Profound Lore Canada Vinilo y CD

Review: Since the unveiling of their decrepit debut EP Granular Transformation at the end of 2020, Californian doom-tinged tech-death brutalists Apparition have become a hushed name and recommended extremity amongst the caverns of audible ugliness. Following on from 2021's insidious and unsettling full-length LP Feel, the band return with Disgraced Emanations From A Tranquil State; a monolithic opus set to eclipse any of the muted hope of their previous material. Dissecting forms of early psychedelic proto-doom, but with the sole intention of re-channelling those fuzzed out sonics into abyssal swathes of complex, heaving dread, this isn't your beer-chugging, whiplash-headbanging gross out death metal (while there's always a place for that). Rather, this is a cosmic realm of Lovecraftian variety, designed to enthral, impress, touch, harrow, and haunt in equal measure. Arriving courtesy of Canadian extreme metal peddlers Profound Lore, no refunds will be offered for those lost to the abyss.

Review: Denver, Colorado progressive metal outliers, Dreadnought, deliver their most expansive, tranquil and rewarding work to date with their fifth full-length, 'The Endless'. Following on from 2019's, 'Emergence'; the melting pot of sonics intrinsic to all past releases has never coalesced with such organic beauty; meandering its way through blackened folk, post-doom and lush swells of subtle ambience. With lilting vocals guiding these meditations on grief, strife and the endless search for contentment, through conflicting sonic states of being, from brash and aggressive to peacefully serene, Dreadnought have not only elevated their own dynamic to incomparable levels, but crafted one of the most unique, rewarding and transcendent metal projects of 2022.

Review: San Antonio, Texas based blackened doom-death hybridizers, Haunter, return with their much anticipated, decimating third full-length, Discarnate Ails. The follow up to 2019's exceptional Sacramental Death Qualia, sees a further eschewing of their screamo origins in favour of gargantuan, esoteric, depressive opus-like pieces that transcend genre and spectacle in favour of cathartic bombast.

Review: Quebec duo, Incandescence, are one of the most vital contributors to the burgeoning Canadian black metal scene. Comprised of drumming virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist Philippe Boucher (Beyond Creation, Chthe'ilist) and vocalist, Louis-Paul Gauvreau; the pair conjure macabre soundscapes that dance between nihilistic dread and despondent serenity. Following on from 2019's acclaimed, Ascension, their fourth full-length Le Coeur de L'Homme, continues their ethos of horrific despair, performed with meticulous calculation and organic synergy.

Review: Following on from their crushing 2020 EP, 'Beneath the Canopy of Compost', New York/New Jersey based death-doom new schoolers, Reeking Aura, deliver a punishing, pummelling blend of grandiosity and fury on their debut full-length, 'Blood & Bonemeal.' A concept album detailing the "caretaker of a desolate agricultural property and that person's struggles with morbid psychosis," this is a ferocious blend of doomscaping and death metal brutality, elevated by a three-pronged lead guitar assault. Ambitious and desolate in equal measure, with the cavernous and corrupt colliding in abrasive cacophony, this is essential metal extremity for the most hardened of audible masochists.