The latest solo record from Stratovarius frontman Timo Kotipelto really offers no surprises. It’s a collection of melodic and power metal tracks designed to show off his vocals, and overall it’s a very mixed bag despite a lineup that features Children of Bodom keyboardist Janne Wirman, Stratovarius bassist Lauri Porra and Thunderstone drummer Mirka Rantanen […]

Much like country and label mates Stigmatized, Germany’s Symbiontic are a Death worshipping band plying a form of old school death metal, but with a heavy Testimonies era Pestilence feel as heard on this re-issue of their self released 2002 debut. Stylistically Symbiontic and Stigmatized are virtually the same except Symbiontic have a more guttural/layered […]

Germany’s Stigmatized REALLY like their rather influential luminaries Morgoth, especially vocalist Michael Lay, who apes Marc Grewe to a T. So then expect a lot of mid era Death influenced death metal as well as some Asyphx, Pestilence and early Floridian influences (namely Obituary) in their debut record, a re-release of their 2006 released effort […]

Here a re-release of this Dutch band’s self released 2005 debut and will appeal to fans of Opeth, Amorphis, Novembers Doom, Rapture, Insomnium (The Finnish doom/death scene as a whole), that’s to say progressive, doomy death metal, and Another Messiah throw in frequent Oboe use to boot. Though the Oboe could be construed as a […]

With a few rare exceptions, Profound Lore generally pushes the extremes of whatever genre they release and deliver superb examples of anything they touch (Profundi, Wold, The Angelic Process, Alcest, Asunder, Cobalt, Nadja). And while, not ‘extreme’ per say, Amber Asylum’s fifth album, pushes the limits and boundaries of the neo-goth/classical genre with a simply […]

One only need look at the cover and the label affiliation to determine the style of music Italy’s Apostolum ply; dark, depressive, doomy, black metal. Unfortunately though, it’s not very good, not Fear of Eternity bad, but certainly not up to Moribund’s usual high standards. This introductory 5 track EP consists of the expected atmospheric […]

The Anja Offensive is turning into a heavy hitter in the black metal genre. With stellar releases by Antaeus, Secrets of the Moon, Watain, Katharsis and the amazing new Deathspell Omega, but with De Contemplanda Morte, there seems to be a drop off from the label’s brilliance. Two piece Mortuus consists of M. Hinze from […]

Despite containing members of the excellent Merrimack and Obscurus Advocam, French black metallers Glorior Belli are not quite in the French Elite, and actually share a sound more akin to Sweden’s Watain in that they play surprisingly restrained, straight forward, slightly repetitive but finely crafted black metal. Even with crawling opener “From Darkness There Springs […]

Tholus are an interesting band. Formed by drummer Dave Murray (Sculptured, Estradasphere) and some other relatively minor folks and friends as well as the involvement of Mars/NASA conspiracy theorist Richard Hogland (author of Monuments of Mars), they play a form of cosmic, celestial, mars based technical death metal rooted in Cynic, Disincarnate, Theory In Practice […]

Here’s an impressive slab of darkly sludgy, doomy, belligerent atonal hardcore adorned with some neat Tom Denny artwork (Mastodon, Yakuza, Soilent Green, Rwake, Kylesa). While The Dead See shares artwork with the above named bands, they are not too drastically different from those artists either. While most doomy hardcore is simply hardcore at its base […]

Old logo? Yup. Old Seagrave-ish cover? Yup. A pissed off LG Petrov? Yup. Blastbeats? Yup. ‘That” guitar tone? Yup. A complete return to form?… Almost. Truth is a much as I revere Entombed’s classic first two albums and have yet to really appreciate the much lauded Wolverine Blues, I really haven’t paid Entombed that much […]

While I really enjoyed this bands debut EP, Put On Your Rosy Red Glasses, my excitement for this lot has generally waned with each release. And with the band still languishing on a relatively minor metal label while countless other similar bands get snatched up by some of the ‘bigger’ labels, it seems to indicate […]

Hailing from Milwaukee, Protestant are one of the few original hardcore DIY bands out there and this release, containing their Make Peace With the Rope You Hang From, album as well as their split with Rhinocharge and a self released CD-R Highlight their creepy, sludgy, caustic and off kilter take on hardcore. After the intro […]

On their second album, Norway’s Octavia Sperati (now no longer an all female act with the addition of drummer Ivar Alver), continue their more doomy, Anti-Nightwish take on female fronted Goth metal, and continue to impress with some improved song writing growth. With an earthier, almost more stoner rock development from Winter Enclosure, these gals […]

Here’s solid re-release of this French shoegazer/post rock act’s debut album (originally released on Radar Swarm Records in 2006 and also as a 2LP Gatefold album by Atropine Records/E-Vinyl Record for you collectors out there), and while not on par with fellow Frenchmen Overmars, Nord is a sound addition to slightly more aggressive likes of […]

While there are plenty of big name death metal releases so far in 2007, (Nile, Behemoth, Immolation, etc) there’s one release that might slip under the radar but easily deserves your ear (as with Sarpanitum)-that is this debut full length record from Quebec’s Vengeful. Touted for fans of Crytopsy, Nile, Immolation and Gorguts, the band’s […]

Recently I have received a few atypical, sludgy hardcore releases from the likes of Protestant, The Dead See, The Fucking Wrath, Daymares and Florida’s own Christian two steppers, Seventh Star, who with The Undisputed Truth have given Facedown Records two killer Christian hardcore records in the first half of 2007 (The other being Sleeping Giant). […]

Someone at Century Media has some balls releasing Behemoth’s newest opus on the same day as Nile’s Ithyphallic, especially considering Nile started to surface as a reference for Behemoth’s last, slightly disappointing effort, Demigod. Well, Century Media must have known what they had here-an album that better than Demigod as almost as good as the […]

Here’s another of Candlelight’s deathcore records licensed from the UK’s excellent Siege of Amida’s records (Diskreet, Whitechapel, The Partisan Turbine and Knights of the Abyss), and while not the best release or most original album either label will release this year, it’s a competent and confident record of snarling, breakdown heavy deathcore. The formula is […]

As if to wet your appetite for the forth coming The Red Album from Baroness, At A Loss has teamed the rather hyped sludgy/stoner post rock act with a fellow Georgia act Unpersons to give you this tasty split of fuzzy, groovy and experimental sludge/stoner metal. The two lengthy tracks from Baroness will no doubt […]

In my humble opinion, Fall of the Leafe are one of metal’s underappreciated gems, even with the slight misstep of Volvere, Fermina and Vantage remain two of the best unheard album in the dark rock, Goth rock, hard rock genre (and their early work remains some of the best Goth/death metal around). And while most […]

Finland’s prolific, premier folk rocker return with album number four and after teasing me with three albums of superb folkish, pub rock littered with buzz killing somber moments, the forest clan have finally unleashed the ultimate, feel good, forest rock, beer swilling, sylph moshing fun fest. As I mentioned, Korpiklaani’s last three albums were a […]

Does anyone really care that Six Feet Under has released their seventh (original) album earlier this year? Apparently not; I didn’t get the usual hype from Metal Blade’s PR folks, just a discreet, late single package with little fanfare and I never saw much press online or in print concerning Commandent and I figured it […]

It’s been a while since I heard a great, traditional metalcore record (Life In Your Way’s Waking Giants is the last really great pure metalcore record I enjoyed). With so many bands either trying the death, grind or pop up their sound or just try too hard to be zany and different, its seems, actual […]

My apologies to the readership here, but things are going to be a bit ‘core’ for a while as I wade through my considerable pile of angry young men trying their hand at various offshoots of hardcore and metalcore, not to worry though Nile and Gorefest reviews are coming shortly. LA’s The Orangeburg Massacre are […]