Review by Alex on April 8, 2021.

Even without a pair of binoculars, you could see what would be tumbling down the road up ahead due to the noise emitted from Death Chamber on their album Experiments In Warfare. Candid for the most part but there’s some lethal shit hidden in every track. Whether it be the blackened battling blast beats and outrageous shrieks eating their way from the bosom of the death metal vocal mush, Experiments In Warfare does not lean or compromise their hostility. Kicking you around for a little over 20 minutes, the pounding is so relentless and thorough that you’ll be beaten back to life.

Short and to the point, war-torn, battle-scarred landscapes are painted by machine-gun style blast beats, swarms of lethal guitar leads, and murderous vocals. Experiments In Warfare is intense musically hence there is no need for a lengthy runtime. It’s on the offense from the very first track 'Spark To Extinction' and never lets up on the truculence. Which brings me to the point of Experiments In Warfare, though you will find good riffs and memorable sections, the album doesn’t seem to allow you to get too absorbed in them, rather the record seems to have a focus on shifting the sound of the hostility among black, death and thrash metal. It is more about being an album that uses musical extremity to embolden the topics they cover.

'The Inevitable' is a damn killer one that strengthens the rest of the record and seems to be the ideal representation of what you’d mostly come into contact with on Experiments In Warfare. More than just the musical showmanship, these songs rip and tear with of course the occasional lick thrown in to sustain your attention. With an adequate album cover, the music on Experiments In Warfare provides a sonic companion to what you’re about to experience. Turmoil, tumult, and trepidation.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Alex on April 8, 2021.

Even without a pair of binoculars, you could see what would be tumbling down the road up ahead due to the noise emitted from Death Chamber on their album Experiments In Warfare. Candid for the most part but there’s some lethal shit hidden in every track. Whether it be the blackened battling blast beats and outrageous shrieks eating their way from the bosom of the death metal vocal mush, Experiments In Warfare does not lean or compromise their hostility. Kicking you around for a little over 20 minutes, the pounding is so relentless and thorough that you’ll be beaten back to life.

Short and to the point, war-torn, battle-scarred landscapes are painted by machine-gun style blast beats, swarms of lethal guitar leads, and murderous vocals. Experiments In Warfare is intense musically hence there is no need for a lengthy runtime. It’s on the offense from the very first track 'Spark To Extinction' and never lets up on the truculence. Which brings me to the point of Experiments In Warfare, though you will find good riffs and memorable sections, the album doesn’t seem to allow you to get too absorbed in them, rather the record seems to have a focus on shifting the sound of the hostility among black, death and thrash metal. It is more about being an album that uses musical extremity to embolden the topics they cover.

'The Inevitable' is a damn killer one that strengthens the rest of the record and seems to be the ideal representation of what you’d mostly come into contact with on Experiments In Warfare. More than just the musical showmanship, these songs rip and tear with of course the occasional lick thrown in to sustain your attention. With an adequate album cover, the music on Experiments In Warfare provides a sonic companion to what you’re about to experience. Turmoil, tumult, and trepidation.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Michael on December 10, 2021.

The Swedish/British/Canadian collaboration named Darkened sends a vivid sign of life to the metal community with Mourn The Dying Light. It's just a 7' EP, but this is a great title for the upcoming winter. The first album Kingdom Of Decay was quite similar to Bolt Thrower (no wonder since Andy Whale is playing the drums in Darkened and he did for Bolt Thrower as well) but I think they found their own style here.

'Black Winter' starts quite fast and brutal with a simple riff but soon turns into a mid-tempo track with a lot of melancholic, melodic parts that match perfectly to this disgusting time when (at least here in Germany) everything is closed again, and no concerts nor soccer games can happen with public present (or with a limited publicity and strict restrictions). The riffs are kept quite simple and repetitive, and the gloomy chorus is also repeated quite often to create a very oppressive atmosphere. Vocalist Gord Olson sounds quite pissed-off and aggressive and his dark and raspy voice matches the mood of the track.

The B-side 'The Slime Runs Down Your Throat' is a more varied than the A-side and a little bit faster. Fast and slow, doomy parts interchange here and the melodies played are really impressive. The band creates a very dark and threatening mood with that track using this one specific guitar riff again and again (which reminds me of a movie but my mind can't come up with the title…. maybe someone can help me!!). And again, Gord Olsons vocal performance is great (maybe he slurped some slime before recording them) – dark, brutal and flawless.

Of course, Darkened cannot deny the Bolt Thrower influences completely but let's see if they'll keep working on their own style and kill it on the upcoming album that will be released in the midst of 2022. So, mark the date in your calendar and wait for what will become a killer album from Darkened!

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Michael on December 10, 2021.

The Swedish/British/Canadian collaboration named Darkened sends a vivid sign of life to the metal community with Mourn The Dying Light. It's just a 7' EP, but this is a great title for the upcoming winter. The first album Kingdom Of Decay was quite similar to Bolt Thrower (no wonder since Andy Whale is playing the drums in Darkened and he did for Bolt Thrower as well) but I think they found their own style here.

'Black Winter' starts quite fast and brutal with a simple riff but soon turns into a mid-tempo track with a lot of melancholic, melodic parts that match perfectly to this disgusting time when (at least here in Germany) everything is closed again, and no concerts nor soccer games can happen with public present (or with a limited publicity and strict restrictions). The riffs are kept quite simple and repetitive, and the gloomy chorus is also repeated quite often to create a very oppressive atmosphere. Vocalist Gord Olson sounds quite pissed-off and aggressive and his dark and raspy voice matches the mood of the track.

The B-side 'The Slime Runs Down Your Throat' is a more varied than the A-side and a little bit faster. Fast and slow, doomy parts interchange here and the melodies played are really impressive. The band creates a very dark and threatening mood with that track using this one specific guitar riff again and again (which reminds me of a movie but my mind can't come up with the title…. maybe someone can help me!!). And again, Gord Olsons vocal performance is great (maybe he slurped some slime before recording them) – dark, brutal and flawless.

Of course, Darkened cannot deny the Bolt Thrower influences completely but let's see if they'll keep working on their own style and kill it on the upcoming album that will be released in the midst of 2022. So, mark the date in your calendar and wait for what will become a killer album from Darkened!

Rating: 8 out of 10