This week’s Heavy Music HQ reviews include releases from Blossom Cult, Cage Fight, Cognizance, Eveale, Haste The Day, Infected Dead, In Malice’s Wake, Lair Of The Minotaur, Spell, Stalemate Of Wills, Vctms and Venom.
The ratings are on a 5-star scale.
Blossom Cult – Home (Self)
After a five year gap following the release of their 2021 EP Prequel, German progressive metalers Blossom Cult have finally released their debut album Home. Taking their sound and fusing it with elements of orchestral fills and heavy atmospheric riffs make for a deeply emotional and personal feeling album.
With fifteen total tracks on the album, the songs are broken up into three sections with an individual track to separate them: “Red Pill (I)”, “Black Pill (II)”, and “White Pill (III).” Each of the songs in these sections gives a reflection on a whole array of emotions that adds to the emotional experience Blossom Cult are expressing. “Moon” is the track that stands out the most with the use of a piano weaved into the track in a fashion that does not make it feel out of place. Much like their contemporaries, Blossom Cult show that art can be a helpful tool to harness and express emotions in a way anyone can understand.
Rating: 3.5
(Dalton Husher)
Cage Fight – Exuvia (Spinefarm)
After emerging in 2022, the UK hardcore band Cage Fight fronted by Rachel Aspe and whose lineup includes Tesseract guitarist James Monteith, have completed their sophomore release Exuvia. They’ve expanded their musical palette this time around, keeping an ample supply of intense hardcore with thick grooves while adding atmosphere and a few more melodies.
Aspe’s performance is impressive, displaying everything from soft melodies to throat-shredding harsh vocals. Her lyrics pull no punches, calling out creepy men who send messages online on “Pig” and recounting a traumatic event with “I Hate Your Guts.” Benighted’s Julien Truchan guests on the galloping “Pick Your Fighter.” There’s a lot of aggression and extremity on Exuvia, tempered with groove and melodic moments that make it instantly memorable.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Cognizance – In Light, No Shape (Willowtip)
Cognizance have gone through a big lineup change with the departure of longtime vocalist Henry Pryce, but In Light, No Shape is the product of a band unfazed by the shift. Original guitarist Alex Baillie has taken over on the vocals, and it only takes a few songs for Baillie’s growls to fit in like they’ve always been there.
Their technical death metal retains the melodic undertones given more precedence on 2024’s Phantazein. The guitar solos are fantastic, while drummer David Diepold seems to find new fills to uncover on “Induced Contortions” and “A Reconfiguration.” There’s a sense throughout In Light, No Shape that Cognizance have come away from a potentially perilous time in their career stronger than ever.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Eveale – Enter The Woodland Realm (Hypaethral)
Monarch Of The Hillside and North East Wizard Tyrant, along with Basher At Things, leads the curious listener across the rougher parts of the forest in Eveale’s Enter The Woodland Realm. The band members’ aliases are a part of the experience, as they even guide themselves into the album by name during the closing title track. They wrap this folklore into black metal with its fair share of mysticism.
“Lament Of The Dryads” and “Pursuit Beneath The Moonlight” focus on the fundamentals of the genre, eschewing any of the quaint acoustic parts found in “The Beckoning” and “Our Flame.” Speaking of the latter, that might be one of the catchiest black metal songs released so far this year, with an anthemic opening that is deadly ear candy. Enter The Woodland Realm is an immensely gripping debut record.
Rating: 4
(Dan Marsicano)
Haste The Day – Dissenter (Solid State)
Haste The Day’s return isn’t a comeback; it’s a correction. Dissenter, the Indiana sextet’s seventh full-length and first in eleven years, picks up exactly where the band left off, only sharper, more deliberate, and more certain of its own weight. Stephen Keech, Scott Whelan, Dave Krysl, Brennan Chaulk, Michael Murphy, and Giuseppe Capolupo have built a genuine concept record here: dystopian, cyclical, and thematically airtight without ever letting the concept get in the way of the songs.
From the velocity of “Shallows” to the frenetic ambition of “Liminal” with Silent Planet to the quietly devastating “Adrift,” every track earns its place. What makes Dissenter land is the same thing that made the reunion feel inevitable rather than opportunistic: the audience never left, and the band never stopped having something to say. Keech produced the record himself, and it shows a tight, cinematic, uncompromising. Eleven tracks, just under forty minutes. The cycle brought them back, and they came back with something to show for it.
Rating: 3.5
(Jeanetta Briski)
Infected Dead – Invicta (Self)
Infected Dead have upped their technical prowess on Invicta, their first release since 2019’s “The Rache” single. They’ve had ideas for this EP dating back to 2020, which speaks to their diligent planning in getting these four songs together. Each member is trying to impress, whether it’s the omnipresent bass guitar leads or the guitarists collaborating together in buzzy harmony.
Opener “Astral Divination” is almost seven minutes long, a gargantuan way to reintroduce Infected Dead. Their unyielding intent is laid bare for the duration of Invicta. By cutting back on a few questionable songwriting choices done in the past, the group have come out of it with enthusiastic technical death metal.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
In Malice’s Wake – The Profound Darkness (Self)
The Profound Darkness is the first album six years from Australian crushers In Malice’s Wake. There is certainly a thrash vibe, but it is counter-balanced by a black metal side that is more brash and harsh. The songs are at times very chaotic, but usually pretty controlled. There is a high dosage of speedy playing, but at the same time these songs sound somewhat hollow with a strong feeling of Destroyer 666.
The musicianship is pretty good with pounding drums from longtime skinsman Mark Farrugia and fast guitars. There are many interesting moments created by the musicianship, but none that make The Profound Darkness overly compelling at any point. All in all, this is a fun album, but it could have been better with more innovation.
Rating: 3
(Adam McAuley)
Lair Of The Minotaur – I Hail I (The Grind-House)
With I Hail I, their first album in 16 years and fifth overall, Lair Of The Minotaur pull no punches on opener “Emperor of Dis” as you get absolutely decked from the word go. These Chicago natives are well known for their sludgy death doom with a hardcore edge. The album’s title track rolls over the listener in short order continuing the high flying 1-2 punch to get things started.
Band mainstays vocalist/guitarist Steve Rathbone and longtime drummer Chris Wozniak are back with the added services of the excellent Sanford Parker on bass and production duties. On “Saturnus Reign” the guitars swing back and forth like a blade-wielding pendulum, getting ever closer to achieving its ultimate goal, showing that this band can operate at both high and low speeds. The album also includes a black metal infused cover of “Family Tree” by contemporary Southern Gothic artist Ethel Cain, further expanding the band’s musical palette. Lair Of The Minotaur haven’t lost a step in all this time away from the fray. I Hail I is a raucous return without equal.
Rating: 4
(Tom Campagna)
Spell – Wretched Heart (Bad Omen)
Wretched Heart is the Vancouver band Spell‘s fifth album, coming four years after Tragic Magic. It’s their first album with Gabriel Tenebrae, who joined a couple years ago. They blend heavy metal and hard rock with a ’70s flair.
They also inject plenty of atmosphere and some cinematic moments amongst the hooks and straightforward riffs. And while the ’70s are the predominant decade of influence, Wretched Heart explore the ’80s on “Take My Life.” They amp up the heaviness on “Iron Teeth,” ending with some blazing guitar work while keeping the melodies front and center. The musicianship is rock solid, and the unique vocals will be the most polarizing part of Wretched Heart.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
Stalemate Of Wills – Existence Denied (FFTC)
“Darkness and cold surrounding me/It’s clear to see revenge can light the way,” Stalemate Of Wills vocalist/guitarist Derek Kovacs screams out on “Light The Way,” the agonizingly paced closer to Existence Denied. The message is clear and doesn’t take to the end of the album to understand the trio’s somber nature. Their sludge/doom metal is crammed into radio-friendly song lengths (three to four minutes).
It’s not likely a listener would hear filthy grooves like “Maximum Amounts Of Woe” on any FM station, though. The closest Stalemate Of Wills get to airplay is the quiet reflection in “High Above,” as Kovacs tries out a melodic singing style. At under 28 minutes, Existence Denied gets out before the band’s constant mid-tempo swing can get repetitive.
Rating: 3
(Dan Marsicano)
Vctms – Pain Processing II (Self)
Chicago’s Vctms don’t make music that asks anything of you except honesty. Pain Processing II, the band’s latest independent release, is a seven-track EP, twenty-two-minute gut-check that distills everything the trio has spent five full-length records and countless miles of touring building.
It’s metalcore at its core, but it pulls freely from darkwave, industrial, hip-hop, and post-hardcore without ever losing the thread, and a guest roster that includes Aaron Matts of ten56, Ben Hoagland of Extortionist, and Austin Hays of Heavy//Hitter who serve the songs rather than the other way around. What makes it land is what’s always made Vctms land: Meredith Henderson’s lyrics move between brutal self-examination and outward fury with no warning, and John Matalone delivers every word like it costs him something. Three people, no label, no safety net, just the work. Pain Processing II doesn’t overstay, doesn’t explain itself, and doesn’t need to. It just hits.
Rating: 4
(Jeanetta Briski)
Venom – Into Oblivion (Noise)
Venom are unquestionably one of metal’s most influential bands. Spawned way back in the late ’70s, they have released some of the genre’s seminal albums. Unfortunately, the last several years have been marked by legal battles between former and current members instead of new material. The band’s current lineup includes founding vocalist/bassist Cronos along with guitarist Rage and drummer Dante, who have been together for over 15 years now.
The group’s sixteenth studio album is Into Oblivion, their first since 2018’s Storm The Gates, delivering a dose of classic Venom. Their raw but catchy style is streamlined with minimal filler and thrash, speed, punk, black and NWOBHM influences. Straightforward but infectious riffs make songs like “Man & Beast” and “Kicked Out Of Hell” memorable. And while there are plenty of throwback moments, the band injects modern flourishes as well. Into Oblivion delivers exactly what Venom fans want and expect, along with some unexpected moments that show the band’s creative juices are still flowing stronger than ever.
Rating: 4
(Chad Bowar)
