An EP a day keeps the doctor away, that’s what I always say. I’ll take a sweet twenty-minute EP over a bloated hour-long behemoth that goes nowhere for eternity. Wouldn’t you know it? El Jefe sent me a tidy, four-track EP from a Northern German collective known as Urzikel. Honestly, that’s about all I know […]
Waaaay back in 94/95 I picked up a CD that would change my musical direction for years to come. Hordanes Land is, of course, the split between two then-fledgling Black Metal tyrants: Emperor and Enslaved. At that time I thought all Black Metal should sound like Cradle of Filth, so imagine my shock when I […]
This is sort of a big deal for me. I’m getting to review the new album from USBM stalwarts Wolves in the Throne Room called Estuary. I’ve reviewed some heavy-duty emotional albums recently from Enterré Vivant, Green Carnation, and Mother of Graves, and those have done a pretty good job of pulling the old heartstrings […]
The last time I reviewed Mother of Graves was their The Periapt of Absence album from 2024. That album made it onto my Year End List and cemented my admiration for these purveyors of all things Doom/Death Metal. Well, here I am on a rainy day, and I am here to testify that The Light […]
Enterré Vivant came under my radar with the release of 悪罪 (Akuzaï) last year, and I covered it in these hallowed pages. Hopefully at least one of you went out and bought it because it is a fantastic record that drips emotion. Kurogoku doesn’t pull any punches in that department; they take what is left […]
I picked this EP out of curiosity. The fact that it’s short and from a band I’ve never heard of is important, but the bottom line is: HPGD aren’t known for releasing shitty albums. I was in the mood for some crazy cool Grind with Slam and Death Metal elements. There’s even some Black Metal […]
Canadian Black Metal can take many forms (notably the band Blasphemy), but the other day I picked up this promo for a band called Endspace, and I have to say this is an Industrial Black Metal horror show. First Contact is the name of the album, and this creepy bastard is making my Sci-fi horror […]
My admiration for Power Metal knows no boundaries. You know this by now, constant reader. So when I saw the promo for Valkyrie’s Fire I knew I had to hear it. Straight away I’m over here thinking these guys are European… they’re not. They hail from the hub of all things American Power Metal: Nashville, […]
All trilogies must end. But when that trilogy is one as massive as Green Carnation’s A Dark Poem, the ending is bittersweet, indeed. Few bands have been able to capture the depths of human loss and the downfall of humanity to a blind technology and suffering as they have, and as the third installment is […]
So there are concept albums, and then there are concept series. You may think that Mindvile is just starting out, but these guys are setting their sights on an ambitious project called ‘Stories No Tongue Should Tell’. Old Continent is set to be the first chapter in the saga, a five album saga to be […]
Out of all Black Metal bands that come to my city, I’ve seen Dark Funeral the most. They never disappoint, and are totally consistent each time they play here. They’re one of the best live experiences I’ve ever had. So now there’s a live album called A Beast to Praise and of course it’s good. […]
If you had told me a week ago, or whatever, time is relative… If I were to possibly be listening to the Death Metal album of the year, I would have told you that you’re full of hooey. But you see, I made an exchange with Frank Rini and he took a different album, so […]
I can add Poland’s Terrestrial Hospice to the list of bands I’ve never heard of that have more than one album under their bullet belts. It’s nothing new. I thought I was well-versed in Black Metal bands… until I started doing reviews which quickly taught me that I don’t know jack shit. Terrestrial Hospice have […]
My quest for the wildest, balls-to-the-wall Blackened Death Metal album continues this week with a band from Bahrain called Zvindiyar, and their brand-spanking debut EP Six Rites. Straight away, I can tell I’m going to be blown away; the opening track, “Anqa,” bursts from the speakers like a rhinoceros on Crack. It’s got it all […]
As I sit down to write this review, it is currently 108° in my backyard, 94° in the house (with the swamp cooler on 73°, mind you; it’s a dry heat). Fortunately, I don’t live in Arizona, where the maniacs in Sunscorched are from. I have visited there twice, and both times in the summer, […]
What do you get when you throw The Birthday Party, Fields of the Nephilim, and Swans into a pot and stir? You get Portland’s Dry Wedding, and if you’re from Portland, then you’re probably familiar with them. The whole reason I grabbed this promo was because of the mention of The Birthday Party; they’re such […]
I’ve never heard of Colorado’s Bestia Arcana until now, and what I’ve got here is a re-release of an album I didn’t hear when it came out in 2017 via Dark Descent Records. Holókauston was the follow-up2008’s008s To Anabainon ek tes Abyssu (which I’ve also never heard, but intend to remedy that soon). Holókauston makes […]
Back in 2022, I covered Ad Finem Omnia and their blistering debut No Peace-No Dawn. I climbed mountains to shout about how good it was, and it remains one of my favorite Black Metal albums of that particular year. Four long years later, Ad Finem Omnia have returned from their Chilean tomb to unleash a […]
Now, this. This is what I’m fucking talking about! First of all, any Black Metal album I cover from here on out is going to be measured against this crushing slab of Finnish ice-cold Black Metal. Goddammit, this is possibly AOTY material, and that’s just a cold, hard fact. I don’t even know where to […]
Well. My gasts have been flabbered recently by this til now pretty dormant band called Seven Chains. Their debut Seven Chains came out in 2016, followed by Thus She Speaks, the Spiraling Maranatha (2020)… and then crickets. Now here we are in 2026 with Swollen, In Flux, and it’s my first exposure to their weird […]
This is not a fun album. Nirriti don’t want you to have fun while you’re listening to their debut album Dhrupad Anutpada (ধপদ অন$ৎপ&দ): Apophatic Ragas Of Non- Origination. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to like it. It’s ugly, it’s abrasive, and that was after the first spin. Many hours later… Song […]
Nunslaughter has been spreading their joyful filth since 1987, when their Ritual of Darkness demo was unleashed upon the unsuspecting Death Metal community. Two fistfuls of various split albums were released until they put out their first full-length album, Hell’s Unholy Fire (2000). That’s when I first heard them, and I’ve been a fan ever […]
There have been cover bands since the dawn of music. Now, I realize that Left to Die is a bit more than just a cover band. The band features Death alum Rick Rozz and Terry Butler, as well as Matt Harvey, who also basically has another Death cover band in Gruesome. For years now, they’ve […]
It’s safe to say that, for the most part, Swedish Black Metal sounds nothing like Norwegian Black Metal. Marduk sounds nothing like Satyricon, nor does Satyricon sound like Dark Funeral. Flykt are from Sweden, Stockholm to be precise, formed back in 2016 apparently. It’s also safe to say I’ve never heard them before… until now. […]
Mork has been spreading their disease since 2007. That’s a pretty long time in dog years to be sure, but those years have sharpened their sound to a razor-sharp edge, and with Monolitt, their follow-up to 2024s Syv, they are bringing more ferocity to the table and some absolutely deadly riffs to boot. For those […]