Albums of 2/28/25

The most interesting releases of the week!

After the obligatory intro, Brainstorm pick up immediately where they left off with Wall of Skulls. Plague of Rats, released on Reigning Phoenix Music, showcases the ability of these leather-clad elders to write and perform a nasty riff. Brainstorm mostly give us mid-tempo heavy metal with a heavy focus on the audience singing the choruses back to them.

The sound of Plague of Rats could be teleported directly into my ears from decades ago, with the exception of the solid production job. The songwriting is nothing new. However, these Germans are bringing the energy as if they are the ages they were several decades ago as well. The slight rasp of age in the vocals is just seasoning. Brainstorm always bring a smile to my face.

Purulent Apocalypse was released on Hells Headbangers and is apparently Caustic Phlegm‘s debut. This is death metal. It sounds like you think it does. The production isn’t too nice for what it is, the drums sound a bit disheveled on purpose. Caustic Phlegm is a one-man band from the UK.

On Purulent Apocalypse, Caustic Phlegm keep the grimy sound that drew people towards their demo. You get short songs with tight riffs that you can barely hear under a layer of tom drums and unintelligible growls, all of which occasionally gives way to synths. While Purulent Apocalypse sounds full, it never sounds painful. The band fully leans into their knuckle-dragging death metal sound, but they manage to keep my interest both through their guitar lines that seem to be written with tone in mind first, and by keeping their phrases moving through their mid-tempo tracks to prevent stagnation. Caustic Phlegm are forming an unmistakable identity.

Do you like Ulcerate? I like Ulcerate. Crown of Madness, who are releasing their debut album Memories Fragmented on Transcending Obscurity Records, seem to really like Ulcerate. But this isn’t a cover band. Crown of Madness take the guitar tone twists and dissonance found in their elder’s music and turn it all into something more spacey, more exploratory. Memories Fragmented contains dissonant death metal that stretches itself past the breaking point and into something else entirely.

Crown of Madness still make death metal. You still need the riffs at the base of the music, and this band is certainly competent at creating the bones of tech death. But it’s when they shove the disfigured corpse tehy started to build out the window and trace the splatter on the pavement that you get something enthralling and unique. Memories Fragmented manages to maintain the guitar lines as the center of their music while simultaneously using song phrasing and drum patterns to lead the listener astray. When the structure completely falls off, such as at the end of “Burdened,” you get the sense that something is quite wrong. I do wish some difference production choices were made, especially with the drums, but overall Memories Fragmented is an album worth returning to.

These canucks have released their second full-length on Invictus Productions, and unlike J.T. Miller and Elias Petterson under Rick Tocchet, Grave Infestation‘s second full go-around has been quite a success. Carnage Gathers sometimes feels like guitar solos stapled together by excuses for more guitar solos, but the rest of the time it sounds like if Autopsy refused to stay in the pocket.

As with every other death metal album ever, the excellent guitar work and nasty vocals will maintain most of the listener’s focus, and deservedly so. Those stapled-together guitar solos sound great, and the vocals sink into your skin. But the drums deserve a special shout-out. They’re played with life and vigor, forming the backbone of the album and driving the songs forward. The fills are nice, but I most appreciate when the drummer switches beats on a dime to create a completely different aura, demanding that the listener go along.