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!

RMR’s 2023 Top 10 Records

RMR Top 10 Records 2023 - Cover

2023 started slowly. And at first, the RMR crew wasn’t quite sure where it would all lead to – or end. And by the word ‘end’, I mean the end of RMR. A lot of soul-searching went into this year’s continuation of a steady flow of reviews. Same as other music sites out there, we had our severe doubts if running a review ‘zine wasn’t just a fucking waste of internet space or not. Brutally put, nobody gives a damn about review sites anymore – apart from those looking for free marketing. So, if you’re reading this, then the leftover … [...] Click to raid more!

Anima Hereticae – Descended from the Mountains (2023) – Review

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Anima Hereticae - Descended from the Mountains - Album Cover

Now that’s funky. The RMR crew just wasted some ink on Animae Haeretica, Apostolica’s latest Power Metal record. Thus, confusion reigned in our office suite when the band Anima Hereticae dropped their very own Extreme Metal record Descended from the Mountains with the same release date.

Oh boy. This is either one of Loki’s cosmic jokes or we got ourselves the evil twin from the adepts of the Metal o’ Darkness. Or is the apparent name-dropping just pure coincidence? Let’s find out.


Well, I think the sleepy ones of Insomnium better wake up. There’s a new gang on the … [...] Click to raid more!

Insomnium – Anno 1696 (2023) – Review

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Insomnium - Anno 1696 - Album Cover

Since the RMR webzine saw the light of day, Insomnium always was a sure value. Their slightly melancholic yet stately brand of Melodic Death Metal gorging on Niilo Sevänen‘s gruff croaks, a smattering of clears, and stellar weeping guitar work always got on our good side. And I daresay, this band probably was instrumental in getting yours truly’s ass in gear to hunt for more melodeath than is good for metal health.1

The most impressive records that crossed the RMR Review committee’s desk definitely were Shadows of the Dying Sun and the excellent Winter’s Gate. But after … [...] Click to raid more!