To say I am a fan of Black Crown Initiate would probably be an understatement. They were originally scheduled to play a small craft beer festival I attended but had to back out. They were replaced by the mighty Byzantine, so no big deal. Regardless, I am a big fan of their previous full lengths […]

At this point, Enslaved can do pretty much whatever they want and need no introduction. If you don’t subscribe to that theory, I will fight you. Naked (I do all of my fighting in the nude exclusively). They’re no longer what one would necessarily consider black metal, although they have those influences creep up. At […]

Montréal, Quebec’s ultra-brutal tech-death/deathcore act Beneath The Massacre return with their fourth album, Fearmonger.  The band seemingly going into a hibernation for some years, as their last album Incongruous, was released in 2012.  Much of the band has remined intact, the newest member is Anthony Barone, on drums.  When bands are so over-the-top brutal I […]

To this day, I still absolutely love Naglfar’s first two albums and Vittra and Diabolical remain two of my very favorite 90s melodic black metal albums. And while 2003 Sheol was a worthy follow up, with the departure of vocalist Jens Ryden, the band fell into a bit of a rut with subsequent albums  Pariah, […]

Germany’s metalcore/death metal veterans have always been one of those bands I kinda like. I own quite a few of their prior 12 albums, but I don’t think I have listened to them fully,  and I pick  them up used if I happen to find them rather than instantly buy them or seek them out. […]

I’ve been listening to New Jersey’s Lorna Shore since 2013/14’s EP, Maleficium,  and 2015 debut full length Psalms . And while I enjoyed the band’s synth tinged take on deathcore, I never expected them to blow up into the full on symphonic blackened deathcore act that delivered Flesh Coffin in 2017. Well, after some delays […]

I’m not going to lie, I’ve been waiting for ICS Vortex to be the full time singer again in Borknagar for a while now. No disrespect to Andreas Hedlund (Vintersorg) and his contributions on the last few albums, or even Garm’s superb early efforts, but I think most would agree the ICS Vortex albums (Quintessence, […]

I’m always going to consider Malevolent Creation to be in the top-tier of death metal bands. This is probably due to the fact that I am an old-school fan from their first few early 90’s offerings, and those feelings I have for their earlier material, coupled with the fact that the band has consistently released […]

Ho hum… another couple years, and another killer album from none other than the almighty Aborted.  I mean it almost seems like these Belgians have been kicking ass for so long, you almost hope the metal world doesn’t start to take them for granted.  On the 20th year of this band’s existence, they’ve dropped their […]

The post Hoffman brothers era of Deicide has been an up and down affair. From the excellent (but divisive to some), more melodic Ralph Santolla led release The Stench of Redemption, to the crap fest of ‘Til Death Do Us Part, the blistering To Hell With God, then back to crap again with In The Minds Of […]

Sometimes as a reviewer, you get a bit burnt out. It often becomes tiring trying to find new and creative ways to describe the vast multitude of styles and genres within the metal universe. In particular, black metal continues to grow, expand and develop, shattering ceilings and pushing envelopes with artists like Deafheaven, Vallendusk, Paths, […]

I’m going to forgo the history lesson and assume if you are reading this, you are familiar with At The Gates and their place in the annals of melodic death metal and are simply wanting to find out how To Drink From the Night Itself stands as a follow up the 19 years in waiting comeback […]

I must say I enjoy listening to albums of groups like Necrophobic.  I started becoming a fan of underground music as a teenager and Dark Funeral Secrets of The Black Arts was one of the first Swedish black metal albums that really resonated with me. Blackmoon’s influence on Dark Funeral added to the strength of […]

I will attempt to do Watain’s ardent supporters proud by this review. Understand that I am new to the Watain camp, so forgive me if you disagree with me. Deepsend Records owner and friend, Graham Landers, recommended this new Watain to me and I was hooked. He guided me through their discography and within a […]

Broken Hope has been a force in the United States Death Metal scene for nearly thirty years now.  Jeremy Wagner has really done an outstanding job rebuilding the group and keeping the style of death metal that they have played for nearly three decades fine-tuned and meticulously written.  Here we have their sixth full length […]

I’ve been an Iced Earth fan for awhile now. Twenty years exactly, at the time of this review, as it was the band’s compilation/re-worked/best of album, Days of Purgatory, that introduced me to their take on thrash, power, and traditional metal. At the time I thought of myself as a latecomer, as the band had […]

When Soulburn reformed in 2014, I was pleasantly surprised at their return album after 16 years, namely The Suffocating Darkness.  To this day is still one of my all time favorite blackened death/doom albums and yes I have heard all the great albums and own most from 30 years prior.  Soulburn incorporated alot more black […]

Every time a new Aborted album comes around, I can liken it to another output from Napalm Death, in which the question inevitably gets asked:  these dudes have been around forever, can they still bring the pain with the same piss ‘n vinegar of previous outputs?  I can say that for Retrogore the answer is […]

Well this was quite a pleasant surprise a few months ago when Century Media announced they had secured the rights to the cult death/thrashers material and working in conjunction with Morbid Saint would release a deluxe discography, compiling all of the band’s released material onto 2 cds. The last reissue, the band released themselves, on […]

Back in 2013 I reviewed the debut from this Texas act, Aetherial, ( I missed 2015s Blue) and it was a challenging, engaging but exhaustive listen of progressive metal that had every genre and the kitchen sink in it. Well there’s been a bit of a line up change and a focus in delivery. Of note, […]

Let’s be brutally honest shall we? Sure Grave’s first three albums are certified classics, and while there’s some division over Hating Life, I’m willing to say that other the overall excitement of the band’s reunion in 2002, the post Jorgen, post “Back From the Grave” glow might have worn off . And other than 2012s Endless […]

Krisiun, always the bridesmaid, never the bride…that’s too bad really, because the truth of the matter is that this trio of brothers can put out some terrifically fast, tight, and brutal material that, when done right, can clearly out shine many of the top tier death metal bands that Krisiun often get overlooked for. Most […]

Falsifier and Born Hanged, the first two EPs from this UK downtempo/deathcore act have become the Sermon of Mockery among deathcore fans, being the holy grail of deathcore collectors  and reaching stupid prices. So Black Tongue have parlayed that and their prior Infant Annihilator infamy (whose releases also go for high prices) into a deal with […]

I was so stoked when Morgoth reformed several years ago and even more stoked when the band announced they would write a new record.  I was a fan since their ep’s in the late 80’s.  I saw them live on their mini east coast tour, for The Eternal Fall ep and the band tore the […]

This reissue was impossible to find in the U.S.  For imports, as usual, I had to go and get it from a European distro and paid over $20 for it. But it was worth it since Odium is my favorite Morgoth album.  In 1993 Odium was released and polarized a lot of Morgoth’s fan base […]