Now I’m in my element. Two mighty forces combine to create a wonderfully seething and morphing slab of extreme doom/drone. Gentry Densley and Greg Anderson do well in keeping things familiar but also fresh and innovative. Densley (Iceburn and Eagle Twin) is definitely lesser known among the community, unlike the giant Greg Anderson (Sunn 0))), […]

I’m still kind of on the fence with this release. On one hand, it’s nice to see some thrash done by dudes who don’t look 16 years old, with short dyed black hair and eye liner. But on the other hand, the kids almost do it better. That statement certainly won’t make me any friends. […]

When I was supposed to get this promo, the actual disc was lost in the mail. All I received was the jewel case liner, which opens up to a larger poster version of the cover art. I promptly hung it on my wall (having no idea what they sound like, but I thought it looked […]

I really never know what to say when I get this kind of stuff in the mail. I’m not the biggest black metal fan, and I don’t know why I always feel like stating that. Maybe only to justify my opinion if everyone else loves this and I somehow missed something. But that doesn’t change […]

This turned out to be quite a surprise. Completely unaware of this super group’s origins, I expecting something of a generic, tin can sounding black metal record. I was definitely wrong on that one. Upon opening the jewel case liner, two VERY notable names jumped out at me. Phil Anselmo being involved took me a […]

Keep reading if blistering death metal is your thing. You’ll probably dig this album. These guys kind of strike me as a mix between Skinless, Nasum and Witchery (though just a bit). They’re not technical, they’re not artsy, they’re not innovative. They’re just fast, heavy, ballsy and damn good. I did kind of expect something […]

Albums like this just make me shrug with indifference. On one hand I really can’t find much wrong with it. “The American Nightmare” certainly isn’t a weak album. But on the other hand, it does absolutely nothing for me. Dirtfedd give us a pretty diverse metalcore album here. Opener “Solute” is sort of a heavier […]

If you’ve heard Textures’ debut Polars or their stellar sophomore effort Drawing Circles, then you more or less know what to expect from their third release. Or do you? Silhouettes may very well be a coming of age for this talented outfit. If you’ve read the buzz about this album then you know Textures don’t […]

There’s something about Celtic music that I just find totally enthralling. It’s something I can never explain, but taps into a very deep part of me. That being said, my lineage traces to Poland and France, so I can’t even claim to be nationalistic about it. But no other music just completely detatches me from […]

I really wanted to like this album. Well… I do like it, but I wanted to love it. I wanted to never get enough of it. But I got enough after the first couple spins. Don’t get me wrong, I love Loomis’ playing and I love Nevermore. But this could have been so much better, […]

This album is beyond me. Not as a writer or extreme music enthusiast, but as a human being. It opens doors to places I have never seen, and maybe never want to see again. Yet I keep listening. I have been contemplating this record for over a month, and I still can’t make heads or […]

You know what? This album really has a lot of good things going on, though I recoiled in vehemence the minute I heard the first track, “Forever”. Last thing we need is another pop punk quazi-metalcore band like AFI, Atreyu or Avenged Sevenfold. Right? Well…don’t flame me for saying I like it. A lot. This […]

This is a band that would appeal to only a small percentage of extreme metal enthusiasts. So let me start with this: if you don’t like your doom/death mixed with serious amounts of experimentation, then you probably won’t dig this. But to the nuts like me out there, this is a whole new realm of […]

My preconceptions of this album were not at all positive. One look at the cover art, logo, album title, song titles, and the band members themselves (super trendy emo look) had me dreading this review. But they certainly proved you can’t quite judge a book by its cover. Opener “Hated Youth” took me by surprise. […]

I knew this would be some sort of power metal after one glance at the cover art and logo. What I didn’t know was how damn good these guys are.  I will admit I love power metal, but I don’t waste my time with mediocre, sub par acts.  These guys know what they’re doing, and […]

As far as spastic, technical metalcore goes, Time Has Come does everything right with White Fuzz.  I still can’t help but feel slightly underwhelmed by this record, though.  It might be that my tastes have drifted away from the genre (I used to love Between The Buried and Me, Psyopus, From A Second Story Window, […]

Now here’s a band that has come a long way. Slowly morphing from doom/death to moody, emotional rock, Anathema has lost some old fans, while gaining some new ones. But for the most part respect for them has been well preserved (and certainly well deserved). After some uncertainty of the band’s future, we’ve come to […]

Have you ever unconsciously drifted from a genre and then you hear some new band that totaly gets you back into it? Well its been a little while since I’ve really enjoyed death metal that didn’t have the words “progressive”, “avant garde” or “doom” tagged on them. Those Who Bring The Torture completely made me […]

Though both located on the same side of the metal spectrum, its hard to see Jesu and Battle of Mice doing a split together. Obviously, any two artists can do a split, but I feel the point of a split is to make one coherent, meaningful work. Look at the Fordirelifesake and Deluge split, or […]

I’m a college student. I don’t own a car. This means I do a lot of walking and bus riding. With all this semi-idle time on my hands, its a blessing to have music such as Sombres Forêts. Royaume De Glace (which translates to “Kingdom of Ice”) is, to get right to the point, an […]

What we have here is a stinking, festering, mossy slab of sludge.  From Baton Rouge, Louisiana, no less.  With Peasant, Thou  prestents six tracks of fuzzy, yet heavy doom.  It’s really nothing we’ve never heard before, but they do some things pretty well (though not often enough).  Like a lot of new doom acts, Thou […]

This was probably my most anticipated album of 2008. After all, not many albums have managed to move me as much as 2003’s Choirs of The Eye. Though a challenging listen, the melodies and structures soon became identifiable and revealed a complexity of emotion rarely explored. 2006’s Dowsing Anenome With Copper Tongue seemed to be […]

For most bands, releasing a double disc studio album comprised of solely new material, and clocking in at an hour and a half, would be an amazing feat. But for England’s extreme doom gods, Esoteric, this is just another day in the park. In fact, it’s not the first time they’ve released a two disc […]

I stumbled upon Wold after Screech Owl was released last year. Out of curiosity, I opted to give them a listen. Judging by Profound Lore’s other artists, I expected something avant-garde and, well, profound. After all, this label houses some high quality acts, including Nadja, Alcest, Portal and Asunder. What came out of my speakers […]