Ash Borer – Bloodlands 12″
Listeners will find themselves enraptured by the textures and emotional weight, held in place by the sheer gravitas of the music; delighted by the beautiful contradiction of light and darkness.
Reviews
Orange Goblin – A Eulogy for the Fans
Man, I dunno if they’ll get a full hour when they open for Clutch on these shores, but this seems like a pretty decent precursor of things to come.
Ne Obliviscaris – Portal of I
Overall, this album is a triumph. Its complexity may make it a little hard for some people to swallow, but Portal of I is a hugely ambitious and multifaceted debut which is not only a great achievement for the band, but also sure to become a seminal album of the genre.
Anciients – Heart of Oak
Put even simpler, this is lumber, beard, and weed metal, homegrown with Columbian ocean/mountain/sky pride.
Skeletal Remains – Beyond The Flesh
The feel here is harkening back to the good old 90s, as they combine the brutality of Death and Gorguts and the precision of Pestilence. With the emphasis nowadays creating that classic old school Death metal sounds it is refreshing to hear a hybrid like Skeletal Remains.
The Solemn Curse – Gateways to Eternity
In all, Gateways to Eternity makes for a strong introduction to The Solemn Curse, mixing elements of metal’s past and present, and providing hints to the band’s future direction.
Lifeless – Godconstruct
I know some diehards may be put off by some of the layered melodies but really this is a true and true sounding old school death metal album that harkens back to the good old days with great looking artwork and solid production in which every instrument can be heard clearly.
KEN Mode – Entrench
To say this album is an early contender for album of the year is not unwarranted. KEN Mode’s execution here is nothing short of outstanding and if the rest of Canada’s wealth of metal talent want a shot at next year’s Juno, they’ve got some serious catching up to do.
Lost Gem Alert: Northern Oak – Monuments
The best music always comes from the heart, always takes you on a different journey each time you listen to is. Northern Oak have achieved this to lasting effect with Monuments and I couldn’t praise them more for it.
Sannhet – Known Flood
The end result: despite some notable moments, the album is not as powerful or as interesting as early previews suggested it might be.