Spain really does not have a definitive ‘sound’ when it comes to metal. Like its culture, it’s a wide array of interesting mixes and styles, and the debut from Valencia’s Domains is a perfect example of the rich tapestry of Spain’s culture and history. While old school death metal is the obvious back bone here, […]

Formerly known as Gary Busey Amber Alert, California Alterbeast has released an album that adds to Unique Leaders killer 2014 so far which has included the outstanding Soreption release,The Kennedy Veil, as well as the upcoming Near Death Experience and Beneath albums. However, this isn’t quite as much of a brutal death metal affair as […]

Despite hailing from Stockholm, the birth of Swedish death metal, Astrophobos have chosen a different path, a path traveled by fellow Swedes like DIssection and Naglfar; an blacker path. Make no bones about it, Astrophobos’s influences are as clear on their sleeve as the moon in the night sky, and their brand of melodic, razor sharp black metal is a solid throwback to the mid 90s, performed with an energy and reverence that comes with inate Swedish genes.

When the former vocalist of Internal Bleeding and current teethofthedivine staffer recommends a band and album for me, I usually take notice, even if released in 2013. Especially when I’ve been in a real brutal death metal/slam death metal frame of mind of late, and Frank Rini pretty well eats and breathes the style. Even more […]

First off, congrats to Doug Moore, vocalist for Pyrrhon and former co-scribe at metalreview.com for getting a deal with the mighty Relapse Records, and second, apologies to Doug for not getting around to reviewing the band’s solid debut album, An Excellent Servant But a Terrible Master, released on Selfmadegod Records back in 2011. Now, on to […]

“The demon Abalam is a King of Hell and an assistant to Paimon. He takes possession of a human’s body to encourage the human to commit lust, he would defile humans during the possession and the only way they could escape was death.” Hailing from the Denmark, Hexis (a term related to or meaning ‘possession’ ) […]

“Allo…………cunt” And so begins “Upon Your Mountains of Flesh My River of Life Shall Flow” the opening track from Australia’s Wretch, a grindcore band featuring Duncan Beard, former drummer for doom act Futility, and this is a hell of a departure from that project. And as you’d expect any grindcore from Australia to sound like, […]

From the always reliable purveyors of fine vinyl, Halo of Flies, comes a repress of the second album from Germany’s Deathrite. It strays a little away from the label’s norm delivering less hardcore and a more crust/d-beat/grind/death metal assault that will appeal to fans of Trap Them, Enabler, Nails, Dead in the Dirt and Black Breath, […]

I have not really got into the whole smokey female fronted , cultish, 70s inspired ‘vest’ metal  scene that’s been prevalent over the last few years. Other than the first Serpentcult album and a smattering of Blood Ceremony or Demon Lung, it just has not sucked me in. And it’s a shame, as Texas’s excellently […]

For the most part, Cyber or Industrial Death Metal has a pretty rigid formula: Beefy, chunky guitars, mechanical pounding drums and the odd whirr or beep and sample here and there with some growled vocals. The Netherlands’ Empire of the Scourged, while generally following those paradigms also manage to changes things up a bit on […]

Back in 2009 I reviewed the second album, The End of an Era from this Tennessean melodic black/death metal act. It was a solid The Black Dahlia Murder inspired slab of shredding metal, but nothing that really upped the game at all. Well, with a significant lineup change (now with even more former and current […]

It’s pretty simple really- if you look me/my site up, ask politely  and personally for a review, send a CD and follow up equally as politely, chances are I will give your album a few listens and publish my worthless opinion on it, good or bad. And the Brothers Guzman, did just that for their […]

Hailing from Philadelphia, PA, Trenchrot’s debut for Dark Descent Records imprint Unspeakable Axe, is an old school death/thrash record that culls from all the old school acts of the late 80s and early 90s from both the US and Europe. Like the recent release from Roarback, it’s a raucous, simple, fun, skeletal affair that makes no […]

Formerly known as Bolero, Toronto’s newly remaned Vesperia are part of a suddenly surprisingly strong Canadian folk/Viking metal scene that includes the likes of Will of the Ancients, Crimson Shadows, Valfreya, Trollwar, Nordheim, Battlesoul, and of course Blackguard just to name a few.  I’m not sure why the canucks have latched into the sound and delivered […]

Switzerland’s Impure Wilhemina have been dark since 2008s excellent  Prayers and Arsons, where the band delivered a gorgeous take on elegant post rock a la Burst and The Ocean. However, the band has undergone a large line up shift, resulting in a bit of a style change since that release, and tempered their sound a bit, […]

Rounding out Dark Descent’s excellent trio of early 2014 releases (inc. Corpsessed and Lvcifyre) in the sophomore album from Finland’s long running death metalers, Lie In Ruins (formerly Dissected back in the 90s). And while not as crushing or cavernous as their label mates above, Lie In Ruins still deliver a powerful if more traditional, […]

Back in 2002, 7 years before Fleshgod Apocalypse‘s debut Oracles, before Scrambled Defuncts, before. Ex Deo, The Monolith Deathcult, there was a brutal death metal band from the US called Agiel and they were using full on orchestration in their death metal. Now, bands like Hollenthon and Septicflesh were using orchestration and such, but Agiel were […]

Like many FDA Rekotz bands, California’s Morfin play old school death metal but, rather than the Swedish/Stockholm old school sound played by Harm, Wound, Revel in Flesh, Massive Assault etc , Morfin went right for an older, American influence similar to Skeletal Remains, Slaughterday, Deus Otiosus,  and Chapel of Disease: good ol’ Death. And let […]

Back in 2012 I interviewed Carnifex drummer and founder Shawn Cameron before a show they were opening for Fleshgod Apocalypse and All Shall Perish. The dude was polite, friendly and more importantly unwilling to go into too many details and throw then label Victory Records under the bus (on the record anyways…) . Almost two years later and a lot has changed. The band is gearing up to release their fifth album, Die Without Hope on new label Nuclear Blast Records, and embark on a headlining US tour. I caught up with Mr. Cameron again to see how much better things are for the band in 2014

I actually feel  a little happy for Carnifex. Despite playing the much maligned deathcore and spending time on Victory Records, I met the guys back in 2012 and they were some of the  nicest  metal dudes I’ve met and were obviously frustrated with their label at the time. Well, they told me they had a […]

There has been quite a buzz about the debut from New York’s Artificial Brain, the technical death metal band featuring Revocation‘s Dan Garguilo and Biolich/Andromorphus Rexalia vocalist Will Smith. After hearing it, the buzz is deserved, as is Profound Lore’s bold declaration of the band as ‘next level death metal’. Adorned with more striking artwork […]

Via their Facebook page, Swedish death metal super group issued the following information about their forthcoming album as well as a teaser for who the next Bloodbath vocalist is going to be (joining Mikael Åkerfeldt and Peter Tägtgren):   “UGHH! HEEEY! I SAID HEY! We got 10 songs down and we start recording drums next month!!! Still curious […]

For obvious reasons there’s something about winter that makes me lean towards the more furious and frosty spectrum of my black metal listening habits. And this winter, Marduk, Taake, Thromesis, Inferion, Dodsverk and this, the fifth album from The Netherlands’ Sammath have all satiated my need for a more primal and  classic take on the style. However, […]

Everyone likes a good side project right? Even more so when it’s off the member/band’s beaten path and a little different from the full time project. Case in point, Wrong, a project started by Wormed‘s vocalist/drummer Phlegeton, who performs the same duties here. He is joined by David Perez (The YTriple Corporation) on guitars and bass […]

I wasn’t expecting much from this, the debut of Denmark’s Roarback. I mean the moniker, the cover art all screamed old school thrash, which really isn’t my cup of tea. However, the old adage about books and covers came into play, as Echoes of Pain ended up being a kickass little old school death/thrash record. […]