Mini Reviews From Around The Bowl (9/18/2025)
Take all you want, but eat all you take
Cheap Gas – Altars of Patrician Genocide
Self-Released | September 12, 2025
Straight out of Ohio, this album is a Midwest barnburner. Once they’ve knocked you off-balance, the band does everything to keep you that way. Songs leap abruptly between mid-tempo deathrash and warp-speed deathgrind without warning. Thrashy moments give space to explore riffs and build atmosphere before it’s all leveled with a tornado of d-beats and blast beats. The reverb on the vocals has a noticeably long decay time, which might be a turn off to some. But to my ear, the vox are dynamic and high enough in the mix that heavy reverb amplifies their impact instead of muddying it. This is especially true when they let a forceful shriek or gut-grunt punch through the background and echo for several seconds , like on the tracks “Apathetic” and “Bludgeoned with a Gravestone”. If this all sounds a bit artsy, and you’re just looking to have your skull crushed, this is as much a love letter to crust punk as it is to death metal. They also indulge some staples of grindcore/powerviolence goofiness, like with the track “Enter Slamman”, which ironically(?) uses the “Sad but True” rhythm guitar riff. Decked out in spiked gauntlets and overalls these guys are about to forcibly introduce you to your new favorite inhalant: cheap gas. – Eenzaamheid
Novembers Doom – Major Arcana
Prophecy Productions | September 19, 2025
Chicago veterans Novembers Doom return after six years with Major Arcana, their twelfth album and a towering statement of doom-death mastery. Inspired by tarot and divination, the record spans nearly an hour of contrasts—crushing weight against spectral beauty, despair against catharsis. From the ghostly piano of opener “June” to the prog-tinged finale “XXII,” the band explores a wide emotional spectrum. Highlights include the pulverizing “Ravenous,” the aching balladry of “Mercy,” the gothic grandeur of “The Dance,” and the ritualistic menace of “Chatter.” Rhiannon Kuhr’s ethereal backing vocals elevate several tracks, adding a spectral human presence to Paul Kuhr’s commanding growls and cleans. The performances are razor-sharp—drummer Garry Naples in particular drives with precision—and the warm yet immense production by Chris Djuricic and Dan Swanö lets every contrast shine. STRXart’s phenomenal tarot-inspired artwork completes the vision, making Major Arcana as visually striking as it is sonically immersive. Three decades on, Novembers Doom remain vital, immersive, and hauntingly powerful. – KnifeDad
Rotgut – 24 oz Cantrip
Independent | June 20, 2025
I first heard the word “rotgut” in the song “Gutbucket Blues” by Ghoul, who incidentally are first in the “for fans of” list from the promo mail. The musical inspiration quickly becomes apparent in the lead single; the theatrical inspiration became apparent even earlier, as said FFO list came after five paragraphs of over-the-top lore about the band’s beer-fueled birth. Almost everything is here: thrashy riffing that takes cues from crust and death metal, the dual vocals, the gang shouts. Missing are the fun little forays into surf rock, but since they’re replaced with a stronger sense of melody and somewhat more adventurous drumming, I can’t be mad about that. Actually, there’s more of a sense of musical ambition here overall; said melodies and sprinkles of technicality, along with some pretty ripping guitar solos, move Rotgut closer to the kind of blackened thrash that isn’t all fun and games. Still like 90% fun and games though. –Hans
AUTOREPLICANT – Drone Down
Independent | April 4, 2025
Some time ago, I talked to Aaron Myers-Brooks about Monochromatic Residua, and he mentioned that new material for a different project was in the works. I hope enough time has passed for you to decide whether “a punk-tinged approach to mathy grind/thrash sounds appealing to you,” and I hope you’ve spent some time getting into avant-garde music, cause the gloves are coming off with this one. While I pointed out that MonoRes didn’t sound as out there as you might expect, AUTOREPLICANT does not hold back in terms of microtonal dissonance and fretless shenanigans. Songs swirl, wind, and Snake around you in unpredictable ways while vocals somewhere between Megadeth and Voivod snarl about far-reaching conspiracies, rounding out the atmosphere of being adrift in an overwhelming current. It’s progressive thrash powered up to the nth degree, perhaps a bit much for the uninitiated, a feast for anyone bored by by-the-books approaches, and an affront to fans of Rush (I hope). –Hans
Paradise Lost – Ascension
Nuclear Blast Records | September 19, 2025
Death is ugly. Death is beautiful. Perhaps no band better understands that than England’s Paradise Lost. Over the course of the almost 40 year career, the band’s style may have changed and evolved, but the intense fascination and embrace of the end has remained front and center. On their seventeenth album Ascension the band once again delves into their seemingly endless bag of gothic doom. This time around, the band reaches back across their discography to embrace their evolution of sound. Each song sounds different from each other, yet not far off from albums past. If you liked the band’s early death metal days, you’ll get that. If you like their doomier side, you’ll get that. We even get some quieter moments as well. Ascension is the culmination of Paradise Lost’s entire career. Guitars wail their mournful cry while vocalist Nick Holmes growls, screams, and sings in a way that only he can. While there may not be an obvious standout track, the album as a whole is something that longtime fans and newcomers can embrace. Just like the inevitably of the end that awaits us all. – 365 Days Of Horror
