Protest The Hero, and I have a history. Ever since I was introduced to Kezia by a good friend at Ye Olde Alma Mater, I’ve paid close attention to anything they release. Add to the equation that they made their political stances quite clear on Palimpsest in 2020; they happen to align with mine, and […]
I must admit Black Sites doesn’t do much for me. I followed vocalist and guitarist Mark Sugar because of his previous work with now defunct metalcore/thrash band Trials, but now he is also in the badass death metal outfit, Bear Mace. I thoroughly enjoy two out of the three bands already mentioned, so I’m hopeful […]
I’m in the minority, and by “minority,” I mean the only one on the staff who wanted to review the new Psycroptic album, The Pulse of Annihilation. Each member of the team has their reasons, specifically that they don’t like the band, but it is what it is. I do and have seen them live […]
Ravaged by the Yeti is the latest album churned out by the riff factory that is Rogga Johansson. By my count, this is his 234th project (I was told there would be no fact-checking), and I simply don’t know how the man does it. He seriously has nearly fifty bands listed as active on Metal […]
When I listen to music, and especially when I review it, I make sure to administer a few tests. These include the headphones/workout test, car test, background music test, and the early morning test. Most of those don’t need an explanation, but I’ll elaborate as the new Bloodhunter album, Sons of the Abandoned, recently endured […]
Knowing the circumstances behind The Ghost of a Future Dead, its recording, and the members, specifically, of course, Tomas Lindberg, made me listen to it from a different perspective. Adding on top of this, Tomas finished recording his vocals on the day before his surgery for oral cancer, making it impossible for him to ever […]
I know I’ve been reviewing a significant amount of metalcore lately, but it’s not been heavy enough. It’s been too sweet for my tastes, and I don’t have a sweet tooth. This is where Chamber comes in. To even call this “metalcore” is generous. It’s heavy, suffocating, in-your-face, and other adjectives. I am serious when […]
If you’re unfamiliar with Canada’s Threat Signal, that’s understandable, as Revelations is only their fifth full-length, but they’ve been around since 2004. They haven’t exactly been prolific, especially considering this is the first album in nine years. I honestly never thought I’d see another album, so this was a welcome surprise. Their sound is described […]
Inoffensive, paint-by-numbers, cookie-cutter, and lacking heft are usually not descriptors I bestow upon albums I enjoy. However… They still apply here. So, what I’m saying is that Colors in Grey by Oathbound is not for me. This is for the metal-curious folks. I’d imagine this gets rotations on Sirius Octane along with all the other […]
It’s okay, Lamb of God. You changed your logo, and along with the artwork for the new album, Into Oblivion, it looks like an early 2000s Geocities website. Am I bitter about it? No, of course not. It’s not like a certain writer for this distinguished online tome has the LOG from Wrath tattooed on […]
The social media algorithm did its thing with Unverkalt. I can’t recall exactly which app, but an ad popped up showing them. I saw the band photo and the fact they’re on Season of Mist, which naively led me to believe they are a symphonic metal band, which is usually not something up my alley, […]
I’m going to start this review with a gripe. In press materials for Sylosis’ new album, The New Flesh, main man Josh Middleton said something that I always sneer at. He stated that there’s not a lot of “good” metal out there nowadays. I think he meant that the mainstream type of metal I review […]
Have you ever wondered how a combination of metalcore, Slipknot, and the nu metal stylings of Taproot would sound while recorded in a garbage can? Me neither. No disrespect to either of those bands (I have seen Taproot a few times and would again), but some musical stylings don’t work well and at times sound […]
2025 was quite the year for metalcore, with many stalwarts such as Bleeding Through, Employed to Serve, and Killswitch Engage releasing new albums. This gateway sub-genre never goes away, but to say that it can become stale is an understatement. 2026 could very well be a banner year again if my inbox full of metalcore […]
‘Uhhh huh huh. Hey, baby. I heard you like The Black Dahlia Murder’. I have smoothly pressed “Power” on the remote on my living room 10-disc CD changer, which slides out smoothly as I casually drop the new Carrion Vael album, Slay Utterly, into the not-at-all-too-large or gaudy apparatus. It closes instantly because it’s the […]
I’m so perpetually behind, one can say I will never catch up. So, being Blindfolded and Led to the Woods doesn’t sound so bad right now. I also share the same hardships as The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me. That’s a different story for another time. That lengthy band […]
If you’re not a fan of Tribal Gaze’s previous album, The Nine Choirs, you should be. If you still aren’t after checking out, then I’m not your buddy, friend! The good news is that the new one, Inveighing Brilliance, travels the same path. If you’re unfamiliar, they peddle the same old school death metal revival […]
Let’s get this out of the way immediately: Last Retch is a “meat and potatoes” death metal band who plays “meat and potatoes” death metal. Abject Cruelty is 8 songs, 28 minutes rounded up, and will hit you with literally zero surprises, except perhaps how badass it is. It’s very easy to get things rolling […]
A new Revocation album has arrived, and while that’s exciting news for me, not so much for my brothers in writing for Teeth. The band is now approaching 20 years of activity and is at this point a stalwart of the tech/death/thrash sub-genre. Call it “progressive” if you’d like as well. For my money, which […]
Novembers Doom missed a significant opportunity to release Major Arcana in November, but we’re getting it in September instead. In my neck of the woods, it’s already starting to get cooler, so it’s just as well. If you didn’t know, it’s unlikely I will be unbiased in this review because the band is one of […]
I learned a new word today, “effulgence,” as in Pain Effulgence, the new album from Innumerable Forms. All you nerds probably already knew that it’s at odds with the first word in the album title, as I don’t consider pain luminous or radiant. If it works for the band, it works for me, but their […]
Despite its name, death metal never dies. It’s always relevant but has had a resurgence over the last few years with a crop of newer bands bringing forth the corpses of the past, along with established acts doing the same. There’s no substitute for the old-school sound championed by Dismember, Bolt Thrower, Entombed, and the […]
This review is incredibly late, but I have reasons. Some are personal, but some made me think the Metal Gods (RIP Ozzy) were working against me. In one instance, when I tried to sit down and finish this out, my headphones wouldn’t pair even when perfectly charged. Another time, they somehow weren’t charged at all […]
I reviewed the recent Dawn of Ouroboros album, mentioned Fallujah, and so this is perhaps a full-circle moment. I must, however, admit that I am one of those who enjoyed the early recordings, aka The Harvest Wombs, and feel as though the band hasn’t topped it. The rest of the recordings were frequently plagued with […]
I’m not going to say anything corny about one of my favorite metal bands Byzantine, being back in… You know. It’s been eight years since The Cicada Tree, which makes me think more of mortality and the passage of time than I would care to admit, so the implied above phrase would be appropriate. However, this is […]