The Asteroid Bullet Belt

Rebirth through destruction. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on March 20th 2024)  Supergroups tend to be quite the big gamble. More often than not they feel like entities founded on their members’ fame, and the results produced from these bands are more often than not half-hearted imitations of older sounds, rather than something that one would expect from musicians of such a calibre. That being said, there are exceptions to every rule, and one of them is Sól án varma, an entity that, considering how many people are involved in it, could be considered a supergroup to end all supergroups. The Icelandic black metal scene is quite incestuous, with artists getting together on multiple different projects, so it’s no surprise that some of the country’s most wanted decided to get together for a work of this scope. “So, how did it turn out?”, I hear you asking. Well, it’s pretty damn good, I’ll tell you what. For how many cooks are involved here, Sól án varma’...

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...

Darkthrone time travels to Tumblr circa 2014. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on November 14th, 2022)  The band that everyone loves to love and loves to hate is has returned, and they give just as little of a fuck for the world’s opinion as they did the last 30 years. Darkthrone is back ladies and gents, with their newest project Astral Fortress having come out last month. It’s been slightly over a year since their last release, Eternal Hails…… , which was one of the best things the duo had done in the 21st century, so I was curious to see what the future had for us in store after that. Lo and behold, we got new music completely out of the blue, with a very goofy and tongue-in-cheek cover that seems endearing when it comes from these guys. But what about the music itself, does it stack up to their previous works, yes or no? As one would expect from a band as divisive as Darkthrone, the answer lies somewhere in between. While there are songs here that wo...

Beginning to think is beginning to be undermined. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on August 31st 2022)  It has taken me two and a half years, and a very inconsistent writing schedule, but we’ve finally reached 100 reviews. From albums I’ve loved to ones I detest, from the mainstream to obscurities, I’d like to think I’ve covered plenty of ground, though never as much as I’d have liked. Writing for the Archives has been a hobby of mine that I am honestly quite grateful I picked up, for a variety of reasons. For one, it has motivated me to discover and bring attention to more underground music, and it has also helped improve my writing somewhat (seriously, if you think my recent reviews are bad do yourselves a favour and don’t read my first 30). I didn’t start this without much thought outside of “Yeah I’ll write about my top 10 from 2019 and that’ll be it”. Seeing as I’m reaching an important milestone here though, I think it’s only fair that I finally co...

Groovy occult rituals in the forest. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on July 30th 2022)  You know, there’s something really nice about seeing the Norwegian black metal scene still putting out new material. Not so much from the old guard (though their work is more often than not at the very least solid), but more so from fresh bands, especially ones who do something interesting with the sound. One of the more interesting bands to have come out there in recent memory is Acârash, and their 2018 debut, In Chaos Becrowned . I stumbled upon these guys by way of perusing my significant other’s playlists, and upon having my eye caught by the simple-but-effective artwork, I decided to give them a listen. What I found was an album that stuck in my head way more than I expected it to. I say that because goodness me is this release catchy. The band conjures a frosty atmosphere thanks to a slew of sticky riffs and melodies that I regularly found myself thinking abo...

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...

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...

Journeying with no end in sight (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on January 7th 2022)   Mizmor’s a very important project to me as a music listener. Not only did A.L.N.’s mix of black and doom metal open my eyes to an entirely new style, it also served as the catalyst for me to start writing these reviews. Seeing as Wit’s End is right around the corner, I decided to shed a light on This Unabating Wakefulness , one of the many (sadly) overlooked releases of the band. This EP (or single, however you’d like to call it), is comprised of the eponymous title track, a single sprawling 15 minute composition. In essence, it’s a compact version of what Mizmor usually does, featuring solemn acoustics, mixed with ferocious tremolo riffs and crushing doom segments. The first half is focused on acoustic guitars, with a small handful of motifs that are being added upon as the song progresses. The distant distorted guitars, the minimalist cymbal flourishes, as well as the c...

Why all the ellipses? (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on July 12th, 2021)   Darkthrone should require no introduction at this point. The band’s storied catalogue spans 3 decades full of works that have consistently gone against the grain in terms of what was expected from them. From death metal, to the legendary “Unholy Trinity”, to crust punk, they’ve always done whatever they wanted without any care for trends and what was popular. The 2010’s saw the band indulge in music that inspired them, showing us their passion for heavy metal of old, with albums like The Underground Resistance and Arctic Thunder . Eternal Hails...... (I am not putting the ellipses again) is a continuation of the band’s exploration of old school sounds, this time those of doom metal. Like with most of the duo’s releases over the past decade, there are plenty of moments that bring to mind legends that were a great influence on the band, such as Celtic Frost and Black Sabbath, th...