sulphurous - the black mouth of sepulchre

boy, what a blast of relentless death/doom from denmark. much unexpected, much appreciated. one of the coolest releases this year. me saco un ojo records. 2021.

happy new year to you dudes and dudettes...

eximperitus - sahrartu

these crazy metalheads from belarus went through a lot in recent times regarding the political situation in their home country. don't know if this added to the greatness that is this new album but"sahrartu" is a masterpiece and much overlooked, it seems. check them out! random colour vinyl out of 300 copies. willowtip records. 2021.

the ocean - pelagial

great album by a great band (or collective as they only have one-two stable members) in a nice vinyl edition. double clear 10" vinyl in a gatefold with obi strip. proggy/sludgy metal that makes you crave for more. released in 2013 on metal blade. this is a 2019 re-press on pelagic records.

archspire - bleed the future

the new archspire is a tech death kick to the head. brilliant record! couldn't resist to get the tape version as well. milky clear/white marble out of 200 copies and tape limited to the same amount of copies. season of mist records. 2021.

liar - deathrow earth

finally a re-press of the 1999 album 'deathrow earth' by H8000 hardcore legend's liar. i was hunting this og burgundy pressing for quite some time but never came across a single copy. needless tosay i am stoked to have it now in hands, and what a beauty it is. crazy dunk! pressing and limited to 107 copies. self-released by former band members (i believe) under the banner of fx7 records.

psycroptic - the watcher of all

bought this pretty exactly one year ago but never posted it, so here we go. two track e.p. by australia's finest in techy death metal, psycroptic. solid but only two songs leave you really wanting more, so what about a new album actually? 300 copies pressed by agonia records. 2020.

burial in the sky - the consumed self

real proggy death metal including the dude who played the saxophone on rivers of nihil's last two records. to be heard on bass and obviously on sax here. really good stuff and the vinyl pressings looks lovely, too. 250 copies pressed by rising nemesis records. 2021.

crowbar - sever the wicked hand

yet another re-issue of a crowbar album by e-one heavy (or mnrk heavy as the company is called now). i passed on a few because i have previous pressings but with 'sever the wicked hand' it was a no-brainer to get a copy because i was severly lacking a vinyl copy of the album. 500 copies on opaque apple red vinyl. none heavier.

mastodon - hushed and grim

ah man, i don't know. there are quite some real good songs on 'hushed & grim' but i still don't really know whether this album clicks with me or not. i can't be sure really as i had way too few listens as of now. the 80min + of the album don't help in that matter because i find it hard to sit through that long of a duration. what is safe to say is that this record is a bit more mellow than previous work. i'll give it another listen... reprise records. 2021.

winds of plague - the great stone war

winds of plague are a guilty pleasure of mine. although i find them quite cheesy (wop on their 2008 shit!) from time to time, there is no denying the guys wrote some top tier deathcore along the way. i love "decimate the weak" from 2008 and had "the great stone war" on cd since its release. i couldn't imagine someone would give a damn for that album in 2021 but here we are with a freaking colour vinyl version of "the great stone war". clear yellow vinyl out of 200 copies. transcending records. 2009/2021.

cradle of filth - existence is futile

i have to come to peace with the fact that paul allender is gone for good and that cof won't write another "damnation & a day", or "midian", or "cruelty & the beast", or even a "godspeed on the devil's thunder". with that mindset in charge i really think that "existence is futile" is a very good album. definitely a grower as i find myself liking it more and more with every listen. this edition is a real looker, orange marble vinyl out of 300 copies. nuclear blast. 2021.

obscura - a valediction

a new obscura around band leader steffen kummerer and a new album called "a valediction". the new team orbits a lot more around traditional metal riffing with some influences taken from the scandinavian school. pretty cool, i really like it. white with red/toffee splatter double vinyl with an etching on the d-side. 300 copies made. nuclear blast. 2021.

thy art is murder - hate

almost a classic and finally available on vinyl again. years ago i had a chance to snag one of those olive/bone merge variants for what is now considered a steal. well, time was on my side eventually and here we are with this beauty of a re-press. 600 pressed on clear/yellow pinwheel vinyl. 2012/2021.

unmerciful - wrath encompassed

death metal at the extreme end of the spectrum with a slight tech edge to it. very enjoyable and another proof that willowtip records is second to none in their obscure extreme metal niche. random coloured vinyl out of 330 copies. 2020.

bolt thrower - those once loyal

the final album by this british war machine of a death metal band from 2005. another stellar release in their flawless discography. re-issue on "oakwood" brown marbled vinyl out of 1.000 copies. 2021.

venom prison - samsara

a death metal slap right in your face - this is what it feels like listening to venom prison. with a slight hardcore edge to it, they know how to balance their high aggression level with some nasty groove. yeah, i like them. 750 copies made on white vinyl. prosthetic records. 2019.

inferi - vile genesis

this band is a furious storm of metal and cannot be stopped once they roll. "vile genesis" is fast, vicious and melodic in the right moments. it will definitely cement the band's status within the vast extreme metal scene as one of the best melodic death metal outfits out there. "sleepwalker" variant in tri-fold sleeve out of 200 copies. the artisan era. 2021.

between the buried and me - colors II

you know what to expect from btbam - a massive load of prog metal greatness. "colors II" is no exception, maybe a bit more of the same but so deliciously executed that i don't give a damn. cool to see that sumerian went all out on even this retail variant. 2021.

bolt thrower - mercenary

re-issue of mighty bolt thrower's sixth full length "mercenary". the band found its niche in the death metal genre with "war master" and went straight down that path subsequently. scorcher from front to back. "snow slush white marble" variant limited to 1.000 copies. 1998/2021.

rivers of nihil - the work

man, these dudes made some development in sound. if it's for the better or the worse is your decision. as for me, i am in team "the work" for sure! love the presentation by metal blade records as well. this is the emp mailorder eclusive variant #195 out of 200 copies. 2021.

aethereus - absentia (green splatter vinyl)

i already have this baby on the transparent sea blue variant which was less limited and kind of the distro edition. so it was way easier to get but also more boring compared to the two more limited variants. when i ordered the severed savior and the diskreet vinyl lately, i couldn't say no to this super nice green splatter edition. great eerie prog/tech death metal by these u.s. dudes. limited to 125 copies.

diskreet - engage the mechanicality

another blast from the past brought back to vinyl by the artisan era. malcolm pugh - guitarist in inferi, sole member of a loathing requiem and co-owner of the artisan era - played the six (or seven) strings in diskreet back in 2010 which might have something to do with this re-press. anyway, album is a scorcher. grave variant is limited to 100 copies.

severed savior - servile insurrection

the artisan era does not only a great job pumping out new quality tech death but also gracing older releases with a deserved vinyl treatment. spawn of possession or a loathing requiem comes to my mind here. severed savior's sophomore album "servile insurrection" is one of those gems. originally released in 2008, this album is complex and catchy at the same time. like it a lot. insurrection variant limited to 100 copies.

high on fire - snakes for the divine (colour re-press)

finally eone came around the corner with a colour vinyl pressing for high on fire's 2010 album "snakes for the divine". the records were released last year already (to its 10th anniversary), i just forgot to post it here. the splatter is subtle but looks cool when glowing. the album is splendid, of course.

type o negative - slow, deep and hard (og pressing)

type o became one of my most spun artists in the course of the last three years, ever since i snagged the re-press of "bloody kisses" by music on vinyl. by the time i learned that original pressings of early type o records don't come cheap. i managed to get this beauty of a roadracer/roadrunner first press for the half of the current going rate. sounds and looks beautiful! roadrunner records. 1991.

fear factory - aggression continuum

a great band that finally seems to be torn apart. after guitarist dino cazares successfully battled a law suit with former members christian olde wolbers and raymond herrera but severed all ties with them, another integral part of fear factory has called it quits - vocalist burton c. bell. at least he layed down all vocals for the new record before that. the turmoil seems to be part of the band. we'll see what the future holds. "aggression continuum" is fantastic by the way. 500 copies on red/black marble vinyl. nuclear blast. 2021.

sanguisugabogg - tortured whole

pure fun, solo-free old school death metal by this unpronounceable band. century media pressed 200 copies on translucent pink vinyl and sold it exclusively through emp mailorder. 2021.

timeghoul - discography 1992 - 1994

obscure sci-fi prog death metal from the vaults. this band released two demos in the early nineties and apparently no one gave a damn back then. nowadays this sound and lyrical content is super trendy and that's why the crypt records and dark descent records were able to already unleash three pressing of this banger. 125 copies on this red/yellow merge vinyl. 2021.