Most will roll their eyes at blackened deathcore with symphonic elements , but Arizonians Ov Lustra (“Of Glory? Of Shining?”Of Mirrors?) has absolutely knocked it out of the park with this ‘debut’ EP, utilizing some of the most effective orchestration I’ve heard in any metal genre with perfect results. Formerly known as Sun Speaker and […]

No disrespect to Tom Morris, Scott Burns or Dan Swano, but I would argue that of all the ‘legendary’ 90s metal producers, one is a producer and a studio that truly created a sound and one could immediately identify as ‘that sound’. Thats is Tomas Skogsberg and Sunlight Studio. Of course, most will know of […]

I had high hopes for this.  It was either because it was named after an Entombed song from Clandestine, or that drummer Eric Krebs is the drummer here, and he is in another German death metal band called Golem, who released one of the early 00s most underrated death metal albums, Dreamweaver. Unfortunately, I was […]

After Whitechapel’s The Valley, you could argue that Thy Art is Murder’s’ Human Target, and Carnifex’s 7th album are 2019s other ‘big name’, veteran deathcore releases. And while I have yet to hear Human Target, The Valley was phenomenal, so where does World War X stand? Well, I had some reservations when I saw/heard first […]

Sweden’s Turbocharged have been around for a while now, with 4 albums and various other releases to their name. However, this is my first time hearing them, which is odd as I typically seek out anything with a HM 2 Swedish death metal guitar tone, but I missed these guys somehow. But this isn’t your […]

In my review of Falls of Rauros‘ last record, Vigilance Perennial, I stated: 1) I was listening to something special, and 2) how can that top that album (which was my number 3 album of 2017)?. Well, despite switching from perfectly suited label in Bindrune to lesser known but also solid Gilead Media, they have […]

With a name like Necromutilator, an album title like Black Blood Aggression, and songs titled “Blessed in Hellvomit”, “Putrefaction Rites”and “Black Mayhemic Torment” , you kinda know what you are getting when you hit play on the second effort from these Satan lovin’, leather clad Italians; No frills, raspy, sneering, semi bestial, blackened thrash metal, […]

2019 is turning out to be a banner year for Power Metal- all the heavy hitters like Sabaton, Gloryhammer, Battle Beast, Beast in Black and two Rhapsody related projects have all dropped excellent albums, and next week, genre grand fathers Hammerfall release a new album, and  then later this year Dwarven warriors Wind Rose drop […]

I don’t listen to much traditional or classic doom metal, but two pure-ish doom records have crossed my desk lately, Church of Bones From Poland’s Monasterium, and this the second effort from Miami’s Nixa, and this by far is the better release and a solid mix of sludge and doom to boot. Horn of the […]

Sorry for the tardy review of a 2018 release, but I just recently got a pack of CDs from new Swedish label SouthCoast Productions, and amid the second effort from Spain’s atmospheric black metal act Neptunian Sun and debut from Finland’s Motorhead lovin’ Poison Whiskey, one of the label’s other  first releases was is the […]

The sophomore effort from Australia’s Disentomb, Misery was a very late discovery and addition to my 2014 year end list, but that won’t be an issue with the band’s stellar third effort, as I’ve had this beast for a while now, and it’s easily one of the year’s best death metal records, even as we […]

Believe it or not, deathcore is having a pretty good year in 2019: Enterprise Earth, When Plagues Collide, Ingested, Angelmaker, Organectomy (though arguably more slam) have dropped solid releases and once genre kings Whitechapel, delivered a return to form with powerfully introspective The Valley, with Carnifex, Shadow of Intent and Thy Art is Murder still to […]

I’m not familiar with Germany’s long running, female fronted black metal act Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult, so despite being apparently respected in the German scene and having been around for about 20 years, Mardom , their sixth release, is the first album or release I have heard from them. But it won’t be the last. What […]

Sxuperion is the side (main?) project of Valdur’s Lord Sxuperion , (aka Matthew Schott), and has a pretty large back catalog of releases under this moniker, including 4 albums, with this one being the fourth, but my first exposure to the project. Whereas some side projects (again, I’m not sure which is main vs side […]

From the depths of Cleveland’s legendary metal scene emerges Curse of Denial to devour the innards of the weak and unsuspecting. Vicious old school thrash-inspired Blackened Death Metal carnage that will keep your head steadily banging into utter oblivion. A juggernaut of hellfire awaits with Curse of Denial’s 2nd full length album that carries the […]

Down tempo (or lazy eyed deathcore as I lovingly call it), is one of my guilty pleasures. It takes the best part of deathcore, the breakdowns, and beats them to death repeatedly for an entire album with little or no deviation. If bands like Black Tongue, Calmed By the Tides of Rain, Traitors, Falsifier and […]

When word of the this supergroup/side project surfaced earlier this year I immediately pre ordered the album after just hearing one song. And I’m by no means a fanboy Job For A Cowboy or The Black Dahlia Murder, but when vocalist Jon Davy and fellow JFAC guitar cohorts Alan Glassman and Tony Sannicandro team up […]

I’m new to the UKs Sathamel, but based on this, the band’s impressive debut full length album, after a few demos and a live release, they look to be a killer new black death metal act rising from the UK metal scene, despite some scandal. Apparently, the band was caught stealing material from US act […]

Progressive, symphonic Israeli metal band for fans of Delain, Between the Buried and Me, Dream Theater and Orphaned Land? Mastered by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Devin Townsend, Amon Amarth, Amorphis) ? Ok, I’m interested. Scardust’s debut album, Sands of Time was originally self released in 2017, but has been picked up by M Theory Audio (Into […]

Much like my recent discovery of Blind Guardian, I was a late bloomer when it came to Sweden’s divisive war/history themed power metal vanguards Sabaton. It wasn’t until I randomly heard “Winged Hussars” (arguably still my favorite Sabaton track) from 2016s The Last Stand on a random spotify playlist that I became hooked. I grabbed […]

The ups and downs of melodic death metal have been well documented in these pages, as well as elsewhere, so I won’t bore you with the current state (clue-its down), but with In Flames‘ latest release, I The Mask, not sucking, there could be life left in the genre yet. And here comes Luxembourg’s Feradur […]

There are things that should not go together but some how, despite all odds, work: Peanut Butter and Jelly, French Fries and Milkshake, Chicken and Waffles, Deep fried things that should not be deep fried (God bless America!) , the list goes on. But one element added to metal can that should not work but […]

****We interrupt your regularly scheduled slate of death and black metal to bring you this female fronted symphonic/power metal review*****  I’m a very cyclic music listener and reviewer, I do a lot of my listening and reviewing in batches; a 4 or 5 death metal albums in a row, 4 or 5 black metal albums […]

There’s sure to be a lot of discussion at years end about what the ‘heaviest’  (a relative term of course) album of the year was. From what I’ve heard so far I and my exposure is limited due to the amount of stuff in all genres I review and what we are sent) in 2019 […]

Sühnopfer (German for ‘Atonement’) is a French, one man black metal project featuring Ardraos, who has been around a while and has surfaced in a number of well known and lesser known French bands like Peste Noire, Aorlhac, Veratyr, Endymion, Antrum Mortis and others. This project, while productive with 2 full lengths and various demos […]