There is so much superficially wrong with the debut EP from Australia’s not so subtly named Facefuck that screams ‘godawful goregrind’; the name the cover, programmed drums, frog burp vocals, the logo, the song titles (“Indiginous Ectoplasmic Rectal Invasion”, “Infected Labial Secretion Obsession”), the over use of samples (including  some  from the movies Scary Movie […]

From the usually more death metal based Blast Head Records comes the debut from Denver’s Doperunner and its blistering mix of punk, grindcore and sleezy, Southern blackened sludge. It’s a volatile, fun release that plays like a mix of Nausea, Soilent Green and Eyehategod or Iron Monkey. The 14 grindcore length tracks deliver an ample […]

Solbrud hails from Denmark. Although this is the band’s second full-length, it’s my first encounter with them. The sound displayed on Jaertegn is vaguely reminiscent of darker, more raw European folk-metal acts such as Ygg and Wodensthrone, although to my ears this actually shares more in common with Cascadian black metal, such as Wolves in […]

I have to admit, past the Chris Barnes era, I am hardly a Cannibal Corpse fanboy.I mean I reviewed 2009s Evisceration Plague, and have steadily picked up used versions of Gallery of Suicide, Bloodthirst and Gore Obsessed over the years, but I have not even heard 2006s Kill or 2012s Torture. It’s not that don’t care […]

Back in 2012 these yanks released, The Chills, a damn fine Stockholm styled death metal album that made it into the top ten of my 2012 year end list. I was curious as to how the band would follow it up and keep up with the retro trend that’s been top notch since and especially here […]

Here is the debut, 6 song EP (after a couple of demos) from one man Swedish death metal act Putrified. A. Death (also of black metal act Infuneral) plays all of the instruments, performs vocals and does a pretty good job of it as well as capturing the essence of old school death metal with a heavy dash of […]

Through tremendous work ethics, perseverance and a non-stop willingness to break down and twist the conventions of the doom genre, Eugene, Oregon’s YOB are deservedly regarded as one of the most innovative and revered bands in the modern doom landscape. The formidable trio, led by mastermind Mike Scheidt (vocals, guitar), disbanded following 2005’s excellent The […]

And so Wisconsin’s own Protestant have once again subtly morphed styles  a shade, once being a pretty standard hardcore band, going a bit more crusty and sludgy , then getting intensely and darkly melodic.  Now, the band is embracing the current blackened hardcore trend, except they are taking the black metal side much more seriously, to the point […]

With an band moniker that’s a homage to Gorement and their classic 1994 album, The Ending Quest, you know exactly what Sweden’s Ending Quest is delivering on their debut; HM-2 styled, mid range, old school Swedish death metal goodness. And in a year that has delivered some really top notch examples of the style (Brutally Deceased, Putereaon, […]

It’s amazing how drastically Opeth’s revered status in the wider metal community has been skewed and distorted in recent years following a nearly unprecedented run of critical acclaim that catapulted Opeth to a rare level of bulletproof stardom and respect. During a prolific career spanning over 20 years it was of course inevitable that Opeth’s […]

Norwegian oddballs Diskord pull off a tricky double act with their quirky brand of warped death metal madness.  By blending a decidedly old school and unvarnished aesthetic with highly innovative and forward thinking songwriting, Diskord have cultivated a unique formula of raw prog and tech infested old school death metal, so masterfully nailed on their […]

Storming in from the windy city with war mongering bluster comes the debut from this Chicago black/death metal outfit comprised of a number of the scene’s veterans who have been in or played with the likes of Sons of Famine,  Corpsevomit, Gigan, Lividity, Enmortem, The Everscathed and Nachtmystium. It’s got an expected local scene sound being rough […]

Canada’s Hypnotic Dirge Records is really carving a niche out in the style of the label’s namesake, and their three early 2014 releases from Epitimia, In My Shiver and Russia’s one man project Windbruch are no exception. No Stars, Only Full Dark is the second album from sole member Illuzii Optice, who performs all of […]

If you have “EPIC FUCKING BRUTALITY” emblazoned across the inner sleeve of your album, you had better fucking follow through and luckily Virginia’s Solace of Requiem do on their impressive, fourth effort, Casting Ruin. Though their fourth album, this is my first encounter with the band  (Richard Gulczynski, Jeff Sumrell and Dave Tedesco- also unfamiliar to me despite […]

So in summation: band forms, band does a couple of demos under Nihilist moniker, band changes name to Entombed, then releases two certifiably classic albums (Left Hand Path, Clandestine). Then release a third divisive album, Wolverine Blues (which has actually grown on me in my older, wiser years). Then things get a bit odd with a  […]

Despite Ulvaja being the band’s debut EP, the story of Rippikoulu goes all the way back to 1990, when they started out playing punk. Within just a couple years’ time, they somehow morphed into one of Finland’s darkest and heaviest death metal bands of all time. If you’re familiar with Finnish death metal, you know […]

I never thought I’s actually say this in a review, but here goes- the second album from Swiss act Voice of Ruin is a throwback record- not a retro thrash or death metal throwback but a throw back to the…..classic American metal/metalcore days of the mid 00s. Yup. Miss Unearth or Lamb of God’s mid 00s […]

These days, talk about Nachtmystium is inseparable from talk about the group’s main man, Blake Judd. I have never been much of a follower of the people behind the music I listen to, for the reason that I am almost always disappointed to hear about what fucked up things they’re doing in their lives. I’ve […]

If you’re a self respecting death metal fan than you already have this classic album in your collection, in some form.  To show you how old this album is, it was released in 1988, the same year Slayer released South of Heaven.  To go over such a classic album could be mind numbing for some, […]

Once again, I find myself being very tardy on my review of a Shroud of Despondency release, as with Pine back in 2012. Part of the reason this time is that Tied to a Dying Animal is an ambitious,  monstrous release, being 2 CDs covering an hour and a half and two competently different styles.  The other […]

I’ve hit a rash of Asian music of late having only recently discovered envy along with the likes of Vampillia, Tengger Calvary, Maximum the Hormone and even non metal like Radwimps.  However, Japan’s Funeral Sutra, like COHOL a couple of years ago, was recommended and sent to me by a long time teethofthedivine forum reader, and even […]

Hailing from the  depths of Edinburgh, Scotland, the excellently named Of Spire & Throne play a crusty form of doom metal, not the classic, wailing kind, but a brutish, base level, burly, sludgy kind of doom- befitting Scotland’s craggy, rough landscapes. This 3 song EP is the band’s third EP in as many years and clocks […]

Phew. This is ambitious. 2 Cds, almost 2 hours of ambient black metal contained in a very well packaged (Hypnotic Dirge’s best packaging to date) double gatefold digipack. Nicely done indeed, now if only the music was as striking. Despite being around for 5 years and having three other full-length albums under their belt, this […]

Amidst the always evolving and mutating landscape of modern metal there will always be room for retro minded bands that eschew the notion of breaking new ground and instead cast their blackened eyes back to the roots of any given genre to unleash their own fresh interpretation. Of course any band aping a particular sound […]

Does this review even need to exist? Unless you’re someone who’s saving your next illegal download for the new Slipknot album, you probably already have this thing pre-ordered. Never before have I seen a band gain so much popularity in such a short amount of time on so few songs. Quality over quantity is Bölzer’s […]