As you all are well aware, there has been a growing trend for a few years now with this whole “Cascadian black metal” thing and it’s just about reached its breaking point. Obviously Wolves in the Throne Room are the supposed pioneers of this subgenre and, like every other nook or cranny of metal,a million […]

There is heavy metal, and then there is metal. It bugs me when some people (either not metal fans, or religious authorities, or simply older people who likely still have Tipper Gore/PMRC headlines echoing in their heads from the early 80s) call it all “heavy metal music.” Heavy metal is a specific genre, mostly from […]

There’s a very fine line as a critic between liking something and disliking something. A production issue, a vocal issue, a song writing issue or any number of things that can sway an opinion between praise and disappointment. Case and point; 40 Watt Sun’s largely revered album, The Inside Room and Pallbearer‘s debut album. Both cathartic, […]

OK, I reeeeeally need to revisit Incantation. Not only have I been enjoying the likes of Corpsessed, Gorephilia, Blaspherian and such, but the current wave of old school death metal has even got Century Media on the band wagon with the excellent Sonne Adam. Profound Lore Records has simply decided to truly dig into the […]

Somewhere in Boston , MA at the intersection of doom, post rock, sludge and fucking awesome lies the band Morne. A new act to me, but after seeing some positive press and the band being on Profound Lore, I just had to check their second album out. I was greatly rewarded, as will you upon […]

For over four years now, Jackie Perez Gratz has declined my romantic overtures and while her restraining order against me prevents physical contact within 100ft, I’m still allowed to review her band’s albums. I’m kidding. It’s 200 ft. So here is album number three from vocalist/cellist Gratz and her two compadres Zach Farewell (drums) and […]

I had this Canadian death metal outfit’s monstrous self-released debut album, Archaeaeon, recommended by the fine readers of this very site, but I had no idea that they were working on a second album… let alone on the mighty Profound Lore Records where they slither along nicely next to the likes of Portal, Vasaeleth and […]

Though The Animal Spirits was a latecomer to the game (of 2010 metal releases), its addition to numerous ‘best of’ lists was no doubt cemented after a few spins, provided the listener was susceptible to its straightforward vibe, gut-wrenchingly emotive guitar and vocal work, and expertly crafted tunes; in other words, a Slough Feg fan, […]

Old-school fans of Southern sludge bands like Eyehategod, Buzzov*en and Crowbar might not like all the dreamy post-rock that’s been mixed into that genre of late (Isis, Burst, Cult of Luna, etc), so here comes Virginia’s Salome to drag things back into the mud again. Armed only with a seriously down-tuned guitar (no bass!), drums […]

While many have waved the flag for trad metal in recent years, one man has perhaps done a bit more than the rest: “Professor” Chris Black, owner/curator of Planet Metal Records, member of Superchrist, Pharaoh, and High Spirits, and head honcho of Dawnbringer, the latter project being the subject of this review.  Nucleus was this […]

When Oregon’s Agalloch first appeared in 1999 with Pale Folklore and its haunting blend of folk and black metal, the metal community quickly drew comparisons to now-landmark releases like Ulver’s Bergtatt and Opeth’s Orchid. At the time, we all knew how special the album was, but I don’t think we sensed how iconoclastic the band […]

Man’s Gin is the side-project of Erik Wunder, one half of American post-black metal act Cobalt – and although it never comes close to that band’s rage, it’s still at times a kindred, gloomy spirit. Instead of Cobalt’s brand of brittle, angular mayhem, Wunder has woven a rich tapestry of dark Appalachian folk and alt-country […]

The second album (despite being around since 1997) from Australia’s Stargazer fills two needs: First, it makes up for the disappointing Blood Revolt, redeeming Profound Lore records once again. Second, it satiates me until Atheist’s Jupiter drops. OK, I recently got Jupiter, but this tied me over. You’d think an Australian band comprised of two […]

Bear with me here. Despite being a sworn in US citizen, adapting almost all American traditions (good and bad), there’s a few American-isms I just can’t get into. Chewing tobacco and Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The weird thing is that I love peanut butter and I love Jelly―it’s called Jam fer’ crying out loud―when […]

It seems that Profound Lore and Colin Marston (Krallice, Dysrhythmia, Behold…. The Arctopus) have become two of the more respected and wanted elements of artistic, challenging black metal nowadays with anything either of them touch being of the highest quality. In the light of Marston getting producing credits for the likes of Krallice, Altar of […]

When you are reviewing an album that has tracks called “Spitting in Infinity’s Asshole” and “Strip Nude for Your Killer”, you know you are in for a good time… and by good time, I mean a sickening black/sludge/doom affair that falls under the same umbrella as Cough, Negative Reaction, Highgate and such. The formula for […]

Amidst all of this shoe gaze injected black metal and atmospheric black metal abound in the US, the fact has been lost that the Bay Area’s Ludicra have been plying their artistic and experimental take on black metal for four albums now. And while Wolves in the Throne Room, seem to get all the attention […]

We live in a time where certain aspects of metal music are having an identity crisis. I’m an open-minded person and I do enjoy some of these more unique sub-genres that are manifesting, but some leave me utterly confused and perplexed. Most noticeable experimentation is happening in the black, sludge/noise, and post rock divisions. With […]

You know when you burp and sometimes you ‘vurp? You know, that hot sour taste as what seems like beef stew rises up the back of your throat, into you mouth, and then you are forced to swallow back down its acidic, regurgitated goodness. You know the look on your face when you swallow it? […]

The critically acclaimed self titled debut from Krallice was an excellent and artistic addition to US black metal, not surprising considering the involvement of Mick Barr (Orthrelm)and Colin Marston (Behold… the Arctopus/Dysrhythmia) on guitars and bass (joined by drummer Lev Weinstein). However, with an even more technical and noodling, busy approach and less vocals and […]

One of the most revered bands in the Australian metal scene, the mucky, mysterious musical cist that is Portal seems to be one of those ‘cool’ bands to like because they are such an anti thesis of all that is popular and trendy in metal. And with their third insidious album of churning, seemingly unstructured […]

Legendary and acclaimed Bay Area act LUDICRA are putting the finishing touches on their next full-length album (their fourth) entitled ‘The Tenant‘, which will be released through Profound Lore Records. Known as one of the initial acts to help spearhead the black metal underground movement of the Bay Area and featuring the line-up of guitarist […]

I really wanted to like this. After all, it’s on Profound Lore Records, features the legendary Dan Lilker (Nuclear Assault, Brutal Truth), members of doom act Orodruin and they play a totally old school form of death/black/thrash metal culled straight from the early wave of extreme acts likes of Venom, Celtic Frost, Nifelhiem, Sodom, Bathory […]

First impressions are very important, never having a second chance to make them and all, as the saying goes. After hearing some hype about Bloody Panda, my immediate reaction was of disdain, seeing the band members engaged in the extremely tacky act of sound checking their gear in the intimate confines of the Mill Creek […]

Not being quite certain whether the title refers to the end of the lawsuits related to Mike Scheidt’s interim band, Middian, or whether this is his way of saying that the reformation of the band he is best known for is a one-off kiss this ass goodbye proposition – hope not – I am quite […]