Back catalogue: Metal

Review: .By its very nature, Tenkiller is a very different beast to Chat Pile's other releases. Recorded in the winter of 2020 to be the soundtrack to Tenkiller, an indie movie about the lives of ordinary people in small-town America, it sees the noise-rock/post-hardcore combo focus on mood and tone, rather than form and function. As a result, fuzzy and forthright cuts of the sort you'd expect come supplemented by dystopian, industrial-influenced soundscapes, lo-fi alt-country, guitar-laden mood pieces, low-slung and effects-laden creepiness, intense electronica and the kind of slow-burn ambient-not-ambient that was once the preserve of cult bands such as Labradford.

Review: Norwegian progressive death metal auteurs, Diskord, make their discordant (geddit?) return on the ferocious 'Degenerations.' This third full-length, and follow up to 2014's dizzying, 'Oscillations EP', serves as an intimidating insight into the cosmic grandiosity such an extreme and niche genre can conjure. Over a seven-year writing/recording process, enlisting the help of Colin Marston of genre legends, Gorguts, as well as imbuing the material with a plethora of unlikely instrumentation from electric upright bass and cello to theremin, has resulted in a work so seemingly impenetrable, yet vastly rewarding with each subsequent delve into the psychosphere.

Review: Taking both acts on their core traits, Full Of Hell primarily deal in death-grind fusion with some blackened aspects and a powerviolence twist, with their tracks rarely crossing the two-minute threshold and their average album length clocking in at approximately 20 minutes and some change. Primitive Man on the other hand, are the type of abyss dwellers that deal in lengthy sonic dirges, often running for well over an hour at a time. What happens when you combine two unmatched forces of modern extremity into one nightmare-fuelled hellscape of sonic torture? You get a truly oppressive display of grinding, trudging sludge-soaked doom with walls of caustic harsh noise which drone on for lengthy uncomfortable sections. Ugly, slow, unwelcoming and vile, 'Suffocating Hallucination' does its utmost to earn its nihilistic title, and offers little in the way of hope on its successful pilgrimage into the abyss.

Review: Heaven In Hiding is the fourth studio album from Imminence, a Swedish metalcore band with an imposing presence in the modern day scene. They formed in 2009, and at this point their prominence can't be argued with. The album was foreshadowed by the title-track as the lead single, and it's a staggering track which flips between protracted moments of frosty balladry and blistering screamo explosions. The production is striking and modern, not least on album opener 'I Am Become A Name' and the composition reaches epic, orchestral heights. This deluxe edition comes as a box set with a necklace and feather included - one for the collectors.

Review: If you're in the mood for heavy, fuzz-drenched guitar riffs, psychedelic intent, bass-heavy grooves and gnarled, echo-laden vocals, Geordie outfit Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs has you covered. They're at their weighty, intense and intoxicating best of 'Land of Sleeper', their first studio album for three years. They set the tone with the exceptionally dense, atmospheric and intense 'Ultimate Hammer', which evokes the grand heavy rock/proto-metal of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Led Zepellin. The album continues in that vein, with a dash of punkish, late '70s/early '80s 'new wave of heavy metal' thrown in. A few critics have already suggested that it may end of being the best heavy rock album of 2023; while it's too early to tell, it's certainly a fantastic full-length excursion.

Review: .During their live appearances - and especially ones captured for posterity by radio stations - Tool have often delivered surprisingly and unlikely cover versions. These, alongside a smattering of similarly eyebrow-raising duets and demos, form the basis of Absolute Ultra Rare, an unofficial compilation of obscurities that should be essential listening to fans. It sees the alt-metal and progressive metal heroes variously turn their hand to Pink Floyd (a surprisingly jangly take on 'Comfortably Numb'), Rage Against The Machine ('Know Your Enemy'), ska ('Wrong Way'), and Wings ('Silly Love Songs', which is turned into a moody growl). Throw in some heavy takes on their own tunes (see the opening rendition of 'Passenger') and you have a suitably epic collection of rarely heard tracks.

Review: Transmission Impossible charts the early career of American alt-rock masters Tool via performances recorded for radio broadcast - and the odd snippet of the accompany interviews. A majority of the tracks featured were recorded for radio stations across the US (and on a couple of instances, in the UK) between 1991 and 94, though disc three also boasts cuts laid to tape in 1998 and 2000. The band's original line up (which features throughout) was known for its loud, dynamic and energetic performances - all ten-ton guitar riffs, sweat-soaked drums, heavy bass and wild lead vocals - and these recordings capture their live sound perfectly. For fans of Tool, it's a genuine must-have collection.