Katatonia – Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State (2025) – Review

Katatonia - Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State - Album Cover

Katatonia graced our zine in 2023 only as part of an effort to acknowledge the metal mainstream a bit better. Thus, Sky Void of Stars fell victim to our first lamestream n00b listing, and the RMR crew wasn’t quite impressed. Meaning, if you’re not a fan, you’re looking at things differently. Not that our cold, hard gaze at one of metal’s most established bands changed any diehard fans’ pre-established convictions. But given the hype and roar surrounding the act, one would expect bigger and better sounds to hit our turntables.

So, expectations aren’t sky-high for Nightmares as Extensions of the [...] Click to raid more!

Jade – Mysteries of a Flowery Dream (2025) – Review

Jade - Mysteries of a Flowery Dream - Album Cover

Something doesn’t make sense here. The title of Jade‘s latest piece – Mysteries of a Flowery Dreamjust doesn’t sync with the primeval monster roaming a dystopian landscape on display. There ain’t nothing flowery here, no sense of relief. Instead, it talks about tribulation and fear. A tale akin to Lovecraftian nightmares and hints of Bloch’s De Vermis Mysteriis. Of proto-plasmic horrors still to come to this earth and harrow mankind.

Well, doesn’t that just sound like the present-day times on full display? A period full of uncertainties driven by dark forces, with a dead compass leading … [...] Click to raid more!

Tribunal – In Penitence and Ruin (2025) – Review

Tribunal - Of Penitence and Ruin - Album Cover

The last time, the guardian of the review pipe screwed up and the RMR crew finally covered Tribunal‘s 2023 debut with some delay the following year. A ‘faux pas’ that won’t bear repeating yet again. The RMR crew found the Quality ov Doom to be pretty outstanding and compelling for a simple starter package. Material that would have landed on the top 10 with a fair degree of certainty.

So, luckily, the band’s somewhat unwieldily named new piece In Penitence and Ruin reaches our dark shores somewhat early in 2025. Time enough to let its desperate deliberations sink in … [...] Click to raid more!

Soliloquium – Famine (2025) – Review

The times are dire and the outlook into the future ain’t great. Crisis upon crisis, threats of war, power grabs, and an uncertain future courtesy of a few unhinged strongmen. A dystopian and widespread feeling of unease permeates the populace – and that doesn’t bode well. That is how the Year of the Dark Lord 2025 presents itself and we’re not very far into it yet. Sounds dark, dreary, and gray, doesn’t it? Well, it is, and it might well get worse quickly.1

So, what better time to dig into the doom-filled depths of Soliloquium‘s newest piece Famine[...] Click to raid more!