To the untrained ear, death metal is simply death metal.  Those that have been fans of the genre over the years know better.  There’s the ripped-circuit board tech craziness, the burly chested guttural variety, the sloppy gore madness, the pleasingly melodic, the groove-oriented…  I could go on and on.  Belarus’ long-running bashers, Veld fall into […]

Wolfheart is the solo project of one Tuomas Saukkonen, who you might recognize as the brainchild behind such acts as Before the Dawn and Black Sun Aeon. Winterborn is the first project under this moniker after disbanding all his other projects, and though it was originally self released back in 2013, Spinefarm is now making this […]

Enslaved that has really impressed me over the years has been their ability to craft albums that have a completely identity of their own but can only be albums written by Enslaved. I was first introduced to them with the album Isa. It was actually the title track and it’s music video that caught my […]

Writing a review for an album is fairly easy, despite what my output would lead you to believe.  In metal there are only so many (accepted) routes you can take, and even the most off-the-wall shit is endured for at most an hour in most cases and according to the inspiration of the artist in […]

It does not take genius to figure out that Atten Ash founder James Greene is a fan of Daylight Dies. He and the band hail from the same state (North Carolina), play a form of emotive, melancholy death/doom metal, and to top things off, he recruited current Daylight Dies guitarist Barre Gambling to play guitars and […]

You’d think with Flo Mournier of Cryptopsy fame on drums (taking over for the ubiquitous Dirk Verbueren) and Oliver Pinnard (Cryptopsy, Vengeful, ex-Neuraxis) on bass, the second album from New Hampshire’s Solium Fatalis (Fatal Throne?) would be a Canadian inspired, brutal tech death metal vortex of chaos. But its not. And that’s not a bad thing. […]

For three albums now, The Netherland’s Carach Angren has been arguably the top symphonic black metal band on the block, being the arguable heir apparent to Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir. Dense theatrics, cinematic atmospheres and deft story telling normally of ghost or apparition themed concepts have driven albums like the debut, Lammendam or 2010s nautically themed […]

The release schedule is usually pretty quiet at the beginning of the year. Wisely, most bands wait until the dust settles on the year that has just passed, before dishing up a new album. So traditionally it’s a slower period, with a sizable chunk of listening time reserved for bygone classics and catch-up releases.  However, […]

Considering my love of folk metal and all things epic, especially the sort that deals with history and historical writings, I have no idea how the Icelandic/German trio Árstíðir Lífsins (meaning seasons of life), featuring members of Germany’s Helrunar and Iceland’s Skendod,  is just now becoming known to me. Especially when an album like, Aldafǫðr ok munka dróttinn (Odin […]

Portland, Oregon is notorious for great riff/doom/stoner/whatever ya wanna call it bands.  I’m not going to make you a list of cool stuff from the region I’ve been turned onto because the task would take up the entirety of this write-up.  Also, I’m not going to discuss the origin of Black Pussy’s name because every […]

There’s no question, when it comes to crumbling, monstrous death metal, Dark Descent records simply can’t be fucked with. However, when going out side the realms of death metal, I tend to get a little less enamored with the label’s releases. The likes of Gravehill, Craven Idol and Crypt Sermon, while respected releases in their […]

Here’s one of those reviews, where I wish another writer had taken this off my hands and delivered a slightly more knowledgeable review of a style and album that I’m really not a fan of or familiar with even if released by the mighty Dark Descent Records. DDR has stepped out of the death metal […]

We all know what non-old school “death metal” sounds like in 2015.  I’d like to think we’re all bored of it.   I’d like to think we can make it savage again without moving backwards, since the idea of moving forwards in 2015 is more notes, more chugs, more sweeps, more frills, less substance.  Less “songs.”  […]

Ive enjoyed watching Germany’s Finsterforst (Dark Forest) evolve from a pretty blatant, if incredibly enjoyable Equilibrium clone  on their first two releases into a more epic, rangy and cinematic mix of Moonsorrow and Bathory, as heard on 2012s Rastlos, where the band delivered vast 20 minute songs and more epic orchestration, clean choirs and mid paced […]

Some metal reviews require expanded length, detailed analysis and thoughtful examination.  Other metal reviews demand brevity, tough talk and all hyperbole checked at the door.  In the case of Denmark, Copenhagen’s Halshug and their Southern Lord debut Blodets Bånd I won’t be pushing the boundaries of the written word.  Simply put, this is crust punk […]

Since 2006’s watershed album, Armada, Norway’s Keep of Kalessin have teased with utter brilliance mired in mediocrity. Truly epic, brilliant songs like “Armada”, ‘Crown of the Kings”, “Dragon Iconography”, “The Rising Sign” or “The Divine Land” littered the last three albums and while 2010’s Reptillian seemed to remedy the peaks and valleys of the band’s […]

So I get an email from Jassem “Darkvain” Alrumaidheen, the bassist, keyboardist and clean vocalist for Divine Disorder, a symphonic/progressive death metal band from Kuwait, requesting a review of his band’s 2014 release, Garden of Dystopia. I normally politely pass on 2014 releases at this point, but the press release he sent got my attention; A host of […]

Comedy and metal are odd bed fellows and the end results can be very hit or miss. I mean before Dethklok you have to go back to Crotchduster and before that possibly Lawnmower Deth ,Green Jelly and even Spinal Tap to find credible examples.  And Arizona’s Psychostick are the very epitome of hit and miss. The balance […]

In my review of Mesmur’s self-titled debut, I lamented the lack of death/doom in 2014. However, there were a few worthy entries in the genre last year, and one of the most exciting actually happened to be Mesmur-related. You see, their vocalist, Chris G, is also the voice in the Australia/New Zealand-based project, Orphans of […]

I don’t think many of us will dispute the fact that the Fins know their metal.  They’ve given us headbangers a lot to enjoy and admire over the years, and the pattern has continued long beyond the storied bands of old.  Named after a King Crimson song, and often billed straight to the chin as […]

Considering Daniel Ekeroth is the author of the genre’s bible, ‘Swedish Death Metal’, and expert historian on the genre, the 2012 debut of his band Usurpress , Trenches of the Netherworld was surprisingly mediocre. However, with the band’s second album he appears to have righted the ship, even if taking a little bit of a tangent. Taking […]

It’s always a bit odd writing a review for something that involves someone who writes for this site, or I have a friendship with. Critiquing their music and life work seems more difficult when you somewhat ‘know’ the person. In the case of Wisconsin’s Ara, a technical death metal band featuring our own Jerry Hauppa, a gentleman […]

Despite being a few weeks into 2015, the late 2014 releases are still rolling in. And while the fourth album from the Czech Republic’s Destroying Divinity (yes , the Monstrosity song), isn’t a game changer, and probably would not have adorned many 2014 year end lists, it is a very good death metal album that […]

Denver’s In The Company of Serpents are a guitar/vocals (Grant Netzorg) & drums (Joseph Weller Myer) duo that bring a certain flair of rhythm and blues to the tried and true sound of doom/sludge/stoner metal. In 2014 they released Merging in Light, a 3 song EP that continues what they established on their previous releases […]

It would be easy for a casual death metal listener or fan to look at Scarab‘s moniker, imagery, song titles like “Calling Forth the Ancient Spirits of Kemet”, “Days of a Burial Mask”, and “Funeral Pharaoh” and long song runtime and instantly assume these guys are a Nile ripoff. And to some extent that’s true, […]