Author Archive

Highly respected Japanese doom metal band CHURCH OF MISERY will release its long-awaited new album Houses of the Unholy in North America on July 7 via Rise Above Records. First formed in 1996 by bassist Tatsu Mikami and guitarist Tomohiro Nishimura, the Tokyo-based band’s formidable sound melds early-era Black Sabbath style doom with powerful psychedelic […]

Death metal icons MASTER will play Philadelphia’s Hostile City Death Fest to be held on July 4-5, 2009 at The Arena. MASTER will perform on July 5, 2009 with the likes of Absu, Total Fucking Destruction, Kult ov Azazel, and Ibex Moon artists GOREAPHOBIA. Ibex Moon label mates DREAMING DEAD will perform on July 4 […]

Once I heard that Amorphis’ ninth album once again delved into Finnish folk literature a la the legendary Elegy as well as Eclipse (Skyforger, like Eclipse is based on the Kalevala poems, this time focusing on Ilmarinen, one of the central characters), I had my hopes pretty high. Even more so when you consider that […]

There’s nothing more juicy than a good old FATTOOTH! as the Montreal punk/metal thrashers announce their “Natural Disaster” North American Tour that will see them cross eight Canadian provinces, nine American states and 28 cities. “I hope the riot squads in these cities are ready for some testosterone fueled rock n’ roll! It’s a punch […]

Rampaging Oakland, CA metal quartet SAVIOURS have entered San Francisco’s Lucky Cat Recording Studios with Producer Phil Manley (of Trans Am / The Fucking Champs) to begin work on the follow up to its critically acclaimed sophomore LP Into Abaddon. Set for an October 13, 2009 release date, the as-yet-untitled SAVIOURS album is said to […]

Translation Loss Records is extremely pleased to announce the signing of San Francisco’s GIANT SQUID. Translation Loss Records will release The Ichthyologist this summer in correlation with the bands summer tour alongside label mates GRAYCEON (*TL has a Giant Squid / Grayceon split planned for 2010). Engineered, mixed and produced by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Pearl […]

I literally knew nothing about this Nevada band before seeing this suddenly appear in Metal Blade’s digital promo site, apparently their second full length album – no press hype from Metal Blade, no other inklings about the style or substance of the band before I pressed play. And when I did press play I was […]

Ibex Moon Records is pleased to announce the licensing of Asphyx’s Death…The Brutal Way from Century Media Records Germany for distribution in the United States. Death…The Brutal Way will be released in the US on September 1, 2009. The legendary Dutch death metal act reunited in 2007, playing several shows, releasing a 7″ EP in […]

Australian black metallers PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS recently inked a worldwide deal with Pulverised Records for their latest opus In Memoriam, Ill Omen. In a world filled with disease and mindless genocide, it is no wonder why PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS chose the term “Anti-Human Plague Black Metal” to represent their brand of devastation. In Memoriam, Ill Omen is […]

First documented Christian Thrash band, HEAVEN’S FORCE…demos to be released Heaven’s Force, the earliest known Christian thrash metal band will see their two demo’s released as a limited edition digipak (500 copies) on July 21st via Open Grave Records under the title, “Aggressive Angel”. Heaven’s Force was based out of Fort Worth, Texas. They recorded […]

Due to a recent turn of events, reunited cult favorites Goreaphobia will be replacing Pathology on this summer’s Slaves to Society U.S. tour featuring death metal legends Master and Ibex Moon Records label mates Dreaming Dead. This trek across the States, the band’s first in over 17 years, will be more than just an opportunity […]

Not content with Dawn of Demise and their super chunky, hefty style of death metal Deepsend has delved into the Danish death metal barrel once again, and pulled out another killer, similarly styled act in The Cleansing. Formed from the ashes of Usipian featuring cross band members of Panzerchrist and Corpus Mortale (notably Martin Rosendahl […]

Credit where credit is due, Hungary’s Ektomorf have been playing their version of Soulfly’s 1998 self titled album for nearly a decade now with little sign of letting up of changing style five albums in, even with a label change from Nuclear Blast to AFM Records. At least you know exactly what you are getting […]

Montreal based death metal quartet Synastry have posted the new songs “Dividing The Double Helix” and “Dead To Me” from their sophomore album “Our Memetic Imprints” online at http://www.myspace.com/synastry. The album was recorded in Montreal with producer JF Dagenais from Kataklysm and is expected to surface in late 2009.”The new album ‘Our Memetic Imprints’ brings […]

UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) fighter DAN “THE OUTLAW” HARDY, who is currently preparing for his next fight at UFC 99, is now officially sponsored by Earache Records. DAN HARDY is set to compete against MARCUS DAVIS at UFC 99: The Comeback, which takes place this Saturday, June 13th in Cologne, Germany. The event will be […]

Despite often being labeled as the Finnish Cult of Luna, I still feel that 2006s Noir is one of the better examples of the post rock/NeurIsis genre of the last few years, mainly because the cello just added something different to the typical build ebbs and thunderous peaks. However, with providence there has been somewhat […]

Norwegian Progressive Metal veterans, MADDER MORTEM, will release their highly anticipated album, Eight Ways, in the United States, on June 16th on Peaceville Records. Eight Ways is the follow up to the band’s acclaimed 2006 Peaceville release, Desiderata, as well as the band’s fifth studio album since their inception in 1997.Eight Ways was recorded, produced, […]

Quite frankly, I’ve grown away from TN12LLY since their killer debut EP, Put on Your Rosy Red Glasses, as the band through Sad. Nuclear. Sad and 2007s Mongrel have become progressively (literally) more quirky and experimental, dropping almost all of their feral brutality and grinding mathcore/deathcore fury in favor of melody, spazzy experimentation and far […]

Who knew such a calamitous, primal and experimental noise resided in the very depths of Southwestern Missouri, and that such a sickly, harsh example of cracking, fuzzed out, lo fi misanthropy is the brain child of a polite, unassuming twenty something college student named Adam Kalmbach? This is one of those releases that’s sure to […]

Australian atmospheric metallers Be’lakor have added two new songs to their myspace page: The two tracks come from the bands forthcoming second self released album entitled Stone’s Reach, set for a June 20th release. The band released their critically accalimed debut, The Frail Tide back in 2007.

sunn 0))) will be heading to the Midwest for the first time in quite a while, playing shows in many cities and states they have not been to before. The lineup for these Midwestern sonic rituals will be: Attila Csihar – Invocations | Steve Moore – trombone, keys | Stephen O’Malley – Guitar | Greg […]

In addition to their upcoming trek across North America with Pathology and the legendary Master, Dreaming Dead have been added to the first half of Monstrosity’s summer tour. Thirsty for blood and eager to wreak havoc across the countryside, Dreaming Dead promise to deliver nothing but the most blistering performance at every stop. These recently […]

Singapore’s almighty maelstrom returns, possibly with their most furious release to date. IMPIETY are one of the world’s most notoriously destructive bands, gaining that reputation over the course of their near 20-year existence. The band’s incalculably destructive nature amalgamates insanely high-speed blasting, brutally-fast riff structures and relentless guttural torment, resulting in some of the most […]

‘Occult Horror Doom’ metal band MOSS has completed work on its new album. The sinisterly titled Tombs of the Blind Drugged will drop in North America on July 7 via Rise Above Records. Hailed as, “the bleakest, darkest doom metal ever recorded”, MOSS cooks up eerie anti-music that transmits the occult like none other. The […]

In 2008, Scotland’s Alestorm took the international metal world by storm with their brand of likeable ‘Pirate Metal’ that mixed NWBHM, folk metal, Pirate shanty tunes and Running Wild imagery, even resulting in a US run with the Pagan Knights tour earlier this year. Well, here is the follow up, and though I feel a […]