I had been sort of a casual fan of Arsis before the release of the extraordinary We Are the Nightmare, but that album took my fandom to a whole new level and made me appreciate the two albums and EP before it even more. I felt the inclusion of drummer Darren Cesca on that album [...]

I tried to forgive Eluveitie for last years Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion. Though it wasn’t a bad record, it wasn’t a metal record either. Now the band takes the obvious leap back into metal, but what we get is no comparison to 2008’s Slania. Unless you are a diehard fan of this band, Everything [...]

When reviewing the latest release by a group with a back catalogue such as Hypocrisy’s, the question comes up of whether to compare it to previous releases in terms of “success” or whether to let it stand alone. I’ll try to do a bit of both in this review, because it’s only fair. Hypocrisy’s timeline [...]

The staying power of Nile, not to mention its rightful place among death metal royalty, has been firmly established for years now. They have never released a bad album – not even close – and in many ways redefined the brutal/traditional end of technical death metal (compared to, for example, a band like Necrophagist). Then [...]

Following the departure of Christian Alvestam, Scar Symmetry were left with some big shoes to fill. So what do they do? The hire not one, but two new vocalists, one specializing in clean vocals and providing back up growls (the relatively unknown Lars Palmqvist), the other handling primary growls and back up cleans (Roberth Karlsson [...]

The anticipation level is high, adrenal glands working overtime, then the first song starts…. I find my mind wandering and playing “Cryptic Winterstorms” internally, so hit stop, pull up Diabolical, listen in its entirety, put All Shall Fall back on and hit play, now where were we… halfway through the first song I have the [...]

I love to drink. I am not an alcoholic (or am I?) but I do enjoy a tasty beverage now and then. There’s never a bad time for good friends and a good game of the drink. So, naturally I should love a band like Korpiklaani with their anthems of inebriation, however this band requires [...]

If you do not know Belphegor by now you must have just hatched. Eight studio full lengths and a couple of eps. You would think Austria’s kings of perversion would have it all figured out by now. Walpurgis Rites – Hexenwahn is the title, so the lyrical disposition should be obvious to all. The bonus [...]

With an ever-changing roster of members, the only constant in Vader’s lineup for the duration of the band’s 26-year history has been guitarist/vocalist Piotr “Peter” Wiwczarek. While the man must be either completely dedicated or insane to grind the axe that long, it’s clear that his vision has remained focused through the years and leagues [...]

The members of Hardcore Superstar pitch their music as a blend of thrash and 1980s sleaze rock. I grew up on sleaze rock and thrash is my favorite metal genre, so that idea intrigued me. It’s a bit of false advertisement, though. While they’re on the heavier end of sleaze rock, their sound has much [...]

I think I liked Threat Signal more when they were basically a Fear Factory clone (right down to Christian Olde Wolbers producing). Yeah, ok, shades of Soilwork’s melodic thrash/death and Strapping Young Lad’s atmospherics were present as well. But the point is that I didn’t find the mimicry on Under Reprisal to be a problem; [...]

Upon receiving Swashbuckle’s album Back To The Noose for review I sharpened my best Jack Sparrow cutlass for the inevitable disembowlment of the latest in the growing list of pirate metal bands.
I have a general disdain for pirate metal. When I see an album I feel like I’m looking at an advertisement for a Disney [...]

Boy do I love me some Death Angel, but I’ve never been much for live albums – I’d rather be there, or simply listen to the studio disc. Live recordings usually sound pretty terrible, and even if they don’t, the set list and songs included almost always leave something to be desired. It’s pretty much [...]

The End of an Era marks the final document of the Tarja’s Nightwish reign. I’m fairly certain fans held the original standard-def DVD in high regard, as the performance, track selection (“The Kinslayer”, “Bless the Child”, and Gary Moore cover “Over the Hills and Far Away”) and production values are very high. Well, kids it’s [...]

Maurizio Iacono and the Canadian hyper blasters Kataklysm have spread their wings in 2009 and ventured away from their usually reliable racket to deliver us a tasty concept album on the fall of Rome, dubbed Romulus.
Ex Deo consists of the entire Kataklysm line-up and Jonathan Leduc (Blackguard) on keyboards. The idea was the brainchild of [...]

Once I heard that Amorphis’ ninth album once again delved into Finnish folk literature a la the legendary Elegy as well as Eclipse (Skyforger, like Eclipse is based on the Kalevala poems, this time focusing on Ilmarinen, one of the central characters), I had my hopes pretty high. Even more so when you consider that [...]

You’ve got to respect a band like Eluveitie. To make such a bold move like this after a highly impressive album like Slania is rather bizarre, especially when your fan base is just starting to grow. Evocation I – The Arcane Dominion, departs far from the melodic death approach and firmly embraces the bands desire [...]

This band is seriously armed to the teeth in almost every respect.
First of all, they have one of the longest, most ridiculous names ever conceived. Second, they’ve matched that with the album title. Third, they have enlisted James Murphy to produce and mix this beast, the Obituary connection continues, at least on the Euro version, [...]

As elder statesmen in the world of Doom Metal, Sweden’s Candlemass has carved a long, deep canyon in the genre leaving a mark like few have since or will again. While not the original vocalist, the now departed Messiah Marcolin is regarded as part of the band’s quintessential line up and his different replacements have [...]

Legendary New York death pioneers SUFFOCATION will release their new album, Blood Oath, in Europe on July 3rd and in North America on July 14th via Nuclear Blast Records.
Blood Oath will be available in three exclusive formats to the North American territory. In addition to the standard retail version, there will be a mail-order edition [...]

Polish death metallers VADER have inked a deal with Nuclear Blast Records.
Commented the band: “We are very glad that after so many years VADER finally joined one of the biggest metal labels in the world. We really believe in their potential, experience and famous German reliability. We are pretty confident that the cooperation will be [...]

“Omnos,” the new video from Swiss folk metal pioneers ELUVEITIE, can now be viewed on MySpace .
The song comes off the band’s upcoming acoustic/folk album, Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion, which is scheduled for release on April 11th (Europe) and May 19th (North America) via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD will contain 15 folk songs, [...]

Before starting this review proper, I have a small rant to get off my chest: what the fuck is up with all the delayed North American release dates? This album was released in Europe way back in October, and here we are in February finally getting it in the US. There are several albums I [...]

I went to see Dimmu Borgir a few years ago here in AZ. Before the show, my buddy and I went across the street to get some pre-show dinner at a popular cantina – the kind of place that’s usually a meet-market on the weekends for the image-conscious Scottsdale crowd. So imagine our surprise when [...]

No sooner did The Crown become history in 2003 than all those in mourning were soon relieved to know that the band’s vocalist Johan Lindstrand had decided to launch a new project. Dubbing the newborn band as One Man Army & The Undead Quartet, Lindstrand didn’t rack his brains about what kind of metal to [...]