Kanonenfieber – Die Urkatastrophe (2024) – Review

Kanonenfieber - Die Urkatastrophe - Album Cover

A relatively large portion of RMR’s 2024 crop o’ records originates from the predominantly German-speaking part of the world. Bands like Ellende, Weltenbrandt, or again Agrypnie come to mind. And now, late in the year, Kanonenfieber1 finally appeared dead-center on our radar. And I reckon they deserve a spot on our august list of bands on this year’s roster.

The band’s bread and butter in metal or, more accurately, guns and bullets, comfortably settles in darkly colorful depictions of war, notably the terrors of World War I. A storyline that eerily reminded this crew of the meatgrinder … [...] Click to raid more!

Officium Triste – Hortus Venenum (2024) – Review

Officium Triste - Hortus Venenum - Album Cover

Officium Triste‘s last record left a pretty hefty impression over at the Review Desk. In an abundance of weeping guitars, tear-drenched melodies, and relentless growls, the band delivered a mountainous relic of oldish doom. After all, the piece talked about The Death of Gaia, no less. Albeit that the record’s overbearing intensity and inherent repetitive nature finally got the better of us after a while.

So, here we’re entering the poisoned garden. Hortus Venenum the band called their newest creation. A new excursion into an ominous world of invisible dangers, potions, and deception? We would have liked a … [...] Click to raid more!

Panzerchrist – Maleficium Part I (2024) – Review

Panzerchrist - Maleficium Part I - Album Cover

Panzerchrist arrived @ RMR Central with a thunderclap amid the summer heat of 2023. After 10 years of metal Gehenna, the band reemerged with Last of a Kind, complete with witches on the rack and other atrocities. A true Holy Metal Cow moment that finally made it onto our 2023 Top 10 as well. Given the name of the band, I was initially taken aback by the ferocity of the assault. First-rate Extreme Metal roared out of our loudspeaker, at a level of intensity and proficiency seldom delivered to our hidden doorstep.

And the obsession with witches and past

[...] Click to raid more!

Ecr.Linf – Belluaires (2024) – Review

Ecr.Linf - Belluaires - Album Cover

2024 brought us our share of French Black Metal already. Seth and Corpus Diavolis are just two of them. Powerful occult Black Metal pieces that will beat the fear of Lucifer into you. Some of it is presented in French, no less. An attribute that the RMR crew has trouble resisting. Extreme Metal works best in that specific language. Latin-based, Luciferian, just good. Even if Satan – apparently – resides somewhere in London.

But we got ourselves other flavors, too. A band bizarrely named Ecr.Linf1 offers an equally bizarre Black and Post Black Metal fest. Belluaires struggles against – … [...] Click to raid more!