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Album Review – Burned in Effigy / Tyrannus Aeternum (2025)

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This Chicago-based Neoclassical and Melodic Death Metal beast is ready to attack armed with the 11-track onslaught found in their sophomore offering.

Rising from the heart of the Midwest metal scene, Chicago, Illinois-based Neoclassical/Melodic Death Metal outfit Burned in Effigy is set to unleash their newest razor-edged assault, their sophomore opus titled Tyrannus Aeternum, or “the eternal tyrant” from Latin. Recorded at Beal Audio and Bricktop Recording, with production, engineering and mixing by Jordan Beal, and displaying a classy artwork by Timon Kokott, the follow-up to their 2022 debut Rex Mortem sees the band formed of Mark “Smedy” Smedbron on vocals, Steve Bacakos and Mike Hisson on the guitars, Matt Watkins on bass, and Eddie Dec on drums sharpen their sound to a lethal edge, delivering their most aggressive album to date while remaining loyal to their neoclassical and melodic foundations.

The band wastes no time and begins their metallic attack in Befouled Benefaction, led by the demented vocals by Mark and Eddie’s intricate and heavy-as-hell beats and fills, and the acoustic guitars by Steve and Mike will penetrate deep inside your soul before their absolute heaviness comes crushing in Retribution, a solid display of modern-day melodeath by those guys. Masquerade is a song perfect for slamming into the pit, sounding fast, heavy and caustic just the way we like it thanks to another amazing job done by Eddie on drums; whereas the Flamenco-infused interlude Procession puts us to dance and warms us up for Wage of Exile, a lecture in shredding and violence by the band, with their neoclassical vein clashing beautifully with their Death Metal approach.

The second half of the album kicks off with the hard hitting Sacrificial Seance, with Steve and Mike shredding their stringed axes mercilessly for our total delight while also presenting some dark, sinister passages. Monstrosity Reborn, perhaps the song with the most charming name of the album, again showcases Mark’s rabid vocals amidst a thrilling fusion of neoclassical sounds and pure heaviness. Then the second interlude of the album, titled Gallows Hymn, focuses on a classical music-like vibe, setting the stage for The Racking, a pulverizing tune that transpires Swedish Melodic Death Metal (made in Chicago, of course), with the band’s guitar duo once again sounding brutal yet very melodic. Crown Crusher is slightly generic if compared to the rest of the album, albeit presenting the band’s characteristic sounds, whereas Citadel closes the album on a high and very technical mode, with all band members being on total fire with their mix of intricacy and rage.

An 11-track onslaught that blends the band’s skillful musicianship and technicality with volcanic brutality, Tyrannus Aeternum is a must-listen for fans of extreme music with a strong melodic edge, and if you want to put your hands on such an imposing and vibrant album you can purchase a copy of it from BandCamp or by clicking HERE. Don’t forget to also show your support to those beyond talented musicians by following the band on Facebook and on Instagram, including their tour dates, and to stream their vicious creations on any streaming platform like Spotify. Because the tyrant might be ternal, but so is heavy music, and Burned in Effigy are proudly carrying the flag of a new generation of bands that surely know how to blend violence with the most epic and enfolding sounds you can imagine.

Best moments of the album: Masquerade, Wage of Exile and Citadel.

Worst moments of the album: Crown Crusher.

Released in 2025 Independent

Track listing
1. Befouled Benefaction 4:29
2. Retribution 4:37
3. Masquerade 3:06
4. Procession 1:24
5. Wage of Exile 4:09
6. Sacrificial Seance 4:49
7. Monstrosity Reborn 5:49
8. Gallows Hymn 1:04
9. The Racking 5:05
10. Crown Crusher 5:38
11. Citadel 5:03

Band members
Mark “Smedy” Smedbron – vocals
Steve Bacakos – guitar
Mike Hisson – guitar
Matt Watkins – bass
Eddie Dec – drums

Guest musician
Graham Southern – orchestrations, keyboards

Album Review – Avernus / Grievances (2024)

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A beast of an album that represents the return to action by one of the premiere bands mixing death with doom elements, and by far their most cohesive and powerful recording to date.

Established in 1992 in Chicago, Illinois, Atmospheric Doom/Death Metal outfit Avernus (which, in Roman mythology, was the name for the underworld) was one of the premiere bands mixing death with doom elements as evidenced by early demos over the next couple years. However, after recording a couple more demos, the band wallowed in obscurity in the 2000’s despite the efforts of remaining constant member, founder Rick McCoy, slowly crumbling away. Recorded and engineered by Joe Scaletta at Word Of Mouth Recording (with drums recorded at Bricktop Recording, and additional recording by Andy Lagis at Earshot Recording), mixed and mastered by Charles Macak at Electrowerks Recording, and displaying the sinister 1878 oil in canvas “Anguish”, by August Friedrich Schenck, as the artwork, the newborn beast Grievances is the return to action by Avernus after so many decades, by far the most cohesive and powerful recording assembled by the more experienced and yet calmer heads of Rick McCoy on vocals, guitars and synthesizers, James Genenz on guitars, bass, synthesizers and vocoder, Erik Kikke on guitars and bass, and Rick Yifrach on drums and percussion to create truly a masterwork.

The phantasmagorical intro Calling The Void already brings forward the band’s trademark heaviness, with its sluggish sounds penetrating deep inside our minds before Nemesis darkens the skies with its beyond doomed vibe, where Stygian background elements and minimalist guitars are exactly what Rick McCoy needs to roar like a ruthless creature, not to mention how powerful the slow and steady beats by Rick Yifrach sound. The hammering riffs by Rick McCoy, James and Erik sound caustic and grim in Exitus, offering more of their Atmospheric Doom Metal essence, all boosted by serene, delicate synths, followed by the whimsical instrumental interlude Plateau, making the ambience even heavier and more somber until the band comes crushing like thunder in the Doom Metal aria The Burning Down, featuring spoken words by guest Corporate Death (of Macabre), inspired by giants of the scene the likes of My Dying Bride while Rick McCoy’s vocals exhale anguish and darkness.

And the atmosphere remains dense and pensive in Return To Dust, with the sluggish drums by Rick Yifrach hitting us hard with every single beat, supporting the riffs, bass and grim vocals by his bandmates, morphing into another cinematic, massive interlude titled Open Arms (To The Apocalypse), overflowing Doom Metal until futuristic synths create a stunning paradox with the harsh sound of their guitars in Utter Euphoria, featuring additional guitars by Jeff Ulbrich (of From Beyond These Walls). Abandoned is another song with a beyond atmospheric start, almost sounding like Ambient or Shoegaze, and maybe a bit too long to be honest; and there’s one final onrush of Atmospheric Death and Doom Metal by Avernus titled Quietus, with Rick Yifrach once again pounding his drums in the name of doom while the guitars by the band’s stringed trio sound as sharp as they can be, alternating between delicate passages and sheer heaviness where Death and Doom Metal converge, therefore ending the album in a climatic and piercing manner.

Grievances is more than a strong return to form by Avernus, but a must-listen for admirers of the most sluggish, darkest form of death and doom, and you can show your support to those awesome Chicago musicians by following them on Facebook and on Instagram, staying up to date with all of their news and tour dates, and of course by clicking HERE and purchasing your favorite version of their flammable new opus. The band might have taken years to get back in action, but the wait was absolutely worth it as the music found in Grievances is fantastic, and I’m sure we won’t have to endure another huge hiatus by Avernus in the coming years because after the impact of their new album in the current scene, they’ll feel more than inspired to keep spreading their doomed wings upon us.

Best moments of the album: Nemesis, The Burning Down and Quietus.

Worst moments of the album: Abandoned.

Released in 2024 M-Theory Audio

Track listing
1. Calling The Void 2:16
2. Nemesis 9:33
3. Exitus 8:10
4. Plateau 3:31
5. The Burning Down 9:26
6. Return To Dust 7:37
7. Open Arms (To The Apocalypse) 3:02
8. Utter Euphoria 4:32
9. Abandoned 5:05
10. Quietus 8:52

Band members
Rick McCoy – vocals, guitars, synthesizers
James Genenz – guitars, bass, synthesizers, vocoder
Erik Kikke – guitars, bass
Rick Yifrach – drums, percussion

Guest musicians
Corporate Death – spoken word on “The Burning Down”
Jeff Ulbrich – additional guitars on “Utter Euphoria”

Album Review – 200 Stab Wounds / Manual Manic Procedures (2024)

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Cleveland’s own legends-in-waiting will crush your damned souls with their sophomore album, a brutal slab of old school Death Metal with a contemporary edge not for the faint-hearted.

Following up on their very successful 2021 debut album Slave to the Scalpel, Cleveland, Ohio, United States-based Death Metal legends-in-waiting 200 Stab Wounds are back into the battlefield with their sophomore opus Manual Manic Procedures, a brutal slab of old school Death Metal with a contemporary edge. Produced and mixed by Andy Nelson at Bricktop Recording, and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege Mastering, the new album by vocalist and guitarist Steve Buhl, guitarist Raymond MacDonald, bassist Ezra Cook and drummer Owen Pooley is certainly not for the faint-hearted, putting classic gore-themed ferocity back into the metal community’s collective consciousness.

In the opener Hands of Eternity, a grim and sinister start gradually evolves into a demented Death Metal beast where Owen dictates the pace with his furious beats supported by the always metallic bass by Ezra, sounding bestial and damned from start to finish. After such a demonic start, the band needs less than two minutes to smash our cranial skulls in Gross Abuse, with the demented harsh vocals by Steve redefining the meaning of “deep”, whereas their undisputed Death Metal sounds continue to split our spinal cords in half in Manual Manic Procedures, again showcasing Steve’s venomous roars boosted by his own and Raymond’s infernal riffs and solos. Release the Stench is another short and sweet display of savagery by the quartet, offering endless groove and electricity thanks to the amazing job done by their stringed trio, followed by Led to the Chamber / Liquified, an instrumental piece where the first part is just an intro that morphs into a more melodic second half, bringing more of their classic Death Metal (albeit never really taking off).

Back to their more ferocious mode we’re treated to Flesh from Within, with Owen and Ezra hammering their thunderous instruments while Steve vociferates rabidly nonstop; and the bass by Ezra sounds even more metallic and heavier in Defiled Gestation, with Owen accelerating the band’s already killer sonority in great fashion. Then featuring guest vocals by Jami Morgan of Code Orange we have Ride the Flatline, offering our avid ears an explosion of caustic lyrics (“Back against the rail, stones beneath my feet / Fantasies of speeding steel dominate my dreams / Colder than a knife, faster than a gun / Exhilaration, annihilation / Pressure of a ton”) while the music remains violent and heavy until the very end. Finally, closing one of the heaviest albums of the year we have Parricide, where their riffs, bass lines and crushing drums are exactly what Steve needs to bark like a demonic creature.

200 Stab Wounds keep going strong in their demolishing path of old school Death Metal, and Manual Manic Procedures is exactly what they needed to reach new heights with their undisputed violence and musicianship. Having said that, let those Cleveland metallers stab your heart 200 times with their refined extreme music by following them on Facebook and on Instagram, by streaming their sick creations on Spotify, and by grabbing a copy of the ruthless Manual Manic Procedures from the Metal Blade Records webstore or by clicking HERE. Because they’re violent, gory, brutal, and above all that, they’re pure Death Metal.

Best moments of the album: Hands of Eternity, Manual Manic Procedures and Flesh from Within.

Worst moments of the album: Led to the Chamber / Liquified.

Released in 2024 Metal Blade Records

Track listing
1. Hands of Eternity 4:44
2. Gross Abuse 1:50
3. Manual Manic Procedures 2:43
4. Release the Stench 2:31
5. Led to the Chamber / Liquified 3:10
6. Flesh from Within 3:11
7. Defiled Gestation 4:24
8. Ride the Flatline 2:50
9. Parricide 4:06

Band members
Steve Buhl – vocals, guitars
Raymond MacDonald – guitars
Ezra Cook – bass
Owen Pooley – drums

Guest musician
Jami Morgan – vocals on “Ride the Flatline”