Music — Monsters, Madness and Magic

Black Metal Titans Avslut Bestow Another Black Metal Assault

Not content to rest upon their thorny bed of thrash-laden black metal, Avslut return with their second offering, Tyranni.

I first discovered Avslut by accident last year while perusing black metal tags for some gym music, and was immediately enamored with this band's delivery of tight, thrashy black metal in their album, Deceptis. Not content to rest on their laurels, Swedish metal outfit Avslut return with yet another black metal offering, tightening their visceral assault into an even sharper musical design.

Museum of Macabre MediaDaniel EdenfieldApril 13, 2020black metal, Osmose Productions, review, Black Metal, MetalComment

Trad/Speed Metalers Blood Star Refuse To Give In To The Fear On Debut EP

I will admit that before I had the opportunity to write this I was drooling over the first track of this EP not long after it hit Bandcamp. I won’t shy from the fact that I am a sucker for killer cover art and god damn this cover is sick. You could easily convince me that this was a release from 1984 based on the art alone. I wouldn’t argue.

Virginia based artist Markus Fussell can lend his brush to as many albums as possible and the scene would benefit. Google him and you’ll see what I mean. Of course, we’ve all been lead-in by the promise of good album art only to be left disappointed. I’m happy to report that this is not the case with Blood Star’s The Fear.

Museum of Macabre MediaGuest UserApril 9, 2020nwothm, Blood Star, The Fear, review, metal, heavy metalComment

Finnish Black Metal Supergroup Bythos Premier New Track "Omega Dragon"

The debut album of Finland’s Bythos, The Womb of Zero, featuring current and former members of Behexen, Sargeist and Horna is set to be unleashed on April 24th via Terratur Possessions.

Today, however, the band revealed the new track, Omega Dragon, on the Official Black Metal Promotions YouTube Channel and it definitely stands shoulder to shoulder with all the legends of Finnish Black Metal. Take a listen:

Bestial, Bludgeoning, Blasting Blasphemy: Hegemony's "Enthroned by Persecution"

I find myself growing pickier and pickier when it comes to Death Metal as I get older. The genre has, undoubtedly, produced more than its share of classic releases: Altars of Madness, Onward to Golgotha, Close to a World Below and None So Vile are where my preferences lie. I will never be able to get into the over-produced, sterile exercises in musical masturbation that make up a lot of the modern Death Metal scene, however.

Luckily, I don’t have to clear that hurdle with Hegemony’s Enthroned by Persecution. Available April 24th on Hell’s Headbangers, it’s a raw, bludgeoning, filthy mess of an album that manages to be a breath of fresh air while simultaneously calling back to genre greats in a manner that isn’t just flat-out aping the source material.

Bütcher's "666 Goats Carry My Chariot" is the Best Metal Album of 2020... So Far.

666 Goats Carry My Chariot is the second album from Antwerp, Belgium’s Bütcher and it’s a Speed Metal masterwork. This band combines all the best parts of Show No Mercy-era Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Diamond Head, Motörhead and Judas Priest with a generous dash of Bathory and Dissection for good measure. There isn’t a single wasted track on the album, it’s all prime cuts, from the second the intro track fades into the Ace of Spades-inspired “Iron Bitch,” to the final note of the somber, acoustic “Exaltation of Sulphur.”

Jason Edwards' Top Five Metal Albums of 2019

I haven’t listened to as much music this year as I probably should have. That being said, there are definitely a few albums that stood out among my (admittedly limited) listening this year. With that out of the way, here are my top five Metal albums of 2019 in no particular order. If you see something you like, make sure to support the bands by visiting the links provided.

Ceremonial Castings' "Salem 1692," a Bewitching, Accursed Masterpiece.

Have you ever wondered what a Black Metal album written by two direct-descendants of one of the leading judges in the Salem Witch Trials would sound like? Well, wonder no more, because Ceremonial Castings’ Salem 1692 is the album you’ve been looking for and it’s every bit as relentless and uncompromising as John Hathorne himself.