Latest articles
8.0
MOONSPELLFar From God
Moonspell sharpen gothic grandeur into a focused, memorable record whose strongest songs balance menace, melody and dramatic restraint.
6.0
PSYCROPTICThe Pulse of Annihilation
Psycroptic remain technically formidable, but this compact set is strongest when precision creates momentum instead of merely displaying control.
6.0
ARMORED SAINTEmotion Factory Reset
Emotion Factory Reset offers sturdy heavy-metal craft and strong vocal character, but too few songs create lasting urgency.
7.0
ENSIFERUMIron
Ensiferum’s second album sharpens the production and delivers major anthems, though it lacks some of the debut’s raw surprise and cohesion.
7.0
END ALLHAIL MIND
HAIL MIND combines sharp modern-metal production with energetic structural shifts, though several songs confuse constant motion with development.
5.0
DIMMU BORGIRGrand Serpent Rising
Grand Serpent Rising offers scale without urgency, burying flashes of menace beneath an overextended and emotionally distant design.
8.0
MRJ METALCrimson Throne
Crimson Throne builds a vivid industrial-metal sound world whose strongest sequences feel cinematic without losing their physical weight.
9.0
VOMITORYIn Death Throes
Vomitory turn thirty-seven minutes of death metal into a relentless, sharply written assault with hooks hiding inside every blast of violence.
6.0
HEADHUNTER D.C.Rise of the Damned…
Rise of the Damned delivers disciplined old-school death metal, but its strongest riffs are too often trapped inside predictable structural cycles.
7.0
INGESTEDDenigration
Ingested deliver a tightly engineered beating, strongest when the grooves are allowed to land without extra ornament.
7.0
RIOT CULTMelodic Death Metal Anarchy, Vol. 1
Riot Cult shape political unease into a cold, melodic record whose atmosphere is stronger than its confused genre label.
7.0
CRYPTIC SHIFTOverspace & Supertime
Cryptic Shift turn technical extremity into a vast, hostile environment, though the scale sometimes obscures the point.
1.0
ANGUS MCSIXAngus McSix and the All-Seeing Astral Eye
A 42-minute plastic siege engine of dead hooks, synthetic blare and jokes that arrive already embalmed.
7.0
PEARL HILL METALThe Iron Verdict
A disciplined hard-rock record whose strongest moments come when the riffs carry the message instead of merely supporting it.
8.0
CHILDREN OF BODOMHatebreeder
Children of Bodom turn neoclassical flash, blackened aggression and irresistible hooks into a fast, reckless and enduring melodic metal record.
4.0
IN FLAMESClayman
A transitional record with undeniable hooks, but one whose streamlined attack often trades depth for repetition and blunt impact.
7.0
EDGE OF SANITYCrimson
An ambitious single-piece death metal work whose melodic continuity impresses even when its long-form pacing occasionally loosens.
8.0
REVOCATIONNew Gods, New Masters
Revocation turn technical death metal into focused violence, combining rhythmic intelligence, memorable riffs and well-placed stylistic disruptions.
7.0
ALESTORMThe Thunderfist Chronicles
Alestorm balance blunt-force pirate-metal hooks with darker detours and an enormous closing epic on their most ambitious recent album.
9.0
HATEBellum Regiis
Hate shape blackened death metal into a severe, immersive campaign of layered guitars, controlled pacing and unusually strong melodic architecture.