When calculating all of Sodom’s albums, The Arsonist, comes in at album #18, even with their covers albums, etc.. The long-running Teutonic German thrash metal band has had some clunkers along the way; however, Genesis XIX, from 2020, their last original full-length, showcased the band on fire ,especially with incorporating blast beats and showing a […]

The influence of England’s Bolt Thrower is vast and far-reaching. The band’s paying homage and straight-up clones are endless. From Indonesia’s Humiliation, Germany’s Scaplture , France’s Infern, Canada’s World Eaters, Australia’s Domination Campaign, and of course England’s own tribute band Memoriam, the list goes on and on. Well, here is another one. A solid one […]

I reviewed the recent Dawn of Ouroboros album, mentioned Fallujah, and so this is perhaps a full-circle moment. I must, however, admit that I am one of those who enjoyed the early recordings, aka The Harvest Wombs, and feel as though the band hasn’t topped it. The rest of the recordings were frequently plagued with […]

Jazzy Tech-Death, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… Quadvium (if you didn’t know already) is a project of Steve Di Giorgio (Testament, Death) and Jeroen Paul Thesseling (Obscura, Pestilence). They grabbed a guitar player along the way and a drummer: Yuma van Eekelen (Our Oceans, Pestilence) and Eve (Myth Of I, […]

Florida’s Heavy/Power metal band, Helms Deep, has released their second album, Chasing the Dragon. This is the follow-up to their excellent 2023 debut Treacherous Ways. For those thinking…Hmmmm I know where I have heard this band name before. Well if you are a Tolkien fan then you will remember it is an epic battle in […]

Re-recordings are a bit of an issue for me. On one side, sometimes replacing a bad production is a necessity; sometimes it’s not really warranted. And sometimes, a classic just needs a fresh lick of paint. There’s a little of all of the above going on here as Mirai Kawashima has decided to completely re-record […]

Sargeist is one of the foundations of the Finnish Black Metal scene, a deadly force of Satanic wrath. They, along with Horna (Shatraug is associated with both Cult entities) and the unholy Behexen, form this Black Metal pyramid, a diabolical trinity if you will. Flame Within Flame is their sixth full-length following 2018’s Unbound, and […]

Long-running UK thrashers, Onslaught, are now armed with a new label, and the first release for the new label is this 2 disc set. The first disc is the band redoing 10 songs from their first three albums, due to how the band plays them live today. The second disc is the band covering many […]

I have a process when I look for new Metal when promos drop: find the weirdest sounding shit possible. So if I see that a band is featuring banjos, a cellist, and a keyboardist… I’m fucking sold. Such is the case with New York’s Weeping Sores and their blistering 2nd album, The Convalescence Agonies. It’s […]

I’m not going to say anything corny about one of my favorite metal bands Byzantine, being back in… You know. It’s been eight years since The Cicada Tree, which makes me think more of mortality and the passage of time than I would care to admit, so the implied above phrase would be appropriate. However, this is […]

Can someone explain to me how Shadow of Intent is unsigned? Especially considering the absolute proliferation of the symphonic/blackened deathcore genre of late? Are the band members complete dicks? Are they independently wealthy? Do they hate labels? Imperium Delirium is the band’s 5th self-released effort, their third after dropping the Halo video game-inspired themes from […]

I’ve been trying to review this album for weeks now. Things kept getting in my way, however, and so now I’m able to sit down and put thoughts to page about this album that stands before me. I’m talking about French/Japanese depressive black metal duo, Enterré Vivant, and their heart-wrenching third album Azukï, from enigmatic […]

Damonacy was a short-lived death metal band from New Jersey, and after a few short years from 1988-1990, they split. They did record a song, “Expectations”, in 1994 for a compilation that never was released. I can’t quite remember, but I may have seen them live during their active years. I saw multiple shows weekly […]

Battlespells, the second album from this Finnish duo, named after a Vlad Tepes song, was one of the more authentic 90s styled black metal albums of recent memory, up there with releases from Northwind Wolves, Mist From the Mountains, Pestilent Hex, and I Am The Night over the last few years. And even with a […]

Perhaps I can be forgiven for being incredibly late on turning in this review. We’re all ‘Human‘, right? Regardless of your penchant for mercy, Gruesome is back with their familiar take on ‘Death‘ Metal. I had to get my puns out of the way quickly before talking about the music, but the question begs, do we […]

Judging art is, by it’s very nature, a subjective endeavor. Anyone who says they can look at any work, no matter the medium, on a purely objective basis is either A) a liar, or B) someone you probably don’t wanna find yourself stuck in a conversation with at a dinner party. Art should not be […]

Occasionally, an album will hit me with such force that I’m compelled (not by the power of Christ) to put finger to keyboard and rave about it. This is the case with Trivax and their revival of violence on The Great Satan (directed at the Ayatollah Khomeini, who is depicted on the cover as Satan). […]

I keep waiting for the Blackened/Symphonic deathcore movement to burn out, but nope, it appears 2025 is going to be an even better year than 2020 and 2025. Of course, the 800 lb gorilla in the room will be the forthcoming album from Lorna Shore, and then a 600 lb gorilla with Shadow of Intent. […]

I’m going to admit that I didn’t like Midnight at first. I don’t know why they play this DIY style of Punk, Death Metal, and old school Thrash. Stuff I like and by this point they’re pretty fucking good at it. Athenar is a workhorse, putting out a slew of singles, splits, compilations, even a […]

Do you miss early/mid-00s ‘Myspace’ deathcore? Still jamming All Shall Perish, As Blood Runs Black, Embrace the End, The Red Chord, Salt the Wound, Knights of the Abyss, Animosity, The Number 12 Looks Like You, Rose Funeral, My Bitter End, and Dead to Fall? Well, Im right there with you- that era was my mutha-fucking […]

Canada’s most extreme metal band, Cryptopsy returns with their 9th full-length album, An Insatiable Violence.  I have been a fan since the very early days.  When I joined Internal Bleeding in 1994, Cryptopsy were just gaining steam, and we played a string of shows together with them in Canada and some fests here in the […]

The question I get asked the most: “How the hell did you get in here?” The second most asked, “Are you going to clean that up?” Somewhere in those questions, though, is “Do you have any new music to recommend?” For that one, I always have an answer. That’s where Death Rattle comes in. I’m […]

I’ll admit to knowing next to nothing about Indonesia. I know that it’s beautiful (I’ve seen pictures and I love their action movies, so I’m sort of an expert) but I’m not here to talk about traveling, I’m here to talk about the proud and savage Jakarta natives, Tombstone. Coming in hot as a meteor […]

I have been a fan of Germany’s Deserted Fear and their brand of European-inspired melodic death metal since their great 2012 debut album – My Empire.  Their killer second album in 2014, Kingdom of Worms, is still my favorite by them.  Veins of Fire is their sixth album, and their last three albums have all […]

Deathcore duo Larcenia Roe got the deathcore scene’s attention back in 2023, with their self-titled EP, Dereliction. Especially the vocals of Ryan Vail, who made Lorna Shore‘s Will Ramos look like Hansi Kürsch. And indeed, there were immediate comparisons to Lorna Shore. However, Larcenia Roe‘s sound is much more of a grimier, beat down, and […]