The last time I checked in with Indiana’s Psychomancer was 2015s Inject the Worms EP, And I wasn’t that impressed with the band’s generic and forgetful if competent American death metal. But it appears  as if some HM2 boss pedals have found their way to Michigan City, Indiana as the quartet has developed what was […]

I discovered this  7 piece fur-clad, face painted, power metal collective back in 2018 with Prophecies of Ragnarok, after AFM picked it up after a self release in 2o17. And I’ve been waiting for a follow up for a while, and it’s worth the wait. As with most power metal, don’t come into this with […]

When Massive Assault vocalist Fredde Kaddeth reaches out to you directly, asking if he can send you Massive Assault‘s, 2 song, 7″ limited edition single for review, you say ‘yes’. Especially when you have been a fan of the band’s Dismember meet Grave Swedish styled goodness since 2012s Death Strike and 2017s Mortar. Side 1 […]

One of the more under the radar reunions of late is the reformation of Germany’s Fleshcrawl, one of the country’s early 90s death metal bands along with Morgoth (who ironically shared the same band name with Fleshcrawl at the outset) , who seemed to get the lions share of the attention. Fleshcrawl eventually settled into […]

I’m always up for some bombastic, symphonic black metal, but other than maybe False, Belzebubs, Northwind Wolves and Kull (if they don’t really count as ‘new’) and some other Black Lion Records bands, there are few new, exciting young purely old school bands in the genre, as I typically rely on the old guard of […]

Waaaaay back in 2017, California’s Northwind Wolves released their aptly named debut, Dark…Cold…Grim, a superb and authentic delivery of 90s symphonic black metal that made my year end list. Well, as expected for a second album, the follow up delivers the same sound, expands on it a little, but never quite reaches the dark cold […]

I was immediately intrigued by this release as it’s another symphonic/tech black/death whatever release from The Artisan Era who have already wowed me in 2019 with the likes of Singularity, Oubliette, Mordant Rapture, The Odious Construct, Warforged and such, but also that the band features former members of Council of the Fallen, one of the […]

If you haven’t checked out Virginia’s Construct of Lethe, do so now. Their 2018 effort Exiler, was one of 2018s best death metal albums, and now founder Tony Petrocelly has gone back to Construct of Lethe‘s past to deliver a vision of the band’s future…bear with me here. Back in the early 00s , before […]

Here is a remastered reissue of Ungfell’s self released debut album, and for those unfamiliar with Swiss duo Ungfell, as I was, they play a form of raw, demented black metal inspired by medieval times and the dark ages. Think Peste Noire meets Lugubrum and early Abigor (Verwüstung / Invoke the Dark Age/Orkblut). It’s a […]

Occasionally I get sent some pretty obscure, late stuff in the mail, and one such release is the second effort from Italy’s female fronted act 5Rand (grand? five rand?), released earlier this Autumn. It’s clearly marketed to ride Jinjer’s current wave of popularity, but actually stands on its own as a pretty solid release, largely […]

Sometimes I get in the mood for some good old fashioned, no frills, second wave black metal, and occasionally a release comes along that fills that void perfectly. Earlier this year it was Germany’s Darkened Nocturne Slaughtercult and their album, Mardom, and here in the fall/winter as the nights grow longer and darker, the fittingly […]

Gatecreeper’s 2016 debut album Sonoran Deprivation, caused a bit of a stir as Relapse Records signed and released a US based death metal album after a few years of lagging behind in the death metal arena. It was a solid, near great album of Swedish styled lumbering death/doom, and the follow up, Deserted follows suite, […]

If you were to poll die hard Cradle of Filth fans  and even casual black metal fans and ask what the long running UK black metal band’s best album was, it would likely be a mix of 1996s Dusk and her Embrace and 1998s Cruelty and the Beast, maybe with a few votes for 2000s […]

Strigoi is the new death/doom/crust project from Paradise Lost‘s guitarist/vocalist Gregor Mackintosh after he disbanded Vallenfyre, after 3 albums. And even though hes joined by a slightly different line up (bassist Chris Casket of Extreme Noise Terror and session/studio drummer Waltteri Väyrynen, also of Paradise Lost), the result sounds exactly like Vallenfyre’s latter, crustier output, […]

Ave! Italy’s Romanic death metal warriors ADE are back with yet another new line up,  another label and another quality album..despite that Dance of Death level artwork… Lone original member/founder/primary song writer Fabivs again has a whole new legion surrounding him including bassist Cornelvuis  and vocalist/lyricist Diocletianvs  (both formerly of Suicidal Causticity/ Oredreth), the band’s […]

Despite being the arguable top act in the Swedish death metal revival since 2010s Tales From the Morgue, I had some reservations about the band’s sixth album. Mostly due to yet another line up change surrounding founder Jimmy Lundqvist, this one involving the addition of Markus Svensson on guitars but mainly, Penki Samuelsson moving to […]

2019 has been a banner year for power metal, especially for some of the bigger name bands, and more importantly power metal bands I actually like: Battle Beast, Beast In Black, Twilight Force, Sabaton , Grimgotts, 43 Rhapsody based bands and even grizzled Hammerfall all released albums,  with some of them certainly in the mix […]

Do you like early Asphyx? Do You like early, Drunen led, Consuming Impulse Era Pestilence? Then the always reliable FDA Records has a release for you, the full length debut from German death metal act Evoked, and it’s a scorcher of an album, despite its clear influences. Culling heavily from The Rack as well as […]

New Jersey’s Fit For An Autopsy got on my radar back when they started in 2008, as they initially featured one of my favorite vocalists of the era, vocalist Nate Johnson from very short lived deathcore act Deadwater Drowning as well as noise-mongers Premonitions of War. Even after Johnson left, Ive purchased all the albums, listened to […]

When I reviewed Nile’s fourth album, Annihilation of the Wicked way back in 2005, I mused how long the band could keep up the high quality and continue  the  long running Egyptian themes. Well 14 years and 5 albums later, that answer is pretty clear. Even with a bit of a lull with 2012s At […]

Oh Dear. I saw the writing on the wall for Equilibrium’s downfall with 2016s Armageddon, and its epically bad lead single “Born to be Epic”). But I didn’t see the next album being such a complete and total disaster that completely alienates the band’s fan base. After 4 albums that arguably  stand among the very […]

What the Fuck? Have I gone back in time to 2006-2008? Unearth released a great album last year, Killswitch Engage released a great album earlier this year, and now As I Lay Dying have released a great album!!!! I digress. But personally I have found the story arc of AILD frontman Tim Lambesis more interesting […]

I’m not very familiar with the UKs Infant Annihilator, other than the ridiculous prices their first 2 albums are being sold for, and that some of the members are in down tempo act Black Tongue. But The Battle Of Yaldabaoth is my first time actually hearing them, and if it’s any indication, those prices are […]

Last year, I reviewed the fourth album, Emptiness Fills the Void, (Non Serviam Records) from this Swiss melodic black metal band, And was rather impressed with band’s tight, modern take on classic Scandinavian (Dissection, Naglfar, Catamenia, Dawn etc) melodic black metal from the 90s. So when I heard Non Serviam Records was reissuing the band’s […]

When a promo manages to name drop Insomnium, Turisas, Monnsorrow and Omnium Gatherum it its one sheet press release, you get my attention, if just to see how bloated the claims are. But this Finnish act has somehow managed to cull from all of their fellow Finns and drop a solid third album full of […]