Black Metal

Review - Carnifex: Slow Death

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Since reuniting in 2013 after briefly disbanding a year prior, California deathcore act Carnifex have found themselves taking on a far bleaker sound with their output. A blackened one, if you will. It was a sensation one could always feel on earlier works, but it wasn’t until 2014’s Die Without Hope that this jump became far more obvious. Comparisons to influences from bands like Deceased to Emperor were thrown about from long time fans and even some nay-sayers alike. Many wondered if this was just a stylistic choice for this album, or if they would continue to nurture their sound for future recordings. Enter 2016’s Slow Death, the next chapter of progression and second to be told through Nuclear Blast Records. But does this effort stand out like last time, or has the band reverted back to their old ways?
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Review - In Cauda Venenum / Heir / Spectrale: Split

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Emanations Records is a subdivision of the french underground experimental black metal label Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions. This is where we find the brand new split release between relatively fresh acts In Cauda Venenum, Heir, and Spectrale, all hailing from Emanations’ home country. The release brings together the atmospheric to the sludgy across seven tracks, three a piece save for In Cauda Venenum who only gets one due to the track’s length. But will this digisleeve turn newcomers into fans, or will it only turn them off given the placement of the performances themselves?
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Review - Cloak: Cloak

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Cloak is a black metal/hard rock group that hails from Atlanta, Georgia, and they have been making a name for themselves since forming back in 2013. The four-piece containing ex-Haunting guitarist/vocalist Scott Taydom and current Living Decay bassist Matt Scott who joined two years later, released their first demo digitally in 2015, and eventually put it on CD for a strictly limited run of twenty-five copies available. A few months passed and the group find themselves working with Boris Records to unleash a re-recorded seven-inch EP version of their brand of left-hand path spirituality themed material. But does this simple start sound like anything worth vesting interest in?
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Review - Wolves Den: Deus Vult

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Wolves Den is a three-piece black metal group from Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Within its ranks are Manu Di Camillo on drums and Helge Stang (Arafel, ex-Reign of Decay) handling bass and vocal duties, both of which are former members of epic folk/viking metal act Equilibrium. In April of 2015, the trio independently released their debut album Deus Vult in digital and digipack formats, though the lineage of the members couldn’t bring the group out of obscurity. So, was this an overlooked gem of last year, or does it have more of a mundane appeal?
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