DEAD METAL

Old Tower has been featured a number of times  previously . This Dutch dungeon synth/dark ambient artist never disappoints. Described as "a conceptual release" rather than an album, Portrait Of A Medieval Presence does lean more towards the ambient side of things. Eight tracks/thirty minutes of eerie soundscape, which comes with the following synopsis: heretics unjustly burned at the stake, the masses laughing at their despair, a new inquisition is on the rise... the cancer of civilization is circular, not linear. patterns repeat, the same portrait is painted every time. the canvas is dark, rotten, full of mold and stench. the painting a semblance of pain, knowledge and hate. we are the new dark age. You can preview it below, and purchase it here . Portrait Of A Medieval Presence by Old Tower

Hailing from Atlanta, Father Befouled have been active since 2006 and have an extensive back catalogue. Brought to us by Everlasting Spew, this new instalment is a little hard to review. The three main tracks are outstanding - circa 16.5 minutes of premium death-doom. These guys are often compared to  Incantation , which is fair but certainly no bad thing, and on this release they represent the most enjoyable side of that style and do so extremely well. Next we have a cover of  Morbid Angel 's Pain Divine, which is perfectly decent but doesn't fit all that well with the preceding material. Digital customers then also get a cover of Vulgar Necrolatry by Abhorrence, which probably fits better with core EP but has a very different production to the rest of the package. Essentially - we would recommend buying the three original tracks on  Bandcamp  and burning yourself a CD, assuming that you are a fan of consistency at least. On that basis, Immaculate Pain can is one of the year&#

This is not your typical Swedish death metal. Moondark only ever recorded one demo, but it is excellent. “Demo #1” a.k.a. “The Shadowpath” was originally released in 1993. Seven tracks of doomy, dark material with low growls and a rotten production. Could be filed next to the likes of Eternal Darkness , Sororicide , Accidental Suicide … You can listen to it below, and hunt down a copy here .

Banished By Sin is album number thirteen from these death metal legends. It has been six years since Deicide 's last effort, and has felt like longer thanks to this one having been teased for so long - it was announced seven months ago, and we only got to hear the first single (which can be found at the bottom of this post) on Christmas Day. It will finally be released on 26th April, brought to us by new label Reigning Phoenix Music. The last couple of albums were excellent, so hopes are very high going into this one.

This is the sound of Las Vegas, apparently. Goatlord formed in 1985 and recorded a few demos, followed by only one album. There are two different versions of that album, however - the original 1991 Turbo Music mix, and the 1992 JL America mix. This write-up is based on the latter; or more specifically, the 2007 Nuclear War Now reissue of the latter (which you can listen to below, along with a couple of bonus tracks that have featured on some editions of that reissue). Reflections Of The Solstice is blackened death-doom greatness. Occult atmospherics, psychedelic flavours... sloppy and primitive, in an entirely charming way, while also being utterly commanding. It's a pretty unique offering, but you could make comparisons with Drawing Down The Moon by Beherit , Gloomlord by Worm , the  Hearse  full-length... It is certainly an offering that doesn't get nearly enough credit. Reflections of the Solstice by Goatlord

Uncontrollable Malformity   is the first release from this Finnish band. Originally put out (on cassette and vinyl) in January 2023, by Rotted Life, it has taken a full year for the CD to materialise. The five tracks here are well-produced, while maintaining an appropriate level of filth. Memorable riffs, captivating leads, and a lot of early Corpsegrinder-era Cannibal Corpse-style groove. A thoroughly impressive effort from these youngsters, death metal of the highest order. We are very much looking forward to their debut album.

Benediction  ( UK ) -  The Grand Leveller  ( Nuclear Blast, 1991 ): Seance  ( Sweden ) –  Fornever Laid To Rest  ( Black Mark, 1992 ): Deteriorate  ( US ) –  Rotting In Hell  ( JL America, 1993 ): Funebrarum  ( US ) –  Beneath The Columns Of Abandoned Gods  ( Necroharmonic, 2001 ):