This week’s Heavy Music HQ reviews include releases from Arise From Worms, Cranial Osteotomy, DevilDriver, Eva Under Fire, Grim Legion, Healer, Iron Slaught, No Cure, Smoking Snakes, Sojourner, Spread The Disease and Volubilis.
The ratings are on a 5-star scale.
NOTE: No reviews next week. We will return for the week of July 24th.
Arise From Worms – A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction (Church Road)
Guitarist Sonny Lombardozzi has surrounded himself with fantastic musicians for his project Arise From Worms’ debut album, A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction. Vocalist Steve Tucker (Morbid Angel), drummer Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy) and keyboardist extraordinaire Derek Sherinian are brought along to make sense out of Lombardozzi’s complex performance. This is technical death metal that’s more music theory than a casual listen.
Tucker’s coarse growls and Mounier’s insane fills are to be expected, but Sherinian and Lombardozzi collaborating is the real treat. On opener “Forgotten Kings,” they trade off solos in a prog metal battle. “Nine Walls” and “Laolongtou” seem implausible for anyone except the most advanced to pull off. Arise From Worms have the songs to back up the overcharged technicality.
Rating: 4
(Dan Marsicano)
Cranial Osteotomy – Vortex Of The Dark Knowledge (Comatose)
Time between releases is to be expected, between world events and personal life, things happen. Russian brutal death metal quartet Cranial Osteotomy release their second album Vortex Of The Dark Knowledge 15 years after their first album Victim Of Wicked Sickness.
Despite the lengthy production time, it falls a bit short in the end. Unless one is dedicated to the genre, it ultimately feels like thirty minutes of noise without any real sustenance to latch onto. No track stands out or any one element makes it a must listen. It is by no means a bad album, but Vortex Of The Dark Knowledge is for the ones who are genre dedicated.
Rating: 3
(Dalton Husher)
DevilDriver – Strike And Kill (Napalm)
There has been a lot of upheaval with DevilDriver over the past few years, with numerous lineup changes. The newest addition is guitarist Gabe Mangold (Dead Icarus). The California groovers’ latest album is Strike And Kill, which also features the return of original bassist Jon Miller who departed in 2011.
They bring aggression to the forefront, evident from opener “Dig Your Own Grave.” Galloping riffs and ferocious drums drive the songs along with Dez Fafara’s aggressive vocals. ‘Core elements make an appearance on tracks like “Sanctified In Scars,” while DevilDriver show a mellower side with “Summoning Shadows” before it amps back up mid-song. Even with the lineup changes, or maybe because of them, Strike And Kill finds DevilDriver hitting on all cylinders, grooving as hard as they ever have.
Rating: 4
(Chad Bowar)
Eva Under Fire – Villainous (Better Noise)
Detroit hard rockers Eva Under Fire have risen through the ranks over the past decade. They hit the charts with 2022’s Love, Drugs & Misery, which spawned a couple of hit singles. They keep the momentum going with Villainous.
This time around their songs are more aggressive and pack a wallop. They blend traditional melodic hard rock songs like “Survive My Scars,” and the title track, which features In This Moment’s Maria Brink with industrial influenced tracks such as “Dark Soul” and “Don’t Say I’m Okay.” Amanda “Eva Marie” Lyberg gives a varied performance, from crooning to melodic singing to harsh vocals. With Villainous, Eva Under Fire continue their ascension.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Grim Legion – Harbingers Of Death (HPGD)
Grim Legion’s origins date back to 1988, though Harbingers Of Death is only their second album. This death metal outfit from New Jersey have had long pauses in their career, this last one going for about a decade. The current lineup of the group has two members from Evoken, including guitarist John Paradiso. Grim Legion are in a feral state compared to the churning death/doom metal of Evoken, signifying a return to the primordial stages of the genre.
That return leads to Harbingers Of Death staying close to an old-school death metal sound. There are maybe a few too many mid-paced songs, as the album could’ve used more unhinged behavior like in the title track and “Suicide Salvation.” The latter dates back to their demo days in the late ‘80s, a sign that their archives are still untapped.
Rating: 3
(Dan Marsicano)
Healer – Desolation (Fleau)
Desolation by Healer is an interesting EP that is sludge metal in nature and has a great deal of groove. There is a very psychedelic vibe and a very heavy yet sludgy feeling to the band, as seen by their doomy feeling. The EP gets more interesting as it progresses.
The musicianship is impressive, with guitars that recall the best of Mastodon. There is more of a focus on the groove that the band creates and this is emphasized by the really great production job. The band is not anything particularly gripping in the songwriting area, but there are compelling moments on Desolation.
Rating: 3
(Adam McAuley)
Iron Slaught – Metallic Torments (Gates Of Hell)
Iron Slaught match the ferocity of speed/thrash metal with the tenacity of heavy metal for their sophomore album, Metallic Torments. Things have been quiet on their end for years, with their last significant release being a few songs from a 2018 split. On this new record, the group has trimmed their ranks down to two members, as programmed drums take the place of former drummer Romu.
The songwriting on Metallic Torments is diverse, with a few songs sung in French including a valid attempt at a power ballad in “Charme Funeste.” That is one of several songs that goes over six minutes, leading up to the eight-and-a-half minute closer “Fatal Retaliations.” This is where their traditional heavy metal comes out the most, though at times the lengths do get excessive.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
No Cure – It Is Going To Get Dark (SharpTone)
The metal/hardcore band No Cure hail from Birmingham, Alabama. The straight edge group has released a few EPs over the past several years, but It Is Going To Get Dark is their debut full-length.
The streamlined songs change up tempos and intensities, shifting from groovy death metal to urgent hardcore to breakdown-laden metalcore. Some guests add even more variety, such as rapper Jayway on “Brain Matter Displacement” and The Acacia Strain’s Vincent Bennett on the feral but groovy “Purity Spiral.” It Is Going To Get Dark is intense and cathartic, as No Cure display versatility in their songwriting.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
Smoking Snakes – All Lights On (Frontiers)
Swedish sleaze metallers Smoking Snakes emerged in 2024 with Danger Zone, but their influences go back decades. They are inspired by ’80s arena rock/hair metal bands like W.A.S.P. and KISS.
After a cheesy radio broadcast inspired intro, they kick into the raucous, melodic songs. There’s not a lot of originality, but the catchiness of tracks like “All I Need” and “Screaming For More” is undeniable. Vocalist Brett Martin has a unique style, sometimes following the genre template, but other times adding some grit. All Lights On is a throwback to the glory days of sleaze rock/metal, a fun blast from the past.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
Sojourner – Gateways (Avantgarde)
Gateways is the fourth album from the Swedish band Sojourner and comes a good six years after their previous full-length. Since then, they have recruited Heike Langhans (ex-Draconian) on soprano vocals. In fact, we already heard her with Sojourner on the 2024 single “Epitaphs,” previously available as a download but which here forms part of the album.
Gateways encompasses a disparate range of elements such as black metal blastbeats, folk elements, operatic singing, death metal vocals, gothic vibes, flute. In fact, it’s sometimes as if the band is throwing too much stuff into the melting pot that is this album. Lyrics articulate feelings of both hope and despair and often seem to depict dystopian scenarios; and the music aptly reflects all of this. The second half of the album seems to have stronger compositions. For example, in “Vvardenfell” everything flows together marvelously and in “The Road Ahead” a new age choir and a great climax make this track a memorable one.
Rating: 3.5
(Chris Galea)
Spread The Disease – The Darkness. The Dread. The Suffering (Hypaethral)
In the late ‘90s, Spread The Disease were doing blackened hardcore way before most thought to mix them together. Their initial run was short, only about a year or so, but they released two albums in that time. Now, after reuniting in 2025, they have returned with The Darkness. The Dread. The Suffering. Their third record acts as if this was the plan all along, with their toxic blend of black metal and hardcore remaining potent.
The electronic interludes that muddied their last record, The Sheer Force Of Inertia, are better utilized. There are less of them and shorter, save for the ambient hum of closer “Outro.” The synths pop in during some of the main tracks as well, such as the orchestrated ending to “Summer Wanes” and their fluidity through the middle portion of the seven-minute “The Blight In Their Eyes.”
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Volubilis – Theasterion (Self)
Theasterion, the debut album from Canadian technical death metal group Volubilis, has elaborate lore behind it, from the planet that the album name’s comes from to a supernova in the sky. There’s almost too much of it for a 32-minute release with six songs, one of which is an instrumental in “The Prism.”
Whether the story connects with a listener or not, Volubilis give it there all to give legitimacy to the concept. Violin, viola and contrabass add gravitas to the excellent “Unukhalai Supernova,” which is also felt with the acoustic guitars during the finish to “Homo Cumulus.” The band pulls from all corners, from the flashy rage of Necrophagist to the orchestral waves of Fleshgod Apocalypse, for Theasterion.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
