By all accounts, this should have been an album I truly loved. Fantasy-based epic metal is my vice, and when confronted with a moniker like Battlelore, and song titles like “Swordmaster,” “Raging Goblin” and “Ride with the Dragons,” I’m pretty much a child in a candy store. That is providing the music fits in with […]

Grindcore. Punk. Humor. Elements that have all been successfully melded into one 27-minute explosion of crusty blastbeats, power chord riffs and ridiculous non-traditional grindcore lyrics. I actually first heard Sweden’s Birdflesh on Relapse’s Swedish Assault album, and as a result dug up this album, their second “real” album. I’m not sure about the age of […]

Finland is fast becoming a hotbed of musical growth that rivals the Swedish explosion of the early and mid nineties, bands like Kalmah, Children of Bodom, Moonsorrow and Finntroll are putting Finland on the metal map as Sentenced and Amorphis did nearly a decade ago. Leading this creative charge is Finntroll. By fusing folk music and black metal with their native “humppa” or “polka” melodies, they have created a sound that is hard to define, yet enjoyable to listen to. It blatantly defies the inherent seriousness of black metal, but ala Bal-Sagoth; they don’t care and are content to put out the music they want to regardless of the genre restrictions. Last year’s Jaktens Tid, was my top album for 2001 and was a natural progression from the debut. I visited with guitarist Somnium to discuss this seemingly out of place group of trollsters.

There must be some foul work afoot in England. First Akercocke, now Anaal Nathrakh. England is producing some supremely evil and menacing music once again. This two-piece project follows hot on the heels of the recent neo-black metal craze, with also a nod to the industrial programming of The Berzerker and the result is some […]

The Kim Anderson-ish cover art should clue you in as to the direction this previously very doom/goth melodic death metal outfit have taken with their second album. And yes, they have evolved and matured, but to be honest I think the new material suits them better than the hodgepodge mix of musical styles that was […]

I still listen to The Grand Leveler, along with Gorefest’s Erase; they ranks as one of my favorite all time Euro-Death albums. Since The Grand Leveler, however, Benediction has done little to recreate the magic on that release. I am happy to say that Organized Chaos presents a return to form for Benediction. After two […]

In theory I should love this album. Being a fan of Cruachan, Skyclad, In Extremo and other folkish inspired metal acts, I was looking forward to reviewing Waylander’s second album. Adorned with Celtic knot work and pagan icons and also having song titles like, “Morrigan’s Domain”, and “Balor of the Evil Eye”, you know what […]

In 1989, I brought Agnostic Front’s live Compilation, Live at CBGB’s, based on some review in a British metal magazine.’Being swamped in Iron Maiden, Sabbat and Metallica, I had no idea what New York hardcore was. I was literally blown away ‘ the energy, the unity and the power had me hooked, resulting in me […]

This is my first experience with this band, although it is their fourth full-length release. So much for being gentle the first time. I have not been this blasted into this kind of audio submission since Cryptopsy’s Whisper Supremacy. There have been some impressive releases in to heavier end of the Death metal/grindcore spectrum (Soils […]

It’s almost criminal to have to review this so soon after reviewing labelmates Dagorlad, as they sound very, very similar. Whereas Dagorlad describe themselves as (and I quote), “Melodic, dark evil, epic fantasy black/death metal”, Axamenta merely consign themselves to the far simpler “Melodic, epic, fantasy, horror, black metal” category – You see, two completely […]

Coming from the same label that is responsible for the excellent Deranged, I had high hopes for this Belgium death metal outfit. Needless to say I was suitably impressed, but not exactly blown away. A glance at the cover and song titles give you a glaring indication as to what these five medical misanthropes are […]

Oh dear. It appears that I am going to very unpopular. Why? You ask. Well it seems that I am not going to follow the bleating herd by showering this famed Erik Rutan project with vast amounts of praise. Instead I am going to give my honest opinion of this album, with the hope that […]

You know what my favorite instrument is? The war drum. I love it and have wanted a band to utilize it more since I heard it on Abigor‘s Verwüstung/Invoke the Dark Age album and varying Bal-Sagoth songs. Enter Austria’s Summoning – a war drum lovers dream come true. For those that don’t know, Summoning has […]

I quite enjoyed the trio’s blackened take on some dark, metal twinged with folky/Viking melodies on .. And So The Night Became. Then 1999’s Shadows of Old and 2000’s Burning the Shroud, seemed to wander of into more death metal swamped pastures, and while being enjoyably brutal, I missed the atmospheric flare, that gave them […]

This is one if those really unusual releases that provided me with a serious split personality complex. You see, while I am listening to this debut from this promising and diverse quintet, I am enjoying it completely. Yet, when I am not listening to it, there is nothing about it that makes me crave listening […]

I’m going to get straight to the point, much like this criminally short mini-album from Thy Pain. More Than Suffering is no frills, no musical jargon kick ass American death metal. I just wish it were a longer ass kicking. Here’s what you get in 21 minutes: some very aggressive, pounding yet melodic American death […]

Back in 1994, three bands were leading the savage path of black metal into the mainstream. Emperor released Into the Nightside Eclipse, Cradle of Filth released Principles of Evil Made Flesh, and finally Ancient released Svartalvheim. All three were landmark albums and eventually led to more acclaimed albums and propelled two of the bands to […]

There are two opposing factions when it comes to this British five piece. Either you hate them, and think that their over-the-top theatrical metal is cheesy synth-heavy fodder for basement dwelling D&D fanatics. Or, you love the bombastic barbarian imagery and grandiose epic metal styling, set to fantasy inspired orchestrations. I fall in the latter […]

Upon initial listening of Sombre Romantic I began to think, “Wow, has the End Records finally signed an average band? Will this be the first negative review of a End Records release?” But then dammit all to hell, I became absorbed by this deftly crafted piece of depressive art. Sharing structural and musical similarities to […]