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Not too late to delete that Carnage 

The cover for the New Europe record 

That and the Anthrax new one are shocking.

Static Abyss - Labyrinth of Veins 9/10
Back to this diabolical debut while awaiting the new one to darken my doorstep. Chris Reifert and Greg Wilkinson dredging the sewers and spewing up an album so grotty that even Autopsy themselves would be proud.

Hesperia - Picenum (True Marchigian Black Metal Renaissance) 8.5/10
Discovered this one man project from Italy last year and was immediately hooked. This is more of the same and that's fine by me, a rich, sprawling tapestry of ice cold Black Metal complemented by myriad Medieval and Folk interludes. Perfect for a night by the fireside.

Clairvoyance - Chasm of Immurement 8/10
These young Poles made a pretty compelling case for being a band to keep an eye on last year with this oppressive Death Metal debut in the vein of Incantation, Phrenelith, Tomb Mold etc. Paolo Girardi's stunning, spiralling artwork was strikingly similar to his cover for the Ordh debut earlier this year. Both are killer.

Chalice - Divine Spear 7.5/10
New one from Finland's Chalice (there are currently ten Chalice's listed on the Archives) out on Dying Victims this year, very enjoyable listen, like a more mystical, subtle version of Sumerlands with a vocal style that hearkens back to a 70's prog rock sound, blending with, rather than soaring over the traditional riffing style.

Urn -Soul Destroyers 7/10
Back to 2008 for some good ol' nasty Black Thrash heavily and poignantly indebted to Venom. Bishop Len Brennan ain't faring so well on the front of this one.

Kreator - Krushers of The World 6/10
Revisiting this to see if there's any sliver of a chance of it making an end of year list....Nope, it's alright but no, the bar is way above this festival friendly fun . And that title just fucking kills me, how bad it is . Mega Kringe Mille.

Yeah, Schammasch are excellent, haven't listened to them in a while, must pull one out.  Oops, ..baiting the Shepherd there ....Whoa, baiting the shepherd sounds even worse 

Yep, 793 The Battle of Lindisfarne, one of the best introductions to an album  you could hope to hear.

Must give that a listen later.

One phrase I never considered for a Benediction record is 'artistry and soul'! It is better than 2.5/5 though.

So much for watching my posts 

I haven't listened to Tool in years but a random pull gave me Aenima for the upcoming week so ..interesting to see how that goes.

 

Hexorcist - Crucificial Imprecations 9/10
The most violent half hour of Morbid Death Metal I've heard all year, going to have to grab that debut of Invictus after snaring this.

Cirith Ungol - Servants Of Chaos 8.5/10
Two cds and a dvd's worth of old and alternative recordings (synth madness) ahead of the new album this month. Heads up Carnage!

Helloween - Live...In The Uk 8/10
Lot of nostalgia for this one, my second live one ever after Maiden's ,finding some of the in between song goofiness irksome now with age but the segue into Future World is still pretty fuckin' cool.

Sorcery - The Immaculate Sin 7.5/10
Swedish DM pioneers back with their fifth full length which satisfyingly marries the brutal melodies of Dismember with the blunt force of Asphyx. I do love a purple DM cover and this one's a beaut. Might flirt around the edges of a top 26 for '26 .

Deathstorm - Cascophonies 7.5/10
After five albums in twenty years, these thrashers have called it a day and lowered their flag of hate shortly after releasing this one back in May. One more half hour of Austrian kreated thrash to go out on? Don't mind if I do.

Witching Hour - Descending...Where Time Has Ceased To Exist 5/10
The album cover would suggest Atlantean Kodex style epic Doom but Germany's Witching Hour play an uptempo blackened Heavy Metal more in the vein of Deceased. This is my first pick up despite them being around for twenty odd years but ,and it's a big Serena Williams size butt, the grating, monotone vocal style , while not a dealbreaker for me, is definitely the weak link here and pulls this down from a minimum 8/10, the music itself is that good.

Dress code?

It was, I think I had it number three in my end of year list, this one won't be far off either.

Hehe, sorry about that,...if you liked the debut or this style in general then yeah I'm afraid it's another wallet hit bud.

The new Dissimulator, they've only gone and topped the debut, this could beat Ripper for tech - thrasher of the year!!

Yep, I had a live boot on the record player the other day too, that's one dude who ain't gonna rest in peace, he'll be raising hell forever.