Review / 200 Words Or Less
Bloody Hammers
Lovely Sort of Death

Napalm (2016) Kevin Fitzpatrick

Bloody Hammers – Lovely Sort of Death cover artwork
Bloody Hammers – Lovely Sort of Death — Napalm, 2016

Bloody Hammers hail from North Carolina and specialize in doom. The band was founded by Anders Manga, who remains the main songwriter and performer - recruiting others only for tours.

Manga's partner-in-dirge is keyboardist, Devalia and while she has been with Manga since the beginning, it would seem she is poised to assume a larger role with the band's music.

Providing atmospheric accompaniment in the past, Devalia's keyboards are in the forefront of almost every song on the album. While it helps to flesh out the more sparsely arranged tunes like "Shadows Out Of Time", they can come across a bit superfluous on the denser arrangements.

This is Bloody Hammers 4th album and I'm gonna be honest with you - it's really about time more people took notice, because there's some great songs here - as on previous efforts. Aside from the increased keys presence, the biggest change is the production, which had been one of the band's biggest detriments, but here they sound huge - every bit as apocalyptic as they should be.

Bloody Hammers – Lovely Sort of Death cover artwork
Bloody Hammers – Lovely Sort of Death — Napalm, 2016

Recently-posted album reviews

Sahan Jayasuriya

Don’t Say Please: The Oral History of Die Kreuzen
Feral House (2026)

For those of us who spent the mid-to-late 1980s navigating basement community halls, churches, and loveable, armpit-smelling dive bars, the name Die Kreuzen was a permanent fixture on the punk rock radar. They were the sound of the Midwest underground --too fast for the goths to do their spooky Bela Lugosi "shoo the bats away" interpretive dance, too technical for … Read more

Sewer Urchin

Global Urination
Independent (2025)

There’s a fine line between crossover thrash that feels dangerous and crossover thrash that just feels like a party. Global Urination doesn’t bother choosing because it does both loudly and without apology. St. Louis’ Sewer Urchin have been grinding since 2019, and on their latest full length they double down on everything that makes the genre work. They give us … Read more

Ingested

Denigration
Metal Blade (2026)

For a band that built its name on sheer brutality, Ingested have spent the last several years refining what that brutality actually means. With their newest release, Denigration, the band finds that continuing evolution. They’re still punishing, still precise, but noticeably more controlled and deliberate in how it all lands. From the outset, the record makes its intentions clear. “Dragged … Read more