There’s a lot to like from the debut of Barcelona’s Pagan metal act Lux Divina. It’s a well produced black metal record full of foresty, heathen pride and regal pagan grandiosity as well as trademark melodic black metal trappings.
Versed metal heads will detect the immediate influence of Borknagar and Vintersorg as well as early In [...]

Here’s a cool little 7 track EP from a new California act who mange to meld dark, pummeling hardcore, crust and post rock into a solid release that bodes well for the future, even in relatively crowded scene. Definitely recommended for fans on Converge due to some blistering chaos, underlined with some subtle and metallic [...]

You just need to take one look at the some of this German band’s promotional shots of the band smeared in stylistic blood on front of fiery battle scene to guess the style this band play and their primary influences. Look no further than the likes of Turisas, Ensiferum, Falchion and such, though Varg is [...]

And so the fittingly titled last album from Chet Scott (aided by Daniel Ellis Harrod and James Woodhead), closes the chapter on what has been one of the more interesting and introspective metal projects of the last few years with a deeply personal and almost completely ambient album.
Where as Scott’s last two albums, the debut Blood [...]

Well, here is 2010s first top notch tech death metal release (the re-issue of Obscura’s Retribution does not count).
After 2008s promising little The Nameless, The Faceless EP, this California trio have made all the necessary improvements and developments to start flirting with the likes of Severed Savior, Odious Mortem, Abysmal Dawn and such: busy and [...]

In the tradition of other Facedown/Strikefirst releases, North Carolina’s Onwards to Olympas deliver solid Christian metalcore/ hardcore/ deathcore that straddles the line between burlier, heavier acts like label mates Earth From Above and slightly more melodic styled stuff like For Today and such.
Now most of you have left, I’ll continue…
There’s nothing to earth shattering on [...]

I’ve been on a bit of a black metal kick of late, jamming the likes of Carach Angren, Unholy Ritual, Oblomov, Lux Divina and other more amicable, often symphonic versions of black metal. And while France’s Aldaaron are not Symphonic black metal, they do have some keyboards here and there, and their delivery is just [...]

I truly thought that the self released EP from Australia’s Brazen Bull would be the most absolutely bat shit insane band I would hear in 2009. 
Wrong. 
Apparently this is this Italian band’s second album (along with 4 Ep/splits), and it has to be some off the most of the wall, experimental grindcore/spazz tech metal I’ve ever [...]

Ive always championed Italy’s Disharmonia Mundi as one of the more underrated melodic death metal bands in the scene. Obviously overshadowed by the likes In Flames, Dark Tranquility and Soilwork, the band has still managed to hang around and are now on album number 4 (not including last years re-issue of Nebularium and The Restless [...]

Deathcore is off to an explosive start in 2010 with the new, improved Annotations of an Autopsy, the solid new Carnifex, the keyboard drenched The Breathing Process and the full length debut from Utah’s Chelsea Grin.
After a promising EP (off which two tracks “Cheyne Stokes” and Recreant”, reappear on this album) Utah’s now three guitar [...]

Re-issues are a hit or miss affair, but Poland’s Metal Mind have generally been spot on with their re-issue catalog (Godgory, Annihilator, Artillery, Atrophy, Believer, Brutality, Defiance just to name a few) but when the source material is as oddball and divisive as the 2002 release from Disharmonic Orchestra, they are a bit hamstrung.
I originally [...]

Ive always been a fan of the underrated Danish death metal scene; Chunky, simple (and often intertwined) acts like Illdisposed, Iniquity, Corpus Mortale, Usipian, Koldborn, The Cleansing, and arguably one of the better recent additions, Dawn of Demise.
After a solid debut in 2008s Hate Will Take Its Form and a cover based EP in 2009s [...]

As part of the second tier of melodic death metal in the mid to late 90, Sweden’s Godgory never got the international acclaim or attention of their more energetic peers despite a solid four album catalog from 1996 to 2001.
Partly mired in the middle of Nuclear Blast releasing endless mediocre stuff like Agathodaimon, Crematory, Dismal [...]

It’s no real surprise that this unsigned Austin, TX based group is vying desperately to win a competition that would have them open for Killswitch Engage, but truth be told- if they did play right before, fans might think they are seeing a KsE cover band or a group of KsE imposters.
Not that Die Among [...]

In the grand French tradition of eclectic, experimental and mindfuckingly heavy acts like Gojira, Comity, Overmars and more recently Erin Non Dae, come Hypno5e and their debut full length album which bundles dreamy ambience, crushing angular heft and musically artistic curveballs into one unpredictably brilliant and bipolar release of typically avant-garde French metal.
I’d throw this [...]

Ive been is somewhat of a musical/critical funk recently, unable to filter the stacks of avant-garde black metal, tech death metal and acoustic non metal that’s filled my head of late. Its time to strip down to bare basics, and listen to some simple bludgeoning music that requires no thought, no in depth analysis and [...]

I’ve noticed a bit of trend in hardcore/metalcore/American metal of late; First, some really good clean vocalist are starting to surface in these acts and second some bands seem to be injecting true blue progressive metal into their sound. Not just piecemeal stuff or even scatter shot BTBAM styled stuff, but actual, structured, epic and [...]

I think there are a few comparisons between Snowblood and Fall of Efrafa. Both are from the UK (Snowblood hail from Glasgow) and are (were) relatively unknown. Both have a trilogy of Cds, both have the same recycled, cardboard Cd sleeves with simple effective artwork, and both are utterly magnificent. And unfortunately both have called [...]

Spewing forth from the same sick Dutch mind as Gnaw Their Tongues’ Mories, Migdal Bavel is the second album that Mories has created under this moniker and while still a sick, nasty record, its more of a black metal based record than the droning insanity of Gnaw Their Tongues.
And I say that very loosely as [...]

Released last year independently and now more recently distributed by Saturnine Media, California’s Cormorant has released a stunning melodic death metal album that that’s adventurous, ambitious and brilliant.
I’ve seen the likes of In Flames, Opeth and Slough Feg mentioned in reference to this band due to the prevalence of melodic riffage, heavy metal backbone, long [...]

Here’s another late 2009 release that is worth your while even if you can look past the fact that the moniker, label, logo, cover art and band’s looks scream Hot Topic deathcore.
The fact is though, Australia’s The Red Shore, despite all the above going against them they are more along the lines of As You [...]

As usual for this time of year, I’m trying to get onto 2010 releases for review, but there are always a few worthwhile, late 2009 stragglers that I feel deserve a mention and your ear. One such release is the debut from Tennessee’s Enfold Darkness.
I know Sumerian Records get a lot of flack for their [...]

If you think about it, for gruff metal heads a lot of us are accepting of some pretty mellow non metal acts: Tenhi, Nuen Welten, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, old Mortiis, Summoning, Dornenreich just to name a few, seem to get a free pass with metal heads and as artistically brilliant as many non metal [...]

When I reviewed (for another site) the 2008 album, Behind Enemy Lines, from New Zealand’s Christian metalcore/hardcore act, I suggested that Facedown/Strikefirst Records would be a good fit for this band for their next album.
Booyah.
Ok, enough of that – onto the album. The fact this album is on Strikefirst (Facedown’s baby brother) should clue you in [...]

First off, the packaging from this EP is pretty unique, though its bound to drive storage-o-phobes nuts: the CDEP comes in a LP sized sleeve, with the CD resting in the middle on a spinner and the inlay is an LP sized folding poster.
I just wish the music was as adventurous and creative as opposed [...]