Back catalogue: Metal

Review: This six-track release is a metal reimagining of River Boy's award-winning soundtrack for the cult indie game 'Cult of the Lamb'. This unholy alliance of metal heavyweights, including Howard Jones (ex-Killswitch Engage), Matthew K. Heafy (Trivium), and members of Polyphia and Animals As Leaders, delivers a brutal yet melodic take on the game's haunting soundscapes. Produced by Sam George (Pick Up Goliath), the music conjures a dark and atmospheric world, where crushing riffs and soaring vocals intertwine with intricate guitar work and thunderous drumming. This is no mere tribute; it's a full-blown metal exorcism, a testament to the power of video game music to transcend its original context and inspire new creative heights.

Review: Returning with their highly anticipated follow up to 2019's sophomore sewer pit Posthumous Humiliation that saw them included on numerous end of year lists from the likes of Pitchfork and Exclaim!, Philadelphia old school death metal revivalists Pissgrave deliver in abundance on their horrific third full-length Malignant Worthlessness. Compared to pioneering gore and blasphemy-obsessed acts such as Cannibal Corpse and Deicide, the band continue to refine their abrasive, audible assault of crunching riffage, Morse Code blastbeats and unintelligible gutturals, whilst leaning every further into their "real world" depictions of inhumane violence, refraining from the fantasy elements of many of their peers, with guitarist Tim Mellon even clarifying their unpleasant ethos - "The overall aesthetic is reality-based death. Pissgrave are rooted in reality rather than fantasy. Images of violent, offensive death are what is necessary to portray us musically and visually." Lovely.