After 2024s Hunger album, one of the best in the blackened deathcore genre of that year, there was a considerable shake-up in the Worm Shepherd camp, who were already functioning in a reduced capacity as a duo and some guests. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but original vocalist Duane Duarte was let go […]

Have you ever wondered how a combination of metalcore, Slipknot, and the nu metal stylings of Taproot would sound while recorded in a garbage can? Me neither. No disrespect to either of those bands (I have seen Taproot a few times and would again), but some musical stylings don’t work well and at times sound […]

There used to be a restaurant chain here in the States called Steak and Ale. They served traditional American food, a staple of the menu being meat and potatoes. No, this isn’t a review for A La Carte, it’s for Rogga Johansson and his main band Paganizer; I say ‘main’ because dude has a few […]

I can’t say I’m too versed in the Austrian Sludge/Doom scene, but the internet tells me that Axis Mundi is the third album from this Austrian trio, who are not in any other projects. Either way, I’m kinda digging this. Occasionally, I need a break from deathcore and symphonic black metal, and a couple of […]

Giorgio’s Everlasting Spew Records has a bunch of quality death metal acts on its roster. A few years ago, Brazil’s Fossilization came into fruition and since then have released an EP, in 2021, He Whose Name Was Long Forgotten, and their debut album, in 2023, Leprous Daylight. There have been some line-up shifts since the […]

Okay, so think about your favorite Dimmu Borgir album- for me it’s Enthrone Darkness Triumphant; okay, now think of your favorite Cradle of Filth record- mine is Dusk and Her Embrace. The Great Elven War, however, is the best album neither of those bands ever made. This is an album that could’ve come out between […]

Watch NEVERMORE’s Documentary HERE! Legendary heavy metal powerhouse NEVERMORE have signed with Reigning Phoenix Music. The band also welcomes to the line-up Jack Cattoi on guitar, Semir Özerkan on bass, and new vocalist Berzan Önen. To showcase the new lineup, NEVERMORE’s first live appearance will take place on April 1st, 2026, in Istanbul, Turkey. On this […]

There’s rarely anything more satisfying than hearing a band come fully into its own – whose work you’ve enjoyed and admired for years, but for one reason or another, it seemed never quite put all the pieces together in the right order to make it a complete, fully-realized project.  Of course, any band or artist’s […]

Some bands are subtle in their chosen influences; some wear their influences on their sleeves. Australian trio Graves For Gods, have their influences carved into their fucking chest and mope around topless for the whole world to see. Their influence? The Peaville doom trinity: My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, and Anathema– of course, classic/versions of […]

Void Monuments hail from Russia, and after a brief hiatus, a few years back, reformed in 2024 and released the Temples of Pestilence demo. Armed with their debut album, Posthumous Imprecation, they are ready to take things to the next level. The band is listed as a blackened death metal band, but honestly, I don’t […]

Though they have been pretty heavy on the deathcore of late (Lorna Shore, Mental Cruelty, Signs of the Swarm, Distant, Ov Sulphur, Vomit Forth, etc.), Century Media still has actually also done a pretty good job of finding some excellent death metal on their roster, too. There is, of course, Sanguisugabogg, but also  Blood Incantation, Frozen […]

I’m not familiar with Hungary’s Symphonic/Epic/Gothic Melodic death metal troupe Meteora, but I’m always up for some symphonic stuff, and I do have a soft spot for the classic ‘beauty and the beast’ dual female vocal styled stuff (Nightwish, Epica, Leaves Eyes, Tristania, Love History, Thalarion, Draconian, etc). With 4 albums under their belt, you’d […]

2025 was quite the year for metalcore, with many stalwarts such as Bleeding Through, Employed to Serve, and Killswitch Engage releasing new albums. This gateway sub-genre never goes away, but to say that it can become stale is an understatement. 2026 could very well be a banner year again if my inbox full of metalcore […]

Guess what? It’s officially 2026! Yay, right? Whether you like it or not, time is marching on, and whining about it won’t make it stop… just thinking of the new music to be released this year gives me a small bit of hope for the future. Sunday morning finds me jamming the new album from […]

So, like Sigh’s I Saw the World End-Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV, here is another favorite album of mine from the 2000’s, this time it’s Rotting Christ‘s Aealo from 2010, getting a whole new recording and release. I never covered the original here, as I covered it for a different webzine at the time, but it made […]

17 friggin’ albums. More hits than misses in the Megadeth discography. Megadeth is the final album by Dave Mustaine, the sole remaining original member. Throughout his career, he’s rarely had a consistent line-up, and I liken him to Chuck Schuldiner (RIP) from Death. With the ever-changing live and full-time musicians. However, both individuals knew how […]

Game of Thrones fans will recognize the moniker of this new-ish New York based black metal band that features members of bands like Hollow Voice and Nascentum (neither of which I’m familiar with). And you have to respect the fact that they are leaning into the Game of Thrones thing on their new EP. 6 […]

Stranguliatorius have taken me by surprise and were never previously on my radar. Hailing from the far reaches of Lithuania Flies Don’t Lie is their fourth album, and the band has been around since 2010. The band name almost had me thinking some ancient dinosaur from times past, and honesty I did not know what […]

I have had the promo for the debut album from this California-based symphonic black metal act for a few months now, and it continues the strong 2025 that the genre had, with a fine early entry in 2026. Formed by members of some acts I have not heard of like Mortal Filth, Wartroll amd Horrorborn, […]

I first heard Eximperitus back in 2016 when they released their full-length Prajecyrujučy sinhuliarnaje wypramieńwańnie Daktryny Absaliutnaha j Usiopahłynaĺnaha Zła skroź šaścihrannuju pryzmu Sîn-Ahhī-Erība na hipierpawierchniu zadyjakaĺnaha kaŭčęha zasnawaĺnikaŭ kosmatęchničnaha ordęna palieakantakta, najstaražytnyja ipastasi dawosiewych cywilizacyj prywodziać u ruch ręzanansny transfarmatar časowapadobnaj biaskoncaści budučyni u ćwiardyniach absierwatoryi Nwn-Hu-Kek-Amo (that’s the album title and yes I […]

Germany’s best thrash metal band, Kreator, return with their 16th full-length album, Krushers of the World. When we look at the Big 4, regardless of your thoughts, it is based on album sales and overall popularity relating to tours,etc.., and they are rightfully: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. When looking at what the second Big […]

If this EP had been released just a day later, it would be a 2026 release, too bad it was not delayed until a few days into 2026. TerrorVerse is a brand new technical brutal death metal band hailing from Houston, Texas, and this little ditty of an EP is exactly what the doctor ordered. […]

2024s Black Metal Cult was a perfect slab of French Black Metal from Meyhnach’s Mütiilation, and it was my first time covering one of the long-standing powerhouses of French Black Metal. Pandemonium of Egregores is the more melodic follow-up to that church-burning masterpiece, and it’s a certified crusher. Five tracks in 32:05 is just long […]

Well, that didn’t take long for 2026 to drop an early contender for an album that will be on my 2026 year-end list! Upiór (a Polish word meaning ‘Revenant’) is a newish project formed by Tomasz “Josh” Jaskuła, based out of France, and he has some fairly notable folks helping out, including Ben B on […]

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