I should not like Sleep Token..  Thanks to my bastid friend, Graham (Deepsend Records), who recently sent me this band to check out as he had recently started to like this band.  He actually told me, “Frank, you’re probably not going to like this”.  Not only did I love this new album, Even In Arcadia […]

I knew nothing about Bavaria’s Drudensang. But the promo is listed ‘for fans of  Lunar Aurora, Abigor, Katharsis, Ascension, Nagelfar‘. And the band is comprised of current and former members of Mavorim, Atronos, Aphelium Aeternum and Belphegor. Im in. So Drudensang (loosely meaning ‘witch wail’ or ‘witch chant’), and Geysterzvvang (‘dark compulsion’) is a 6-song EP, […]

Face Yourself is finally signed to a label, having released three prior EPs. Now, their fourth one, Martyr, drops on Sumerian Records.  I have dubbed this deathcore act the ‘EP band’ and have reviewed a bunch of their prior releases. They really caused a stir with that debut s/t EP and the last song “Grosse […]

Listen, usually I spend the first part of my reviews wasting your time with introductory bullshit, back story, anecdotes, and general filler. Not for this one. Arizona’s Kardashev (named after a Russian astrophysicist who developed a theory for measuring a civilization’s level of technological advancement) is one on the most engaging and entralling new acts […]

Think about the last good Sword and Sandal movie, or game; it doesn’t matter when, just that you’ve ever seen one. For me, I think of Conan the Barbarian, Clash of the Titans; you get the idea. Elvenking live in a land of fantasy, where women randomly rise out of cobalt blue waters and dragons […]

After reforming after 18 years in 2020 and releasing one of the best reunion albums of recent memory with Cosmic World Mother, Finland’s enigmatic and genre-shifting…And Oceans wasted little time in releasing the follow-up, As In Gardens, So In Tombs, a mere 2 years later. And as I said in my review of As In […]

Welp, I had literally forgotten about Italy’s slamtastic drum machined Vulvectomy!  With three albums already under their belt, the last one being 12 years ago, I just kinda figured they packed up their slam sammiches and boogied on outta here.  Main man Mario Di Giambattista is still kicking it with his guitars and programmed drums, […]

This spring/summer, two mid-era Behemoth-inspired acts will be vying for your attention: the always reliable Hate, and this French death metal act and their third album, although I have not heard the first two self-released albums. But Transcending Obscurity saw enough to sign them, and that label usually does not miss. And they certainly have […]

Coming out of the French Alps on black sleds of vengeance is Aldaaron, waving a banner dripping blood and blasting album number five,e Par-delà les cimes (Above and Beyond the Summits). After the marvelous Majestic Heights, Melancholic Depths back in 2023, they (presumably) started working on Par-delà les cimes. The result is a bombastic triumph […]

Ghost Bath hath returned with Rose Thorn Necklace, which is my second favorite type. They went hard this time on those DSBM vocals, as the torture, not quite Silencer-level shrieks, can be heard throughout the first real track, “Rose Thorn Necklace.” What stands out immediately is the production, highlighting the guitars, front and center. It’s […]

Avast ye salty dogs, I have a tale to tell ya! It’s about a band of hearty fucking pirates, who have returned after an eight-fucking year hiatus! Must be nice, aye?! At any rate, ye can forget about Alestorm (even though they’re still technically Pirate Metal, they sound more like Party/Bro Metal at this point.) […]

I love gore. Not real gore, mind you; movie gore. The scene from Gates to Hell when the woman vomits her intestines, you know that sort of thing. Haemorrhage hail from beautiful Spain and they love gore as well, they also love Carcass and it’s evident on this five tracker. It’s not just Carcass, though. […]

My bud Alex, the owner of Dolorem Records, has sent me yet another promo for one of his bands, and this time it’s Supreme Void, a Polish death metal band playing a dissonant style of extreme music.  Fans of Ulcerate, Immolation, and Gorguts take heed of this bad boy. “Remnants of Hope” opens this six-song […]

I knew absolutely nothing about Toronto trio A Flock Named Murder or their label, Hypaethral Records, other than they play post/atmospheric black metal, which has kind of been my jam lately, so I randomly grabbed the promo. Then, because I’m a goddamn professional (sometimes) I actually did some research on the band, only to find […]

Sweden’s Wombbath experienced quite a resurgence when they came back into the fold in 2014 and a year later released Downfall Rising, their long overdue sophomore release to their classic 1993 debut Internal Caustic Torments. I reviewed Downfall Rising on this very site of ours, too.  Since then, they have released four other albums and […]

Personally, I feel like we are in a new golden era of metalcore/deathcore/death metal female vocalists. Sure, the path was forged by the likes of Dawn Crosby (Fear of God), Karen Crisis (Crisis), Angela Gossow (Arch Enemy), Krista Curry (Landmine Marathon), Laura Nichol and Grace Perry (Light This City), Maria Kolokouri (Astarte), Courtney LaPlante (Iwrestledabearonce […]

Who said that Switzerland was only known for Celtic Frost, Coroner, and Swiss Cheese?  Enter in Pusboil, who in 2022 crafted a real heavy demo and their debut album in 2023, Ancient Stories of Suffering and Disease, expanded on that full scope. The band has brutal influences ranging from Sanguisugabogg, Undergang, and Cephalotripsy.  Indictment is […]

I’m sure everyone reading this remembers the scene from the first Faces of Death where the ‘blood cult’ eats the dead body, right? Okay, so keep that image in your head and then go listen to Profanatica’s new album Wreathed in Dead Angels. Maybe playing the two together will result in some sort of evil […]

Back in 2022, these French maniacs, formerly known as Herpes, dropped their excellent debut, Blood Red Tentacle. A fine Swedeath album with a foul reek of Autopsy that reminded me of the short-lived super group Murder Squad. And with their second effort, not much has changed. If anything, the stench of Autopsy is even thicker […]

Black metal is about the atmosphere it creates. There’s even a sub-genre dubbed atmospheric black metal. It’s very difficult to do well, and for some reason, it’s immediately apparent when a band isn’t serious about it or isn’t “kvlt.” You just can’t replicate what was going on in Norway in the early 90s, and it’s […]

DOWN: Legendary Heavy Metal Supergroup Signs To Nuclear Blast Records; New Music To See Release Next Year! Photo by Metal Dave Media Legendary heavy metal supergroup DOWN – featuring vocalist Philip H. Anselmo, guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein, drummer Jimmy Bower, and bassist Pat Bruders – is pleased to announce their official signing with Nuclear Blast […]

BEAST IN BLACK and Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo® Join Forces to release new track ‘Enter The Behelit’ to mark Berserk Crossover Today marks the epic convergence of three cultural titans: Diablo®, the critically acclaimed franchise that defined the Action RPG genre; acclaimed manga, Berserk; and Finnish heavy metal band, BEAST IN BLACK, who have collaborated to launch an exclusive track ‘Enter The […]

I was drawn to the debut album from Belgium’s Coffin Feeder by the album cover featuring some awesomely iconic 80s movie and TV characters from the likes of  Cobra, Commando, Predator, They Live, Gremlins, The Running Man, Total Recall, Big Trouble in Little China, He -Man, GI Joe and others all who seem to be […]

My fall down the Tech-Death rabbit hole continues. It’s been a wild ride, and it seems to have no end because another killer band has come across my radar. They are called Changeling, and this is a new project from Tom “Fountainhead” Geldschläger. Most recently he wrote  “Weltseelee”, the 15-minute epic that he composed for […]

Polish death metal duo Dormant Ordeal has been around since 2008, and has three prior albums under their belt, but they are a new act to me and newly signed to Willowtip for their 4th album. Much like fellow Poles Redemptor or Trauma, Dormant Ordeal plays a form of distinctly Polish death metal with traceable […]