If you did a ‘Big 4’ of symphonic deathcore, who ya got? For me, the first 3 are easy shoo-ins; Lorna Shore, Mental Cruelty, and Shadow of Intent. But who is the 4th band when you take into account things like productivity, quality, longevity, and consistency? Worm Shepherd? Maybe.Immortal Disfugurement? Only one album. But I’m […]

Canada’s Atavistia has released 2 incredibly solid albums of epic,  symphonic balanced metal since 2020 in The Winter Way and Cosmic Warfare, which made my 2023 year-end list (I can’t speak for 2017s One Within The Sun debut). And they continue their excellent productivity with a brand new 5 song EP. Inane Ducam (subtitled ‘I […]

I always look forward when I get physical packages of CDs from FDA records to review. I can pretty much guarantee its going to be some form of killer old-school death metal and that I’m going to dig it. Well,  the new EP from Germany’s Evoked checks both the boxes. I rather enjoyed their debut […]

Finland’s Assemble The Chariots has been on my radar for a few years now after I heard the single “Empress” back in 2021. They have a ton of singles and EPs  since 2009, all digitally released, but no full-length album- and as a result when they announced Unyielding Light, it became one of my most […]

Back in 2012, I reviewed The Abrogation from Alabama’s Chaos Invocation, a damn solid piece of ripping death metal. But then nothing for over 10 years. I was recently curious about the status of the band it turns out vocalist Chris White (also of Blood Stained Dusk) and guitarist/bassist Cam Pinkerton actually left the band […]

This summer, two pretty revered veteran, symphonic black metal acts will be releasing their ninth albums (both on June 28th no less!). Both released their debut albums in 1996 and both waited 6-7 years between their last albums and these new releases. One is Norway’s Limbonic Art, who released their debut The Moon In Scorpio […]

Wow. Here is some really creative, unique black/death metal from a Dutch band I know nothing about other than they have 1 prior album under their belt. The actual ‘Shiva Hypothesis’ is a theory concerning extinction-level events and meteors, but the band is a 4 piece with ties to various other Belgian death metal acts, […]

Cripes, here is another band like Greece’s Sun of Nothing, that I have not heard in fucking ages. With Sun of Nothing there was a 21-year gap between their debut …and Voices, Words, Faces, Complete the Dream way back in 2003 and this year’s Maze. With French bruisers Morgue it was 2002’s utterly devastating The […]

Formerly known as Epitasis, Chicago’s Carrion Throne is listed as a Doom/Death band on Metal-Archives, but after hearing this debut EP, I’m more inclined to list them as a more Brutal/Slam Death metal band more in line with Devourment and Wormed. The 6 songs here (4 new songs and 2 demo songs from 2022) are […]

HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE Announce Signing & Debut New Single From Upcoming Album Moirae Stream “Fates” HERE Transcending Obscurity is proud to announce the signing of Canadian black metal band HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE. Known for their unique blend of atmospheric black metal and post-metal, HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE delivers an elegant concoction of stirring, throbbing music […]

Early in their career, the Norwegian duo Limbonic Art was close to being mentioned in the same circles as the likes of Emperor, Arcturus, Borknagar, and such. Their 1996 debut The Moon in Scorpio and 1997 follow up In Abhorrence Dementia, were heralded as near classics in the symphonic black metal genre. However, the band […]

Sweden’s Wormwood burst onto the melodic black metal scene with 2017’s excellent Ghostlands, followed up by Nattarvett, the first of a planned trilogy of albums. Part two of the trilogy, 2021s Arkivet saw the band take a melancholic downturn befitting the tale of mankind’s general shittiness. I was hoping for a return to the more […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  GOD DETHRONED Release Furious Single & Music Video “Rat Kingdom”. Watch “Rat Kingdom” Here Four long years after the release of their highly acclaimed album “Illuminati,” Dutch black/death metal icons GOD DETHRONED descend from the shoals of silence with their brand new offering, The Judas Paradox, due out on September 6, 2024, through Reigning […]

Henry Kane (AKA Jonny Petterson from Wombbath) has released two fine grindcore/crust albums under this Poltergeist-named project; 2017s Den förstörda människans rike, and 2020s appropriately named Age of the Idiot. Both delivering furious, Nasum-ish-styled Swedish grind/crust. However, his third release is a completely different beast altogether. and you should probably brace for it a little bit. […]

Every so often I crave unadulterated brutality; Just a break from the keyboards, atmospherics, and moods my other favorite genres provide. And when I’m in such a mood I simply go and look for what Comatose Music has sent into the promos, as they are predictable and reliable when it comes to such music. Comatose […]

UK epic doom pagans SOLSTICE are setting their signatures under a multi-album deal with Prophecy Productions on this longest day of the year on the northern half of the globe.SOLSTICE will release their fourth album via the label and have already been confirmed for this year’s edition of Prophecy Fest. SOLSTICE comment: “We are heartened and honoured to be working with Prophecy – a label whose discernible courage […]

From the 2007 tech death debut, Of Fracture and Failure, New Zealand’s Ulcerate has been one of the death metal’s most consistently elite bands with 5 albums since. The band has evolved from the pure tech death of the debut into a murky, dissonant, almost black death band (they are on Debemor Morti – a […]

Devourer of All is the second album from Belgian black metal band Nyrak, (I could not find who or what a ‘Nyrak‘ is) a new band to me, but based on this excellent second effort they will be a regular band in my playlist and a band with a bright future. Playing a blend of […]

Watch “Black Tears (Remaster 2024)” HERE Century Media Records and InsideOutMusic have recently announced the upcoming “First Chapter” of a comprehensive catalog reissue campaign for legendary and groundbreaking Death Metallers EDGE OF SANITY as well as versatile Prog/Hardrock outfit NIGHTINGALE, who were both fronted by Swedish vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and acclaimed metal producer Dan Swanö (OPETH, […]

Body Count, Kerry King, Eluveitie and Thy Art Is Murder will be performing at Finland’s legendary midsummer metal festival, Nummirock! Nummirock will take place for the 38th time in Kauhajoki, Finland from 19-22 June 2024. This year’s performers from abroad: Body Count (US), Kerry King (US), Thy Art Is Murder (AU), Suffocation (US), Eluveitie (CH), Blackbraid […]

Widely regarded as legends in the style, Dutch death/doom metal band Officium Triste have mastered the art of playing emotive yet elegant music and have honed their sound even more on their seventh full length album. ‘Hortus Venenum’ is a special album as it celebrates the band’s 30th year anniversary and it’s remarkable that even […]

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18 years, 12 albums, 9 labels, 8 vocalists. You have to hand it to the lone remaining founding member/ drummer Dave Astor; he is certainly persistent and keeps shuffling lineups and releasing albums on multiple labels, even with all the above he’s seemingly settled on a somewhat stable lineup for a few albums now (Obie […]

XASTHUR release new single ‘Selling Yourself to Die’ taken from forthcoming new album “Disharmonic Variations” XASTHUR ‘Selling Yourself to Die’ taken from the album “Disharmonic Variations” Tracklist 1. Beginning of a New End 2. Mirrors Made of Misery 3. Haunted by the Living 4. Messenger of Your Reflection 8.  Some guys have all the luck. XASTHUR founder Scott […]

The last Christian metal record I covered was Voluntary Mortification‘s Suffer to Rise back in 2020, which also happened to be Rottweiler Records, which is fast becoming the premier label for extreme Christian Music with bands like A Hill to Die Upon,  Death Requisite, xDOULOSx, Krig, Desolate Tomb, Symphony of Heaven and such, much like […]