A Flourishing Scourge (2017)

This band attack with Progressive ferocity. This album is an experience of its own, and while it certainly would please those who liked this kind of musicianship material, the words I personally would use to describe the feelings I get when I listen to albums like this are broad, monstrous, ecstatic, and meditative. Aggressive and raw, but also mesmerizing. songs are interesting and dynamic, and makes me wanna pay attention much longer. The guitars commands a good headbanging rhythm; this one is sure to be a good live album. Another place this monstrous cd becomes obvious is in the drum department. Drums sound open, organic, lively. This is especially a good thing when you consider a drummer playing grooves, beats, fills, and other nuances that not even other drummers in metal bothered to try. It sounds ecstatic and meditative because it interfuses the melodic elements of Brutal death Metal with progressive ferocity.  There's some peaceful acoustic intros briefly accompanied by fretless bass and a jazz fusion drum beat before introducing the meat of the song, which is signified by broad, breathing chords and a militaristic snare beat; it quickly becomes obvious you're about to hear brutality and technical-sounding triplet section nudges. This is an ambitious album, taking risks and introducing elements to make this a staunchly different-sounding effort for a extreme metal band. So yeah, needless to say I strongly recommend listening to this.
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Review by Paul Caravasi

Kalopsia-Angelplague (2017)

What I heard was a solid brutal death metal album with technical riffs and deep growled vocals. Not a breakdown infested album with “hardcore” vocals. This album has a heavy guitar sound but the riffs (yes, plural, a breakdown would only have one) are technical and interesting as well as being brutal. The best riffs on this album are in the beginnings of songs, but they are also featured throughout the songs. In fact I am confident to say that there are no bad riffs on this album. The solos here are shorter and scarcer than an usual death metal band but they are still really good and not “a jumble of random notes” and doesn’t get boring. The drumming is really consistent in this album, it keeps the songs together and of course, it’s brutal. The vocals are decent and with pitched growls and go with the music. The music is brutal you'll be moshing and headbanging to your heart's content. In the end, buy it. You probably like death metal if you came here, and therefore Kalopsia is a must, and this album is well performed.
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horrorpaingoredeath.com
Review by Paul Caravasi

Madrost-The Essence of time matches no Flesh (2017)

Thrash is a stagnant old soldier of a genre that hasn't exactly been flourishing in the last 20-odd years, but there have been several diamonds-in-the-rough sorts of bands popping up that have revitalized it a bit and kept the "old school" sound alive. While the modern school of Metal is not usually viewed as anything worthwhile, this album is what I'd consider an example of new wave of metal done right - punchy, heavy riffs with melodic, winding solos and gritty, rough vocals that are still understandable and nowhere near the Metalcore crap. This is a damn fine album from a new  band. This album is a straight ahead riff-hammer bludgeon attack, with some more melodic leads and matured songwriting tendencies, but make no mistake, this is a purebred Death/Thrash record through and through, and Madrost do not let you forget that. The leads might be more melodic and profound than the previous album, but "The essence of time matches no flesh" is still 7 tracks of intense, face-ripping metal that is sure to please just about anyone who isn't stuck in the 80's. "The silence in ruins", "Abstractions"  and "No future" are amazing songs. This album just fucking smokes. I can tell the band is in top form here, shrieking and blaspheming their way through every single track with manic energy and rock-solid conviction. The guitar tone is thick and meaty and it will smash your skull without mercy, and the production as a whole is just excellent - clear and polished, yet not at all neutered, with every bit of the aggression that a Metal band should always have. Very well done. Don't pay attention to anyone who tells you that the new bands are weak or limp or any of that, Madrost is a triumphant metal band,  this is ass-kicking good all the same. Recommended.
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Review by Paul Caravasi

Serpentine Dominion (2016)

These musicians are very comprehensive, they know what they want and thus their sound isn't the usual technical pretentiousness, but although less dexterity put into this work, there is plenty of room for instrumental technicality aided by awesome feeling of each instrument. The structure of each track is layered out uniquely; sometimes you might get the idea that these musicians are trying to test their artistic creativeness by incorporating a lot of different techniques. The riffs are layered out progressively and brutal, staying at an intense comfort zone helped by the incredibly powerful singing of Corpsegrinder Fisher. I don't give a fuck if he's a sell out or not , on this album he kicks ass.Drums are what make this album killer; there is a reasonable amount of skill injected into this material, although some of it is a reflection of how powerful drum lines can be without the need to create something uberfast or very spontaneous by nature. Serpentine Dominion also help define melody, although to a more educated level of a spiritual acknowledgement of the music rather than a static one. The guitar solos are extremely savage. Demonstrating again, that extreme metal could be derived from almost anything which has potential. Featuring : George Corpsegrinder (Cannibal Corpse) vocals, Adam Dutkiewicz (Killswitch Engage) guitars, bass, vocals and Shannon Lucas (The black dahlia murder) drums.
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metalblade.com
Review by Paul Caravasi

The Foreshadowing-Seven heads Ten horns (2016)

Melancholy, progressive experiments and doom in a rock format equals an addictive atmosphere similar to Katatonia in feeling or Anathema, this album evokes an experimental 70's rock feeling instrumentally, while still mostly remaining fairly standard in terms of songwriting. The album is filled with emotion displayed through memorable clean guitar passages and the occasional piano theme. Dreamy atmosphere and whispering vocal delivery is a perfect buildup that still avoids being cheesy. The vocal delivery alternates between rather calm vocal on the verses and a soaring, sorrowful chorus, also deliver some excellent dynamics in the songs with a piano section as emotional as ever. Rides on a wave of melodic guitar arrangements, with a polished, almost pop-like vocal performance. Towards the ending the album gets more dreadfully depressive in their gloomy expression of sorrow, which doesn't make them as appropriate for every day listening, if your every day isn't dreadfully depressive of course. A very good album and a mandatory one for the metal fan with a taste for the depressive.
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metalblade.com
Review by Paul Caravasi

Six Feet Under-Torment (2017)

Torment is the band's latest outing and marks their shift away from the thrash-influenced riffing and towards a more technical death metal approach to the guitar work whilst pushing for a more groove-oriented sound that incorporates a lot more melody into the frenzy of technically accomplished guitar lines. Blast beats and tremolo picked riffs is the main course on this album. Incredible doses of pure gore-ridden Death Metal brutality and this is essential. It carries an extremely melodic approach without ever really compromising the flat out heavy sound that Six feet under are renowned from. Barnes decided to take a much more decipherable style of growling and this really works within the context of the album as he is constantly painting gruesome pictures over the top of some of the most controlled chaos ever put to his records. The guitar work on this album is a mass of trills and sliding power chord with tremolo picked riffs scattered throughout which leads to this being a record for any aspiring guitar player out there to attempt to play along to and marvel at the technical wizardry on display. The drumming is a solid performance, the bass performance on this album is incredibly complex and brutal. Torment is an absolutely essential Death Metal album and could be considered as an entry point for anyone who is unfamiliar with the genre to sink their teeth into. This is a fast and furious display of aggression that is packed full of great songs such as "Sacrificial Kill", "Skeleton" and "Funeral Mask". As part of a genre not renowned for being catchy this album could be considered as somewhat of an anomaly but it is a good form of anomaly and finds the band at their peak of creativity.
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metalblade.com
Review by Paul Caravasi