A few years ago I reviewed Embryonic Autopsy’s terrific debut album, Prophecies of the Conjoined, which was the new death metal act by now reformed Oppressor singer and friend Tim King. Once again joining Tim on Origins of the Deformed is Scott Roberts on guitars and the band bringing in new members, Kenxi on bass […]
I have seen Exodus live so many times, it’s ridiculous, both on the east and West Coast, mind you. I know they’re not in the big 4, but for me, if there was a big 5, Exodus, that is right, not Testament would be there. Still, to this day, whether on studio albums or live, […]
I reviewed Exhorder’s comeback album, Mourn the Southern Skies, in 2019 on TOTD. While I enjoyed the album, and as a comeback album it was good, but still left some meat on the bone, so to speak. There were aggressive songs, however, I felt, much of the album was marred by sludgy slow songs, that […]
When talking about French technical death metal, the absolute top of the list is Gorod, but I think there is an argument to be made for Exocrine to be right there with them. The Bordeuax band has been on an absolute tear since 2018’s Molten Giant, which was somehow their third album already. Then with […]
There’s very little I enjoy more than grinding my Escuela. I became an instant fan hearing their debut full-length, Memory Theater. However, where they truly shine is on stage. I’ve seen them in multiple venues and will again in February. They’re a “can’t miss” for me. I struggle to find a band with more energy, […]
France’s Embrace Your Punishment started as a pretty standard hardcore Hatebreed-ish band with some death metal hues back in 2014s Honor Before Glory, but has got progressively heavier with 2019s Nameless King, especially vocally. And now with album number 3, Made of Stone, are an absolute beast of a band that blends hardcore, brutal death […]
For the past two weeks, I’ve been sick with Covid. I made it through the 2020 pandemic unscathed, only having days where I felt crappy; compared to the sonofabitching little virus that is sailing through my bloodstream right now… those were like, annoying at worst. But this, fuck this shit. I’m a writer, and Covid […]
Have you ever come upon a band that sounded so hateful and intense that you began asking yourself why has this band slipped past your radar? Several years ago my good friend Graham sent me a Bandcamp link to End’s Splinters From An Ever-Changing Face album. Honestly, I cannot remember for the life of me […]
The Second World War has been a go-to subject for any Black Metal band worth their salt. Hell, Marduk has made a career of it over the years and they don’t show any signs of stopping. So it’s not a big surprise that German Black Metallers Endstille are back with DetoNation hammering home the adage, […]
I have no problem feeling depressed or sad. Just ask my therapist! I don’t need a band or music to make me feel miserable, yet I seek it. Why? I don’t know, maybe ask Ethereal Tomb and their brand of sludgy doom. According to a quick search, this is the Canadian duo’s second full length […]
Eternal Rot is a three-piece from the UK, and they play some lumbering, shambling death doom with some of sickest, moistest, icky gurgling vocals I’ve heard since Seep’s Souvenirs of a Necrosadist EP back in 2020. Moribound is their third album, but I’ll be certainly checking out the prior two albums as this is pretty […]
Ever since I saw Exmortus with Amon Amarth I’ve been a fan. Their absolutely over the top performance was amazing, the guitars shredded like a fucking meat grinder and the energy of the band made for a memorable experience. Following that show, I picked up Slave to the Sword, Ride Forth and The Sound of […]
There’s a feeling I get when I know that summertime is here. Dread is one way to describe it, the short word answer is dread. I’m not scared of Summer, it used to be pleasant when I was younger and obviously, it wasn’t 116 every fucking day. Here in Central New Mexico, it has been […]
One of my favorite releases from the early 00s metalcore explosions was Earth & Sphere from Massachusetts’ Beyond the Sixth Seal. It had some death metal beef in its traditional dual euro melodies (as well as the Red Chord‘s Mike Mckenzie on vocals), and really knocked the songwriting out of the park. Why do I […]
How long is eternity? I Googled it because I wanted the Webster’s definition for it. According to them, and I’m paraphrasing, it’s a long fucking time. Eternity, the band has been around since 2003, which isn’t exactly forever… between then and now they’ve released three full-length albums Bringer of the Fall and To Become the […]
Evil Incarnate, from Illinois, has been around, since the 90’s, therefore it should come as no surprise that their brand of extreme music is rooted in that era of death metal. If you enjoy old-school bands like Vital Remains, Deicide, etc….their early efforts, or if you are just looking for some blasphemous old school death […]
I am endlessly picked on in the Teeth of the Divine break room for admitting in a vulnerable moment that thrash is perhaps my least favorite metal sub-genre. So, one might ask why the hell I am reviewing the new Enforced album. Firstly, mind your business. Secondly, I was able to procure it in the […]
France’s Esoctrilihum have released, since their inception in 2016, get ready for this… 10 studio albums and 2 ep’s. The one man band member is referred to as Asthâghul, and quite honestly the mystery surrounding him, and being a one man band, reminds me of the late great Quorthon from Bathory. He plays all […]
Boy have I been waiting for this one. Ever since these Russians dropped the killer video for “Protonemesis” over a year ago. I’ve been salivating for this release, as it’s been 10 years since Serial Urbicide and the new song showed a bit of a direction shift into a more ambitious form of slam with […]
When tech metallers The Eating Cave named their second album The Miscalculation, it makes me think they are talking about something specific. Of course they must be talking about the botched rhythm method that led to my unfortunate spawning. Just ask my parents. Anyway, this band has so much potential. As a big fan of […]
One look at the Realms of Chaos/War Master Era Bolt Thrower-inspired logo from the multinational (mostly Germany, Iceland, USA) act, Extermination Order, and you know exactly what you are getting with the 5 songs on the war themed EP, The Siege of Ascalon. Throw in the fact that 2/3 of the German contingent of Extermination Order […]
“While we all have lots of bands who influence still… we all rip off Meshuggah.” -Devin Townsend I mention this quote because, despite my opinion of them (I do not much like them, kind sir), their influence and impact on modern heavy metal cannot be overstated. This is not to say Entheos has or ever […]
In 1994, I was a twenty something working at Best Buy. We had received a copy of the Emperor/Enslaved massive split Hordanes Land and it caught my eye. I had no clue what Black Metal was, had never heard of the genre at all. Of course, Emperor comes first, and those four tracks alone had […]
Seattle’s Exist in Ruin is a symphonic black/death metal brainchild of one ‘Teren’, who plays guitar and bass and does the drum programming. But for the project’s debut EP (released digitally earlier this summer, but picked up by Italy’s Wormholedeath to re-release) he has a host of guest and session musicians helping him out: Jonah […]
Death/doom is my wheelhouse. This year at MDF, I was finally able to see one of my favorite bands, November’s Doom. During the middle of the day, no less. That was a bucket list item. So, when a band of which I have never heard lists them as influenced by, or for fans of, well, […]