I am unsure if the death metal world was clamoring for a reformation and subsequent new album from defunct NY death/doom metal act, Sorrow, who broke up in 1993 but here are some historical references about my connection to the band, or their other projects; The band started in the late 80’s under the name […]
California’s The Zenith Passage returns with their second full-length album Datalysium. It has been seven years since their debut album Solipist was released. I was very much impressed with their debut full-length. These guys have an incredibly progressive and mechanical approach to technical death metal. This is the second metal blade album I have heard […]
This is a great metalcore album. More than that, it’s just a great album regardless of genre. I hadn’t listened to Death Ray Vision’s last one, but enjoyed the first mainly because I’ll listen to pretty much anything in which these metalcore masters are involved. Add Brian Fair of Shadows Fall and you have me. […]
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 […]
Is this déjà vu? I think it may. Six years ago Hammerheart Records reissued these Pestilence albums in deluxe 2 cd slipcases. The bonus content was fabulous and not only did I buy all of these, I purchased an album cover shirt for each of them. I even did some reviews on Teeth of the […]
It’s been 6 years since India’s Gutslit punched me in the face repeatedly for their second effort, Amputheatre, and let the world know they were clearly one of the top, if not the top brutal death metal bands from the county, if not the region. The line up that unleashed Amputheatre is largely intact, except […]
Once upon a time in Olsztyn, Warmia-Masuria 2017 a band was formed by multi-instrumentalist Lasota and thus Varmia was born. Named assumingly because of the historical region of the same name in Northern Poland. I reviewed their fantastic EP Prolog here and my reaction to that album was you, constant reader, need to hear this. […]
This summer, two major deathcore heavyweights will be vying for your attention. On one hand, is Signs of the Swarm and the subtly evolved and technical Amongst the Low & Empty. A still brutal, but intricate, deft evolution of modern Deathcore. On the other hand, is the pure fucking beatdown of Colorado’s Crown Magnetar and […]
It almost seems silly to type the phrase “old-school deathcore.” It means bands such as All Shall Perish, Despised Icon, and Suicide Silence, at least in my view. I’m sure it means something different to others. Nowadays, with the awareness to know I am sounding like an old man yelling at clouds, it’s symphonic deathcore […]
Back in the 80’s a little known Brazilian act called Sepultura, set out to conquer the metal world, but their early recordings were a tough listen for many. Their 1985 ep Bestial Devastation and debut album a year later Morbid Visions, caused underground waves throughout the death metal scene. Chuck Schuldiner, from Death, wearing Sepultura […]
I reviewed Ghost’s several albums and I thought Impera was incredible. The band has always had a penchant for doing cover songs and really is quite good at it. Whereas many bands will like to do exact covers of the original song I appreciate when a band takes the time to make it their own […]
Listen, I’ll make this short because frankly listening to Hate Manifesto‘s ΑΠΟΣΤΑΤΗΣ (‘Apostate’) gives me a headache, and I want to get this review knocked out ASAP. As much as I love being enveloped by swathes of orchestral and symphonic elements in my metal, sometimes a good no-frills, solid kick in the teeth gets me […]
I’ve been in a strange mood lately; life has gotten tense in recent weeks, and I’ve been looking for an album to help me release that tension and wouldn’t you know it… this wonderful slab of Existential Black Metal and second full-length from one man maestro Devi Hisgen. The history books of Heavy Metal are […]
When your promotional materials boldy claim that your album is the ‘Best Swedish death metal of 2023”, you’ve got some balls on you, that’s for sure. But you certainly got my attention. The thing is…… the claim might be right. Even with some hefty competition from the likes of Wretched Fate, Iron Flesh, Angerot, Coffin […]
Anyone who’s paid any attention to the world of metal music in the last two years probably needs no introduction to Blackbraid at this point which, in and of itself, is pretty astounding. In fact, we’re not even a full two years removed from Sgah’gahsowáh (AKA Jon Krieger) unleashing the one-man project’s first two blistering […]
As I stated in my review of Drama Noir‘s Night Fall Upon the Asylum review earlier this week, there are two symphonic black metal releases vying for my attention right now. And while the aptly named Drama Noir delivered a solid, bombastic symphonic black metal album, in the vein of Dimmu Borgir and such, Swedens […]
Somewhere twixt Englishmen throwing some bolts (one in this band in fact) and good old red-blooded ‘Mericans getting Butchered at Birth in the Florida Foreverglade(s) lies DeathCollector. What I’m tellin’ ya, son is that they’re true death metal, ya bastards! They don’t take long to show you and they keep it simple. Meat and potatoes […]
Canada’s favorite metal Warriors of Ice, Voivod, return with what should be their 16th album, but it’s actually re-recording of songs throughout their 40+ years of existence. I am not a tremendous fan of bands re-recording their classic albums, but going back to re-record select songs, from a band’s discography, I am more apt to […]
So two solid classic-sounding symphonic black metal albums have got my attention this summer. First the debut of Sweden’s Avdagata, The Faceless One, and Nightfall Upon the Asylum, the third album from Greece’s Drama Noir. While slightly different approaches, Drama Noir, bad moniker aside, is a solid, pure, mid-era (the classic three-word albums) Dimmu Borgir-and […]
OK so, I guess let’s get the confusing stuff out of the way first, yeah? Vorder is the current iteration of a Swedish Doom/Sludge/Progressive band many of you might have known as V, but with a bit of a new lineup consisting of former Katatonia, In Mourning and Disrupted drummer and current Grand Cadaver drummer Daniel Liljeqvist on, uh, […]
I love head-banging. It is a great feeling to release pent-up energy at a Metal show, the crowd is into the experience; each head is like those fucking drinking birds you can get at the novelty store. Unfortunately for me, my head-banging days are pretty much over. I just kind of shake my head like […]
When I first heard rumors of Texas’s Creeping Death a few years ago, I stupidly assumed they were just a Metallica tribute band and disregarded them. Then as I heard more and more, and they got signed to a ‘big’ label, I assumed they were simply yet another Bolt Thrower worship band, as is the […]
Ocean of Grief is a melodic doom death metal band hailing from Greece and I have sat on this release for a bit before reviewing it for a number of reasons. I love doom-death metal and some bands embrace the sorrow, depression and lonely atmospheres more than others. Sometimes when these types of emotions are […]
If you’re not familiar with The Bleeding, well that’s a shame. Their previous two are quite good, but their new album Monokrator, is their pinnacle. Death thrash is best when it’s played with a sense of urgency, and they do that here. It’s almost like they stole a bunch of classified documents, stored them in […]