By this point ya’ll probably know my theory about the world of Traditional Heavy Metal, where bands do battle in my own mind in an attempt to claim the throne of Heavy Metal supremacy. Again, I will not apologize for my own stupidity, this is just who I am. But here’s the thing – in […]

So, a little personal life update that no one asked for – I’ve been in the process of trying to cut coffee out of my daily routine. Let me be clear, this isn’t a battle against caffeine addiction or anything like that – when I was drinking coffee it was usually one cup every morning, […]

When life throws you a lemon, you’re supposed to make lemonade, right? Take a sour situation, and make something sweet. Find the good in the bad. Take an unforeseen opportunity to do something new, different, maybe even exciting and vibrant! That’s certainly one way to handle life’s curveballs. Probably the healthiest way! But there’s always […]

I mean… what a name, right?? Look, I know that these Norwegian Grind/D-Beat/Punk Rockers ain’t exactly new to the block – in fact they’ve been menacing their way around the world of extreme music for over a decade at this point, but that moniker – I don’t care how many times I see it. Every […]

I’ve mentioned this more than once on this site (most recently on my review for Megaton Sword‘s excellent Might & Power), but I take great pleasure in imagining the world of Traditional Heavy Metal as an endless sea of mighty warriors clashing in righteous battle for the right to sit upon the throne of Heavy Metal and […]

Given recent efforts I’ve reviewed from the likes of In Flames and Hellripper, the topic of bands evolving and following their own artistic journeys has certainly been at the forefront of my mind – and I will gladly defend, ’til the day I die, any band’s right to continue pushing forward and exploring new avenues […]

While I guess it’s fair to say 2020 will be remembered for… other reasons… I, personally, will remember it as a year that saw the battle for modern Heavy Metal supremacy really get into full swing. Glorious, chainmailed, axe-wielded swing. There were the up-and-coming warriors like Black Soul Horde, Stygian Crown and Meurtrières entering the arena to […]

If you were to ask me right here and now what my 5 favorite metal bands of all time were, without hesitation I’d mention Amon Amarth amongst that list. And while I certainly have my preferred era of the band’s sound (With Oden On Our Side through Surtur Rising are untouchable, in my mind), there really isn’t an era […]

It stand to reason that with each new album an artist creates, the goal is to showcase the best, most authentic version of themselves. Make no mistake, that doesn’t mean that we, the listeners, have to like the output; but even in those cases where a new album may fall flat on the ears of […]

Imagine, if you would, finding a way to beat the odds and make a legitimate career for yourself in music. Dope! You’ve already lived out the dream of myriads of artists around the world. But not only are you making a living, you’re literally spearheading an entire musical movement – laying a foundation and becoming […]

I’m gonna be honest – there’s a lot about Sweden’s Knogjärn that, at first glance, I really wasn’t sure about. I’m the first to admit, I can sometimes be a judgemental shit. I’m working on it. But as I looked at the band, their heavy usage of brass knuckle images led to the sneaking suspicion […]

As someone who was really cutting his teeth in the more extreme metal scene during Metalcore’s heyday, it’s safe to say that it will always have a special place in my heart. Even when the genre fell out of fashion and became more a butt of every gatekeeper’s jokes, it remained a regular part of […]

I’m always a little dubious when a band is claimed to be the “fathers of (X-Genre)” these days, especially when that “X” is something really hyper-specific. Take these Germans, AHAB for example: 19 year veterans in the metal scene, so certainly not a newcomer trying to make a name for themselves or anything like that […]

For a band known more for it’s morose atmospheres, downtempo paces and overall depressive tones, Katatonia sure has a way of getting albums off to a quick and, at least in my case, startling beginning. I swear, it’s like the band is fucking with me, or at the very least trying to catch us all […]

New year, new me! HAHA AMIRIGHT?! Nah I’m kidding no one. You know you’re getting the same general bullshit and unrelated rantings that make me so… let’s say charming? I’M A FRIGGIN’ DELIGHT. But listen, if I do have any actual resolutions for 2023, I’d like to at least make more of an effort to […]

When it comes to this modern world of cavernous, old school death metal – I have to admit, I’m a little bit picky. I think there’s a handful of bands that do it super well (Witch Vomit, Spectral Voice, Dead Congregation, to name a few), and I think there’s A LOT of bands that, even […]

I like to think I’m the kind of guy willing to give almost any music endeavor a fair shake, whether it falls in one of metal’s incalculable and ever-growing catalog of subgenres, or, really, whatever the hell else happens to invade my ear canals! But we all have our go-to comfort zones, right? To the […]

When one thinks about traditional Heavy Metal, a lot of what immediately comes to mind is, inevitably, British. From the obvious big guns of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, to the more second-tier acts like Saxon, Diamond Head or Cloven Hoof, and a seemingly endless list of others, you just cannot think Heavy Metal without thinking […]

The putrid, unholy sickness that is today’s Blackened Speed/Thrash Metal movement (I mean that in the most sincerely loving way) has managed to infect a pretty large portion of the world at this point. To be honest, it seems like they’re popping out everything. Pretty much where there’s air to breathe, there’s a group of […]

At Teeth of the Divine, we all have our own individual tastes and personal preferences when it comes to metal – a point which has, unfortunately, led to some words we wish we hadn’t said and no shortage of blood left on each of our hands. Literally. We’ve made some… mistakes… ANYWAY, one thing that […]

I struggle to think of another band revered with such legendary status as Candlemass has within the pantheons of Heavy Metal, with as strange and unorthodox a journey as theirs over their almost 40 year career. The breakups, reformations and seemingly endless string of cryptic hints at retirement, the rotating lineup of ex-members entering and […]

2022 has been quite the year for  Hoaxed. While maybe not a meteoric rise, per se, the virtually unknown Portland duo – armed with only a 4 song self-titled EP to their name – landed a surprise rotation on tour earlier this year with Amorphis, Uada and Sylvaine which, when you hear the band for the first […]

Remember being 17 or 18 years old and thinking you knew everything? And yet, in the same breath, somehow you often found yourself not knowing what the fuck you were doing at all? Equal parts cock-sure confidence and complete naivete. The truth, for most of us, is that when you’re that age, you’re still just […]

Sometimes you stumble across an album that you just know is going to either be a complete and utter hit, or an absolute whiff from listener to listener – there will be no in-between. You either love it like you love your own child, or you want to throw it off a cliff like a […]

Vengeance is a dish best served heavy. And melodic. And epic. OK, I guess I shouldn’t assume “vengeance” as being the first emotion that would come to mind for former Absu guitarist Melissa Moore, who is jumping back into the spotlight after a very ugly and public firing from the band following her coming out […]