Weekly Spotlight, Week 32 / 2025
- Thomas
- Aug 6
- 3 min read
This week mixes prog with metalcore, some rowdiness and a bit of brutality, from Creatvre, Victim of Fire, Barbarous and Terrordome.
Here's what's going on with the big shots:
Accvsed – Dealers Of Doom
Car Bomb – Tiles Whisper Dreams (EP)
Fit For A King – Lonely God
Fox Lake – New World Heat
Knosis – Genknosis
Oni – Genesis Pt. II (EP)
To The Grave – Still
Creatvre – Toujours humain
Genre: Progressive/avant-garde extreme metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5
Country of origin: France
I first discovered this one-man project on the 2021 release "Eloge de l'ombre", as I found myself drawn to the unique take on progressive, blackened extreme metal: Wild, noisy, unpredictable and evil. Progressive not for the sake of style but because that's how the vision takes shape. And yet, I found it slightly limited by its production, and felt it had even more to go on in terms of scope. On this latest release I, as the listener, get exactly what I asked for, and for once it truly elevates the whole experience to the next level. Talk about outdoing yourself. "Toujours Humain" is alive, and running a whole bunch of different operations simultaneously, continuously evolving as its incomprehensible mind processes new information and reacts to it in ways both benign and hostile. It doesn't come across as chaotic, but it's also not a harmonious experience. It transcends a slew of different moods, styles and atmospheric realms, but retains a sinister edge. It's a trip, and one I heartily recommend you take if you're the least bit adventurous.
Highlights: "810-M4SS" and "Hope Inc."
Victim of Fire – The Old Lie
Genre: Crust/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Country of origin: USA
Victim of Fire blend crust punk and old school Swedish-style chugging melodeath to great effect. This isn't a folk-inspired, massively layered or ostentatiously produced sort of thing. In fact, the hiss-snarling vocals are fairly buried in the mix, and the drum work feels more punk than death metal to me. As a result it's light on its feet, but the riffs are plenty crunchy and meaty, leaving you with nostalgic impressions of such classic sounds as that of early Arch Enemy. Despite its no-nonsense, hurried and seemingly unsentimental approach, the melodies are somber, so it doesn't come across as uncaring or flippant in any way. It's honest, uncomplicated, and honed-in to its chosen style.
Highlights: "The Old Lie" and "Front Towards Enemy"
Barbarous – Initium Mors
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Country of origin: USA
Old school-ish, sledgehammer death metal from California. You get that awesome crunch to the riffs and disciplined, terror-tactics assault of the drums, hungry-beast-vocals and with a moderate portion of groove to go along with it. If you're in it for the riffs and raw brutality, then look no further. It hits hard and doesn't feel like the band has to try very hard to come up with decently varying forms of sonic punishment. It's not a revelation in any way, and could do with some truly massive bangers, but it never goes stale, and remains very true to its style throughout, keeping it tight and sweet at just under 30 minutes runtime.
Highlight: "Conscious Decomposition"
Terrordome – Plagued With Violence
Genre: Thrash metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Country of origin: Poland
Now for a dose of untamed Polish crossover thrash. You've got the speed of... well, speed (metal)... and the ill-mannered-ness of hardcore both sort of pulling in the same direction, and it makes for quite a ride. Luckily, it's also got some muscle to go with the teeth, so you're getting meaty riffs and malicious groove, very much in the vein of Kreator. Speaking of which, the (mock) satanic themes also fit in nicely with the style. It's a pleaser of a stomp-y, snarling, adrenaline-fueled riff machine, and I can vividly imagine the mayhem it will cause live.
Highlight: "Satanic Decree"
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