Throne is a relatively new blackened death metal band (2017) from the depths of Michigan with members from other local acts like Winterus, Mourning Wolf and Inevitable Frost. But Throne is clearly the new prime focus of the members, and deservedly so, as it’s a blistering debut album of searing, militant and commanding black/death metal. […]

Do You like slam? Do you like Russian slam? Do you like bands like Disfigurement of Flesh and Morphogenetic Malformation? Do you like the killer artwork of Aghy Purakusuma (Gorgatron, Stillbirth), Do you like song titles like “Revival of Ungodly Deformity” or “Evisceration Through the Throat”?  Do you like other Gore House releases by Engutturalment Cephaloslamectomy  and […]

Like many, I’ve been waiting on a new Vildhjarta album for almost a decade now as the band has yet to release anything other than a few teasers and track or an EP since 2011’s, Masstaden. But little did I know there has been a perfectly good (and more productive) stand-in band lurking in the […]

Generally speaking, when Black Metal introduced classically inspired symphonics (Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, Cradle fo Filth,  etc) to its frosty or satanic visages in the early 90ss, it was broad, epic, Wagnerian, tempestuous brush strokes that matched the more often than not, darker atmospheres with regal bombast. Some exceptions came about as symphonic black metal branched […]

You have to hand it to Memoriam, the Bolt Thrower drummer Martin Hearns tribute band featuring original Bolt Thrower vocalist Karl Willets  and long time Benediction member Frank Healy; 4 albums in 4 years, same cover artist (Dan Seagrave) and almost the same line up for the whole time (only former BT Drummer Andy Whale […]

Unique Leader has been heavy on the deathcore/downtempo so far in early 2021 with 2 conceptual EPs from Distant (both a bit underwhelming), Australia’s to To The Grave and their debut, Humanity’s Last Breath,  and this the second release from the UKs Bound In Fear, and boy it is  a doozy. Distant might have been […]

Sometimes I sit around and wonder, “Man I wish there were more bands that sound like Despised Icon“, and lo and behold here comes Slovak Metal Army with the new EP from the Czech Republic’s Anime Torment, a veteran band with 2 full-lengths under their belt, but a new band to me. 20 Minutes of […]

I own the 2009 debut album, Stand Up Straight, from these self-proclaimed death ‘n’ roll Swedes, but I can’t say it’s been in regular rotation. Frankly, I’m more likely to just reach for Entombed’s Wolverine Blues and beyond out put if I want some groovy HM-2 death metal. That said, I also will listen to […]

I was late to the Stormtide party as I didn’t hear this Aussie Fantasy metal act’s 2016 debut, Wrath of an Empire until 2020. But When I finally did stumble across it, I very much enjoyed the band’s Asian/Far East inspired take on melodic, symphonic death metal, imbuing an mix of Amon Amarth, Stormlord and […]

This Danish death metal band’s second effort, Venenum was a little over-hyped for me, as they seemed to be 2019s death metal darlings in the eyes of the media, press, spotify (seemed like it was every daily mix and playlist), and fans. But I thought it was merely OK, as it barely registered in the […]

It’s been 5 years since Dutch black metal act Kjeld (helmet? cauldron?) released the excellent Skym (though I heard it a couple of years after the release), and the band has spent their time sharpening their razor sharp form of melodic second wave black metal with a few EPs and splits in that time, and […]

Talk about a match made in heaven…….Switzerland’s  Stortregn, a formerly pure 90s melodic black metal band turned more technical, surgical, shredding death metal with some of their black metal remnants left behind, on The Artisan Era, arguably the flagship label for this style with bands like Inferi, Demon King, Enfold Darkness and such. I’ve reviewed […]

The physical reissue of this 2017 digital only release from this Norwegian symphonic black metal band caught my eye as it features Clemens Wijers of Carach Angren doing the symphonic/orchestral arrangements. And boy is this fucking good! Its definitely got a bit of a theatrical/dramatic Carach Angren vibe, with Wiljers rendering some superbly rousing strings […]

So far in 2021, there’s been some excellent symphonic metal from power metal band Dragony, stalwarts Epica, the orchestral bombast of Abstrakt, the majestic Utbyrd, the epic  tales of Aussies Stormtide, the reformed Phlebotomized,  the avant garde chaos of Exanamis and aa few others as well. One such band is Belgium’s InHuman, who were formed […]

I have not heard a lot from Innerstrength Records in the last few years, but back in the heyday of deathcore/ metalcore I dug some of their releases from the likes of The Storm, Shallow Water Grave,  I Killed Everyone and such, but have not heard anything from them in a while. S0 when I […]

Sometimes I like my black metal delivered in epic, rangy long albums like say Kjeld’s latest offering, Harakiri For the Sky’s vast double album or Utbyrd’s majestic foray. But sometimes I like my black metal in short sharp, icy bursts, like the debut EP, from New Finnish black metal duo Sarvekas, which is a perfect […]

So first up, here is your early contender for the year’s most unreadable logo, right? I’m new to California’s Aylwin, though they have a pretty good amount of demos, Eps and splits under their belt since 2012, But the promotional email had buzz words like Alda, Ameseours, Wolves In The Throne Room, and ‘nature-centric atmospheric […]

I’m embarrassed to say I’m new to this Austrian atmospheric/post-black metal duo and their 4 prior albums, despite some familiarity with their previous band, Viking/Pagan themed black metal act, Bifrost. It appears to be a criminal oversight on my part, as I delved into the band’s back catalog to prepare for this review and the duo […]

Someone really wants to be on The Artisan Era. I mean, look at that logo, cover and the music fits the label perfectly being a shreddy melodic form of polished, surgical, blackened, technical death metal that’s in line with the likes of Inferi and such. At that someone is Ric Galvez, who plays all the […]

Death metal legends Asphyx are now four albums into their reunion, with Necroceros being the fourth since 2009s Death…The Brutal Way, one of the more successful reunions of recent memory. Now, like many reunions from yore, this isn’t the original line up with Martin Van Drunen being the sole original member and guitarist Paul Baayens […]

With some promotional tag lines stating this was ‘Extreme Finnish Symphonic Metal’, I grabbed this promo right away as anything symphonic’ gets my attention, and I had never heard of this band before, so a new find in the genre is always a positive. And I’m glad I did, this is really good stuff. The […]

I grabbed this promo based on 2 things; 1) the fact it’s on the UKs Clobber Records, who released the excellent Argesk debut last year, and 2) I’m still on my melodic/atmospheric black metal kick from 2020 that comprised of over half of my year-end list. Norfolk’s (not too far from my old Fenny stomping […]

Pnuema Hagion (Greek for Holy Spirit) is a duo ‘R’ on all instruments and vocals and Shane Elwell on drums) from Texas that have been around a while in acts like Amateur Podiatry, Covered in Flies, Endless Disease, Excantation, Flesh Consumed, Intestinal Disgorge, Liquid Viscera and others. they have a pretty good number of demos, […]

Wisconsin based,  metal collaboration (Shroud of Despondency‘s Rory Heikkila, Khazaddum’s Luka Đorđević and Enabler’s Brian Serzynski), Prezir (Serb-Croatian for ‘contempt’) is back with album number 2 after dropping a vicious little ep in 2017 and a solid full length debut on 2018 and the now trio, appears to really have further honed in on a […]

I’m always up for some 90s styled Symphonic black metal, and Sweden’s Svartghast is up to the task with their solid, if by the numbers debut, Perdition. Not surprising when you consider one half of the duo is G. Johansson/Choronzon who has served in the likes of Setherial, Impious, and Torchbearer. The formula is pretty simple […]