What can I say, we can’t help it. Our revolutionary genes kicked in yet again in 2024. Rulez have been broken and oldish content was covered with abandon. Well, the sinning wasn’t quite that severe. But the selection of Blasts from the Past is kinda juicy nonetheless, ranging from Prog geekery to brvtish metallic wiolence. The kind of thing that will keep you entertained and your hackles up at the same time.
Welcome to a new selection of crazy alloys and strange archaeological finds!
Haken – Fauna
Release year: 2023
Talk about a missed opportunity. How on earth could we pass by this new Haken piece in 2023? Once we got around to a serious listen of this record, we were past the 2023 Top 10 season. And that’s just too bad. So, what’s up with all that self-flagellation and useless howling? Well, Fauna finally turned into a masterpiece that should have appeared on the most important list RMR can offer. Should. Would. Could. It is too late now. Well, on the uptick, you should have seen the chastized looks of the old geezers at the Review Desk. Priceless. And Sempiternal Beings is still playing on our jukebox. A true blast from the past.
Tribunal – The Weight of Remembrance
Release year: 2023
And here’s to yet another painful miss in 2023, this time of the doom ‘n’ gloom kind. A gourmet smörgåsbord of the finest cuts the masters of woe and tribulation could serve up. This one here just blew us away with its perfect storm of finely balanced doom elements. This record still plays on our music machine to this day and it is full of surprises and little tear-drenched nuggets to egg us on. ‘Tis just majestically crafted, slow marching, doom geekery. Yet another record that might have gone to the 2023 Top Ten. Alas, we discovered it a bit too late.
Omnivortex – Circulate
Release year: 2023
The RMR crew fancied the highly technical Death Metal onslaught Circulate provides. Another latecomer turned Blast from the Past which impressed us with its metallic geekery. An astute, gnarly, no-nonsense delivery of Extreme Metal. A moment of an almost barebone, no-frills environment that made it onto our review list nonetheless. Sturdy, crisp, and relentless. A record that will be perfect for you to burn off some mental fat with its merciless onslaught full of surprises.
Anaal Nathrakh – Vanitas
Release year: 2012
Did we not just talk about burning off mental fat? We did. So, how fitting is it to continue with our olde friends of Anaal Nathrakh? Only, this specific tag team will positively scorch it off your mental frame. Vanitas is again hellish pandemonium full steam ahead. An unhinged selection of deadly tracks that only the true metalhead will be able to stomach. The caustic earsplitters on this unhinged disk will impress with their raw unbridled power. And that means something from a band known for unfettered metal abuse. Somehow, the past is full of unsettling metallic truths. Right?
Rotting Christ – A Dead Poem
Release year: 1997
The RMR crew set out to unearth some wisdom to assist with Rotting Christ‘s 2024 piece. Instead, somewhat unexpectedly, we found A Dead Poem. A record that was kinda ahead of its time, a harbinger of future glories of one of Greece’s most revered Extreme Metal bands. And true to their creed, they mixed a bunch of miscellaneous genres together and created one of the best records of their illustrious career. Case in point, we just listened to the full album once again. What can I say, they’re just being RC in full action.
Opeth – Still Life
Release year: 1999
Wistful ambients trade places with caustically harsh metal on steroids. This almost effortlessly merges with an abundance of skillful prog of a new kind back in the day. Now, should we join the crowd in discussing if this is this band’s best effort? Nope. We decided to enjoy the show and marvel at its musical prowess on full display. Oh, and we’re glad this age-old record finally got uncovered by this here band of brothers. An Opeth record still sporting growls. A feature that successfully returned in 2024.