120th part of the short reviews.
ABHORRATION – Demonolatry
Year: 2025
Label: Invictus Productions
Rating: 7,8 / 10
Once again, I have to repeat that all extreme metal from Norway, except Black Metal, is just great. Here, for example, is the young band ABHORRATION, where the guitarist of NEKROMANTHEION, OBLITERATION and BLACK VIPER plays. In the first seconds it seems that this is the Norwegian answer to BLACK WITCHERY, but then it turns out that in fact it is a crazy metal of death in the primordial traditions of NECROVORE, SADISTIK INTENT, early MORBID ANGEL. Furious vocals fall on the Morbid-ish angular riffs. Sometimes musicians just can't hold back anymore and explode with machine-gun fast blast beats and rapid tremolos. Pure energy!
NYKTMYST – Nyktmyst
Year: 2025
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Rating: 7 / 10
A Dutch project featuring the drummer of INFINITY. High, mature atmospheric metal with the vocals in the vein of MGŁA and a sound that resembles GEISTAZ'IKA, DRUDKH, or VEMOD. It's consistently excellent in the metal segments, but the acoustics and interludes suck.
NOGOTHULA – Telluric Sepsis
Year: 2024
Label: Blood Harvest
Rating: 6 / 10
Ruthless, chaotic Death Metal with Death/Doom'ish iron sound and high dynamics. Everything is done very well and carefully, except that there is less than zero originality here.
GAM – Iron Gauntlet
Year: 2025
Label: self-release
Rating: 6 / 10
Swedish Death / Black Metal with a rather peculiar sound (in the sense that it is not typical for Sweden at all; there is almost no resemblance to NECROPHOBIC, etc.). Tremolo riffs and something similar to early IMMORTAL are performed in a heavy Death Metal sound, which results in a quite unusual mix. Unfortunately, the songs are kind of simple in every sense of this word. GAM play well, but they they are not very good in terms of compositions.
IÄTÖN – Portit Pohjolan
Year: 2025
Label: Signal Rex
Rating: 6,5 / 10
Finnish forest metal from former members of HATESPIRIT. Good old-fashioned sound, strong keyboards, traditional techniques. Again, there is little originality here, but these keyboard parts, which are secondary at first glance, give the music a special soulful flavor that distinguishes “Portit Pohjolan” from all Finnish classics. Under favorable circumstances, this album may strike you into your very heart. Wait for the snowfall and try it.
