Give Chimaira some credit, will ya? They fought through criticism from purist metal fans for what some described as riding the nu metal edge on Pass Out of Existence – though Slayer had no problem taking them on tour – and still took flak for the blockbuster that followed, an aggressive and hooky album called […]

Hailing from Michigan (Detroit), Hellmouth are a snarling, gnarly crossover band that meld, punk, thrash and hardcore into a mix that’s a refreshing change from the usual Ferret fare though it lacks real staying power, once the initial burst of feral energy wears off. Citing influences like Celtic Frost, Black Flag, Venom, Black Sabbath and […]

More Christian metal here, though this time more in the form of the choppy, technical deathcore with melodic chops akin to For Today, A Thousand Time Repent, Hereafter An Odyssey and such. Obviously, folks that hate deathcore and Christian metal have already clicked of this review, but if you enjoy both or either your could […]

Here’s the kind of album that drives old metal heads nuts, but the kids seem to like; squawking, growling, breakdown filled chaotic deathcore, given the ‘grindcore ‘tag’ by the Hot Topic crowd. Ugh. It’s all here for the kids to enjoy; 14 short bursts with Oh so quirky song titles (“Urethra Franklin VS. Queef Latifah”, […]

In my line of work, I’m all about first impressions. I will generally make a snap judgment about a person and determine their veracity within about 30 seconds. Luckily, this does not apply to metal albums and reviews, because if I had simply relied on first impressions, Among Flies would have been album of the […]

While you might expect yet another clichéd take of breakdown reliant deathcore based on the band name, label and overly dramatic album title, the fact is, once you discover The Plasmarifle hail from arguably the tech metal capital of the world, Montreal, feature former Neuraxis vocalist Maynard Moore and a familiarly tight mastering effort from […]

Based on the 18-minute burst of a debut ‘full length’ that was Parasite , I didn’t exactly have high expectations for the sophomore album from this Michigan deathcore act. However, once I saw the cover, titles, new producers Dan Kenny and John Cinotta (Suffocation) and the mastering credits of Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer, Agoraphobic Nosebleed), […]

Oh dear. As much as I dug the debut from these Massachusetts metalcore lads and as much as I actually like the guys themselves after meeting them and subsequently staying in contact with them, it pains me to write this review. I knew something was awry when I saw the cover, but I held out […]

On the surface, it would appear that Ferret has become the anathema of every indie music fan; that being a capitalistically driven monolith intent on peddling the lowest common denominator drivel and casting it off as music that is ‘innovative,’ ‘vital,’ or that has ‘integrity.’ Fortunately, Ferret, unlike Victory hasn’t descended too far into the […]

No time like the present. Whereas some bands spend way too long working on their material and refusing to release it to the outside world until its ready, others, like Arizona’s Knights of the Abyss just lock, load and get right down to it. What’s more astonishing in this case is the massive change in […]

With Siege of Amida losing its crown jewel (Whitechapel) to that all encompassing mega metropolis (Metalblade for those not in the know), it made sense to ensure that their next deathcore monolith was firmly propelled into the consciousness of the metal spheres, and disregard what reception was received, which so far has been positive in […]

After being chewed up and spit out by the Major Label grinder, metalcore pioneers Poison The Well return to the ‘independent’ scene with their fourth full length album for the far more appropriate Ferret Music. And while the band is still a far cry from their seminal The Opposites of Decemberdebut, their return to the […]

An open letter to all young American Metal bands: “ I know you like Pantera, but please stop trying to ape them and forsaking your original sound-they are gone, get over it”. Throwdown, A Perfect Murder, Lamb of God-just to name a few of the acts that seemingly thought being basically a Pantera styled cover […]

What’s the deal with that cover art? It leaves one wondering whether Full Blown Chaos now desire to be Manowar because with those lions, that ominous Conan clone poised in his throne, it instils that fear…and the record hasn’t even been placed in the CD player yet. Fortunately ‘Fire Fight,’ firmly quashes any fears of […]

Age certainly, no, definitely hasn’t mellowed Madball, this, their sixth full length hits as hard as any of their back catalogue and sounds just as vibrant and hungry as they did when Set It Off, dropped in 94. Now Madball being Madball, there are zero surprises to be found here, no whinging clean vocals, no […]

Whereas The Showdown (in my opinion) whiffed mightily on their recent attempt at Southern tinged hardcore, the second effort from former Underoath singer Dallas Taylor and his cronies is, much like their self titled debut, an perfectly executed example of incest, trailer park and whiskey fueled hardcore. Quite a few bands are injecting Southern elements […]

Older metal fans might assume that nearly every band that hails from in and around the Bay Area would be at least slightly influenced by the early thrash of Metallica, Testament, Exodus, and the like. This is true, at least, for the near-teenaged wonders of San Jose’s Heavy Heavy Low Low. Why, in this world […]

Here’s one quick question for you to determine if you should continued reading this review or click elsewhere: Do you like The Number Twelve Looks Like You?If you answered no, go read another review. Right now. If you answered “yes” and especially enjoyed the bands debut EP Put On Your Rosy Red Glasses. Then read […]

Of all the big metalcore releases this year, the sophomore album from Misery Signals was arguably my most anticipated, however with the superb, similarly styled debut from Rosesdead basically stealing some of this bands thunder, I was wondering how Mirrors would stack up in the melodic, layered and emotional metalcore sweepstakes. It stacks up just […]

Furious straight edge hardcore from Ft. Lauderdale on tap here, and while it’s rife with tired hardcore cliches and structures, it?s one of the better and most conviction filled efforts I’ve heard. There’s not much to explain here: 14 angry breakdown laden anthems of societal/political disgust (“Tight Lipped Politics”), straight edge pride (“Let’s Get Free”) […]

So far this year one of my very favorite albums has been the debut album from Ligeia, Your Ghost as a Gift. And while most roll their eyes at the very mention of metalcore, the Ken Susi produced effort does everything right. So when given a chance to see the Massachuset’s youngsters on their current tour with From A Second Story Window, Dead to Fall and Ed Gein, I made the trip to the Creepy Crawl in downtown St. Louis to brave my first ‘metalcore’ show and interview with the bright eyed and youthful group of kids in their tour bus…

The Funeral of God proposes that God has died leaving us to live completely upon free will. Some may not like Zao’s sound but many agree; they are influential and forward thinking with every release. Zao are a band constantly in a state of change. Just in the last two years so much has happened […]

Melodic metalcore has grown exponentially over the last few years, but it has also been plagiarized exponentially also, with countless Poison The Well clones poring from Orange County and the East coast. One such band was the short lived 7 Angels 7 Plagues, who had a solid offering with Jhazmyne’s Lullabye. I tell you this […]

Rising from the ashes of Minneapolis’ Disembodied comes Martyr AD. Although Martyr continues in a similar vein of heavy hardcore, this is clearly a new band. Naturally, traces of the deceased unit still surface (mostly in the form of dissonant guitar shrieks and pounding palm-muting), but Martyr is faster, smarter, better, and (believe it or […]