I’ve listened to and enjoyed a lot of deathcore over the years-most of it from the genres larger names on larger labels. But one of the smaller gems I discovered was an EP back in 2007 from a Canadian band called Dear Black Diary. Hardly groundbreaking stuff, but solid and well done with a crafty […]

If a complete stranger or non-metalhead were to come up to me today and ask me “What is Black Metal”? I’d give him this record. Sure there’s all sorts of classic options from Emperor through Marduk, Immortal, Leviathan and such, but as of right now A Spell for the Death of Man, for me, seems […]

Wow, real Black metal in the US is really starting to impress me and this his SoCal 5 piece look to be an up and coming band with some real potential as this 4 song, 21 minute EP does virtually everything right. With a perfectly balanced raw buzzing guitar tone and some actual presence of […]

PSYCHOSTICK – NEW ALBUM COMPLETED ENTITLED “SANDWICH” Phoenix, Arizona, comedy/metal band Psychostick has finished recording their new album, Sandwich. Work on the 24-track opus to food, email spam, bad directions, revenge and more food began in August 2008. A May 5, 2009, release (US only) is scheduled via Rock Ridge Music. Sandwich is the follow-up […]

Open Grave Records & NePlusUltra Music are proud to announce the signing of Finland’s Female Fronted Melodic Metal band VENIA. VENIA got their start in 2002 when guitarists Viktor and Jere started jamming together and seeking more band mates. The lineup was finally completed in the spring of 2004, and a demo was recorded titled, […]

This spring, Ohio’s mighty SKELETONWITCH and Georgia lords (and lordess) of sludge KYLESA will embark on the hessian odyssey that is the “Southern Discomfort” tour, a co-headlining trek that – not counting performances by both bands at the Scion Rock Fest in Atlanta – kicks off March 13 in Charlotte, N.C. Included among Southern Discomfort’s […]

A KID HEREAFTER IN THE GRINDING LIGHT has hit Denmark hard with the release of their debut album. The album received unanimous praise by the Danish press, and now it has been nominated for a Danish Music Award in the Hard Rock category, where Mercenary and Rock Hard Power Spray are the other nominees. A […]

With the rise in popularity in the Pagan/Celtic Metal Scene, one of the true pioneers of the Genre is ready to take the United States scene by storm. Over their fourteen year history, SuidAkrA have stayed true to their roots and the sound that they have become known for. The German Celtic metallers are returning […]

Montreal technical death veterans NEURAXIS – whose new album, The Thin Line Between, was named one of Metal Edge’s Top 20 releases of 2008 – are currently prepping for back-to-back tours. First up is the “Montreal Assault” tour, which will see the band play alongside Despised Icon, Carnifex, The Plasmarifle and labelmates Beneath The Massacre.   […]

Here’s the kind of album that drives old metal heads nuts, but the kids seem to like; squawking, growling, breakdown filled chaotic deathcore, given the ‘grindcore ‘tag’ by the Hot Topic crowd. Ugh. It’s all here for the kids to enjoy; 14 short bursts with Oh so quirky song titles (“Urethra Franklin VS. Queef Latifah”, […]

As much as I love nasty scary black metal like Anaal Nathrakh, Xasthur, Dagon, Leviathan, Deathspell Omega and such, I have a hard time dealing with such music coming from the relatively peaceful climates of France, England, California, Texas and San Francisco , and while those acts have no doubt injected plenty of hatred, spite, and […]

Hope for the Dying is the first release on the recently re-launched Strike First Records (a subsidiary of Facedown Records that released records by the likes of War of Ages, Sinai Beach, Inked In Blood, Jesus Wept and Bloodlined Calligraphy), and though its basically a repackaged version of the bands demo from earlier in 2008, […]

Its been 3 year since the debut, Devour the Power, and I knew just judging from the cover and the album title, that Tennessee’s purveyors of uber cheesy fantasy based metal was going to up the ante from the debut-and they do. Cut from the same heavily bearded and classically inspired cloth as 3 Inches […]

Delivering the same intense yet singularly paced style of mechanically precise black/death metal akin to Krisiun, Zyklon or even Crionics and The Amenta (without the cyber elements), Belgium’s The Reckoning (formerly known as Infernal Legion) have delivered a solid second album, that won’t change the genre, but it’s a pummeling, relentless listen. Truthfully, I really […]

The psychedelic blackened death Seattle quintet BOOK OF BLACK EARTH, whose recently released concept album Horoskopus continues to receive extensive critical acclaim, kicks off a tour alongside grindcore cult heroes Cattle Decapitation tonight (Jan. 21) in Santa Barbara, Calif. The “Killing ‘Til Oblivion” tour, which also features Psyopus and Gigan, is the group’s first national […]

ISIS, the Los Angeles by way of Boston band, has set a May 5 release date for their anticipated new album, “Wavering Radiant” (Ipecac Recordings).  The album, produced by Joe Baressi (Tool, Queens off The Stone Age), will also see a limited edition vinyl version released on Apr. 21. Tool’s Adam Jones contributed guitar to […]

Swedish art-rockers CULT OF LUNA are gearing up for their first ever DVD release, titled FIRE WAS BORN.The DVD includes an epic hour-and-a-half live show recorded on July 1st, 2008 at the Scala in London, UK, along with an exclusive interview with the band, in which the members answer questions sent in from fans all […]

As I detailed here , and to save some time, basically Order of Ennead is a continuation of label and line up hampered act Council of the Fallen, who released two very solid albums of blistering black/death metal in 2002s Revealing Damnation and 2004s Deciphering the Soul. Both I which I highly recommend. However, of […]

Here’s another old school death metal effort featuring vocalist Roger “Rogga” Johansson who has graced bands like Ribspreader, Carve, Paganizer, Edge of Sanity, Deranged and recently, Those Who Bring the Torture. This time he’s helped by guitarist Rober Bustabad of Machetazo and drummer Phlegeton of Wormed (who plays drums here). Ultimately the sound of Banished […]

OPEN GRAVE RECORDS is pleased to announce the signing of Nevada based death metal band I BUILT THE CROSS.  I BUILT THE CROSS was formed during the summer of ’08 by two long time-time friends and ex-members of the popular death metal band Disfiguring the Goddess. As friends, Reed and Gare have been closer than […]

Was there really such a demand for the video from Lair of the Minotaur’s last album that it has to be put out on DVD with unrated and TV edit versions? Apparently so, so Southern Lord has put both versions of Gary Smithson’s video on a DVD along with behind the scenes interviews and footage, […]

THE HAUNTED ‘WARNING SHOTS‘ 2 DISC COMPILATION SET FOR RELEASE Celebrated Swedish heavyweights THE HAUNTED have announced details of new double disc compilation that details the bands time with EARACHE RECORDS from 1998 – 2003. Titled WARNING SHOTS, the album contains 28 of THE HAUNTED’s most killer tracks, including a second disc with many rare […]

Northern/Southern California’s progressive/goblin-inspired metal outfit Nekrogoblikon have offered an update on their new album’s writing and production: “Hails, goblin fans. Here’s a quick update on what we’ve been up to: album album album. As many of you know, we’ve been hauling ass writing songs for almost two years now. Thankfully we can start to see […]

Virginian thrashers MUNICIPAL WASTE are set to return to Europe this Summer to play a string of festivals. MUNICIPAL WASTE guitarist RYAN WASTE states: “The Waste will be coming over to Europe again this Summer for quite a few festivals. We’re pumped to play to some larger crowds, but we are still going to play […]

Earache Records is proud to announce the forthcoming release of HEAVY METAL KILLERS – a compilation featuring the very best bands from the emerging “New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal” scene. HEAVY METAL KILLERS features 13 new tracks from the best fresh, young bands who share one common goal – to bring back the glory […]