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Album Review – Grog / Sphere Of Atrocities (2025)

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After 34 years pushing their creation forward with the precision of a scalpel, this cult Portuguese Death Metal and Grindcore beast is back once again with another chapter of extremeness and gore in their undisputed career.

After 34 years doing what they’ve always done to perfection, pushing their creation forward with the precision of a scalpel, in the most raw, brutal and sharp form imaginable, Oeiras, Lisbon, Portugal-based Death Metal/Grindcore cult entity Grog is back once again with another chapter of extremeness and gore in their undisputed career, titled Sphere of Atrocities, a deadly album that will make you bleed for speed, push you to the corner, and beat you relentlessly. Recorded, produced and mastered by the band’s drummer Rolando Barros at Undergrind Studios, with cover concept by the band’s vocalist Pedro Pedra, and illustration and final art by Victor Costa, the new bestial opus by the aforementioned Pedro Pedra and Rolando Barros alongside guitarist Ivo Martins and bassist Alexandre Ribeiro offers bass lines that will melt your face, a wall of exorcizing guitar riffs and a voice directly coming from down under, turning it into a must-listen for worldwide Death Metal and Grindcore fanatics.

The band needs less than two seconds to kick off their metallic extravaganza in E.xit G.lobal O.bliteration, pulverizing everything and everyone that dares to cross their path led by Pedro’s inhumane growling, whereas Rolando crushes his drums with endless fury in Vegetative Techuman, a visceral display of Death Metal infused with Grindcore madness. Ivo and Alexandre sound utterly rabid in Inborn Sickness, with their riffs and bass transpiring Death Metal while Pedro keeps vomiting unfriendly words nonstop; and Alexandre pounds his bass in absolute darkness in Heart Of Darkness, a lecture in violence by Grog that will leave you completely disoriented after all is said and done. After that, Ivo continues to fire his scathing riffs in Cosmic Placenta, while his bandmates showcase an avalanche of gore and insanity.

Pineal Turmoil brings to our avid ears two and a half minutes of pure, unfiltered Grindcore led by the demolishing beats and fills by Rolando; and there’s no sign of peace or hope in their music, as it’s a blast of annihilating sounds in Reproductive Extinction, with Ivo once again sounding ruthless on the guitar, which is also the case in Phantom Anihilation, bringing forward their trademark riffs, rumbling bass and pounding drums. NecroEarth nicely depicts the band’s strength, essence and passion for extreme music, with Pedro barking viciously until the very end, and I have no idea how they managed to sound even heavier in Lucidity, most probably due to another demented performance by Rolando behind his drums. Finally, we’re treated to Grog’s last three minutes of absurdly heavy and evil sounds in the form of Terrorithm, with the strings by Ivo and Alexandre reverberating in great fashion.

After listening to the unrelenting Sphere Of Atrocities, you’ll quickly acknowledge Grog are still one of the greatest names in the underground, putting their musical effort at the top of the highest mountain and continuing to be a fearless and ruthless monster avalanche for your senses, elevating their legacy to a new level of severe musical brilliance. Having said that, it’s time to “pulverize yourself” to the sound of Sphere Of Atrocities by purchasing a copy of the album from the Hellprod Records’ BandCamp or webstore, as well as by following the band on Facebook and on Instagram. Because Grog are out for blood armed with Sphere Of Atrocities, and you will most definitely want to be their next victim.

Best moments of the album: E.xit G.lobal O.bliteration, Heart Of Darkness and NecroEarth.

Worst moments of the album: Phantom Anihilation.

Released in 2025 Helldprod Records/Murder Records

Track listing
1. E.xit G.lobal O.bliteration 3:01
2. Vegetative Techuman 3:08
3. Inborn Sickness 2:49
4. Heart Of Darkness 3:39
5. Cosmic Placenta 2:14
6. Pineal Turmoil 2:41
7. Reproductive Extinction 2:42
8. Phantom Anihilation 2:28
9. NecroEarth 3:09
10. Lucidity 3:22
11. Terrorithm 3:09

Band members
Pedro Pedra – vocals
Ivo Martins – guitars, backing vocals
Alexandre Ribeiro – bass, backing vocals
Rolando Barros – drums, backing vocals

Album Review – Cronaxia / Collapsing The Outer Structure (2018)

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After two decades of their inception, this talented Portuguese Death Metal squad is finally unleashing upon humanity their pulverizing and very technical debut opus.

Born in the distant year of 1997 in the capital city Lisbon, Portuguese Death Metal horde Cronaxia has been fighting for extreme music in the fantastic Portuguese underground scene since their inception, never giving up despite all their struggles to find the right musicians and finally solidify their lineup and sound through the years. Currently a trio consisting of Sérgio on vocals and Renato and Filipe on the guitars, Cronaxia recruited bassist Alex Ribeiro and drummer Rolando Barros (both from Portuguese Brutal Death Metal/Grindcore band Grog) now in 2018 to give life to their first full-length album, a pulverizing and very technical lesson in Death Metal titled Collapsing the Outer Structure, highly recommended for fans of bands like early Kataklysm, Morbid Angel and Deeds Of Flesh.

Mixed and mastered by Paulo Vieira, known for his production work with Ironsword and Ravensire, Collapsing The Outer Structure is a work that walks the tightrope between genius and insanity, with songs like the jagged, restless “Dimension Ratio” being a vivid explosion of mind warping ideas. Immersed within these eight conceptual whirlwinds, the feeling is akin to having the secrets of the universe downloaded directly to your cerebral cortex in a fraction of a second. Bewildering yet incredible, almost too much to comprehend, you will find few listening experiences as overwhelming and intense as Collapsing The Outer Structure. It may have taken Cronaxia two decades to reach this defining moment, but now that their planets have aligned the force that has been unleashed is momentous and breathtaking.

In the title-track Collapsing the Outer Structure we already face total devastation in less than five seconds, with Rolando living up to the legacy of classic stone crushers of Death Metal while frontman Sérgio growls and barks like a rabid beast, sounding frantic and furious from start to finish. If this brutal welcome card is not enough for your metallic ears, Cronaxia don’t waste a single second and keep hammering our heads with their ruthless music in Logarithmic Cavitation, an insanely violent, heavy and extreme display of underground music made in Portugal where Felipe and Renato are in total sync with their lancinating riffs and solos, followed by The Core Condition, another brutish and demolishing hymn showcasing thunderous bass lines by Alex while the vocal lines get deeper and more demented than before, sounding and feeling as dense as Extreme Metal can be but also being very technical and polished. And get ready to be smashed by Cronaxia and their sharp and cataclysmic Death Metal in Dimension Ratio, where Rolando fires some sick blast beast and fills while Felipe and Renato continue to extract complex and demonic sounds and tones from their guitars.

The awesome Continuous Signal brings forward a pulverizing atmosphere crafted by the band, being tailored for fans of the early days of Cannibal Corpse with a fresh twist, not to mention Sérgio never gets tired of vociferating rabidly and deeply. Then it’s time for a galloping and demented composition titled Embryonic Reanimation, led by the bestial drumming by Rolando while Felipe and Renato show no mercy for their guitars (neither for our necks), whereas their second to last onrush of gruesome and very technical and melodic sounds comes in the form of Plasmatech, crushing our senses with its metallic riffs and unstoppable blast beats. Put differently, what a devastating (and absolutely awesome) Death Metal extravaganza by Cronaxia, with highlights to Sérgio’s cavernous growls. Hence, if you’re still alive after such demented level of aggression and dexterity by Cronaxia you’ll have your ears and mind decimated by Tangential Threshold, offering six minutes of deep guttural gnarls, nonstop beats and extremely sharp and acid riffs, or in other words, a lesson in Progressive and Technical Death Metal, ending the album in a rumbling, neck-breaking and somewhat esoteric manner.

In order to have your ears smashed by Cronaxia, simply go to Spotify to listen to Collapsing The Outer Structure in its entirety, and if their music makes your blood boil as expected, you should definitely show them your utmost support by following them on Facebook, subscribing to their YouTube channel, and grabbing your copy of the album from their BandCamp page, from the Lusitania Music webstore, from Amazon or from Discogs. By doing that, you’ll prove you have what it takes to “collapse the outer structure” together with this talented Portuguese squad in the name of Death Metal.

Best moments of the album: Dimension Ratio, Continuous Signal and Plasmatech.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2018 Lusitanian Music

Track listing
1. Collapsing the Outer Structure 2:07
2. Logarithmic Cavitation 4:03
3. The Core Condition 4:11
4. Dimension Ratio 3:43
5. Continuous Signal 3:34
6. Embryonic Reanimation 3:02
7. Plasmatech 4:39
8. Tangential Threshold 6:03

Band members
Sérgio – vocals
Felipe – guitars, vocals
Renato – guitars, vocals

Guest musicians
Alex Ribeiro – bass (session)
Rolando Barros – drums (session)