We’re in an age of chaos and confusion. Now, in a musical setting, that can be a visceral experience. Notes colliding into each other at breakneck speed while the drums blast and the bass rumbles the Earth. It’s the basis of Black Metal. Eternal suffering and a veil of darkness lowering onto the desolate landscape. […]

Coming out of the French Alps on black sleds of vengeance is Aldaaron, waving a banner dripping blood and blasting album number five,e Par-delà les cimes (Above and Beyond the Summits). After the marvelous Majestic Heights, Melancholic Depths back in 2023, they (presumably) started working on Par-delà les cimes. The result is a bombastic triumph […]

Avast ye salty dogs, I have a tale to tell ya! It’s about a band of hearty fucking pirates, who have returned after an eight-fucking year hiatus! Must be nice, aye?! At any rate, ye can forget about Alestorm (even though they’re still technically Pirate Metal, they sound more like Party/Bro Metal at this point.) […]

I love gore. Not real gore, mind you; movie gore. The scene from Gates to Hell when the woman vomits her intestines, you know that sort of thing. Haemorrhage hail from beautiful Spain and they love gore as well, they also love Carcass and it’s evident on this five tracker. It’s not just Carcass, though. […]

I’m sure everyone reading this remembers the scene from the first Faces of Death where the ‘blood cult’ eats the dead body, right? Okay, so keep that image in your head and then go listen to Profanatica’s new album Wreathed in Dead Angels. Maybe playing the two together will result in some sort of evil […]

My fall down the Tech-Death rabbit hole continues. It’s been a wild ride, and it seems to have no end because another killer band has come across my radar. They are called Changeling, and this is a new project from Tom “Fountainhead” Geldschläger. Most recently he wrote  “Weltseelee”, the 15-minute epic that he composed for […]

You’d be forgiven (by me anyway) for thinking that Imperial Triumphant were a Nile ubër concept band based on their masks. You’d be wrong as the day is long, because they certainly are not doing anything remotely Egyptian, especially on Goldstar. During my time with it I got these images from the movie Metropolis, and […]

It took a long time before I really sat down and listened to Jazz. I started with Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis, Glenn Miller (yeah he’s more Swing, but “Take Five” is a powerhouse) and Ramsey Lewis. But then a funny thing happened in the 90s with the purchase of At Death’s Door 2 and I […]

Legendary is a word reserved for the elite. The bands that have endured throughout the many transformations that have run through Black Metal since It’s vile birth so many years ago. If you don’t know the history of Rotting Christ, go read a book. Seriously, there’s an official book written about them. I’ll wait. Okay, […]

Bands have been releasing B-side album collections for years, and they’re always cleverly titled so you know what you’re getting. We’ll, CrusHuman have done that with Besides… my stupid ass didn’t realize it was a B-side album until I read the presser. Holy hell, it’s songs that didn’t make it onto their amazing self-titled debut. […]

The first time I heard the song “Balls to the Wall” by Accept was on one of those compilation Metal albums that were put out by K-Tel in the 80s.  I still have the record, it’s called Slave to the Metal and I bought it in 1986. It’s one of those songs and albums that […]

There’s a scourge festering on the skin of this country. Without getting stuck in the weeds of politics that noxious odor of corruption is  sneaking it’s way into every fabric and nook and cranny. It’s time for angry music again, we need to release our frustrations and what better way than with blast beats? The […]

“After hearing the chainsaws on a daily basis, we knew it was time to act”, says musician-turned-activist Sylvain Demercastel, “because the buzzing is only getting louder”. It’s no secret that the rainforest is essential for us to live. It’s been referred to as the lungs of the Earth for very good reasons; but due to […]

The last few weeks have been a political nightmare for the USA. In order to keep this focused on the task at hand; I won’t be discussing politics but I will say that Outrage is the soundtrack for this upheaval of Democracy. In this case, I’m reviewing the new slab of raging Grindcore that is […]

New year, new Metal. Blood Storm is one of my favorite bands to come out of the Philadelphia scene in the 90s. Ancient Wrath of Ku and The Atlantian Wardragon are classic albums that if you’ve never heard them, I’ll wait while you go listen… okay I’m back. Badass, right? They put out their last […]

I’ve grown a mammoth-sized chubby for Tech-Death in recent years. I covered oodles of it last year and this one is already shaping up to be a brutal year for Tech-Death. Allow me to introduce Fleshbore. These four crazy lads from Indianapolis have crafted a solid, beat down that will have your fucking brain leaking […]

It’s usually a good sign when an album contains a church bell tolling in the distance: “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Metallica and “Warriors of Modern Death” By Emperor and of course Iron Maiden’s “Hallowed Be Thy Name”. That’s just three that come to mind and yeah, there’s so many others but I’m here […]

In this frozen wasteland, I bring a tale of a Black Metal horde hailing from Portugal and bringing the 90s spirit of Black Metal all the way from Norway. It creates a tapestry of hopelessness that matches the world climate; be it politics or the actual weather changing in catastrophic ways. Enter Irae. Formed in […]

Sometimes I step out of my comfort zone, it’s not often but when I do it tends to go extreme. Such is the case with Nu metal/metalcore act Knogjärn. This is definitely a different style and genre-wise; meaning that I’m in semi-uncharted waters… oh well, I’ve been in those before; so let’s get it going. […]

The first time I heard Bolt Thrower was in their Realm of Chaos (Slaves to Darkness) from 1989. It turned my Metal mind to full tilt, opening up a whole other level of brutality and extremity. Living in England during the burgeoning Death Metal scene was a special time that I’ll always cherish being a […]

Scotland is fucking beautiful. The Highlands are an amazing sight to behold, rolling, green, and absolutely vast. It’s a place that draws music from the people who in turn pull the rhythm from the very dirt itself. I’ve visited there and was stunned by the beauty. The lochs, especially Loch Ness are awe-inspiring. KILDONAN is the […]

When Panzerchrist released Last of a Kind in 2023 I was fucking ecstatic. It had been a long minute since 7th Offensive and their departure from the Metal community was deeply emotional (I know I cried like a bitch… not really but I was sad for sure) so when Last of a Kind was announced, […]

The year of the EP was 2024. Without a doubt I think I covered more Eps last year than any other in recent memories; granted that my brain is Swiss fucking cheese but whatever. Eps ruled! Abschwörzunge has unleashed hell with its incredibly bleak outlook on humanity in sonic form with Whorl. It’s a dirty, […]

Something is going on in Tennessee. There’s stench in the air, it’s foul and nauseating and is permeating the Death Metal community with some fresh blood. Enter Ritual Fog from Memphis and their chest bursting debut But Merely Flesh. Following a split EP and the release of the single Visions of Blasphemy; both in 2022, […]

I’ve always loved soundtracks and instrumental albums in general. This has been a great year for instrumental Death Metal and Dark Wave and these Italian maniacs have crafted a second amaze-balls album aptly named Gothron Vs Fartark. Apparently, there’s a story going on between these alien forces… It’s mind blowing, indeed. From the press release: […]