Salvation will always go down as Armored Saint’s definitive album, but you’d be hard pressed to find a record more concise, focused, and flat-out fun than La Raza.
Symbol of Salvation will always go down as Armored Saint’s definitive album, but you’d be hard pressed to find a record more concise, focused, and flat-out fun than La Raza.
Germany’s Semen Datura have returned with their latest full-length album Einsamkeit. It’s an eclectic archive of black metal-influenced noise that isn’t afraid to go in some unexpected directions. With the band avoiding familiar pagan or satanic imagery in favour of pursuing the “intellectual aspect” of “this art” (as stated in the liner notes), Einsamkeit opts for more minimalist and bleaker pictures of isolation amidst crushing metallic vibes.
By Navjot Kaur Venturing into the turbulent realm of Celtic meets traditional black metal (streaked with essential melody) is Primordial. None too surprising, as…
Nile has proved that they really have their shit together, and you can hear this in the band’s strength in creativity.
Shadow Kingdom Records is like the Energizer Bunny. It keeps going and going and going with great releases one after another. One of their newest gems is this compilation by Wolfbane.
However unsettling his crimes, however indefensible his comments and views, Varg Vikernes is one of the most creative forces in Norwegian black metal and Belus ample proof of his talent.
The band’s energy is admirable, though, and as flawed as this album is, it’s still nice to hear them performing with passion once again.
Azimuths to the Otherworld is an album that demands to be taken in from start to finish. It asks the listener to engage with its many atmospheric layers as they appear.
It might not be as de rigueur as Deathspell Omega, Gojira, or Hacride, but Destinity definitely deserves to be recognized as one of the stronger bands in this increasingly promising recent wave of French extreme metal.
Kyle Harcott reviews Snakes For The Divine, the brand new studio album by High On Fire and their first for new label E1 Metal Records.