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March Micro-reviews, Part 3

. . .

On Monday of this week we began a 3-part series of micro reviews of releases that we were listening to in February.
View Part 1, A through M
View Part 2, N through S

Micro-reviews will be a regular monthly series of bits and bobs of the music we’re listening to. We give you quick and dirty bite-size reviews so that we can cover a greater variety and quantity of music and still save some strength for headbanging.

— Richard Street-Jammer

. . .

Terrorizer – Hordes Of Zombies
No Pintado, no Terrorizer. Just sayin’. Also, when did Terrorizer go death metal? Decent riffs and good drumming, but Sandoval can do better and Katina and Rezhawk always work much better together in Resistant Culture. — Rhys Williams
[Bandcamp]

Terrorizer – Hordes of Zombies
Surprisingly aggressive throwback grind, which means it sounds like punky death metal. Pete Sandoval’s back must have healed quite nicely as this actually rules pretty hard. — Aaron Lariviere
[YouTube]

Vallenfyre – A Fragile King
Not exactly new, but EXCELLENT death/doom (but more death) that channels Gothic-era Paradise Lost just enough (which is allowable since this is a Paradise Lost side project). Strong songs make for a win. — A.L.
[YouTube]

Whitehorse – Progression
Simultaneously the ugliest/sweetest riffage of 2011. Noise-injected sludge/doom from Australia in the vein of Batillus and Beneath Oblivion, and every bit as good as both. — A.L.
[Bandcamp]

Witchaven – Terrorstorm
Eh. Thrashy? Not much more to say. Sweet cover art. Executed well, not especially exciting. Bought this while drunk, after confusing the name with Witchrist. My bad. — A.L.
[YouTube]

Wino/Conny Ochs – Heavy Kingdom
If anyone in metal can release a country/folk album, it’s Wino. Lyrics are occasionally shaky, but good atmosphere prevails (and by the gods, Wino’s still got the voice). Best listened to on a long drive of self-discovery across the West. — R.W.
[Mainstream Records]

Wounded Kings – In the Chapel of the Black Hand
Longform trad doom with lady vocals. Interesting in fleeting bursts. — A.L.
[Reverbnation]

Zombie Inc – A Dreadful Decease
Raging death about, uh, raging death. Perfect blend of old school Swedish sounds and modern, pulverizing death metal. Goofy song titles in broken English, but the riffs say plenty. — A.L.
[YouTube]