Last year, I reviewed one of the most unusual albums I think I have to this point… The Harvest by :Skull & Dawn: was my AOTY, and it was well-deserved (I even got a victory lap because I got the other guys to like it too). I digress because Twin Serpent is a bit similar […]
Part 1: History and Memory I first heard Sepultura in 1990. It was Beneath the Remains, and from that opening acoustic guitar, I was hooked. It was brutal, beautiful, and violent. Its predecessors Morbid Visions/ Beastial Devastation and Schizophrenia, were still unheard mysteries to me, and I later was able to get a hold of […]
There have been stellar Black Metal bands coming out of the Middle East for years: Melechesh, Akvan, and Orphaned Land, to name three. Nile, while playing Middle Eastern Death Metal, is still from South Carolina, so they barely qualify (in sound only). So, having said that, I’m here to talk about Gomma, a one-man outfit […]
Relationships can make your spirit uplifted, and you’re invincible with your partner. But then something happens, and the spark goes out, there are accusations and distrust; both of you are trying to break each other down until you’re shells of your former selves. Loss, disconnect from the joyful aspects of life, and venomous anger are […]
Poland is a literal hotbed of Death/ Black and Folk Metal. Their most notable outputs are Behemoth and Vader (among others), but you can add Varmia to the mix of solid extreme music bands from the region. I last spoke about them with high praises for their EP Prolog (2023) and Nie nas widzę (also […]
Like a bolt of lightning piercing your eardrums, Texans Necrofier have returned to deliver their blistering third full-length called Transcend Into Oblivion. Twelve saber-toothed tracks of prime USBM, and let me tell you friends and neighbors, it’s a fucking wild animal. There’s nothing better than a solid banger Black Metal album, and that’s what Necrofier […]
Oh man! This brings back memories. I spent my formative years for music absorption in England circa 1990-1993. During that time I discovered Carcass, Bolt Thrower and so many other killer Death Metal bands that my brain was rotting from all the sickening gore I was exposing it to. I was also a Punk kid […]
I’ve been trying to figure out how to start this review for Slagmaur and their fourth full-length album Hulders Ritual. The main reason I picked this album is that Black Metal luminary Snorre Ruch (Thorns), one of then liminaries who helped invent the Norwegian Black Metal style and forged a legacy borne in the fires […]
Evolution is a necessity in the natural world. For any species to continue life, it has to continually reinvent itself, and since humans are the ultimate evolution, this includes Death Metal bands as well. See how I weaved that to be an introduction? Effortlessly. Anyway, today has brought me a promo for an album I’ve […]
I’m going to be brutally honest, I’ve never listened to Party Cannon until now. Send any hate mail to the circular filing cabinet; I’m not kidding, though. This is my first time listening to these guys from always sunny Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. Do I like it? Yes, it is weird as fuck and extremely in-fucking-sane. […]
I was all set to cover Distorted Reflection and their first album, Doom Rules Eternally, back in 2024, and then life happened, and I missed my window of opportunity. Since I don’t want that to happen again and also since Doom Zone is a pretty killer album, I’m jumping on it now. Living somewhere between […]
There used to be a restaurant chain here in the States called Steak and Ale. They served traditional American food, a staple of the menu being meat and potatoes. No, this isn’t a review for A La Carte, it’s for Rogga Johansson and his main band Paganizer; I say ‘main’ because dude has a few […]
Okay, so think about your favorite Dimmu Borgir album- for me it’s Enthrone Darkness Triumphant; okay, now think of your favorite Cradle of Filth record- mine is Dusk and Her Embrace. The Great Elven War, however, is the best album neither of those bands ever made. This is an album that could’ve come out between […]
Guess what? It’s officially 2026! Yay, right? Whether you like it or not, time is marching on, and whining about it won’t make it stop… just thinking of the new music to be released this year gives me a small bit of hope for the future. Sunday morning finds me jamming the new album from […]
I first heard Eximperitus back in 2016 when they released their full-length Prajecyrujučy sinhuliarnaje wypramieńwańnie Daktryny Absaliutnaha j Usiopahłynaĺnaha Zła skroź šaścihrannuju pryzmu Sîn-Ahhī-Erība na hipierpawierchniu zadyjakaĺnaha kaŭčęha zasnawaĺnikaŭ kosmatęchničnaha ordęna palieakantakta, najstaražytnyja ipastasi dawosiewych cywilizacyj prywodziać u ruch ręzanansny transfarmatar časowapadobnaj biaskoncaści budučyni u ćwiardyniach absierwatoryi Nwn-Hu-Kek-Amo (that’s the album title and yes I […]
2024s Black Metal Cult was a perfect slab of French Black Metal from Meyhnach’s Mütiilation, and it was my first time covering one of the long-standing powerhouses of French Black Metal. Pandemonium of Egregores is the more melodic follow-up to that church-burning masterpiece, and it’s a certified crusher. Five tracks in 32:05 is just long […]
It’s safe to say that I’ve never heard of Italy’s Dawn of a Dark Age until now. Ver Sacrum mixes two genres that I love: Black Metal and Jazz. Vittorio Sabelli is an ubër talented mofo, and it’s his warm-as-butter Clarinet that elevates this album to Avantgarde status. Ver Sacrum marks nine albums since 2014, […]
Today we’re going to Sweden. It’s a free trip; all you have to do is read this review. That’s easy enough, right? I’m not asking for anything too crazy, just two minutes of your precious time. I picked Havamal with the hope that I would get a Falkenbach type of thing, because Falkenbach has a […]
Back in 2023, I reviewed Dead and Dripping’s Blackened Cerebral Rifts, and I was pretty rough on it. I didn’t like it/ didn’t get it, what-fucking-ever. Anyway, today I went back to it before listening to Nefarious Scintillations, and goddammit, I started to like it. I blame my fellow scribes for my newfound love for Deathcore. They all […]
I could just address the elephant in the room and talk about the artwork for Subcutaneous Tomb, and if that’s what happens, then it happens. That’s the most important part, right? Not how the album sounds, but whether or not it resembles Gorguts’ eponymous debut, Considered Dead, and the artwork for that album… That’s silly. […]
I didn’t know that I needed Decrepit Altar in my life… until now. I love the cavernous, murky, and downright swampy vibes that these Croatian death/doom dealers are spewing out into the unsuspecting world. Egregious Defilement is their brand spanking first EP, and let me tell you what: IT’S FUCKING GREAT! I probably didn’t need […]
I recently got to see Los Angeles’ Lamp of Murmur with Dödsrit and the mighty Blackbraid. It was my first exposure to their brand of Black Metal craziness, and I wasn’t disappointed, not only are they fun to listen to, but they’re insane live. The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy is their 4th full-length after a slew […]
I’ve heard some weird shit this year, admittedly, I hear weird shit every year because that’s what I look for on promo day. Weird shit. Well, I got super excited this last time because guess what I got? The promo from the Czechian legends, Master’s Hammer, entitled Maldorör Disco… YEAH, BOY! I’m about to admit […]
Hello! Welcome to my review of the brand spanking new Testament album entitled Parabellum. I plan on being as fair as possible. This is their fourteenth album, so they have a sizeable back catalog to compare Para Bellum with previous albums. The first thing I notice right off the bat is the amount of blast […]
I last sang the praises of Mystic Circle in 2023 for the brutal beating that is Erzdämon, and they’ve been covered previously by our own El Jefe for Mystic Circle back in 2022. Hexenbrand 1486 sees the band once again flexing their Symphonic Black Metal muscles. This is album eleven for these unholy Germans, and […]