After a few relatively quiet months,  Dark Descent Records has unleashed an unholy duo of crumbling doom/death metal in the form of Emptiness‘s experimentally depressive Loss and Anhedonist‘s crawling, lumbering debut, Netherwards. However, when truly unearthing Netherwards one word comes to mind more than any other; Cavernous. Playing a form of subterranean doom/death metal Seattle’ […]

Hailing from Queensland, Australia, Ocean of Zero have decided to release their two demos onto in one package. Comprised of both The Wake and Shun the Light, Ocean of Zero seems to be taking their time in creating an official full-length release. For what it’s worth, it’s always much better for a band to release […]

God dammit!!!!  I wanted this to be good and really like it more. But alas, the debut album from renowned and respected metal uber artist Mark Riddick (who plays drums, keyboards, guitars and bass) and some dude from Belgium on vocals fall flat. Way flat. The intent is there; to create a dirty sloppy old […]

“Black,” the first song on Holy Wrath, the debut album by Latvian band Diseim, is an absolutely fantastic death metal song. Big, groovy riffs; odd time signatures; a melodic-without-being-wimpy chorus; guttural, double tracked vocals; and simply great songwriting. It makes a loud, bold statement. Aaaannndddd… I should just leave it at that. I kind of […]

Oh Yay! Another boring release from Job For a Cowboy, however this time they add a little more nuances to their sound for a little bit of an enjoyable experience. I tend to wonder why this band gets as much attention as Suffocation or Cannibal Corpse. Because for one all their albums were utter crap […]

The one-man death metal band just keeps on gaining credibility, the trail having been blazed by the likes of Shawn Whitaker (Insidious Decrepancy), Shaun LaCanne (Putrid Pile), and Peter Hasselbrack (Bloodsoaked). Thirst for Revenge’s Annihilation of Races (Comatose) tickled a few of my fancies as well. Welcome now A.Death, the man responsible for Putrified’s Neurotic […]

North Carolina’s Wretched return with their third album on Victory Records, carrying the flag for the label’s strangely eclectic death metal roster amid the likes of Pathology and Jungle Rot. And while I’ve enjoyed the band’s prior two releases, they remain a band that are just ‘there’ for me, neither overly impressing me or making […]

Other than Mithras, Sarpanitum, Trigger the Bloodshed, Fleshrot (RIP) and Detrimentum, I’m not very familiar with the better of the brutal/tech death metal scene coming out of the UK, but here is Hull based newcomer Parasitized and their impressive debut 6 song EP. Though released independently back in 2010, fledgling Canadian label Blast Head Records […]

Brutal blasting death grind, a fitting tag for this brutal death metal gem. That said gem is the new album by Filipino brutal death grind outfit Disastrous entitled Severe Suffering. Severe Suffering is an unrelenting slab of brutal putrid riffs, pregnant women bashing drum battery, and gnarly pus spewing gutturals. This is their second full […]

Y’know, I’ve been debating on whether do review the new Asphyx album for a while now, but a few things weighed heavy on my mind; first, Century  Media never sent any sort of promo, digital, physical or otherwise, showing arrogance and confidence in the fact they don’t need press coverage, which considering the band is […]

Warning: there’s gonna be cursing in this review, because an album like this warrants it, so please check your delicate sensibilities at the door. It’s been quite a while since anything of this ilk has crossed my desk for review, and in preparation I dug out some Morbid Saint and Noia to get me in […]

Some bands wear their heart and their influences on their sleeve, and none more so than the current crop of retro, old school Swedish death worshiping acts. For instance you’ve got the font and ‘tomb’ references of Entrails, Funeral Whore,  who named a demo after a Grave song, Brutally Deceased is named after a Grave […]

There’s an old adage that states ‘never judge a book by its cover’, and that applies aptly in the case of the debut album from Columbia’s King. Based on the Dark Funeral reject cover art, song titles like “Non laughter – Zero Fucking Happiness” and “Kill the Posers Like Fucking Christians” as well as the […]

Poland’s Centurion have been around for a while, but this is only the band’s second effort since their 2002 debut, Conquer & Rule, which I have not heard. Stylistically the band play typically competent Polish death metal with a solid Floridian (Morbid Angel/Deicide) influence and in fact, the band covered Morbid Angel‘s “Day of Suffering” […]

Despite the retro thrash moniker and 1985 artwork, Massive Assault is actually a killer throwback Swedish styled death metal band who hail from the Netherlands. And whereas Denmark’s Funeral Whore were easily linked to Grave, Massive Assault are equally as easily linked to Dismember and fellow Dutchmen, Hail of Bullets (musically when they slow down, […]

It has been a killer first part of 2012 for metal fans, with the godfathers of grind and death, Napalm Death and Cannibal Corpse respectively, both dropping new albums. The new Napalm Death absolutely slayed, and proved once again who still carries the grindcore crown. The questions when a legend comes out with a new […]

Haters gonna hate. To be frank, I think Cannibal Corpse is a strong brand name that has always cemented the band’s “indisputable” place as one of death metal’s most important bands. Look, Cannibal Corpse are one of those staple American death metal bands who have always done and probably will always do a brutally good […]

You’ll have to forgive Indiana’s Nocturnal Torment for their horrendous 90s CG cover art, logo and moniker. You see, they actually formed in 1988 and up to now only had one 2009 demo to show for it. However, seeing as 1/2 of the band released some quality Swedish styled death metal via the underrated Invasion, […]

Formed in 1987 in suburb of  St. Louis, Missouri as Doom Lyre, Timeghoul were largely unnoticed  in the early 90s. Heck, I lived in Missouri in the early 90s, and I never heard of them. But here is Dark Descent Records to give you another one of their well done re-issues, but like the label’s […]

A handful of lesser known, lower profile releases of brutal/technical death metal have grabbed my attention of late; the likes of Pyrrhon, Nocturnal Torment, and Parasitized have shown that there is still plenty of new bands from unexpected realms delivering material to compare to big boys like Origin, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Spawn of Possession and such, […]

If fans of old school Swedish death metal thought 2011 was a good year for the genre, boy are you going to enjoy 2012! With Horrendous‘ excellent debut already out, this year is slated to see releases by  Zombie Inc., Revel in Flesh, Black Breath, Massive Assault, Blood Mortized, Megascavenger and this — the debut full-length […]

Technical death metal is a unique beast. When pulled off well (Origin, early Neuraxis, Decrepit Birth), it is one of the few genres that can make you stop and go – “Whoa… what the hell was that?!?”; leaving you reaching for the rewind button on your cd player to re-listen to what you just heard. […]

So, I’m playing a bit of catch up here having just recently received CDs from new label Blast Head Records, based out of Canada and Belgium’s Shiver Records, so expect a few late 2011 releases, seeing as they sent actual CDs not digital files. First up is the first release from Blast Head Records, the […]

The Rotted are finally back with their new full length Ad Nausea, the follow up to Get Dead Or Die Trying and is their second under the new moniker since Gorerotted became The Rotted. They are bringing another dose of crusty death metal to the masses, but besides the heavy as fuck instrumentation, this release […]

What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with a good slab of old school death metal? The debut album for Zombie Inc. was released to the world on February 14, and I am sure it was the soundtrack for many a candlelight dinner. Well ok probably not, but it definitely reeks of ironic humor […]