Is there anything actually left to say about the Antichrist? Apparently, if you’re Ricky Hoover and the Las Vegas lot in Ov Sulfur, the answer is a resounding, guttural "yes", though they've pivoted from the usual anti-church venom toward something far more existential on Endless. It’s a massive, sweltering slab of blackened deathcore that feels like being slowly crushed by a falling cathedral, painful, certainly, but you can’t help but admire the architecture while your ribs are snapping.
The record kicks off with Endless/Godless, and honestly, it’s a bit of a testosterone sandwich. You know the type. It’s got that "biblical" scale, all symphonic swells and jackhammer percussion that makes your morning brew rattle in the mug. But then we hit Seed, and you realize they aren't just here to make a racket; the guitars are sharp, clinical, almost and the synths add this layer of theatrical drama that feels like Fleshgod Apocalypse had a nasty accident with a vat of bleach.
Now, here’s where it gets dicey for the purists. Wither is almost entirely clean vocals. Shocking, I know. I had to double-check I hadn't accidentally sat on the remote and switched to a hard rock station, but it actually works, acting as a sort of palate cleanser before the real filth returns. Perhaps it’s a bit of a curveball, a bit "country rhythm" in places, if you squint but given the record deals with the suffocating nature of eternity and grief, the vulnerability feels earned rather than just a cynical grab for radio play.
The second half is a proper "who’s who" of the underground. You’ve got Josh Davies from Ingested lending his pipes to Dread, which is pure blunt-force trauma, and Johnny Ciardullo (Carcosa) upping the ante on Bleak. It’s a lot of guests, three in a row is pushing it, really and I did find myself wondering if the band’s own identity was getting a bit buried under all the help, but the sheer momentum of tracks like Vast Eternal keeps the wheels from falling off. That one, in particular, is a mid-paced monolith that sounds like staring into the void and realizing the void is looking back and it’s forgot its spectacles.
It’s not perfect, some of the breakdowns feel a bit "by the numbers," like they’re checking off a list and the production is so polished you could probably see your own face in it. But? It’s heavy. It’s honest. And it’s got enough cinematic flair to make a great listen. 8/10
The Eternal - Celestial (Reigning Phoenix Music) [Matt Bladen]
A collaboration between Australian's Mark Kelson (vocals/guitars) and Richie Poate (guitars) and Finns Niclas Etelävuori (bass) and Jan Rechberger (drums), both former and current members of Amorphis. The Eternal is an international melodic doom band that draws from Amorphis, Katatonia, Swallow The Sun and many others in that Scandinavian doom tradition.
With seven album behind them, Celestial is an EP that sees them continuing their cinematic style that debuted on Reigning Phoenix Music with previous album Skinwalker. It's an EP that is inspired by the wonders of the cosmos and how love can transcend all physical realms even death, a melancholic record that traces connection through grief and loss.
Celestial features five new tracks along with Everlasting MMXVI, a re-recording of a song featured on the album Sleep Of Reason from 2005, here it gets a new overhaul 25 years after it's initial release. From the bold unfolding of Absence Of Light and Celestial Veil through the gothic realms of It All Ends, we creep towards the end with the introspective power of Bleeding Into Light and Celestial bewitches with it's highly accomplished melodic doom. 8/10
Carrion Vael – Slay Utterly (Unique Leader Records) [Spike]
I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the "serial killer" niche in death metal, provided it’s handled with a bit of panache and not just the usual "I found a saw in the shed" bollocks. Carrion Vael have been kicking around for a while now, but Slay Utterly feels like the moment they finally decided to sharpen the axe properly. It is technical. It is melodic. It is, frankly, a bit of a headache if you aren't prepared for the sheer velocity of it all.
Unique Leader Records usually signs bands that can play a thousand notes a second, and this lot certainly fit the bill, but there's a theatricality here that’s genuinely unsettling.
The opener 19(Fucking)78 hits like a bucket of cold water to the face, no preamble, just straight into that high-speed, technical churn that makes you wonder if the drummer has extra limbs hidden somewhere. But then? You get Truth Or Consequences. That Spanish guitar intro! Unexpected, right? It is a brilliant bit of misdirection before the track descends into a frantic, blackened death metal sprawl that reminds me of The Black Dahlia Murder at their most caffeinated. It’s got that "grand guignol" vibe, like a horror film where the soundtrack is just as bloody as the visuals.
I suspect some of the old-school crowd will have a proper moan about the clean vocals in 1912 and Lord Of 74. I’ll be honest, I hesitated too. Is it a bit much? Perhaps. But in the context of an album exploring the fractured minds of the Hillside Stranglers and Jack The Ripper, that melodic vulnerability actually adds a layer of genuine creepiness. It’s not "radio friendly" clean; it’s "the voice in your head telling you to do bad things" clean.
30 On 9 and 40 Echoes Upon The Parlor are where the technical gymnastics really go off the rails. The riffs are jagged, stabbing things that never seem to settle and while I did find myself wishing for a bit more "groove" to hang my hat on, the sheer momentum is undeniable. It’s an exhausting listen. By the time you reach Bisection 47, you feel like you’ve done ten rounds with a particularly athletic ghost.
Is it perfect? Not quite. The production sometimes robs the "gristle" from the more brutal sections. And yes, the symphonic bits can feel a tad overproduced if you’re used to the more stripped-back stuff. But as a piece of high-speed, serial-killer-obsessed art? It’s a ripper. Proper mental. 8/10
In A House Of Heartbeats - Divination Of Dreams (Ripcord Records) [Matt Bladen]
There are probably many things you would associate with Essex, but I doubt instrumental post rock would be one of them. However formed in 2022, In A House Of Heartbeats are a band with a very big melting pot of influences but all of their music is built on a duality between dreams and nightmares, one minute carrying you into eternal worlds and then the next gripping it's hands around your throat.
Celestial features five new tracks along with Everlasting MMXVI, a re-recording of a song featured on the album Sleep Of Reason from 2005, here it gets a new overhaul 25 years after it's initial release. From the bold unfolding of Absence Of Light and Celestial Veil through the gothic realms of It All Ends, we creep towards the end with the introspective power of Bleeding Into Light and Celestial bewitches with it's highly accomplished melodic doom. 8/10
Carrion Vael – Slay Utterly (Unique Leader Records) [Spike]
I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the "serial killer" niche in death metal, provided it’s handled with a bit of panache and not just the usual "I found a saw in the shed" bollocks. Carrion Vael have been kicking around for a while now, but Slay Utterly feels like the moment they finally decided to sharpen the axe properly. It is technical. It is melodic. It is, frankly, a bit of a headache if you aren't prepared for the sheer velocity of it all.
Unique Leader Records usually signs bands that can play a thousand notes a second, and this lot certainly fit the bill, but there's a theatricality here that’s genuinely unsettling.
The opener 19(Fucking)78 hits like a bucket of cold water to the face, no preamble, just straight into that high-speed, technical churn that makes you wonder if the drummer has extra limbs hidden somewhere. But then? You get Truth Or Consequences. That Spanish guitar intro! Unexpected, right? It is a brilliant bit of misdirection before the track descends into a frantic, blackened death metal sprawl that reminds me of The Black Dahlia Murder at their most caffeinated. It’s got that "grand guignol" vibe, like a horror film where the soundtrack is just as bloody as the visuals.
I suspect some of the old-school crowd will have a proper moan about the clean vocals in 1912 and Lord Of 74. I’ll be honest, I hesitated too. Is it a bit much? Perhaps. But in the context of an album exploring the fractured minds of the Hillside Stranglers and Jack The Ripper, that melodic vulnerability actually adds a layer of genuine creepiness. It’s not "radio friendly" clean; it’s "the voice in your head telling you to do bad things" clean.
30 On 9 and 40 Echoes Upon The Parlor are where the technical gymnastics really go off the rails. The riffs are jagged, stabbing things that never seem to settle and while I did find myself wishing for a bit more "groove" to hang my hat on, the sheer momentum is undeniable. It’s an exhausting listen. By the time you reach Bisection 47, you feel like you’ve done ten rounds with a particularly athletic ghost.
Is it perfect? Not quite. The production sometimes robs the "gristle" from the more brutal sections. And yes, the symphonic bits can feel a tad overproduced if you’re used to the more stripped-back stuff. But as a piece of high-speed, serial-killer-obsessed art? It’s a ripper. Proper mental. 8/10
In A House Of Heartbeats - Divination Of Dreams (Ripcord Records) [Matt Bladen]
There are probably many things you would associate with Essex, but I doubt instrumental post rock would be one of them. However formed in 2022, In A House Of Heartbeats are a band with a very big melting pot of influences but all of their music is built on a duality between dreams and nightmares, one minute carrying you into eternal worlds and then the next gripping it's hands around your throat.
They state genre influences such as post-rock, doom, goth and shoegaze and all of things are present on their second album Divination Of Dreams, crafting soundscapes that need you to listen closely, the layered, experimental music takes inspiration from "arthouse cinema and silent film to folklore, myth, and the murky corners of the subconscious", these songs use hypnotic repetition to hammer their potency home as the samples and spoken word elements bring the cinematics.
Recorded on analogue equipment alongside Misha Hering with Magnus Lindberg of Cult Of Luna mastering it, Divination Of Dreams has dynamism and drama sewn through it's eclectic musical fabric. 8/10
Recorded on analogue equipment alongside Misha Hering with Magnus Lindberg of Cult Of Luna mastering it, Divination Of Dreams has dynamism and drama sewn through it's eclectic musical fabric. 8/10
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