Melodic Death Metal is one of those genres that you either pull off brilliantly or end up sounding like a complete rip-off of somebody else. Luckily for us, Voices of Ruin manages to blend tons of familiar influences into a very cohesive and engaging sound that the band can call their own. Unleashing “Path to Immortality”, the band delivers nearly 50 minutes of superbly crafted music, perfectly balancing aggression, melody and skill.

Opening with the very Insomnium-esque “Other Side”, the band quickly delivers the goods with the high-octane “Carved Out”. Featuring a blend of Amon Amarth and Omnium Gatherum, the band delivers crushing riffs and very melodic passages. The band’s lead guitarist proficiency is clearly showcased on the ridiculously crafty title track, with an insane solo by Tom Barrett. Both guitars lead the band’s musical efforts in brilliant tracks like “Suffering Silence” and “Reach Toward the Sky”, which have killer headbanging passages and hectic drums.

Being one of the best Post-Black Metal/Blackgaze bands in the world, we were quite impressed and glad at the same time that An Autumn fo Crippled Children is now on a ‘bigger’ label like Prosthetic Records. With the potential to reach a broader set of audiences, “All Fell Silent, Everything Went Quiet” is one the band's most exciting releases to date. Featuring ten songs and nearly 40 minutes of captivating music filled with dreamy atmospherics and contrasting harsh vocals.

The release starts with the lush “I Became You”, which sets a very melancholic backdrop to this release. The distinctive metallic textured guitars nicely weave back and forth Post-Rocky interludes and tempo changes as we can hear in “Water’s Edge” and “Everlasting”. While you can recognize some Alcest-like and Deafheaven-esque elements in the band’s sound, they have been refining their signature style through their eight full-length releases.

Unleashing a hellish debut release, today we have Germany’s Slagmark with “Purging Sacred Soils”. With a relentless Black Metal approach and featuring members of Sarkrista and Totenwache, this debut release is one of the most mature and devastating we have heard in 2020. For fans and purists of the old Black Metal flame, this release delivers over 30 minutes of ravaging brutality and intensity, not to be missed in any connoisseur's collection.

After setting an evil atmospheric opening with “Hexenhammer”, “Feeding the Urge to Destroy” pummels the listener with waves of harshness. The vocals are as hellish and punishing as they can get, while the musical structure is raw and direct, bringing out the hate and viciousness in the band’s musical approach. Not wasting any time, the album title track delivers a more tempered opening that transitions into all-out-war with the intense drumming and relentless guitar riffing.

Led by Jonas Stålhammar of At the Gates fame, today we have Bombs of Hades and their short-but-sweet EP “Phantom Bell”. Released as a teaser before the band records their next full-length release, the listener is treated to four tracks, two of them covers, and 16 minutes of music. With a Crusty Death Metal sound, this album is a nice warm-up but it feels a bit too short, as we are always caught off-guard when the next release one our playlists sneaks up on us.

Opening with the title track, we get a furious guitar onslaught that quickly escalates with fast drumming and a moshing vibe. The guitar leads in this song give us a certain retro/crusty edge that we don’t typically find in our playlist. “Bridge of Sighs” is more settled as the crunchy guitars lead way to a very catchy vibe. The climax portion of this track is very impressive and nicely developed, firing up guitar solos and atmospheric elements.

After taking a brief hiatus a few years ago, Katatonia has returned with their signature melancholic Progressive/Alternative Rock and Metal mix with “City Burials”. As one of their most accessible and darker releases in recent years, this album delivers eleven tracks and nearly 50 minutes of highly emotional music with the band’s signature sound. If you are into the mellower side of things, this release is the perfect backdrop for a quiet evening of quarantine.

The release opens with the moody vibes of “Heart Set to Divide” and “Behind the Blood”, both tracks nicely frame Jonas Renkse emotive vocals with nice atmospherics and heavy guitars. More experimental elements are used on songs like “Lacque” and “Vanishers”, which show an interesting electronic undertone, similar to what Anathema tried on their last release. Other tracks just deliver the oozing melancholy achieved by lush vocal melodies and weeping guitars like “Rein”.

It still baffles us that such an awesome band like Turmion Kätilöt is not known as much outside of Finland. We stumbled on this band attending a pre-Tuska 2008 show at the legendary Tavastia Nightclub and have been fans ever since, hell, our alarm clock wake up song is the awesome “U.S.C.H!”. Fanboying aside, “Global Warming” marks the band’s first release through Nuclear Blast records and delivers 13 extremely catchy and aggressive Industrial Metal songs. If you are a fan of Pain, then this band will blow you away.

The ride begins with the futuristic atmospherics of “Naitu”, a song that slowly evolved into an Industrial cyber-goth wet dream. With all lyrics in Finnish, lead vocalist MC Raaka Pee unleashes his harsh vocals alongside Shag-U’s back up to create a very chaotic vibe as the electronic beats and guitars provide unrivaled catchiness. All synths and programming is done by Janne Tolsa, which some might know from his excellent work in bands like Eternal Tears of Sorrow and Tarot, his creativity provides the listener with the funkiness behind brilliant tracks like “Kyntövuohi”, “Viha Ja Rakkaus”, and one of our favorites “Turvasana”.

Delivering even more of that good old Melodic Black Metal from the late 90’s/early 2000’s, today we have Finland’s Nôidva and their debut EP “Windseller”. Featuring six intense tracks filled with catchy riffs, gaudy (in a good way) atmospherics and devilish vocals, this release will surely resonate with fans of Ancient, Limbonic Art, Tartaros and even early Emperor.

Blowing the lid off on this release, we have the intense title track leading the band’s efforts. Combining lively guitars, crafty drums, and a playful combination of atmospheric elements and raw vocals, this song creates a very engaging and catchy atmosphere, with a certain sinister edge to it. While the music is not overly complex, the straightforw

One of the very few advantages of the COVID-19 pandemic is that we can now work from home and listen to music non-stop. As one of the more interesting releases to creep into our inbox, today we have Forlesen and their two song, 36 minute release “Hierophant Violent”. Featuring members of Lotus Thief, Kayo Dot, Botanist, Maudlin of the Well this band creates a transcendental musical experience with a very powerful and carefully crafted sound.

Kicking off the release with the hypnotizing atmospherics of “Following Light”, the band creates a very dreamy mood as the song progresses into magical ethereal interludes and very cathartic moments. The guitars and drums are perfectly leveled with the atmospheric elements, allowing a very unique interplay between these elements and the haunting male and female vocals.

Unleashing one of the catchiest Melodic/Gothic Metal/Rock releases of 2020, today we have Finland’s Nicumo and their latest release “Inertia”. With a sound very reminiscent of bands like To/Die/For, H.I.M and even The Man Eating Tree, this band brings back a sound that has slowly been dying and delivers nine superb tracks for the nostalgia fans of emotional and catchy music of the mid 2000’s.

The album kicks off with the soaring vocals of “Three Pyres”, a very subtle track that showcases the band’s influences from both the Metal and Rock scenes. The mixture of vocal styles and excellent guitars make for a very catchy and engaging opening song. With a very well defined formula, the band delivers superbly catchy songs like “Dark Rivers”, “Witch Hunt” and its epic chorus section, and the moody “Tree of Life”. For those looking for more mellow and introspective pieces, “Same Blood” has that ballad-esque edge, similar to bands like (late) Lacrimas Profundere.

Hailing from Finland and featuring members of Horna, Behexen and Ajattara, we instantly expected “The Womb of Zero” to be a furiously crushing Black Metal release and we got more than what we bargained for. While the BM elements and influences are there, the heavy melodic and Doomy prevail in this release to craft a very unique and completely unexpected sound. Delivering perfectly balanced songs, this release shows a very unique and different side of the band members involved.

The album instantly crafts a very sinister atmosphere with the devilish riffs of “Black Labyrinth”. Here is also where you notice that the tempo is a bit slower than expected, as it creates a very cavernous and crushing vibe. The harsh vocals are perfectly blended into melodic and at times Doomy riffs as the opener song fades into the dramatic guitar leads of “When Gold Turns into Lead”. If you start listening to the album on this track, you would be confused as it has a certain old-school Katatonia/October Tide vibe.