The Asteroid Bullet Belt

Frothing at the mouth and chomping at the bit.  Like most people in the world, I am not a native English speaker. Yet, given the increasingly globalised nature of the world – and especially the internet – I inevitably partake and interact with content and websites that by and large could be defined as part of “the Anglosphere”. It’s impossible to avoid, and despite my misgivings with it, it has its benefits, but that’s neither here nor there. One peculiar characteristic of these digital spaces is the fact that foreign languages stick out like a sore thumb when used, a non-Latin script being a surefire way to catch someone’s eye, which was precisely what happened to me with Λύσσα Κακιά ( Literally “Mean Rabies”, an expression used to describe excessive obsession or indiscriminate anger). Seeing the band’s name pop up on Metallum’s “New Bands” tab made an impression on me, and the death/crust classification only served to further pique my interest, considering how specific this niche...

"Shit has riffs, man."  Side-projects are a fascinating thing, but also a total crapshoot. For one, they can provide a glimpse into a different side of an artist’s sources of inspiration, or what might interest them besides their main source of creative output. People are complicated after all, that much is evident from all the black metal musicians who also have an ambient side-project. Yet at the same time, it does raise the question of how much effort has been put into it, especially when it appears to be a footnote in their catalogue. Συντρίμμια’s (Debris) Repulsive Inexpression piqued my interest owing to Ivan’s (of Kvadrat fame) involvement, not only as a musician, but also as a graphic designer. Seeing as the trio dropped this album back in 2023 without much fanfare, I couldn’t help but be a little curious about it. Was it a different take on deathgrind, a little fun thing to do on the side, or just an unremarkable album in the infinite ocean of the internet? One thin...

Sure, it rips, but where do we go from here? Well, it sure was a tumultuous couple of years before Abraded’s “latest” work finally managed to see the light of day. Originally slated to come out some time in 2024 on an entirely different label, Ethereal Emanations from Cthonic Caries , was seemingly cancelled, and all traces of it removed off the internet, barring the occasional listing on websites such as the Metal Archives and RateYourMusic. It’s not up to me to figure out what went down that resulted in that, as what counts is that we do have “new” music to listen to from the Cleveland trio.  I use quotations when referring to the music’s recency, as the material was for the most part recorded by Patric Pariano back in 2017, preceding the band’s first release, the Descendants of the Swamp demo. It’s something that is evident in the music itself, as it’s a far cry from 2023’s divisive Unadulterated Perversity , the sound being stripped back and eschewing any sort of experimentat...

Hit 'em with the brain destroyer. I haven’t gone digging in a while, but I generally take great pleasure in stumbling upon up-and-coming bands, preferably ones that could be defined as “hungry”. Musicians pour their hearts into their art, and then thrust it upon an unsuspecting public in hopes of being seen and appreciated by however small a group. It takes a lot of courage and drive to do that, and it’s such a quality that defines Sacred Serenity, and their debut, Redefining Life . This one-man progressive deathrash (!) project is helmed by the young (even younger at the time of this album’s release) Jonas Doehler, who somehow managed to put together something that one would expect from veterans of the style, all while juggling five more active bands at the time of writing. Talk about having a busy schedule. Clocking in at less than 25 minutes (without the instrumental version of the album), this is a release that operates on “shock and awe” tactics. Though there are moments of re...

Can't spell "Nunslaughter" without laughter! (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on March 20th 2024)  Nunslaughter are a band I’d define as “underground heroes”. They never quite hit it big, but have nevertheless amassed a small horde of incredibly loyal fans, which they’ve been liberally showering with material over the years. Admittedly, most of it is splits and live recordings, whose importance to the band’s canon is trivial at the best of times, but even this approach has resulted in some gems being hidden throughout their catalogue. That being said, the real meat is in their full-lengths, which are never above the 35-minute mark (discounting disc 2 of Angelic Dread ), of which Goat stands tallest. To anyone who (for some reason) hasn’t been acquainted with the band yet, their sound is as straightforward as it gets. Brief and simplistic bursts of intensity that bring to mind death metal’s formative days, where it was yet to be divorced from t...

This review is full of shit. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on March 20th 2024)  While the title might make you think I am about to offer very little insight into Tithe’s debut effort, Penance , it’s more about the trio’s irreverence towards this text than anything else. As the group says on “Apostasy”, “the critics are full of shit”, a stance that in and of itself challenges the existence of this review. How do you cover something that outright rejects any opinion one might form about it? All things considered, it’s not even a particularly original stance to have in the context of heavy music, many a band have said they don’t aim for mainstream appeal and want to stay underground, but few are as forward about it. Nevertheless, the purpose of this text isn’t to philosophise about the concept of reviewing music, not to mention the band themselves said that they too are full of shit, thus enabling me to write with impunity. Tithe’s mix of sounds is surpr...

Forever locked in a war of attrition. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on February 7th 2024)  Chances are I’ll get my “death metal fan” licence revoked for this, but I’m not a huge Bolt Thrower fan. Sure, there’s a couple of their albums I enjoy, but ultimately they never resonated with me quite as much as they seem to have with most extreme metal fans. What’s even weirder is that I have found myself to be more engaged by bands inspired by them, which cropped up with metal’s revival in the 21st century. Among these bands is Trenchgrinder, whose debut, Peace Is Forfeit is a release I found myself listening to far more often than I ever expected for some reason. Now as one might have gathered from my prologue and the band’s name, this is some exceptionally militaristic death metal, filled to the brim with drumming and riffs that, like their main inspiration, sound like a tank running over you. That being said, while they do take a lot of influence from Bol...

Eyes glaring from beyond. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on December 28th 2022)  Two years ago, I had covered the Horrific Manifestations split between Sedimentum and Phobophilic, two young bands without many releases to their name. In that review I had mentioned how I was looking forward to their eventual debuts whenever they’d come out. And wouldn’t you know it, they both decided to drop their full-length debuts in 2022 less than a month apart from one another. The topic of this review is Phobophilic’s Enveloping Absurdity , an album that turned out to be quite the pleasant surprise, especially when considering the fact that what I heard on the split hadn’t surprised me in any way. Like any self-respecting (quotation marks optional) death metal band in the 21st century, Phobophilic draws from the past in regards to its influences. What makes them stand out a little more compared to the average Entombedcore or caverndeath band is their tendency to lo...

Who is your daddy and what does he do? (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on December 28th 2022)  Like many others who spend the majority of their time listening to music, I end up going on “archaeological expeditions”, scrounging up obscurities across a genre, in this case metal. I feel like listening to these types of recordings can provide one with a good amount of insight in regards to how a specific sound or scene evolved over time, and while the work may not be perfect, it can still make for an enjoyable listen. Such is the case with Poison’s very first demo, Sons of Evil , a shining example of a release forgotten by time, despite it being one of the very first examples of extreme metal. For one, this demo might just be one of the rawest recordings I’ve ever subjected my ears to. There’s heaps of ear-piercing feedback laced throughout every song here, with the guitars being reduced to a thin buzz that’s overpowered by the tinny drums, while the bass i...

The churning never stops. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on November 11th, 2022)  (Disclaimer: Aphotic Sonance was kind enough to send me a promotional copy of this album, but this review is in no way shaped by that gesture.) "Atmosphere" is a term that gets thrown around a lot in the context of modern extreme metal. Whether a band sounds “evil”, or the music is “cavernous”, there tend to be a lot of buzzwords that can tip someone off in regards to an album’s contents. There are many musicians who have made a name for themselves by way of their music being impregnable, and Harvest Gulgaltha could very well become one of them. Their sophomore record, Ancient Woods is one of the most obscure and murky releases I’ve heard this year. Problem is, the atmospherics are all it has going for it for the most part. The Arizona trio is capable of writing some churning and undoubtedly oppressive riffs, but there’s an issue when all of them sound the same a...

Something's rotten in the state of Denmark. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on June 23rd 2022)  For how small it is, Denmark has become the 21st century’s death metal Mecca. Between all the great bands that are coming out from there and festivals like Killtown, it just has it all for the genre’s aficionados. There’s just so many great projects that have come out of there in the past decade alone that it’s hard to count them all. So obviously, one can imagine my surprise when I saw the heavy-hitters that showed up on this split, the aptly named Tetralogy of Death . And let me tell you, it lives up to its title. Out of the 4 names presented here, I was only unfamiliar with Deiquisitor, so you can imagine my curiosity when I saw that their track, “Sadhus of the Serpents” was the opener. Let me tell you though, I was wholly unprepared for what graced my ears. It was the aural equivalent of being thrown back into the primordial soup from whence we came, a re...

The sound of advanced decay. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on June 23rd 2022)  Caveman death metal has been at what is arguably peak popularity over the past few years. It’s a style that prides itself in its simplicity, and there’s a certain honesty to its dedication to death metal’s primitive side that I can’t help but admire. Undergang are the scene’s undisputed leaders at this point, and not without reason. They’ve mastered the art of “the riff” and have been proving that consistently for the past decade now. As for Japan’s Anatomia, they’ve made quite a name for themselves in death/doom circles, although I never warmed up to them much. So it was only natural that these underground giants would collaborate for a rather stirring split, which serves as the topic of this review. Truth be told, I didn’t go into Anatomia’s side with the highest expectations, especially after seeing that the opener, “Total Darkness”, was almost 12 minutes long. Memories...

A return to the past wouldn't hurt. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on May 30th 2022)  I’ve had a soft spot for Septicflesh ever since I first listened to them. Being one of the first death metal bands I got into, I was fascinated by their post- Communion output, with all its bombast and flair. Years later though I found myself growing more averse to what they did in Titan and Codex Omega , and gravitated towards their earlier material. Nevertheless, I still find some of their post-reunion work quite compelling, or at the very least interesting. Modern Primitive is their newest album, and it’s a reminder of why I stick with what they did before 2011. For the third time in a row, Septicflesh are seemingly on autopilot, creating music that barely feels different compared to their last two albums. We get the same riffs, which have been run down to the ground by now, and orchestral arrangements that for the most part instil a feeling of déjà vu. You could ...

Sloppy exhumations and blunt force trauma. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on May 1st 2022)  The Japanese have always had a knack for extreme music, regardless of genre. Across the musical spectrum, one can find multiple musicians hailing from the Land of the Rising Sun that are either on the cutting edge, or are great at what they do. Death/doom stalwarts Coffins are very much a case of the latter. The group has been churning out their disgusting brand of death metal since the early 2000s, with dozens of splits to their name. But the real meat in this band’s catalogue is in their full-lengths, such as the topic of today’s review, Beyond the Circular Demise , an exquisite 43 minute long bludgeoning that is one step away from leaving you with brain damage. Throughout their discography, Coffins keep things slow, dirty, and heavy, and things are no different here. Fast riffs are in short supply here, and when they do show up they serve more as a way to punc...

One of death metal's forgotten monuments. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on April 30th 2022)  The late 90s and early 2000s were a very difficult period for death metal. The old-school was rapidly losing ground to the rising wave of tech wank and brutal/slam death, solidifying what is arguably the genre’s nadir. While there are releases worth writing about, it was nothing like the pre-1995 era, where things were arguably at their best. Thankfully, the midpoint of the aughts graced us with what came to be known as the OSDM revival, leading to bands looking towards the old-school for inspiration. Among big hitters like Dead Congregation though, there were many equally interesting bands that regrettably got lost in the shuffle. One of them is the topic of today’s review, Deathevokation. The Californian quartet’s debut, The Chalice of Ages , is one of the best death metal albums of the 2000s, and one that was sadly forgotten by time. Earlier, I mentioned how...