Albums like The Sham Mirrors completely justify why I still listen to metal. While my tastes have shifted and widened considerably these past few years, I still find myself defending this often-tired genre. Bands like Arcturus re-energize my lifelong passion for extreme music and demonstrate that vibrancy, experimentation and unyielding talent do still exist in […]

Everyone, who has followed Anathema’s illustrious career as intensely as this writer, should have seen this album coming. In purest form, A Fine Day to Exit is nothing less than a masterpiece. Not unlike Katatonia’s newest magnum opus Last Fair Deal Gone Down, the album is fueled by relentless emotive energy mixed with precise musical […]

For a band that is seriously responsible for inspiring the current malnourished, virtually talentless, disease of rap-metal infesting America, Tool clearly saw an inspired path out of that emotionally dead scene and dutifully took it. Why, might you ask, should you care about a group who is taking strident steps to remove itself, not only […]

Dark, infectious trip-hop beats kick off “Je(n!)i Force,” the first track off Nowafter, the electronic, indie/goth-laced new collection from This Empty Flow. Akin to Portishead, Massive Attack or something far more sinister – this tune stifles the listener with its scientifically crafted blend of bleak, pop wisdom. Judging from this band’s previous output, including their […]

Hardcore albums never sound this perfect, nor do most death or black metal albums for that matter. In fact, it would not be a stretch to announce this as the holy grail of the new breed of European metal-influenced hardcore that has sprung up recently with the likes of Shadows Fall, Darkest Hour, Red Roses […]

What can be said about this cosmic rock act that hasn’t already. Surpassing every rock and metal trend, The Gathering can do no wrong. Everything they touch turns to gold and this release seems to glimmer brighter than all before it. For some bands, there is a point in a career, where everything clicks – […]

Quite a pleasant discovery from the increasingly impressive Napalm Records, Third Moon rise forth from the untapped talent well of Austria. Difficult to classify, but definitely melodic death metal in the Swedish vein, they ache of Lunar Strain In Flames, modern Hypocrisy, Naglfar, and dare I say – Intestine Baalism. This palette is super crunchy, […]