"Sword Horse make blackened doom metal that, like the title of their new EP, reeks pleasantly of affliction, portraying a world that one withdraws from, not out of apathy, but in disgust. In fact titles such as “Affliction” and “In Disgust” mark this recording as not fragile-friendly. The noise and chaos are relentless through all four tracks but more importantly, display a command of the genre that surely comes from mythic experience. Track two, “Varmint” begins with apocalyptic explosions and a rattling, booming drum accompaniment that seems to suggest the evil imperatives of a sick beast. Percussion plays an important part—in a descriptive sense—on this recording, forming the basis for the terrible visions each track conjures and then puts away, insouciantly. There’s enough feedback and growling menace on Affliction to stun a horse, sword or not."
-August March- Sonic Reducer - Weekly Alibi ABQ
This album may be simplistic but it absolutely kills it when it comes to achieving so much complexity and power from only two dudes in a basement! Jake Williams
More than solid demo from this Swedish sludge-doom unit. Raw, slow sludge with a cement-mixer guitar tone and genuinely extreme vocals. Can't help but think that these are ones to watch. BlueTempleVisions
Where has Beastmaker been all my life? This is a glorious ode to classic 80s metal, a mashup of Pentagram and NWOBHM influences like Diamond Head and Witchfinder General. If I didn't know better, I would swear this was made in the 80s - Beastmaker has really nailed that sound. I'll be buying more of these for sure. Reuben Sammitch
Brooding black metal on Vendetta records, Svartmálm slow the genre’s core ingredients and add bracing emotional heft. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 20, 2018
A fantastic debut showing from Baltimore metal band Born of Plagues, uniting post-metal's expansive textures with sludge's almighty muck. Bandcamp New & Notable May 19, 2021