As the name might give away, For the Fallen is not happy-sunny-funtime music, and as such, should not be played at parties — unless, of course, the party is a funeral. Then it might be appropriate. France’s Mourning Dawn is the creator of this extreme exercise in depression and paranoia. It’s an unsettling slab of […]

Floridian extreme metallers ORDER OF ENNEAD have finished recording their second album. The band have set AN EXAMINATION OF BEING as the title for the new album. AN EXAMINATION OF BEING was recorded at Audio Hammer Studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Mark Lewis (TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA, ALL THAT REMAINS), who also produced ORDER OF ENNEAD’s […]

Earache Records is very proud to announce the signing of Canadian thrash metal pioneers ANNIHILATOR to a European deal. Since releasing their classic ALICE IN HELL debut in 1989, ANNIHILATOR has consistently played heads-down, no-frills metal, led by guitar virtuoso JEFF WATERS. Now, in 2009, Earache is proud to welcome one of the originators of […]

Hyadningar’s The Weak Creation has been on my review list for a while now, sitting idle among a few goregrind and old-school death metal CDs like an orphaned stepchild. I’m glad I decided to play it before the first decade of the new millennium closed. Here’s one black metal album from 2009 that deserves to […]

Primal and unadulterated hate is what fuels Slovenia’s Bleeding Fist, as is evident upon hearing Bestial Kruzifix666ion, which — spelling aside — is a most excellent release. The four purveyors of morbid sounds comprising Bleeding Fist (with evil/awesome names like Infernal Karburator and Krieg Maschine) trample listeners with earful after earful of satanic, raw black-death-thrash. […]

The Number Twelve Looks Like You Announce Split Farewell Show Scheduled for January 29  (December 14, 2009) – After nine years together and four studio albums released, New Jersey-based quartet The Number Twelve Looks Like You have decided to split up. Not content to go out quietly, the band has scheduled one last blowout farewell […]

You know when you burp and sometimes you ‘vurp? You know, that hot sour taste as what seems like beef stew rises up the back of your throat, into you mouth, and then you are forced to swallow back down its acidic, regurgitated goodness. You know the look on your face when you swallow it? […]

A lot of folks downplay GWAR, thinking of it as a relic from the mid ‘90s when Saddam A Go Go was worshiped on Beavis & Butt-Head. Granted, their efforts on CD haven’t always been up to their other antics. Despite some strong outputs, funny songs and appealing humor there has been quite a bit […]

After previous album Antares, I hoped that Sybreed would dwell onto try out new things and develop their sound even more. Seems like I’ve got my wish, as The Pulse of Awakening is definitely something new for the band, even if at its core the mechanical heart pulsates, spewing out industrialized metal in the vein […]

Death Came Through A Phantom Ship, the new album of Dutch symphonic black metal band CARACH ANGREN, will be released by Maddening Media on February 26th, 2010. The follow-up to their highly acclaimed 2008 debut “Lammendam” is a 9-song concept album, reporting a ghastly saga of naval terror and elemental fright. The cover-artwork, the song […]

Canada is hardly a hotbed for melodic death metal, but recently, with the likes of Muspellheim and now the debut from Montreal’s WarCall (formerly known as Plan B), things might be changing. Though only active for 2 years, this four-piece delivers a pretty solid if unspectacular and often hot/cold debut in Demonarchy. Nothing groundbreaking or […]

Unlike their label mates Call for Blood, Life As War only have one working gimmick for them, that being they are also of Swiss origin. However, the results on this EP are more succulent but, much too brief. Whereas Call for Blood focus on girth and bludgeoning you to death, Life as War are more […]

Since their beginnings in Venice, CA in the early ‘80s, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES have led the charge in the skate punk/thrash metal movement, consequently influencing an entire generation of bands along the way. Fontana Distribution is proud to announce Live At The Olympic Auditorium, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES’ first ever DVD release! The DVD will street January 26, […]

Like the deadly bacteria lying dormant at the bottom of your gut, Witchmaster sits and waits until the time is right for them to resurface in a choking, splattering, sickly mess that ruins your golf game or whatever the fuck else you had planned for the day. Their last grime-encrusted offering, a self-titled album released on Agonia Records, came out five years ago, and now the wait is over for Trucizna, a hellacious, gnashing beast that saw its US release in November courtesy of the invulnerable Ibex Moon Records. Axe-slinger and original member Kali talks about the new album, Polish extreme metal, and just not giving a fuck.

This came out of nowhere. I had no idea that Jesse Leach (the original Killswitch Engage vocalist) was still making music after Seemless, and it seems like the man has been at it hard because Awaken is a beast, and to be frank it puts the Killswitch effort this year in the shade. Even after […]

Disconcert Music has done a solid job of reissuing albums by the likes of Canopy, Agony, Stigmatized, Symbiontic, etc, and now they have added the 2007 self released debut from Canada’s Muspellheim, winners of the 2006 Long & McQuade Metal Fest (apparently judged by Gene Hoglan and Devin Townsend). Boasting a razor sharp production and […]

Italian horror-themed deathcore act STIGMA recently entered Fear Studio to record the band’s followup to 2008’s “When Midnight Strikes!”, due out next year via Pivotal Rockordings. The album, which is being produced by BRING ME THE HORIZON guitarist Jona Weinhofen, will be mixed by Scott Atkins (BEHEMOTH, CRADLE OF FILTH, SYLOSIS, GAMMA BOMB) and will […]

You can think of France’s Merrimack as a slightly known kult band because of their fifteen year existence and minimal output, or as a reborn band finding their voice only about five years back. All three of their full length studio recordings have come since 2002 and it is a safe bet most listeners only […]

Shall we get the gimmicks out the way? Call for Blood are a beatdown mob from Switzerland, and they have a girl singing, I know it’s unusual, but there you go, now down to business. Their self titled debut  EP for Conatus (who formerly released records by Unholy Matrimony and Weeping Birth) is blunt and […]

Quebec City’s Aeternam is gearing up to finally release their hotly anticipated debut album on February 16th, 2010! Disciples Of The Unseen is a 10 track foray into an atmospheric, aggressive, melodic and Egyptian-tinged death metal. The album was produced by mastermind JeF Fortin (Neuraxis, The Last Felony) and is for fans of Nile, Melechesh, […]

KRUGER are pretty proud to unveil the artwork of their upcoming effort “For death, glory and the end of the world”, scheduled for mid-february, 2010 – connoisseurs and art students will unmask the shameful theft of Jérôme Bosch’ “Jardin des délices”, which fits the heaviness epic character of this new piece pretty well. In other […]

I dug the debut self released demo from this Portland metal act, and on their 6 song follow up, they have shown lots of improvement to their modern take on metal that includes lots of sweeping, epic synths, breakdowns and dual melody laden metalcore. Admittedly, this music is for a pretty niche group, but for […]

After two albums on At A Loss Recordings, the former Cavity and –16-duo jump to Southern Lord Recordings for album number three, and despite the label change, Chronomega picks up exactly where Bestial and Feather and Stone left off: gritty, crumbling sludge metal with a dash of discordance that comes across like a nastier, more […]

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – Swedish progressive metal titan, Katatonia, has announced dates for a headlining European run, to kick off this spring. The “New Night Over Europe” tour will begin in Germany on March 3rd, and will hit over 30 cities, spanning across 14 countries, before wrapping up in early April. More details will be released […]

I’ll admit I am a Protest the Hero fanboy. I love both Kezia and Fortress and having met and interviewed the band after a local live show, I found a new appreciation for them, not just as a band, but as a pretty cool group of kids. That all being said, I wasn’t sure about […]