Posts Tagged ‘Review’

Fall of Serenity – Open Wide, O Hell

So here is a reunion I’m not sure anyone was really clamoring for. Fall of Serenity came up with fellow Germans Heaven Shall Burn, releasing their first material on a split with HSB in 1999. They released four albums between 2001-2007 that all delivered the same sort of metalcore/hardcore/melo death sound (although their debut was […]

Judas Priest – Invincible Shield

Judas Priest will go down as one of the greatest Heavy Metal bands of all time – without a shadow of a doubt.  This is the first time for me reviewing a Priest album and I am excited to do so.  I will say this….sometimes I get overly excited reviewing some of my favorite bands.  […]

Last Ten Seconds Of Life, The – No Name Graves

After a solid career that saw TLTSOL emerge as a solid upper-tier US deathcore act with 6 albums, guitarist Wyatt McLaughlin saw his band gutted back in 2022. He rebuilt TLTSOL and delivered a solid EP, The Disquisition of an Execution in 2023 to get the new lineup greased up and ready for what was to […]

Apogean – Cyberstrictive

Toronto Canada’s tech deathsters Apogean make their debut with Cyberstrictive. Vocalist Mac Smith filled in for Bill Robinson of Decrepit Birth recently. Off the bat, Zach Ohren’s (The Faceless, All Shall Perish, Immolation, etc.) mixing and Mastering work is elite. Things get kicked off with “Blue Night Sonata.”  The technical prowess of these guys is […]

Lutharo – Chasing Euphoria

Lutharo: A timeline, Tarantino style. Rewind to November of 2023 and I happened to see Paladin was to play at one of my favorite venues, Westside Bowl in Youngstown, OH. I gazed upon the digital flyer and saw Lutharo would be headlining. I remembered the band name, thinking someone at this site had reviewed them […]

Keres – Homo Homini Lupus

There is one single reason I checked out the promo for the debut from this new Italian Black/Death metal project and that is the stunning artwork from the band guitarist Astahrot. My gosh that is killer- for the love of god, put that on a shirt, please! Now onto the music. Keres plays a relentless […]

Vltimas – Epic

International supergroup Vltimas released a killer debut in 2019,  Something Wicked Marches In, which I reviewed and gave high praises of their stamp on blackened death metal.  One of the many things going for that debut was how damn catchy it was – I still listen to that sucker!  The same members return with Flo […]

Feed the Corpses to the Pigs – Anthology EP

I’m an Albuquerque native, I’ve lived in New Mexico, specifically the Albuquerque area for the better part of my life, which makes me a local. The scene here is stronger than ever before, having been blessed by bands like Unearth, Infested Corpse, Laughing Dog, Manias and Smashed Hands. To the new generation of bangers with […]

Ministry – Hopiumforthemasses

I reviewed Ministry’s 14th album Moral Hygiene in 2021, on here and really enjoyed it….a lot and now Hopiumforthemasses, their 15th album-wow, is here and sees Al Jourgensen incorporating elements from all the various Ministry eras on here…That’s right.  There are moments going all the way back to their 1983 With Sympathy debut album, which […]

Far Beyond – The End of My Road

On its surface, the third album from this German solo act doesn’t seem like a very “Prosthetic Records’ styled release. It’s a synth and choir-drenched slab of European melodic death/power metal in the vein of Ensiferum, Wintersun, Brymir, and such. But then I remember Prosthetic Records has released two albums from Foretoken. The gentleman at […]

Necro Weasel – A Brave New World

Gotta give credit where it’s due – Finland’s purveyors of thrashy ermine mayhem, Necro Weasel, really hit the nail on the head when it comes to their chosen moniker. If you caught my review of the band’s 2022 offering, Never Again, I made mention of many of the reasons Weasels are not to be fucked with, including their […]

Ihsahn – Ihsahn                                         

I don’t know if Ihsahn’s new album qualifies for one of my most anticipated of 2024 because I received the (streaming-only) promo slightly before it came out. It still hit me out of nowhere. I will confess to being a fan, but his solo works haven’t done much for me on the last few records. […]

Red Vinter – We Built Our Own Death Machine (Demo)

If you fell asleep at the end of 2023 then you would have missed up-and-coming band Red Vinter’s We Built Our Own Death Machine demo, which literally dropped, right before 2024.  While it’s a demo, any release that drops at the end of a year is dead in the water, so to speak.  The band […]

Spiritual Deception – Semitae Mentis

While power and black metal was/has often been the primary vehicles for keyboards/ orchestration in metal, I still fondly recall some of my early exposure to more epic keys and orchestration (not just intros or a bit here or there for atmosphere) in death metal such as Nocturnus (arguably the first to do so?), Amorphis, […]

Morbid Saint – Swallowed by Hell

Wisconsin’s thrash metal band Morbid Saint were around in the 80’s-early 90’s before they disbanded and then reformed in 2010.  The band’s rise in popularity was bolstered in 2016, thanks to the 2CD reissue/remaster of the band’s 1990 classic debut Spectrum of Death, and their 1992 follow-up Destruction System, which was never released until 2015. […]

Job For A Cowboy – Moon Healer

It’s been ten years since we last heard from Job For A Cowboy, so let me give a cliffnotes back story: the band is one of the first deathcore bands to blow up thanks to a Spongebob Squarepants video mash-up to the song “Knee Deep” (it is how I first heard the band- and it’s […]

Stellar Remains-Wastelands EP

Stellar Remains is an entirely new venture by Dan Elkin. I’ve scoured the web trying to find more info, but all I have is from the promo materials, so pardon my ignorance. The record label, Gutter Prince Cabal, has only recently appeared on my radar thanks to Fryktelig Stoy. I am forever grateful for them […]

Acrid Death – Abominable Presence of Blight

It’s early days in 2024, but German newcomers Acrid Death (though with veteran members of other bands like All Its Grace, Driven by Entropy, and Synchronic) along with Ceremonial Death (on their split EP with Unformulas) look to be frontrunners for 2024s best HM2/Swedish death metal guitar tone. Fans of Entrails take fucking note here, […]

Apparition – Fear the Apparition

Originally released last year on Oregon’s Headsplit Records, the debut from Spanish trio Apparation has been reissued by Germany stalwart label, FDA Records less than a year later, a testament to how FDA Records views Apparition. So the old-school cover should give it away, but Apparition (featuring ex and current members of Ataraxy, Bloodsoaked Necrovoid, […]

Morta Skuld – Creation Undone

Wisconsin’s best death metal band returns with their seventh full-length album Creation Undone.  With mainman Axe Grinder and vocalist Dave Gregor fronting the band, they are on fire on this album.  And I do want to get something out of the way right now.  I really do not care how album covers are created – […]

House of Atreus – Orations EP

The universe is a strange thing. Case and point, a few weeks ago I was randomly sitting around and suddenly found myself thinking “I wonder what’s going on with House of Atreus?”.  They released two damn fine albums (2015s The Spear and the Ichor That Follows and 2018s From the Madness of Ixion), then sort […]

Blood Red Throne – Nonagon

Norwegian Death Metal Juggernaut Blood Red Throne returns with their eleventh studio album. Nonagon sees the return of original drummer Freddy the Shred Boiso and the debut of new vocalist Sindre Wathne Johnsen. Things get kicked off in classic Blood Red Throne fashion with “Epitaph Inscribed.”   The track intros with a nice solo guitar line […]

Hulder   – Verses in Oath

Although it feels like it’s been a long time since Hulder released her debut, it’s been about 3 years. In the meantime, she’s had several short releases, toured, and has been working almost non-stop. This year, she’s releasing her new album Verses in Oath, as well as headlining the upcoming Decibel Tour with several other […]

Ghoul – Noxious Concoctions EP

I’ve said multiple times thrash is my least favorite metal sub-genre. Shortly after I am reminded of another thrash band I highly enjoy. It’s still perhaps my least favorite sub-genre, but it’s like picking your least favorite child. For most it’s difficult, but for me, it’s simple. It’s Danny. As for the EP, prepare for […]

Chaos Sanctuary – Instrumentality

How does a New Jersey Tech Death based on the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion sound? Well, I am intrigued. Things get kicked off with “Synchronization.”   First impressions are a mix of Spawn of Possession with a bit of earlier Archspire. The way they use vibrato is impressive. Pretty insane musicianship from these guys. Excellent guest […]