Diabolic Oath “Unholy Barbaric Hymns”

 

    Twisting, tormenting and utterly agonizing riffs can be heard throughout Diabolic Oath's newest sonically extreme occult offering titled, ““Unholy Barbaric Hymns.” The sadistic blackened death metal horde from Portland, OR has definitely established themselves as a profane force with their punishing style of unorthodox brutality 

    Teaming up with Sentient Ruin for the release of this four song EP, the band continues to push the boundaries by hammering out some insanely dynamic and decimating arrangements. As much as you can hear a variety of influences from the abhorrent atmospheres of savage 90's black metal with the bestial riffage of gruesome death metal, the band has truly achieved a unique and almost inhuman sound. I personally was a huge fan of their debut album, “Profane Death Exodus,” and feel as though the band has not disappointed with their following releases ever since putting that album out. 

    Although there are only four songs, the music is extremely enthralling by pulling you into this entropic soundscape of insidious proportions. Arguably some of the most intense riffs and drumming can be heard from Diabolic Oath on this release, especially once the opening song “Emblazoned Upon Ebony Winds,” kicks into full gear. The drumming on this album really hits hard to compliment the monstrous riffs as well as the demonic vocals. I really like the mix of low death growls with the more black metal style cries, because the contrast created a very pestilent atmosphere. The second track, “Radiant Mars, Reveal the Spear of War,” is a insanely deafening song with a cataclysmic introduction composition to make you feel as though you are being violently are thrown into a barbaric battlefield. At the end of the song, the music takes on a very haunting turn, and the transition from the extreme sounding punishment to a surrealistic atmosphere really strengthens the band’s mind altering approach to crafting songs. 

    The third song, “Within the Jaws of Lecherous Fire,” once again delves into the blackened death madness with more sanity shredding riffs. I thought the bombastically primitive sounding drum parts towards the end of the song added a profound touch to the track. On the final song, “Vomiting Flames in Rapturous Conflagration,” the band starts out with a more doom like style, but eventually jumps into the dissonant fires of hell by conjuring up more gruesome blackened death arrangements . In terms of the production, I think all the four songs were recorded extremely well, and really whoever mixed the release vividly captured the band’s uncompromising and unorthodox style. I don’t think there was one weak moment on this release, and the musicianship definitely played a part as to why the tracks sounded undeniably solid. 

    “Unholy Barbaric Hymns” from Diabolic Oath is definitely a release that fans of blackened death metal should checkout, especially if you enjoy a band that knows how to craft ritualistic like atmospheres with some sadistic arrangements. I looked to when this album is release via Sentient Ruin on June 5ht, as the label has always been a champion for extremely talented underground acts. After hearing this new EP, I am highly anticipating a full-length from Diabolic Oath given the level of musicianship and malevolent creatively that they were able to capture on this release. 

Check out the track "Emblazoned Upon Ebony Winds" below:

Sentient Ruin Bandcamp:

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/

Diabolic Oath Bandcamp:

https://diabolicoath.bandcamp.com/album/unholy-barbaric-hymns

The True None "Supreme Dedication to the Craft Is Forever"

    After 11 years of vehement dedication and unyielding artistic creativity, The True One unleashes upon the world an offering titled, “Supreme Dedication to the Craft Is Forever.” Nicholas Mendiola, the heart and soul behind The True None, has been working on this since 2015 and over the years he has put together a very raw and emotionally driven release that transcends the pressuring confines of a falling into specific sub-genre of music. 

    The True None is not an act that seems to concern itself with labels, or is trying to chase a local musical trends. There is a very unique fusion of sounds that can be heard throughout this album with elements that pull out the raw and savage primitive aura of black metal with the spiritualistic tranquility of dark acoustic folk. Using an acoustic guitar to primarily hammer out his mix of captivating riffs, Nicholas seems to a be a keen composer who seems possessed when he shouts out his profound lyrics. 

    The album's opening song “Stories” begins with a haunting piano arrangement which Nicholas speaks over with an unapologetic and very serious tone. The acoustic guitar comes crashing into the sonic landscape just as his vocals become even more aggressive to match the rush of entropic emotion. Throughout the album I do believe listeners will notice how music constantly changes tone from very calm almost transcendental sounds to a more intense burst of raw expression. The second song “Desert Skyline” was a really good example of a track where at one moment I was really captivated by the vibrant acoustic chords being played to all of a sudden getting thrown into a chaotic surge of sounds. The vocal style he uses it very unique and fits the music extremely well. His words seem to highlight his inner ethos, which he presents with a profoundly passionate tone. 

    “Dusk Skies Over The Dreaming Forests,” is one song off of the album that I found to be very strong in terms of the main riff and how the music came relentlessly flowing out as if he was pouring every ounce of energy he could muster into striking the chords while confidently shouting over the cataclysmic noises. Another song which caught my attention was “Burial Transcendence,” which I think took a lot of elements from atmospheric black as well as the acoustic arrangement which be heard in some of Bathory’s music like on "Twilight of the Gods." The music felt almost cinematic at certain parts of the song and really created this awe-inspiring atmosphere. 

    When you look at the entire album and listen to each of the twelve songs, you can definitely feel that not one second was wasted and that each song is an important part of the overall vision. The title track for example, really dives into the primitive instrumental themes utilized throughout the album, but goes even deeper into the mindset which challenges the modern world's suffocating confinements and pushes this resilient mindset. Also, I think that some of the acoustic riffs on this album are extremely heavy in the sense that they provide a impactful punch to compliment the meaningful lyrical content. The way in which the acoustic guitar parts were recorded and how everything was mixed together is definitely an important reason as to why I think the songs on this album leave such an impact. 

    In the end, I would highly recommend people checkout "Supreme Dedication to the Craft Is Forever “ by The True None, especially if you want to hear an album that goes against the grain and features a plethora of raw acoustic riffs with even rawer vocals to highlight powerful words on each song. After years of commitment I think what Nicholas was able to accomplish is very impressive, but what stands out the most is how he does not compromise,  or deludes his musical vision. On each song I can confidently say that he is dedicated to his craft, so I hope people take the chance to hear what he has to offer. 

Check out the full album on Youtube below: 

The True None Bandcamp:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyJusjPBpNA&t=2475s

Coroner and Heathen - Live at The Ritz in San Jose, CA 2/9/2026

 

    Many people would not believe that a metal show on a Monday night would draw a large crowd, however, they might not realize how passionate Bay Area metal fans can be if given the opportunity to see some killer bands. With a line-up featuring Swiss tech thrashers Coroner who have not played the Bay Area in about three decades, along with the mighty Bay Area thrash warriors in Heathen, this was a show that people would drive hours through agonizing traffic and poorly maintained roads to see. Plus, the show was in downtown San Jose at the Ritz, so this was a night to remember! Well, let’s just say that a lot happened throughout the night, so I will always remember this show… 

    After putting a crushing comeback album last year, Coroner was finally making their way back to the US, so I definitely wanted to check them out. I have always appreciated this band’s blend of progressive rock influences with thrash metal, as they really do have some brilliant compositions featuring a refined edge of technically mixed with explosive aggression. Of course being from the Bay Area I was equally as excited to see Heathen, especially since not only are those first two full-length albums phenomenal and iconic thrash albums, but the band continues to put out solid recordings. Overall, this was a show that passionate metal fans are going to show-up no matter what day of the week it was booked. 

    The moment I entered the venue, I could already start to sense that people were really excited for this show. You had a good amount of people already staking their claim to the front of the stage with their battle vest covered in patches getting ready to bang their heads to some dynamically devastating riffs. Another point to bring up was that this was an all ages show, so you had metal fans of all ages in attendance, yet all of them connected through their enjoyment of metal music. Now, this being an all ages show will come up later as it did factor into a situation later in the night. More on that later....

    Heathen walked onto the stage to massive roar from the crowd and tore into their first song wasting little time getting the adrenaline flowing and heads violently banging. David White is a tremendously talented frontman and he was going around the stage during the first song fist bumping fans in the front row while delivering some epic high soaring vocals. The two guitar attack of Kragen Lum and Kyle Edissi was insanely vicious as both guitarists know how to hammer out some wicked riffs and scorching leads. Throughout the set bassist Jason Mirza and drummer Blake Anderson proved to be a strong rhythm section adding a mighty boost of juggernaut sized devastation. Actually, Jason was not only playing some killer bass riffs during their set, but he was maniacally running around the stage and seemed to be having a blast. I really liked getting to hear them perform, “Open the Grave,” because that song contains some HEAVY riffs to get the audience moving. Also, I must say that the band’s new song which they just released, “Never a God,” is sounds extremely solid and the fans seemed to be very receptive to the new music. After seeing Heathen perform I am looking forward to a new album from them, and I definitely would like to see them perform live again. 


HEATHEN

    Once Heathen exited the stage with devil horns raised high and the audience showing their appreciation for the band’s performance, the roadies in Coroner began setting up for the band’s set. When the members in Coroner stepped out from the side of the stage and took their positions, the metal maniacs went full flown savage and made enough noise to be heard all the way in Santa Cruz. The band’s bassist and singer Ron Royce had a big grin on his face as he stepped up to the mic and they launched into the first song. 

    Now, I did not notice it at first, but as the band kept playing something seemed a bit off in terms of the sound coming from a speaker/monitor to where I noticed a roadie kept flashing a light at it for the sound engineer to be made aware of. Shortly after this the statement most concert attendees and band members hate hearing was uttered as the sound engineer came up on the stage and told the crows that due to technical issues they had to restart the system. Little did the crowd know that this would take over an hour to finally resolved, during which time some people started to maybe drinking more than they should have. As someone who worked at a concert venue in college and experienced first hand an unruly audience waiting around for a performance due to a drunk country star deciding to show up late that night, I started to have concerns that the crowd would become restless and the situation might turn ugly. 

CORONER

    Luckily the people working the sound seemed to be more motived than workers at a record store, and they eventually solved the issue. Only problem was San Jose has an ordinance, to where minors cannot be out past 11:30pm, so since this was an all ages show the venue had to take this into account. At first I saw an employee tell people that they were shutting it down right after the sound guy seemed to solve the issue, but then Coroner came back on the stage and began playing. I guess you could say that for those who stuck around we were treated to a brief, yet still very killer performance from Coroner. For me, I was super stoked to hear the song “Serpent Moves” from the album Grin, which I think is a very underrated release and one of my favorites from them. Tommy Baron is an insanely talent guitarist who utilizes these mind altering chord progressions that hit you with such fearsome force. They also played “Masked Jackal” which the crowd was passionately getting into as that track is definitely one that seems to be timeless in terms of the song’s lyrical themes. Just as the band was unleashing a progressive flurry of technical metal wizardry, the sound was cut and that was the end of their set. I was disappointed as I would have liked to have heard more songs, but in the end I think the band being able to give the audience even that shortened performance after waiting around for over an hour, was still something you can walk away remembering. Coroner seems to be a very talented act and the album that they released last year seems to be proof that they still have some insanely brilliant musical ideas. 

    Instead of pointing fingers and focusing on the negatives, I am going to say that even with the technical issues and waiting around, the diehard metal fans still seemed to be in good spirits as there is strong appreciation for the music. In the end, people can only do so much in certain situations and I applaud Coroner for not throwing a tantrum and just leaving with an angry audience potentially turning into an angry mob like the villagers in a Frankenstein movie. Now, I know Coroner is playing in Berkeley as they had two shows scheduled in the Bay Area, so maybe they will be able to play a full set without issues. For me though, I am glad I went to this show and still feel like I was able to see two tremendously talented bands that have decades many years to providing metal fans with some great music. 

Chaos Over Cosmos “The Hypercosmic Paradox"

 

    Mixing together progressive metal and mind altering technical death metal, the international metal project known as Chaos Over Cosmos composes dynamically brutal technical compositions to highlight their science fiction themed lyrics. Led by Polish guitarist and primary composer, Rafal Bowman, Chaos Over Cosmos is an act that seems driven to present listeners with an album featuring intense technicality, star exploding brutality, as well as some melodic atmospheric touches to really make you feel lost in the vast void of an unexplored frontier. 

    On the latest release from Chaos Over Cosmos, “The Hypercosmic Paradox,” Rafal teams up with Pakistani vocalist, Taha Mohsin, for five new explosively technical fueled tracks. Although I have not been a massive fan of current progressive metal and technically death metal trends where I feel the music becomes like a tsunami of self-indulgent solos and chaotic arrangements, I will admit the creativity that gets poured into making the music is worth much respect. In the case of Chaos Over Cosmos, I think what made this project standout from the very beginning was the strong emphasis placed on the album’s theme through the various sounds and versatile arrangements. The solos are very impressive sounding, but the moments where the music slows down and you can hear those epic synth arrangements really adds to the album's science fiction theme. 

    The opening song on the album, “Nostalgia for Something that Never Happened,” is an instrumental piece which introduces the listener to Chaos Over Cosmos progressive, yet heavy style of metal. There is a plethora of fluid lead guitar playing featuring some intense scale runs along with some utterly crushing riffs. For the second track, “When the Void Laughs,” Taha is given his first opportunity to lay down some monstrous sounding vocals to inject a boost of unapologetic rage, which definitely compliments the entropic guitar playing. I thought the guitar arrangements on this track were very precise sounding and delivered a mighty impact when needed, especially the solo toward the end of the song. 

    The third track off of the album, “Event Horizon,” was probably my favorite song because I felt as though the music sounded more emotionally driven and the guitar playing perfectly captured Taha’s fearsome growls. There were even more progressive/atmospheric elements thrown into the song that served as contrast against the more fragmented sounding riff structures. I will say that following song, “The Cosmo-Agony Requiem,” continues with more of the blistering lead guitar playing, which seems to be the main focus throughout the album. At times, I do feel like the slower moments on the album allow for the listener to take in more of what is going on, but I can understand the desire to present these more intense shredding moments which does fit with the feeling of complete cosmic chaos. The last song, “The Fractal Mechanism,” is a trippy conclusion and almost sounds like something you would have heard in a science fiction video game from the early 2000’s. However, the track was very appropriate in terms of sticking with the science fiction concepts explored throughout the release, so I can see why this was used as the final composition to have on the album. 

    In the end, I feel like Chaos Over Cosmos is a project that really focuses on crafting technically brutal arrangements allowing Rafal the freedom to explore his dynamic and very progressive metal inspired guitar skills. Even if you are not a fan of this style of music, the main take away is how everything on this album was executed and how the production was extremely solid sounding. I think fans of blazing progressive metal and technical death metal will want to check out this release, as the creativity and talent level is undeniable. Going forward I think Chaos Over Cosmos has a strong blue-print, and I would be interested to see how the project evolves on future releases given the passionate artistic mindset. 

Check out the full album below:

Link to Chaos Over Cosmos Bandcamp: 

https://chaosovercosmos.bandcamp.com/album/the-hypercosmic-paradox

Top Ten Albums of 2025 / Rob "The Metal Guy" Awards

 

   Well everyone, 2025 was a totally nutty year with plenty of moments that made me just wanted to throw my hands up the in air and scream, "Get me the hell off of this crazy planet!" From the constant talk about AI taking over to my city becoming insanely overdeveloped to where every single piece of land is being used to build overpriced condos that like look something out of a George Orwell novel, 2025 really felt like massive pile of feces floating in a toilet. Luckily music seemed to be the best medicine, as there were some extremely strong releases that came out this year. Also, the future of the Bay Area underground metal scene looks very promising with bands like Cardinal, Bezaliel and Varulf leading the way. Plus, Sentient Ruin showed up by continuing to release more uncompromising extreme metal albums this year. Although I must give Hells Headbangers major credit for the work that they did this year whether it be new releases, or re-issues of extreme metal classics like the Goreaphobia picture disc. In the end, 2025 may not have been a cake walk of a year, but then again, when is life ever completely without chaos...Alright enough rambling like a washed-up pro-wrestler from the 80's doing a shoot interview, here are my top ten albums from 2025...

10. Gawthrop - “Kuboa”

This South Korean sludge act sure unleashed a gruesome sounding album with the release of “Kuboa.” Definitely could hear influences like Noothgrush and Grief which is probably what drew me to the album right away after hearing the first preview song. Glad to see Sentient Ruin was the label working with the band for the album’s release as Gawthrop perfectly compliments the label’s diabolical and unapologetic extreme ethos. There are plenty of agonizing slow crushing riffs throughout the album painting a bleak and dystopian landscape where piles of bones lay across a desolate wasteland. 

9. Prophetic Suffering - “Rivalry of Thyself” 

The bestial death metal horde from Canada known as Prophetic Suffering unleashed a sickening decibel defiling onslaught with the release of "Rivalry of Thyself." From start to finish this album was utterly devastating and featured some savage guitar work to go along with the cataclysmic drumming. These sadistic maniacs don't experiment or try to go off the extreme metal script, which is why the album comes across as an unforgivingly raw and brutal assault without any remorse. Definitely a band to keep an eye on if you are a fan of monstrous sounding death metal. 

8. Phantom - “Tyrants Wrath” 

The maniac thrashers from Mexico are an insanely relentless force and have gained a solid international following over the years. I personally really enjoyed their debut album, “Handed to Execution,” a lot when I first heard that album. “Tyrants of Wrath,” is another solid release that features more merciless old school speed/thrash riffs, but even has more classic melodic metal touches which draws influence from the NWOBHM and early 80’s speed metal. Still, they know how to bring the intensity when it comes to heavy sounding palm muted riffs that can conjure up a mosh pit within seconds. Plus, they seem to be working extremely hard as I see them constantly sharing videos of their wicked live shows. 

7. Perdition Temple "Malign Apotheosis"

The new album from Perdition Temple was definitely a strong extreme release to come out towards the end of this year. For their fifth full-length album the band yet again demonstrated their vicious talents by hammering out some juggernaut sized death metal riffs. The album really invokes that old school sound which is great given how modern death has really become sterile sounding and seems to have lost that pestilent vibe that you heard coming out in the late 80's and early 90's. Perdition Temple knows how to come up with vile sounding tracks like "Kingdoms of the Bloodstained" and "Death Insurrection" to give the listener a chaotically deafening listening experience. 

6. Moonlight Haze - “Beyond” 

The epic power metal outfit known as Moonlight Haze once again created a truly impressive release. I tend to be extremely picky with my power metal as I have found the sub-genre to be getting a bit gimmicky with too many bands starting to become very forgettable. However, Moonlight Haze knows how to construct these triumphant sounding compositions to grab your attention. Also, the band’s singer has an amazing voice along with a tremendous vocal range. In think if you are into power metal then Moonlight Haze is a band to be checking out and I hope they come to the US for a tour. 

5. Matt Lasserre - “Jungian House Dreams” 

The mastermind behind Pale Cremation never seems to slow down and continues to create some killer releases. His new solo album that came out this year was a bit of a departure from his more doom and hard rock past, but he still found a way to captive listeners with some really impressive prog rock/post-punk influenced compositions. “Jungian House Dreams,” contains some ethereal synth arrangements, which gives the release a very dreamlike quality. Matt recorded plenty of fascinating compositions on this album that mixed all these different types of musical influences of his to make a very creative release. Having known Matt since his days playing bass in the band Scrape the Earth, I've really come to respect how much work he has put in over the years recording new music and furthering to explore his various musical interests. 

4. Uranium - “Corrosion of Existence”

Probably one of the most insane and down right mind altering extreme albums to come out this year. The one-man blackened industrial act behind Uranium has been conjuring up some real radioactively decimating releases in recent years with this one being surrealistically brutal from start to finish. Uranium combines all the abhorrent musical elements together to offer listener's a glimpse into an apocalyptic nightmare where humanity has become devastated by nuclear destruction. Sentient Ruin also did a great job with the album's release by offering a cool vinyl variant as well as printing some badass shirts/hoodies/long sleeve shirts (Still some available on Sentient Ruin's website). 

3. Demonsmoke - “Resin Wrought” 

Demonsmoke’s second full-length album and the follow-up to their monumental 2017 debut album “Morphine Moonshine,”is without question one of the heaviest albums that came out this year. The band increases the vile sludge and doom dose to an even more diabolically sinister level with “Resin Wrought.” The riffs on this album are vicious while the vocals add a venomous touch of pure unapologetic disgust. Definitely draws influence from Southern sludge metal, but has such a profoundly dark doom vibe that hooks you from the first suffocatingly distorted riff. Also, shoutout to the artist who did the album cover as it perfectly compliments the band's primordial demonically doom like sound. 

2. Lathe of Heaven - “Aurora” 

Lathe of Heaven's sophomore full-length album "Aurora" had to be one of the album's I was most looking forward to in 2025. The band's debut album "Bound by Naked Skies" is one of my favorite albums to be released within the last few and I still listen to it quite frequently. "Aurora," is a tremendous follow-up that shows the band's growth as songwriters, as well as their ability to compose these haunting and fierce post-punk atmospheres. The lyrical content is inspired by science fiction along with other topics that are extremely relatable to the current state of our world. I personally think Gage Allison is one of the best singers currently in the world of rock/punk/metal music, and he always seems to delivers the lyrics with such profound conviction to where you remember every word. "Just Beyond the Reach of Light," is a powerful song that I would consider to be the best song off of the album. 

1. The Chameleons - “Arctic Moon” 

I can already hear the elitist extreme metal fans reading this number one pick and saying, "You're number one pick is yet again a non-metal band?!" Well in the end, I am unapologetic about what I enjoy and in my opinion the best album to come out in 2025 was The Chameleons "Arctic Moon." For those not familiar with The Chameleons, they are a tremendously talented post-punk/new wave act from the 80's that I strongly believe deserves more credit for their work. The band's first three albums are utterly phenomenal and even though they did not sell millions of records, I believe they have established a profoundly loyal cult following that deeply treasures the band's recordings. "Arctic Moon" is a bit of a comeback album since they had not put out a new album since 2001. Even after all those years of not making new material, the band did not seem to miss a beat as the new song's a truly astonishing. Reg Smithies is a brilliant guitarist who constructs these mesmerizing landscapes featuring some very tranquil sounding guitar compositions. The song on the album that steals the show is "David Bowie Takes my Hand," which contains some powerful lyrical moments along with these very inspiring dynamic arrangements. Even if you are not a fan of this style of music, I really do recommend checking this album out given how well music was recorded and how meaningful the lyrics come across. 

The Rob “The Metal Guy” Awards

EP of the Year: Samiarus “Reign Destroyer” 

Best Live Performance of the Year: The Chameleons in Roseville, CA

Most Brutal Album Cover of the Year: Demonsmoke “Resin Wrought”

Label of the Year: Hells Headbangers (The Goreaphobia picture disc turned out great! So glad I ordered it!). 

Up and Coming Artist of the Year: Cardinal (A black metal band that is extremely talented and hopefully working on a full-length album). 

Intercontinental Metal Champions: Empty Chalice (Created this new category for bands who come to the Bay Area from another country and put on a killer show, which Empty Chalice did on May 31st of this year). 

Biggest Douche of the Year: Sleep Token 

Ectovoid “In Unreality’s Coffin”

    The swirling and sonically devastating chaos from Ectovoid’s new album transports you into a nightmare world where you become completely overwhelmed by the unfathomable amounts of hideous brutality. Titled, “In Unreality’ Coffin,” the album is the band’s third full-length album to date with the last full-length album having been released in 2015. Even after some years of being dormant, the band reemerges with a confidently decimating extreme sounding creation. 

    when I first saw the promo and announcement for the upcoming album from Everlasting Spew Records, I thought the name Ectovoid sounded very familiar. Sure enough, I had reviewed a split that they had been a part of called, “4 Doors to Death," which came out in 2016 through Unspeakable Axe Records. I do remember the tracks that they contributed to the split were insanely savage offerings of sinister old school sounding death metal, so seeing them return with a full-length album goes to show how these musicians are still driven to unleash some catastrophic death metal upon the metal world. 

    “In Unreality’s Coffin,” is a proudly vicious and unfathomably deafening release from the very start until the gory end. Once this band gets locked in and starts laying down some juggernaut sized death metal riffs and pulverizing rhythms, the music comes rushing at you like an unspeakably grotesque entity from beyond looking to violently rip you apart. The album’s opening track, “Dissonance Corporeum,” starts with a bone crushing guitar riff followed-up by some bombastic drum parts to eventually welcome the utterly horrendous vocals. I knew right away that these musicians did not lose a step and have continued to craft a solid old school sound that does not fail to deliver a mighty dose of sadistic brutality. The singer’s growls hauntingly echo over the cataclysmic compositions to paint hellish landscape in the listener's mind.  

    The album’s second track, “Collapsing Spiritual Nebula," definitely invokes that soul crushing 90’s death metal sound and even conveys a savage Swedish death metal vibe at times. Throughout the song the band’s drummer unleashes a flurry of punishing beats to go along with the insidious sounding guitar work. One the third track, “Intrusive Illusions (Echoes from a Distant Planet),” the band does not deviate much from the first two songs and I would say that they maintain a consistent level of malevolence in terms of fiendish creativity. 

    Towards the middle of the album songs like, “Formless Seeking Form,” and “Irradiated Self,” feature even more abhorrently distorted aggression. The bass playing on, “Formless Seeking Form,” was extremely explosive sounding and reminded me of early Pestilence release where the bass injects an extra burst of low end hostility. Also, the band’s vocalist has one of the most vile sounding death growls around which I think is easily one of the album's strengths. 

    One track off of the album that really caught me by surprise was the instrumental track, “It is Without Shape.” During the track the band incorporates these cosmic atmospheric like touches as well as this extremely catchy and almost hypnotic sounding main guitar riff. For the last song on the album, “In Anguished Levitation,” I thought that the band added some more dynamic sounding arrangements and even slowed the tempo down at times to vividly emphasize certain riff sections. In terms of the production and how the riffs sounded throughout the album sounded, I do not believe fans will be disappointment because the music utterly destroys with a profane old school death metal edge. 

    In the end, Ectovoid maliciously tears through the starless void with the release of, “In Unreality’s Coffin,” to spread forth a sickening sound that pays homage to the mighty old school death metal masters, but also does not end up becoming yet another generic worship band to forget about after hearing just two songs. From the way the guitars and drums were recorded to how well the vocals came across over the mix, the band seemed extremely locked in when recording this album. I just hope we don’t have to wait another 10 years for them to record a follow-up album, because when a band has this level of inhumanely brutal talent, you really want them to keep the hammering out more cuts of death metal carnage. 

Check out the track "Collapsing Spiritual Nebula" below:

Link to where you can order the album from Everlasting Spew Records (Album comes out January 9th, 2026): 

https://everlastingspew.bandcamp.com/album/in-unrealitys-coffin 

Uranium “Corrosion of Existence”

    There are some bands that can easily write songs detailing the end of the world, although very few can mastermind a true nightmarish wasteland like Uranium. The one-man blackened industrial act has definitely captured my attention in the past with prior releases which featured some inhumanely insidious arrangements. This new offering titled, “Corrosion of Existence,” maintains an entropically surrealistic overall sound of sonic savagery and harrowing industrial noises, but pushes even further into the abysmal black void of humanity’s ultimate doom.  

    Teaming up once again with the mighty Sentient Ruin, a label known for promoting some of the most extremely unapologetic underground acts around, Uranium does not fail to deliver an album that compliments the label’s malevolent vision. Actually, I would say that Uranium is one of Sentient Ruin’s most diabolical and downright sadistic artistic visionaries, which is saying something as the label has put out a countless number of profoundly extreme sounding releases in the past. I would say that Uranium’s sound might be an acquired taste for some, but if anyone is looking of punishing industrial arrangements with bleak atmospheres clouded in the distorted ashes of nuclear fallout, then you will become instantly hooked by this latest release. 

    “Corrosion of Existence,” is an exploration into some utterly dark soundscapes and the opening track, “Bliss and Void,” marks the beginning of the aural annihilation. After hearing someone countdown as if getting ready to launch a nuclear missile to bring about apocalyptic destruction upon the world, you feel completely torn and twisted by all the dissonant sounds. Like with most industrial acts, the music creates a very harsh and sinisterly adrenaline pumping environment where one can become overwhelmed by the tsunami of agonizing noises. The vocals are completely grotesque which adds to the catastrophic mixture of vile distortion and frantic machine like sounds bursting through the storm of hellish noises. I thought the album’s second track, “Traffic Warden,” was more explosive, especially pertaining to the constant rush of tormenting aggression heard throughout the track which I would say is very similar to that of a band such as Godflesh. 

    There is no denying that Uranium is focused on creating these unconventional sounding landscapes where everything is in utter disarray, yet still manages to capture your attention in a hypnotically ruthless manner. “Descent Into Entropic Death,” contains some ear piercing sounds, while also throwing down plenty of monumental industrial rhythms. The overall composition with all these different abhorrent sounds thrown together achieves a very horrifying theme. Speaking of horrifying themes, “Concrete Tombs,” is probably the most effectively haunting and downright terrifying tracks off of the album. The atmosphere literally is void of all light as you begin to see miles of endless destruction and mounds of rubble from all the unspeakable devastation. I thought that the album could have ended right there, but Uranium decided to pile on more profoundly extreme arrangements with the final song, “Corrosion of Existence.” The song is appropriately title because you find your sanity begin to slip away as the music violently transitions from one suffocating direction to the next. 

    Uranium is an act that people can try and compared to other past extreme industrial and blackened death noises acts from all around the world, however, I would say that Uranium has definitely solidified their own unapologetically decimating artistic persona, especially on this new release. “Corrosion of Existence,” serves as another surrealistic exploration into the atrocities that shall befall humanity if we become victim to nuclear armageddon, which is why I would recommend checking out this album out if you are interested in such a serious and consequential topic. Musically, the album's overall sound is such that you'll either find it to be vividly enthralling, or sadistically overwhelming to the ears. Either way, I guarantee it will leave an impact on you, which seems to happen with a lot of artists on Sentient Ruin. 

Check out the track "Descent Into Entropic Death" below:

Sentient Ruin Bandcamp:

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/corrosion-of-existence