Metal Blade Records

Endseeker: Mount Carcass [Gatefold / Vinyl LP + Download]

Comprised of eleven tracks, Violence Unimagined is state of the art death metal played with passion and breathless precision, making for another flawless addition to what is inarguably one of the premier catalogues the genre has thrown up. "It really follows the path we've been going down for a few years now," states bassist and founding member Alex Webster. "I think we approach the writing in a similar way most every time: each of us try to write the heaviest, most memorable songs we can. We want each song to have its own identifiable character. Showing my age, I like to say you can 'drop the needle' on any point of one of our albums and quickly tell which song you're listening to."<br/>While they continue to do what they do with aplomb, the one substantial change to Cannibal Corpse is the addition of guitarist Erik Rutan to their ranks, joining Webster, founding drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz, guitarist Rob Barrett and vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher. Known for his roles in Morbid Angel, Ripping Corpse and most notably fronting the mighty Hate Eternal, Rutan has long established himself as one of the most dynamic forces in contemporary death metal. Simultaneously, he has built up a reputation as one of the most in demand producers in metal, having previously produced four Cannibal Corpse albums (in addition to Violence Unimagined), alongside the likes of Goatwhore, Soilent Green and Belphegor. Already well known for the level of extreme technicality they bring to every record, on Violence Unimagined, Cannibal Corpse have further upped their game, "I think we all pushed ourselves a bit technically on this one!"<br/><br/>HIGH QUALITY

With 2018's Cobra Speed Venom, the band reached the same lofty heights as their 2002 landmark release, Crowned In Terror, but they were primed and ready to write its successor. "It surely set the bar up high for a follow up," Olsfelt explains.<br/>Having celebrated their thirtieth anniversary in 2020 [their first eight years spent as Crown Of Thorns], The Crown have proven themselves one of the most enduring forces in death metal. They further up the ante with Royal Destroyer, a record that sets a new standard for the genre.<br/>Together with legendary producer Fredrik Nordström, the band tracked the resulting 10 songs at Gothenburg's Studio Fredman. "We push ourselves to the limit, really trying to make everything as good as it can get, trying to make every song as impactful as possible," Olsfelt states. While he believes that people need to hear the album themselves to be able to accurately describe it, Olsfelt also asserts that The Crown have achieved something that makes for a "continuous whole" - while being diverse. "We have some of the most intense stuff ever!"<br/><br/>BONUS TRACK(S)

Cannibal Corpse: Violence unimagined 2021 [Digipack / CD]

Igorrr: Spirituality and distortion 2020 [Digipack / CD]

Soaring, dramatic and moving, The Light Within introduces Surma as one of the most riveting symphonic metal bands on the contemporary scene. Spread out across 13 tracks in 47 minutes, there is not a moment wasted as they weave their epic stories of optimism around music that is suitably gigantic but compressed into relatively short songs. Starting from vocal melodies and building the songs up around them, all are very dense, rich with orchestrations and searing guitar and propelled by driving rhythms. Alongside the core duo, the record features performances by Rens Bourgondiën on bass, drummer Andrey Ischenko (ex-Arkona), and Lars Vinther arranged most of the orchestrations with Joensen contributing a little to this side of recording too.<br/><br/>HIGH QUALITY

Lik: Mass funeral evocation 2019 [Digipack / CD]