Reviews
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.
7.0
SINSIDAll That Remains
Sinsid deliver traditional heavy metal with sturdy hooks and clear conviction, even when the songwriting leans heavily on inherited forms.
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.
5.0
CORROSION OF CONFORMITYGood God / Baad Man
Corrosion of Conformity sound grounded and heavy, but this sprawling record confuses accumulated mass with sustained purpose.
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.
6.0
MORKMonolitt
Mork’s Monolitt carries old black-metal frost into a focused modern record, though its midsection occasionally settles into routine.
8.0
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIXSceaduhelm
Crippled Black Phoenix turn a long runtime into a coherent descent, balancing progressive structure with genuine emotional pressure.
6.0
CONVERGEHum of Hurt
Converge remain emotionally exacting, but Hum of Hurt sometimes circles familiar devastation without finding a sharper new wound.
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.
5.0
NINE INCH NAILSNine Inch Noize
Nine Inch Noize reframes familiar material with abrasive detail, but the exercise often feels curated rather than newly urgent.
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.