All reviews below are written and executed by Drako
Deadnight – The Black Scourge
Blackened Death/Thrash with a slight melodic edge.
Up next on my review list is this Blackened Death/Thrash act that’s named Deadnight and this is a band that formed in Illinois, US and they’ve released their sophomore full length a few months ago named “The Black Scourge” and they formed in 2003. This full length has compositions of icy melodic tremolos with bouncy riffs underneath, this then transitions into technical and melodic sweeps as harmonies, then, the bouncy grooves continue and there’s lots of groovy riffs and the production is a little fuzzy at times here. A couple of melodic harmonies come into the equation and there’s a lot of instrumental passages throughout this and it can sometimes lose its flow; abrasive and aggressive tremolos are done on this with some whammy bar dive bombs and accents and behind the mix in the title track, you will be able to hear chimey synths in the background that reminds me of Tryblith. There’s hints of thrashy riffs and chugs here and there as well; then, some groovy tremolo riffs come in and the drumming on here is full of ferocious blasts and tong hits.
This is FFO: Marduk, Skeletonwitch and I’d add subtle elements of Death as well.
There’s groovy gallop sequences and they include the typical cold and bleak diminished chords with epic synths behind them with the rhythm guitar that grooves with it that’s layered and my favourite track on this full length is called “Riders of The Black Wind” that has lots of tremolos in it too, of course that sounds eerie with the choir behind it. The vocals have this traditional black metal fry scream that’s done by Mike and there’s choirs added into more than one song on here; there’s sick thrashy riffs and there’s lots of bouncy harmonies in it, next, they include very fast descending riffs and now, the solos throughout this is mad and technical with tapping, shredding, whammy bar accents, shredding and sweeps that melt faces. They include more than one solo in a single track and I definitely don’t mind that one bit, as it’s awesome. They have an interlude track that has wind sound effects and this song is full of acoustic harmonies too and then, as we approach the back half of this album, there’s an extremely heavy, thrashy track “Storm of Sorrow” that has trills in-between groovy parts and there’s definitely Kreator style riffs all over this full length. If you’re into groovy, ripping atmospheric and technical Black/Death/Thrash, then definitely give this one a spin!
Rating: 8.45/10
Bandcamp // Instagram
Gregorious – Footsteps To Nihilism
Chaotic Death/Thrash that has awesome riffs all over it.
This is a band called Gregorious in my next review that I have, and this band is set to release their new upcoming album, as to which I don’t know the date yet, but I’m sure it will be posted up soon. This band formed in Canada, and they will release their sophomore full length that will release in five days’ time (10th of July, found the date.) This upcoming offering is titled “Footsteps To Nihilism” and this album features a short synth intro, before chugging grooves come in and you can hear the bass sliding and riffing for a time, then, this explodes into tremolo riffs and pulverizing blast beats and the bass gets isolated and Ben plays these sick groove lines, more tremolos enter the equation with riffs and harmonies; these harmonies are also groovy too. They drop everything out apart from the drums for a short time, as some distorted spoken word vocals are done over it before they dive back into the madness and this has palm-muted chugs, they drop the guitars and bass out again and they bend the strings in a tremolo section or two.
This is FFO: Death, Psycroptic and hints of Possessed as well.
There’s a couple of pull-offs added in for thrashy aggression; this is so chuggy at times too and I sometimes at points hear Slayer influence too. There’s some hints of D-beat influences and this is at a pace between being mid-paced and thrashy as fukk, this has awesome grooves all over it that will hopefully get your necks spinning and there’s a few fast paced harmonies on here at times and my favourite track on this upcoming ripper is named: “Coffin Worm” as it has abrasive, fast tremolos, thrashy riffs and harmonies, palm-muted chugs, breakdowns that are fukking killer, there’s alternate picked power chords added into the middle of this track and a few d-beat sections to boot also. This ends with a piano track that gets more epic with violins and orchestrations behind it to close this off and the vocals on this album are very diverse from spoken word, hardcore barks, shouts, high screams and growls. If you’re into Death/Thrash, then check this out in five days’ time!
Rating: 8.25/10
Bandcamp // Facebook // Instagram
Dogtak – Shattered Reflection (EP)
Brand new underground Death/Thrash band that is promising!
Alright, so I have got a list of five reviews on this cycle, this time around and this is Dogtak, a Death/Thrash outfit that’s newly formed and it has lots of groovy elements to their style. They’ve released their sophomore EP overall, which is called “Shattered Reflection” this drops on the 21st of August (eleven days after my birthday) back on track, these guys formed in Germany in 2025, last year and they had to change their name from Dogtag. This EP offering features an acoustic and clean guitars from the get-go and some violins come into the equation before crushing groovy riffs hit you in the face, then some harmonies are heard along with some tremolo riffs; there’s lots of chuggy palm-muted stuff on this and they use an organ for atmosphere, even some harmonies are chugged too on occasion. They throw in a couple of melodic ones and the title track has bouncy rhythms, grooves that will be perfect to form a pit with; they don’t always thrash either, as there’s a few doomy riffs on here that they let breathe for a short time with a harmony or two as well; this will want to make you bang your head until your neck is sore.
This is FFO: Kreator, Sepultura and there’s some hints of old Pestilence (official) also.
The guitars once or twice have this fade in static effect on them, until they start grooving again and the guitars sometimes follows the synths and orchestrations. Some of these are big and epic sounding and the drums on this are mostly going at a mid-paced clip and then in some sections, there’s blast beats and double kicks that will pound you. They add in some eerie and somber harmonies at one point with some vibrato behind it until they go into a crushing breakdown for a short time; there’s quite a lot of solid d-beat elements added it at points as well to give this short offering even more punch. There’s another filthy breakdown on the last track and we get a solo on it too to round it off and this then closes off with slower harmonies. If you’re looking for mid-paced, crushing Death/Thrash, then check this out.
Rating: 7.85/10
Bandcamp // Facebook // Instagram
Consecration (UK) – Exanimis
UK Review Diary 64: Stellar Death/Doom from the Norwich legends!
My final review is from a Death/Doom band that formed in Norwich and this is Consecration with their fourth full length overall that they released a few months back (bare with me on other releases) I’m a bit behind. Anyways, this outfit formed in 2010 and this brand new album by them is called “Exanimis” and it has the likes of an absolutely hefty, thick and massive guitar tone and they start out with chugs with individual groovy riffs added in-between them and then, they add tremolo bursts in harmonies too and there’s some pinch harmonics alongside these riffs. They keep chugging along and slow things down a bit, then they change to hammer-ons/pull-offs and they add these creepy vocal effects over them; they let that overwhelming thick tone breathe when they get all doomy and this is my favourite track on this full length and it’s very rare that an album opens with my favourite track on it. The song is called “Herald of Darkness”, then, they let these doomy harmonies drive the next track before returning to more palm-muted chugs and heavy ass tremolos and some of these killer riffs pick up the pace and get faster.
This is FFO: Witch Vomit, Father Befouled and I’d include elements of Autopsy too.
There’s eerie suspenseful moments that build-up to more chugs and tremolos, there’s a couple of great tremolo harmonies also and there’s some melancholic clean guitar harmonies too alongside electric diminished passages and these keep going until the doomy riffs come in over them that sounds evil as fvck. Tremolos appear behind these too once again, then, they really go out on slow, looming atmosphere and they build this up to make it grander and epic by the end; there’s some creepy vocals in terms of whispers at some points and sinister riffs come back into this sounding evil as hell, next, they transition back to the doomy riffs and stick with them. They include a few fast moving palm-muted chugs in addition to the others; there’s a sad, meaningful track in this full length towards the end of it named ‘The Bitterness of Grief’ the title says it all and the guitar solos on here are atmospheric, at times beautiful, at times melancholic, shreddy and technical with sweeps and tapping in them; Liam really incorporates a smorgasbord of styles into his playing and I’m all for it. There’s epic and triumphant elements added onto this also and there’s some diminished guitar harmonies or synths, not sure which one, but it does sound like the guitar; anyways, they put in a chuggy Death/Doom breakdown in one of the tracks towards the end of this magnificent offering and so, if you absolutely love Death/Doom that doesn’t stray from being riffy and atmospheric, then definitely give this stellar album lots of attention!
Rating: 9.55/10
Bandcamp // Facebook // Instagram
Surrogoat – Consumed By The Wrath of Time
More absolutely ripping Deicide worship!
So, here I have yet another awesome OSDM act that’s highly influenced by Deicide and this is the Death Metal outfit known as Surrogoat, a Death/Thrash band that hails from Estonia. These guys formed in 1999 originally and as a black metal band too and they remained active up until 2011. They reformed as a Death Metal band in 2023 and this is the band’s actual debut album after all those years of only releasing singles, this band’s debut offering is named “Consumed By The Wrath of Time” and this album starts out with grooves straight away that are palm-muted with a few pinch harmonics added in-between them and some of these will definitely get you to bang your head and lots of these happen throughout. Loads of grooves are in this and they don’t stop, they then transition to tremolo harmonies with a breakdown chug behind it; the pace does pick up with faster riffs and blast beats, you can hear the bass in an intro with feedback behind it on the second track ‘Cowards In Disguise’ before they start grooving again!
These riffs will be deadly in a pit, anyway, they put in palm-muted riffs with harmonies in-between them with a marching drum beat behind them, they then slide into a lead. There’s eerie harmonies put into this sick, crushing debut at times and they include whammy bar dive bombs too and there’s groovy harmonies happening with a couple of awesome string bends in them; some are even Slayer influenced, especially Hell Awaits and that guitar tone almost matches it perfectly too.
This is FFO: Deicide, Bolt Thrower and hints too to the Almighty Slayer.
You will occasionally hear some killer bass slides as well when listening to this ripper and they slightly include riffs that they let ring to give that tone some breathing space and they then include some triplet gallops and the solos in this are melodic and mid-paced, they’re few and far between too, as they mostly focus on riffs and crushing you with every groove. I also love the catchy chorus line to “Fist-Fucked” and a few solos are done with whammy accents and dives too, then, they put in more tasty harmonies into this alongside more and more sick grooves; there’s some slight hammer-ons/pull-offs being added in spots also and my favourite song on this groove filled banger is named: “Of Skulls and Bones” as once again, it has the caveman-like riffs that chug and groove, has eerie harmonies underneath, includes more pinch harmonics, repetitive chugs and these drive the whole song! There’s a Brutal Death style intro riff on ‘Aggrivation of Reality’. If you’re into absolutely filthy groove filled Death Metal with Slayer-like influence, vocals that sounds like Glen Benton and Karl Willetts, then definitely add this to your lists!
Rating: 8.5/10
Bandcamp // Facebook // Instagram
Belligerence (GER) – Liturgies of The Vile Ones (EP)
Death/War Metal with a crushing, pulverizing edge!
This here next is my next review and it’s another EP review and this is a Death/War Metal outfit that’s named Belligerence and these guys are based in Germany and they formed in 2022 and this is the band’s sophomore little offering that’s obviously an EP that’s named “Liturgies of The Vile Ones” and it starts out with tremolo riffs with bass following in before they dial the gears up to 11 and use absolutely pulverizing fast paced tremolos and blast beats, then they add grooves to their approach and there’s groovy tremolos as well as palm-muted riffs in addition also. There’s some eerie harmonies added slightly as well, they then, include more tremolo harmonies and they add in the typical cold diminished blackened harmonies; they change this up by transitioning to really fast riffs with individual notes and there’s brutal death elements in terms of chugs and the occasional pick rake comes in before the awesome breakdown.
They have composed pinch harmonics in-between breakdown sections and they blend feedback into this as atmosphere and they include more diminished blackened chords for further atmosphere, the drummer, Richard does lots of double kick and blasting that’s machine gun-like and the speed on here overall can be absolutely furious and next, they add grooves in, but they combine them with atmosphere. There’s also quite a bit of clean guitar action added onto this too at points.
This is FFO: Werewolves, Belphegor and definitely Blasphemy.
The tremolos are just crushing everything in their wake and then, they fade out the drums and isolate these grooves before bringing them back in and they absolutely will get you to headbang and do the windmill, they even put in a couple of pinch harmonics also in addition to them. There’s some bouncy and sinister sounding grooves going on too in this at points, next, the tremolos, drum blasts and double kicks never stop punishing you; there’s a slight few trills added in-between the quick fire riffs too and this is on my favourite track “Reign Through Defilement” the next track has sliding chugs in it and they isolate the bass for a time and some of the harmonies are even quick fire and are so fast as hell! The guitar solos on this are shreddy as all get out and have whammy bar dive bombs and accents and a few sound pleasant in terms of being melodic. There’s even a filthy breakdown towards the end of the title track on this and it’s a demolishing EP that you guys absolutely definitely need to spin!
Rating: 8.45/10
Bandcamp // Facebook // Instagram
VOTOV – Consensual Enslavement
Up next, we have a Death Metal outfit that I’ve reviewed in the past.
Next here, I have a well-known underground OSDM outfit in the Canadian scene and it’s none other than VOTOV with their upcoming new album that’s titled “Consensual Enslavement” this is their upcoming third offering overall and this band formed in 2015 and this upcoming new album features the likes of a soundbite of train horns and wheels screech, along with birds and the bleating of sheep, there’s then gun fire and women screaming. It opens up with a lead with chuggy riffs behind them and there’s groovy riffs and slower drawn-out ones, they then put chugs into this also; they also include more drawn-out slower parts along with the grooves, then, you get some slight drum rolls and they then slightly go into tremolos, then they change to include some eerie harmonies before including pinch harmonics. Then, there’s stop-start palm-muted chugs happening and there’s another lead section to begin track 3 and there’s plenty of chugging going on, there’s the inclusion of eerie harmonies on this full length a lot too.
This is FFO: Immortal Possession, Deicide and Morbid Angel.
You have a couple of palm-muted chuggy gallops going on and even a couple of faster d-beat sections also, then, this goes into my favourite track on this named “Cadaver Dogs” as it has a fuck ton of nasty grooves and chugs, most of this is mostly mid-paced in terms of speed and pacing, as it’s meant to be groovy and sick. The solos on here are mid-paced, fast and technical with tapping and has some sweeps done in them, there’s some nasty moments like slow string bends and breakdowns at times. They do speed things up for a time with fast tremolos and pummelling blast beats, there’s some pinch harmonics included too and then, they add a slow lumbering breakdown in track six to close it off and Chuck sounds absolutely evil here vocally; as he does these really really deep growls that sounds like a mix between Glen Benton and Markus Ranzo.
You can hear the bass sometimes behind the mix and there’s some occasional tritones happening at points. Next, they have a few tracks that have that driving style of drum beat to compliment the guitars and some of the harmonies and solos do sound eerie and you do get a flat out thrashy and intense song towards the end of this upcoming ripper. There’s faster pacing towards the end of this one and with tremolo riffs happening and there’s not a solo in every song. If you’re a fan of chuggy Death Metal that’s mid-paced with thrashy influence, then absolutely get on this, drops soon. Contact the band for the release date!
Rating: 8.45/10
Bandcamp // Facebook
Display of Decay – Desolate Dawn, Pt. 1 (EP)
Pretty crushing Brutal Death!
Up next on my list is an EP and this is from a more well known Brutal Death Metal outfit and this is from Display of Decay and this is their third EP overall and this one is titled “Desolate Dawn, Pt. 1” and this little offering has the likes of a short, bleeping sound, with a female voice that gets creepier and shouts: ‘I’ll rip your soul out you pathetic fuck’ this then goes into fast grooves and quick fire trills and harmonies; it has chuggy riffs and sick bass accents that bleeds through from time to time. It has sick palm-muted riffs, thrashy accents and the occasional tremolos. This is quite fast in terms of setting, and they have plenty of grooves happening as well, they isolate the bass for a time and take rests in-between, and they include pinch harmonics as well and then, there’s fast and technical riff sections in addition too.
This is FFO: Dying Fetus, Deicide and there’s some hints of Stabbing also.
The drumming in this has lots of furious double kick fury and accents, next, there’s a lot of mean sounding grooves all over this and they absolutely don’t let up and gravitate from them at all; the guitar solos on this one are quick at times, melodic and shreddy. The vocals at times do sound like Glen Benton and there’s a few awesome breakdowns on occasion in here and the former vocalist at times does some burped segments too, then, they put in some awesome slided power chords here and there. The last track on this sick EP is an absolute groove fest, lots of bouncy riffs and chugs and it’s my favourite called: “Manchurian Candidate” it has fucking mosh riffs, breakdowns and slow crushing grooves. They build-up to an absolutely filthy breakdown to close it off, if you guys love absolutely awesome Brutal Death that’s groovy and crushing, then get on this!
Rating: 8.35/10
Bandcamp // Facebook // Instagram
Liitra – Putrid Reflection
Swedish Death Metal that will whet your appetite!
I’ve returned for you all here and first up on my list here is this brand new Swedish Death Metal outfit, that’s named Liitra and this is the band’s debut full length offering that’s named “Putrid Reflection” this debut album has an intro of a thunderstorm that it starts off with, then it goes into sinister tremolos and then some groovy riffs kick in with the mid-ranged growls. There’s lots of palm-muted chugs and fast individual riffs being played too; these chuggy riffs continue and there’s some hints of diminished harmonies in addition too. There are some meaty riffs all over this, you have massive chugs happening too along with audible bass sections added in here and there also; you even get some killer breakdowns put into this too. There are more diminished harmonies and riffs going on and more soundbites appear in the form of a woman screaming.
This is FFO: Vomitory, Monstrosity and a bit of seven string Prog Death like Suffocation.
There’s tapped harmonies and slight djenty sections on here at times and some sections are incredibly speedy and finally, you get to hear some awesome groovy riffs going on and some pick rakes as well in-between that sounds gnarly. There are also a few bouncy power chord sections going on here and there. They fade out the guitars to let these clean sorrowful harmonies breathe and this is on my favourite track “Neckbreaking Force” then, there’s a creepy voice that says ‘suffering, has already begun’ before more sick chugs come into play. You have some awesome tremolo harmonies in here also and there’s no solos in this, as it’s all about riffs, grooves and breakdowns; if this appeals to you, then absolutely do check this one out!
Rating: 8.2/10
Bandcamp // Instagram
Crimson Glory – Chasing The Hydra
The OG’s still got it!
So, I have only got two more reviews here for you guys today and next up is this Heavy/Power Metal legends who helped form and stabilize the genre. This is, none other than Crimson Glory with their latest release that’s called “Chasing The Hydra” and this is the band’s sixth full length overall and these guys formed in 1983, but they were known as Pierced Arrow back in 1979 – 1982, then, they changed their name to a different moniker, under Beowulf for a year, until they chose Crimson Glory. Anyways, this album has riffs that groove to start it off with synths in-between them and these riffs are fast with individual notes in them as well; the guitars do get drowned out by the vocals at times, which isn’t ideal; then, they let the bass breathe and they even give it a little solo until the harmonies come in! Which is surprising and then they bring in clean guitar passages, next, they put in palm-muted harmonies and then we’re back to groovy palm-muted riffs and gallops in the title track ‘Chasing The Hydra!’ There’s plenty of rich harmonies behind the vocals and they bring back the bass for a time and there’s a clap of thunder, soundbite wise.
This is FFO: Iron Maiden, Lionsoul and don’t forget MANOWAR too.
Acoustic guitar melodies are also added into this, and you will hear a few pinch harmonics added in too occasionally, then, there’s some stop-start palm-muting and gallops are being done also. The most of this full length is mid-paced too, next, they put in more harmonies, and some are ascending and descending and then, they put in a meaty death metal breakdown riff before a solo and these are melodic and shreddy with a few tapping elements in them and more synths appear also. My favourite track on here is named: “Indelible Ashes” and it has Middle Eastern synths before it goes into a duet between bass and diminished guitar passages and I love the key of this track; it then opens up with killer, meaty riffs with pinch harmonics in it and these keep going and it has an epic chorus line to it that soars.
The solo in this is catchy and it soars too, then, there’s bouncy grooves and standard rock ‘n’ roll riffs for a very short time and you get some shreddy harmonies in here too, then they drop things out and really slow things down again with clean guitar harmonies, slow tong hits and more bass spotlight. The last track has creepy synths until it explodes into some later Death-like harmonies and they put in more pinch harmonics; bouncy power chord sections and harmonies come in behind the vocals that sounds very Maiden-like and Travis does some borderline growls that are more wispy and for one section, there’s an injection of thrash during a solo, before they return to the rest of the album’s pacing. If you like early Power Metal and Maiden (I don’t know why you won’t) then definitely check this riffy and atmospheric release out!