The cover art for Wormwood, the upcoming full-length from Swedish black metallers MARDUK has been unveiled here.  More news and song titles TBA. Check some photos from the recording at the Endarker Studio here: http://www.marduk.nu/gallery.html In related news, MARDUK will land on US soil later this summer for three very special dates with Withered and […]

Pivotal Rockordings has pushed back the North American release date for Esoteric, the long-awaited fourth album from Swedish progressive death metallers SKYFIRE, to October 13th. The push is due to a scheduling issue and does not affect the UK (September 14th) and European (September 18th) release dates. The album will be distributed via Koch Distribution, […]

The wait is finally over. Philly’s underground legends, Goreaphobia are back with a vengeance. A vengeance entitled Mortal Repulsion. This long-awaited full-length debut from one death metal’s pioneers is a bludgeoning, yet calculated, masterclass in old-school death metal. In an era where trends, tricks and toddlers have pockmarked our beloved and bloody metal scene with […]

Re-release of 3 albums by one of the most intriguing bands from Scandinavia – The Kovenant! Type:The Kovenant is certainly one of the most intriguing bands ever to emerge on the Scandinavian metal scene. Throughout their career they went through name, line-up and style changes, constantly developing their musical formula in every possible way. Metal […]

After a long production period, Dornenreich’s first DVD “Nachtreisen” (“Nocturnal Journeys”) will finally be available in autumn 2009 (the exact date will be announced soon). The DVD’s main content is made up of two concert recordings that represent both sides of Dornenreich: live at Summer Breeze 2007 (metal gig) and live at Wave Gotik Treffen […]

The fourth studio album of Secrets Of The Moon, “Privilegivm“, will be released on September 11 in Germany and Austria and on September 14 worldwide. More information about the album soon. The “Privilegivm” track listing: 1. Privilegivm 2. Sulphur 3. Black Halo 4. I Maldoror 5. Harvest Part I: I Forgive Myself Part II: The […]

Finnish metallers Saattue will release their second album Vuoroveri on 9th of September. Vuoroveri will include eight works of heavy, dark and multidimensional saatto metal. The recording sessions were hosted by Jarno Hänninen at D-Studio and the album was mastered at Finnvox Studio by Mika Jussila. Saattue is signed to Spikefarm Records. Vuoroveri track list […]

So the new label of Skinlab, released this, the third full length album from Los Angeles’ Flatline earlier this year, and its been sitting on my Ipod since February , waiting to be reviewed, and to be honest I completely forgot about it, which tells you something about its quality. Now, Pave the Way isn’t […]

Since the release of their debut The Butcher’s Ballroom in 2007 Sweden’s DIABLO SWING ORCHESTRA have gained a loyal fan base of their own. People have embraced their mind bending mix of metal, opera, swing jazz, and spaghetti-western soundtrack with open arms and they have been perceived as a fresh breath of air in a genre getting […]

Arguably surpassing The Black Dahlia Murder as Metal Blade’s media darlings, JFAC have at least weathered the hype and the hate to change styles from their reee filled deathcore to morph into a more respectable death metal outfit, and retain their fan base as 2007s unit moving Genesis proved. However, in these eyes (or ears) […]

One could easily look at the moniker, cookie cutter logo, generic computerized cover art, and Metal Blade’s recent release history, and make the assumption that As You Drown is merely another drop in the generic deathcore bucket. Wrong. As You Drown (previously named Ethereal) hail from Sweden and play death metal. Really good fucking death […]

Hailing from Blekinge, Sweden on the frozen coasts of the Baltic Sea, are the three warlords that form Istapp. Mordechai von Renvaktar, C. Ashuck von Renvaktar and Fjalar have set out on a campaign to destroy the sun and all of its followers. To this end, Istapp has joined forces (or ‘conquered’, if you ask […]

Enigmatic black metal duo CANIS DIRUS have signed to MORIBUND RECORDS for the release of their debut album, A Somber Wind From a Distant Shore. The last burning embers of a dying autumnal twilight, the beckoning shrieks of the oncoming night, the blanket of everlasting darkness inevitable and infinite: CANIS DIRUS’ A Somber Wind From […]

As England’s most extreme export since Napalm Death have made their transition from apocalyptic black metal to grindcore, they have managed to retain some of intensity and ferocity of The Codex Necro, though far less caustic, and have been able to introduce some love ‘em or hate ‘em clean croons amid the mechanical, robotic blasting […]

Midwestern metal warriors SKELETONWITCH, who have performed more than 300 concerts worldwide since the release of their acclaimed 2007 Prosthetic debut “Beyond The Permafrost,” will release their new album “Breathing The Fire” on Oct. 13. The album, produced by Jack Endino (High On Fire, Nirvana, Toxic Holocaust), is currently being recorded in Seattle at both […]

Finnish folk metallers ENSIFERUM have set From Afar as the title of their fourth album, slated for a US release on September 8, 2009 (September 9th for the rest of the world) via Spinefarm Records. The CD was produced by Tero Kinnunen (Nightwish, Amorphis) and Janne Joutsenniemi, who produced the band’s previous offering, Victory Songs […]

I’ll be the first to admit I’ve never been a drone fan and despite being seven albums into their career the apparent pinnacle of the genre, this is my first exposure to the duo of Greg Anderson and Stephen O’ Malley. However, what intrigued me about this release and prompted me to check Sunn O))) […]

You’ve got to respect what Markus Eck and his German webzine have accomplished with the fifth installment of their Metal Message folk/pagan/Viking compilation CDs. For this lavishly packaged release, legendary artist Ed Repka (Megadeath, Death, Atheist, 3 Inches of Blood) has provided the cover and the DVD packaged material is full of endearing artwork, including […]

How often do you meet a band that ties together brilliant songwriting, flawless technique, mad intensity and a thought-provoking lyrical content to boost? When it comes to extreme metal, it’s really difficult to find the complete package. Maybe that’s why “Retaliate” by Misery Index is such an important album. It shows that the impossible is […]

Germany’s heaviest export, Caliban, is gearing up to release their 8th full-length album on August 25th, 2009 – Say Hello to Tragedy. Produced by Benny Richter, co-produced by guitarist Marc Goertz and mixed by Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam D, Say Hello to Tragedy marks some of Caliban’s most accomplished and mature work to date. This […]

Ironclad Recordings, founded by Unearth vocalist Trevor Phipps, is pleased to announce the signing of Chico California’s ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE; a band featuring the talents of former members of Will Haven, The Abominable Iron Sloth, and Ghostride. Ironclad Recordings is set to release ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE’s debut full-length studio album Defeat in the US and […]

At a time when music seems to have lost some of its distinctiveness, Brooklyn’s jazzed-infused-metal experimentalists, Candiria, are back and once again ready to cross the lines of convention as they release a four volume set of rarities and remixes, “Toying With the Insanities“. Volumes One and Two of “Toying With the Insanities” will be […]

That is right, sound the alarms: North Carolina’s sludge pillagers WEEDEATER have been confirmed as support for a full-on North American DOWN tour! The lineup changes throughout the routing; The Canadian dates feature secondary support from VOIVOD, while the bulk of the American dates feature THE MELVINS. Other opening support for the tour will be […]

Sydney Australia-based extreme metal act THE AMENTA will join VADER, DECREPIT BIRTH, WARBRINGER, AUGURY, S.W.W.A.A.T.S. on “Monsters Of Death Tour” presented by Decibel Magazine. “Monsters of Death Tour” kicks off on November 4 in Baltimore, Maryland and will run for 38 dates across North America, also marking the first North American tour for THE AMENTA.   […]

After 5 years of computer failure, illness, lineup-changes and countless other obstacles, Swedish progressive death metallers SKYFIRE will triumphantly return to unleash their long awaited 4th album “Esoteric” this September 8th in North America, 14th in the UK and 18th in Europe via Pivotal Rockordings. Bassist Martin Hanner comments on the band’s new album which […]