I like tradition in my metal, just like everything else. In my shaving (dry shave only), my food (well done steak with ketchup only, please), and of course sex (missionary only-no eye contact ever, for reproduction purposes only). While none of that’s true, it’s also not true when it comes to my metal. However, I […]

Poland’s Azarath return with their 7th full length album, Saint Desecration.   Founded by Inferno, drummer of the mighty Behemoth.  Azarath play a fun style of black death similar to the likes of Krisiun, Immolation, and also country mates Hate.   Things open up with “Death, At Will” which starts with a nice clean guitar part before […]

Like a dildo to the face when entering a Christian bookstore, last year’s The Grand Descent took me by surprise. I happened to pick it up on a whim, expecting something much different than what that cover art would suggest. I’m glad I did… and I’m glad they have a new release this year. Unfortunately […]

The Rise of Heresy ep has been released by three different labels.  Blood Blast Distro for the cd in October, then Metalized Distro with the cd and a patch and now Repulsive Echo Records for the cassette.  Since Kostas Vaxevanos, Repulsive Echo Records owner, is a friend of mine amd is now putting the release […]

At face value, Finland’s Worthless play Swedish styled death metal. They have HM 2 sounding guitars (though not overbearing), gruff, rough vocals and cantankerous, galloping riffs. But if you take a deeper dive (and take into account the band moniker and album title) in the band’s second full length, you get a little more nuanced […]

I have not heard Germany’s Dehuman Reign since I reviewed their debut EP, Destructive Intent, back in 2013. They released an album Ascending From Below back in 2016, but based on album number 3, not much has changed since the EP, as this is stout American death metal for fans of Cannibal Corpse, Monstrosity and […]

Finland’s new act Proscription’s debut album Conduit is some pretty evil and heavy music.  I am a big fan of guitarist/vocalist Christbutcher’s Excommunion as well as his past band – Maveth who were incredible.  I interviewed Christbutcher for allabouttherock.uk some years ago when Maveth were active, since he was born and raised in America and […]

Here’s the deal. As I write to you, I’m fucking stressed. Aside from some of the normal holiday season bullshit, I’m also currently facing a reality where, due to a whole goddamn mess of circumstances, there’s a very strong chance I’m going to be working out of my car every other week for the foreseeable […]

Chalk up another winner from the Cruz del Sur Music record label.  Witch Hazel was a band from 2007-2020, but now a new band has been formed called SpellBook.  Hailing from Pennsylvania Spellbook play an earlier form of Heavy Metal mixed in with NWOBHM and some slight power metal elements.  Think: Blue Oyster Cult/early Maiden/Priest/Rainbow/Angelwitch […]

Listen, I fully understand the hate for Hatebreed. Past their influential debut, they have been responsible for popularizing ‘hardcore’ and making it more commercial, and putting it in malls and on MTV. But there is no denying their chest-beating anthemic take on ‘bro-core’ has been the rallying cry for a generation and more than likely […]

Ho hum, another Rogga Johansson project… what’s that, 246 bands now? Though to be fair, of his many many bands, I find Revolting to be one of his better efforts, especially the 3 album run of The Terror Threshold,  In Grisly Rapture and Hymns of Ghastly Horror. The last of which, was the last Revolting […]

Oreamnos (a kind of goat apparently?) is the new project from former partners in New York’s Weverin,  Matt Schott (also from Valdur and Sxuperion) on drums and vocals, and Sam ‘the harp’ on guitar and bass. And while I have not heard any of Weverin’s considerably obscure discography, I am somewhat familiar with the Valdur […]

Is Kristoffer Göbel really tall? This is the second full length from his project called Six Foot Six and I am going to assume it is some sort of height reference. Perhaps he and I can tour sometime with my project the Five Foot Six Project (not a thing). This is the second album from […]

It’s inevitable. At some point you will (listen up you little shits), YOU WILL get to the point where you look down at “kids today” with absolute puzzlement and dismay. It’s just a part of life. There will come the time when you’re just totally beyond the point of comprehending youth culture, and you WILL […]

Long running German death metal act Profanity return with their fourth album – Fragments of Solace, which is 7 songs in 41 minutes guaranteed to rip your head off, slam it against the concrete then shove it through the Earth’s core exploding it in the process.  I have seen the band logo for years, but […]

It’s been a weird year for everyone, but a good one for Soilwork fans. If you’ve been following the band on social media, you’ve enjoyed a steady drip of new tracks/videos throughout 2020: “Desperado,” “Feverish,” “Death Dealer,” and “The Nothingness and the Devil.” (There was also a new Night Flight Orchestra album back in February, […]

Ohio’s Redefining Darkness Records is turning into a solid little US-based death metal label with some really good releases and bands under their belt. They have also unleashed some impressive Swedish death styled metal gems such as Angerot, Tombstoner, In Shadows and Dust, Wretched Fate, Pyre Wombripper and Sentient Horror. Well, add Tampa Bay’s Carnal […]

I rather enjoyed the debut from Israel’s Scardust, The Sands of Time.  It was a more progressive, Dream Theater tinged, complex take on the standard Delain/Epica style of female-fronted symphonic metal. It was highlighted by guitarist Yadin Moyal, vocalist Noa Gruman and young keyboardist/orchestral arranger, Alex Nichola. And once again on another concept/story themed metal […]

Comprised of members from underground bands, Fetid, MORTIFERUM, Cerebral Rot, and Magrudergrind, Caustic Wound dropped their Death Posture debut earlier in the year, with punishing impact. Cultivating an authentically, pretension-free formula of old school grime and mud caked deathgrind, Caustic Wound keep it real and serve up a compelling album of barbaric, unvarnished brutality. Performed […]

Sometimes, timing is everything. A song, an album, even a single melody, given the right circumstances or moment in time, can leave an indelible mark on your life. Nearly a year ago, such an album was added to a lifelong playlist of works that will forever hold a special place in my heart – Cattle […]

I’ve been a fan of this Australian band’s, ummm, depravity, since they released their full-length debut, Evil Upheaval back in 2018. They brought the brutality along with meaty riffs, pounding drums, and those deep death metal vocals. This style of brutal death metal doesn’t usually hit me, but when it does, it hits really hard. […]

Macabre has remained one of the most original and one of my favorite death metal bands for many years now.  Their second album, Sinister Slaughter, had been out for a short time and when I was with Internal Bleeding and touring in the 90’s I bought the cassette at one of the shows and let’s […]

Galloping guitars galore! If you’re a fan of Mors Principium Est (and alliteration), get those sweet buns in here and check out their new album. It’s exactly what you expect, but in some cases, like with pizza, that’s not a bad thing. If you didn’t know, Mors Principium Est deal in death. Melodic death, to […]

‘Tis the year 2020 – and the world, more than ever, needs a hero. From the depths of despair, uncertainty and great tyranny, rises a champion. An unflinching, uncompromising force of great power. An iron-willed warrior spurred on by mighty battle hymns of honor and glory, marching boldly into a sadistic hellscape without the burden […]

Angerot burst onto the scene in 2018 with a pretty damn killer debut The Splendid Iniquity which immediately put them in the category of Swedish inspired buzzsaw guitars, stylized death metal.  Take classic Entombed/ Dismember/ Grave and toss into a blender.  Angerot, also stood out and still stand out, in this overcrowded style of death […]