Barcelona’s Crisix is a great burst of thrash metal energy, an aural red bull if you will.  Hailing from Barcelona Spain, Crisix ( formally Crysis) are a high energy thrash band with a slight injection of fun with a touch of crossover to them. I will say now, I’m not a huge fan of the crossover […]

Living Altar, (cool name by the way)  hail from Lithuania,  and are here to stake a claim in the metal pantheon, and with this EP they have a pretty good first effort to make their case. ( by the way, I’m not counting their demo & split ) First off, I’m really taken with the […]

Having only heard Lecherous Nocturne’s debut release Adoration of the Blade and also being aware of some of the personnel changes amongst the band (such has Dallas Toller Wade / ex Nile for example) I wondered how this would affect the group and their sound. I quickly re-listened to the debut, to have a barometer […]

If you need a bit of an energy jolt for that one writing project you can’t quite finish and you don’t want another can of RedBull, may I suggest listening to the latest from Infected Dead? I will say this upfront, Just by looking at the cover, I was expecting a standard run of the […]

As I looked over the cover artwork for these Aussies, which I like, reminiscent of the great Chris Moyen (Abominant, Absu, Archgoat, Beherit, Goatlord etc) I sarcastically think to myself, “Uuuhm, I wonder what they will sound like?” First song “Hammer of Hatred” kicks in and it’s full on Marduk, meets Angelcorpse and I love it.  […]

Delving into this release just from the initial look at the cover, the imagery of the band members, logo etc,  I will admit, it is a bit different soundwise than expected. Nothing bad mind you, it’s just going in, I was expecting a cold, speed assault similar to Marduk and their brethren but what I’m […]

Witch Vomit is very much like the black mold that is abundant in the pacific northwest. If you live in the region, you know and experience this phenomena. The band is very much like it; black, murky and gives you that creepy feeling. Their sound just oozes blackness and filth. Slow, dark and pummeling is […]

Full on death/thrash from Canada, can’t go wrong with that right?. Mortör are like the perfect soundtrack for an intense gaming session of Doom or Call of Duty, be it as an individual or while playing online with others, this music will just fuel the adrenaline, and spur on that killer instinct. Guitars are of […]

It’s amazing to think how much the sound of early Dismember and Entombed have sunk their claws into the hearts and minds of the death metal psyche. That guitar tone alone has spread its dark, evil tendrils to many a guitar player and aspiring band members, so because of this, the disease has spread to […]

I love bands that have the energy and passion in their sound but also still tie into the familiar sounds we all know and love. Take Italy’s Ekpyrosis who excel at both. At the onset,after the customary eerie intro, listen to opening song “Profound Death” and you will judge for yourself as well. The intense […]

This here release, I will readily admit, I completely got because of the cover artwork alone. I being a artist, was hugely influenced by Conan The Barbarian, both in novel and comic form. All the artists that worked on the Savage Sword of Conan, definitely set me on my artistic path. So upon seeing this […]

Thrash in Santa Cruz?!? Who would have thought, but I jest. Those that are aware of their geography know the proximity of Santa Cruz to the bay area in Calif. Hallowed ground for many a metal group, so there is plenty of likelihood of seepage and runoff of all that is Metallica, Exodus, Testament, Death […]

Speaking for myself and when listening to metal, I look for the energy, speed and aggression, well most of the time, there’s also time for nuance and subtleties in the darkness but still nothing is quite like in your face aggression, speed and bombast. Spain’s Noctem have been on my radar for a bit, I […]

Oh yeah, the force is strong in this one, the Dismember force that is. This one being Italy’s Profanal and their contribution to the altar that is swedish death. Obviously we know that the followers are many, some bring reverence and new found power to the church, where others as we know, just worship, nothing […]

Italy’s Lectern are a sort of a unique bunch, but not for the reasons you may be expecting but we will get to that a bit later in our review. Musically they are a fairly standard death metal band, they have all the bases covered, giving you a good cross section of early Decide, touches of […]

If you travel in the metal circles, suffice to say you have heard of Baptism. If not, you have most certainly been exposed to Lord Sargofagian in some way. Be it either with his main group Baptism but also his other projects and or associations; Calvarium, Horna, Behexen, Black Death Ritual, needless to say, the […]

  I’ve come to realize that the metal scene needs their equivalent of big name movie blockbusters. The thing moviegoers live for is to be able to see that latest megahit with it’s visual explosions and to get their senses pummeled and eyeballs melted. I think now is the time for the record companies to […]

The hot, humid sweltering jungles of Brazil have spawned another bullet spiked, leather clad beast and granted this beast has been lurking in the jungles since 2001, they have been creating and dispersing their own brand of pestilence with various full lengths, compilations and e.p’s since that point. Now with 2016 upon us we have […]

Insane Vesper has been on my auditory radar for a bit now. Mainly brought to my attention was the album Abomination of Death, that cover artwork and logo just intrigued me from the get go, I decided to delve further and see what the music had to offer, checked a few audio clips and was further enticed. […]

The retro thrash genre seems to be really in full swing as of late, with many a bands taking a swing at the plate and seeing who strikes that home run. I use the baseball or team analogy because with most teams, you got your star players, your second stringers and your bench warmers. While […]

With this, the latest album from Finnish black metal band Behexen,  they bring us their next offering of 2nd wave orthodox tinged blackness. Those that know, they have been around for quite a while and are a staple in the black Finnish metal scene. They began in a much more raw and chaotic vein with […]

Any and all bands have their influences, their reasons for he or she to pick up a guitar or to stand in front of the mic and let their voice be heard. Then it comes to another thought, as to when and how much you take these influences and take that next step and make […]

Poland’s Bloodthirst have a bit of history behind them, having been in circulation since 2001 and they have a number of splits, full-length albums and EP’s under their belt, so they are definitely not the new kids on the block. So with that history and back catalogue, they give us a well oiled thrash metal […]

With no less than 6 other bands with the name Deathcult, it doesn’t make for a easy identification or to stand out in the crowded scene and I myself was initially thinking this was the Chicago, US version ( whose release The Test of Time, sparked my interest ) I come to find this is […]

Dark oozing blackness, the kind that slithers and gathers with malicious intent, around your body or gathers in the corners of your mind or even that underlying sense of dread and dark foreboding you get when reading that special book from your favorite horror writer or horror movie. If HP Lovecraft were alive today, He […]