Matt versus Dragoncorpse: The Drakketh Saga Review

From premise to name, Dragoncorpse is not a band that exactly begs to be taken seriously. The elevator pitch of “power deathcore” gives you an honest and clear idea of what to expect: a gimmicky juxtaposition of two genres that are generally gimmicky to begin with. (Leading off the album with a guest appearance by a member of Brojob doesn’t help matters.) They’ve taken the “Dragon-” prefix that is necessarily required to indicate your power metal status. My friends and I half-started a joke band called Dragondragon more than a decade ago mocking this very phenomenon. Toss on “-corpse” to … Read more

Best of Metalcore 2021


Let’s hear it for the most crushing metalcore albums of 2021!


Number Five: Warring Monk – 僧兵


That Warring Monk album is a last-minute entry, but I had to include it here! Despite its lower production standard, it’s filled with incredible riffs, an amazing guitar distortion sound, and it’ll be a great discovery for most of you!


Number Four: Vildhjarta – Måsstaden under vatten



I don’t feel like Vildhjarta recaptured the lightning in a bottle that the original Måsstaden ended up being, but the under vatten follow-up is still really freaking good!


Number Three: Employed to Serve – Conquering


Employed … Read more

Best of Deathcore 2021


I love these monstrous chugs! BLEGH!


Number Five: Cognitive – Malevolent Thoughts of a Hastened Extinction


Cognitive are back with a very strong entry for this year! It’s all-around solid and more than capable deathcore!


Number Four: Darko – Darko



Darko—or Darko US if you want to find the band online—is a deathcore superentity, and I’ve got to say the result speaks for itself. Jam this as soon as possible!


Number Three: Crown Magnetar – The Codex of Flesh


The Codex of Flesh is just that good! Bring me these wicked breakdowns all day long!


Number Two: Brojob – The

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Spires of the Lunar Sphere – Siren (Take the Fair Face of Woman and Gently Suspending with Butterflies Flowers and Jewels Attending Thus Your Fairy Be Made of Most Wondrous Things)

We’ve been somewhat mystified by Spires of the Lunar Sphere‘s debut, back in 2015, so their newborn with a most megalomanic title, Siren (Take the Fair Face of Woman and Gently Suspending with Butterflies Flowers and Jewels Attending Thus Your Fairy Be Made of Most Wondrous Things), has less of that bewildering factor. That being said, it doesn’t mean it’s bad – far from it –, just that you only make a first impression once. Still jumping between metalcore, post-hardcore, mathcore, and deathcore, the duo takes its idiosyncratic eccentricity to extremes of peculiarity and heaviness. Think Arsonists Get … Read more

Antlion – The Prescient

Antlion is a progressive death metal quartet from Canada’s capital, Ottawa. Their debut album, The Prescient, came out on October 23rd.

First of all, they don’t do anything spectacularly out of the norm, but they do it well enough to keep it an interesting, and at times engaging, listen. There’s plenty of time signature changes and modulations throughout the album, the riffs are complex and driving, and the overall sound is tight. It just makes you try and fail to headbang to it. The album’s length is decent, giving you just enough juice to enjoy before getting overwhelmed, and … Read more