Metal

Review - Testament: Titans of Creation

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What can possibly be said about Testament at this point that hasn’t already been mentioned? The lords of thrash stormed onto the scene in 1987 with The Legacy, have been pretty active ever since, not to mention have unleashed a number of classic songs and albums for the style in their lifetime. To this day, the group continues to grow, experiment, and refuse to slow down. This is no more apparent than with their thirteenth studio album Titans of Creation, due to drop through Nuclear Blast Records. But is this new entry worth the hype built by the songs already streamed, or is it more of a flash in the pan this time around?
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REVIEW - Vernon of Persia: Ascend

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Vernon of Persia hails from San Antonio, Texas with a solid backing behind them already. The outfit has stuck to self-producing and self-releasing their own material, dropping their debut effort Relativity Of back in February of 2017. Since then the group has been focusing on establishing themselves through live performances, having shared the stage with headlining acts ranging from As I Lay Dying and Suicide Silence all the way to Miss May I and Silent Planet according to the accompanying press release. Three years later and they present their latest, a six song recording dubbed Ascend. But does this melodic act live up to the expectations, or have they grown away from what made them stand out in the first place?
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REVIEW - Reveal: Scissorgod

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Originally formed as Waster back in 2006, Sweden’s Reveal took their black/thrash metal inspirations and ran in a fairly different direction over time. The four-piece act established themselves as a mixture of those staples, but with a hint of psychedelic rock and experimentation, leading to the underground success that was their second full-length effort Flystrips through Sepulchral Voice Records. Fast forward three years and we now face their third studio album, Scissorgod, which appears to change things up a little more. But are some of these diversities worth it, or does this actually take a step back from what the group is capable of?
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REVIEW - AngelBlast: Rotting Paradise

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According to the accompanying press release, AngelBlast is a brand new outfit composed of members from Excruciate and Darkened, the latter being label mates given this new outfit recently signed to Edged Circle Records. Their debut outing is nothing more than a three song seven-inch vinyl/digital release titled Rotting Paradise, boasting comparisons to plenty of nineties old-school death metal and “Swedeath” legends ranging from Morbid Angel to Malevolent Creation and even Necrophobic. But does this just over eight minutes long EP accomplish what it sets out to do, or does it fail to leave even the most memorable of indentations upon the minds of those privy enough to give it the time of day?
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REVIEW - Visceral Disgorge: Slithering Evisceration

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Visceral Disgorge formed back in 2007 after Eaten Alive had disbanded, only to follow suit and split in 2009. Later that very year, Visceral Disgorge reformed, focusing on honing their craft and what would eventually become their debut album. That recording, Ingesting Putridity, was released in 2011 through Amputated Vein Records. Since then? Studio silence. That was until they signed with Agonia Records, unleashed a digital single titled “Architects of Warping Flesh” in June of 2019, acting as a precursor to their long awaited follow-up Slithering Evisceration. But does the band manage to capture that raw spark that made the first outing such a beloved underground gem, or does it suffer from too much digital interference?
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