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ReviewTopia Banished

United Kingdom based mini blog dedicated to discussing new and old music in various formats.

Docimeters at the ready! a country sized plume of irradiated dust engulfs the continent visciously mutating all that s...
10/10/2026

Docimeters at the ready! a country sized plume of irradiated dust engulfs the continent visciously mutating all that surrounds us. Buildings fall, flesh dissolves, brains alter and Nuclear Tomb conduct it all with their sophomore album 'Epoch Humane' out now via Rotted Life Records
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I really dug these Baltimore thrash metal maniacs debut 'Terror Labyrinthian' so when I heard there was another slab of radioluminescent filth to pour directly into my ears all three of my heads screamed with glee. Then I saw they were slapping a Brad Moore [ Brad Moore ]artwork on top of it and that just sealed the sticky⁣
ol deal for me...just look at that thing.... so sick!⁣
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The record opens with a word of warning to 'watch the skies' before absolutely annhilating the listener with some utterly 'Inhumane' (see what I did there) thrash laden death. The riffs are sharp and coated in rust, the drums are pummeling and the production...just on the money!⁣
The vocals....they are just resembling unintelligible transmissions screamed across a teeming wasteland that haven't pricked the ears of a human in decades, absolutely malicious and a clear highlight of the record! Nothing here feels stable; the music mutates from one hideous form into another, collapsing into spasms of dissonance and erupting back into something even more grotesque.⁣
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This thing is ace, so well put together and an even better record than the debut ... so go buy it...buy it now!⁣
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The visciously swinging broadsword that is 'Damnations Veil' from Maryland death thrash horde Ninth Realm which was re...
30/08/2026

The visciously swinging broadsword that is 'Damnations Veil' from Maryland death thrash horde Ninth Realm which was released August 28th via Transcending Obscurity on all your favourite formats and a plethora of other delectable merch!⁣
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Ninth Realm have brought upon the world a unrelentingly infectious beast that's screaming out with epic old school death metal drama, holding its flaming sword high whilst simultaneously driving that sword down your throat with crushingly modern thrashy hardcore gusto that's utterly infectious and impossible to ignore. ⁣
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There’s a cold, bleak beauty running through 'Damnations Veil'. The artwork perfectly encapsulates the feel and malevolent sounds within. Wyrmwalk killed it on this artwork and quite possibly is one of my favourite cover arts of the year! The album has a sense of weight and despair and the record just keeps getting more and more intriguing as it progresses. It feels very well thought out in terms of pacing and structure which considerably increases the ferocity it unleashes.⁣
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I just love how this band feels clad in power/trad aesthetics and cloaked in chainmail ready to slay some mythical beast but has actually twisted that aesthetic together with a modern thrash laden death metal album that's torn the beasts head off and swalled it whole.⁣
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So if you dig some killer death thrash that's full of breakneck speed, killer riffs and vicious vocals and seeks to drag you on a quest that you'll inevitably and willingly be hung drawn and quartered on then this my friend is probably for you! Go get it!⁣
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the engrossing hallucinatory voyage into a bleak and otherworldly terra firma...it's 'Confusion Gate', the seventh stu...
15/08/2026

the engrossing hallucinatory voyage into a bleak and otherworldly terra firma...it's 'Confusion Gate', the seventh studio album from New York black metal cohort Yellow Eyes released via Gilead Media October 2025 on all your favourite formats.⁣
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Layering multiple elements of different types of music, 'Confusion Gate' features waves of killer and enthralling black metal twisted with touches of ambience, dissonance, industrial and folky medieval instances that cloaks the listener in the same darkness that is suffocating the artist.⁣
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From the production, the pacing, the amtosphere and the sheer level of detail, everything on here is just brilliant. The hazy and winding 'Suspension Moon' is my favourite track on here and one I'd suggest is a must for any new atmo black playlists you're sticking together.⁣
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Yellow Eye's have always released compelling and solid black metal albums but 'Confusion Gate' is their finest moment yet, layer upon layer of excellent atmospheric black metal that I cant help but keep returning too...do not miss out on this.⁣
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the razor sharp and soaring return of vampyric Mexican thrash metal killers 𝕻𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖔𝖒 it's their third full-length and t...
25/07/2026

the razor sharp and soaring return of vampyric Mexican thrash metal killers 𝕻𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖔𝖒 it's their third full-length and titled 'Not Midnight Yet'. It's out now via High Roller Records and is one any thrash metal fan will not want to miss...⁣
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I was lucky to catch Phantom's debut UK tour show in Portsmouth earlier this week with Colombian crossover crew Poison the Preacher and it was a one hell of a night... there's still a couple of dates left so grab ya leathers and get to it!⁣
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Blending speed, thrash and a smattering of black metal madness then combining it with wild yet solid song crafting, Phantom create a utterly balls to the wall release. It has got soaring rifs and wild solos that hack and slash across blasting drums and driving bass lines that whip us listeners up into a fury.⁣
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Channeling their inner Venom, Razor, Whiplash, Sabbat and early Slayer into their own love letter to all things classicly speed/thrash, it's hard not to be drawn into this record as this is the guys finest effort to date. 'Not Midnight Yet', if you've not been initiated into Phantom's razor sharp thrash/speed mayhem then this is a perfect place to start then work backwards with the rest of their records and thank me later...⁣
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the relentless razor sharp ode to all things thrash that is 'Rotting on a Golden Throne' the brand new album from Würz...
04/07/2026

the relentless razor sharp ode to all things thrash that is 'Rotting on a Golden Throne' the brand new album from Würzburg, Germany's ZERRE it's fast, it's intense and vicious as hell and its also out via Dying Victims Productions which is as god damn good of a guaranteed seal of quality as there is in modern metal! ⁣
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This five piece pack of thrash rats has been around since 2012 and started out in the hardcore punk scene. 2024 saw the guys rip the scene a new one transitioning to a much more thrash/crossover sound with their record 'Scorched Souls' and it ruled... so I like many others have been patiently awaiting what comes next... a move into folk metal perchance...?⁣
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F*ck no! 'Rotting on the Golden Throne' is just over fourty minutes of some of the best thrash I've heard all year! It's blisteringly fast with just enough weight to give it that infectious hardcore/crossover edge that gets metal heads doing circle pits in their own living rooms, knocking ol' nana's urn flying and not caring one jot until the records over.⁣
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The production has this raw edge that just kills and, put together with metric tonne of anger that's pouring out of this record, it just sounds utterly wild. The utter disdain that vocalist Nico spits out about the fast decaying political world and corruption that surrounds feel super authentic and are impossible to ignore.⁣
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If you are a metal head looking for something new, or even a gabba fan that has decided that it's actually just noise then drop what your doing and buy this record...actually buy it too and support a killer band and killer label!⁣
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Been on a Krallice ( ) binge ever since they announced there European tour... see any of you in London? So in honor of ...
06/06/2026

Been on a Krallice ( ) binge ever since they announced there European tour... see any of you in London? So in honor of that I'm 'Diotima', the spellbinding third album from the NYC black metal experimentalists and my personal favourite of theirs, this is the 2019 remastered and reissued edition through on smoky blue vinyl and it rules.⁣
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Krallice manage to make the most expressive and intriguing Black Metal out there and with this record I personally feel that this swirling diorama is where they nailed the atmosphere to go alongside their superb musicianship.⁣ The way it twists and turns is utterly infectious.⁣
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'Telluric Rings' is the highlight of the record, an eleven minute monster. The interplay between Mick Barr and Marston is sensational.  The whole record is produced mixed and mastered by Colin and I have to say the production is excellent, atmospheric yet abrasive.⁣⁣
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So if you fancy some black metal that will take you to another world and you haven't already checked out 'Diotima' then I highly recommend it and the rest of Krallice's discography as it's consistently excellent...and getting better release after release after release! And these guys just dont stop! Pick any one of there fifteen releases and you'll be treated to some brilliant music....let me know which you think is the best.⁣
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the feral, raw and utterly venomous return of British black thrash trio with their sophomore record 'Come Creeping Fi...
25/04/2026

the feral, raw and utterly venomous return of British black thrash trio with their sophomore record 'Come Creeping Fiends' out now via the killer on a plethora of delectable formats.⁣⁣
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It's been seven years since the group's malicious debut 'Havoc at the Midnight Hour' was released and time has allowed Aggressive Perfector to really hone their game. This record is a slicing dicing ode to all things speed/thrash/black and trad mixed together into a vicous maelstrom that just rules.⁣⁣
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The old school production perfectly matches the passion filled performance being spewed out by the Manchester based trio, the unhinged vocals, the soaring guitars that are so infectious it's impossible not to don your denim, white sneakers and tear around your house until its a mere pile of dust on the floor.⁣⁣
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If you dig early Slayer, Motorhead, Venom and Bewitcher then you'll definitely want to check this out, you'll also want to pick up everything by Wode and Heavy Sentence whilst your there as they share members.⁣⁣
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What you waiting for? Go grab it!⁣⁣
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[Console]::OutputExecute = [Protocol]::ExitCryosleep -- Enter Overspace & Supertime⁣⁣ as we exit cryosleep we leap head...
28/03/2026

[Console]::OutputExecute = [Protocol]::ExitCryosleep -- Enter Overspace & Supertime⁣
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as we exit cryosleep we leap head first through a wormhole into 'Overspace & Supertime' the brand new space opera from UK death metal wizards .ufo released February via on a plethora of formats.⁣
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After the groups incredible 2020 debut 'Visitations from Enceladus' and catching these guys set at UK Deathfest at the Black Heart in London, I have been clawing at the walls for a new full-length...it has taken six years but it's here and the wait was 100% worth it.⁣
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'Overspace & Supertime' is an absolute masterclass in extraterrestrial technical death/thrash, it feels like a directors cut sci-fi film cult classic. The effort that has been put into the presentation, writing and aura that surrounds the records are just incredible and that's before you even think about the musicianship.⁣
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The musicianship on here is second to none. The last record was impressive but it's another level on here, mixing elements of groups like Nocturnus, Atheist, Mithras and Obliveon with their own tones and ideas that send them into hyperspace creating this incrediblely infectious space opera we have before us.⁣
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I could go on all day about how good this is...but there's a character limit, I'll finish by saying that if there's one record you check out on my reccomendation this year then make sure it's this one...an incredible record and journey through space and time⁣
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