Fallujah is a little bit the victim of the deathcore backlash as well as saturation of techy modern ‘death metal’ bands like The Faceless, Within the Ruins, River of Nihil, Kamikabe Born of Osiris, The Contortionist and such. Their debut, The Harvest Wombs was a solid effort I enjoyed, despite the samey, sweep, solo blast,’ look what good guitarists we are’ […]
Germany’s Vehemenz is one of those rare and exciting ‘diamond in the rough’ discoveries lurking in relative obscurity in the metal underground. Hopefully this enticing debut self-titled EP will boost the band’s profile, because it’s an utterly enthralling, haunting black metal experience that is not easily forgotten. Despite Vehemenzsignalling the band’s debut release, they’ve been […]
Unfortunately, the third album from Sweden’s Sectu (formerly known as Cimmerian Dome) is liable to get crushed and unrecognized in 2014 stellar tech death releases, which is a shame as it’s a damn fine release in its own right and if you are looking for some tech death with a little more old school and organic feel, […]
Astral Domine is an Italian power metal band and Arcanum Gloriae is their debut album. After a huge build up instrumental/intro, “Holy Nights” comes on with an acoustic opening before going into a cool power metal infused double bass gallop. Guitars sound really good and so do the keyboards. The emphasis throughout the album is symphonic […]
So back in 2010, these guys released a solid album of shredding, technical melodic deathcore/metalcore, that was kind of an under the radar release (other than Metalsucks gushing all over it for 3 articles in a row), and i rather enjoyed it but it wasn’t doing anything new in 2010 that I had not heard […]
You’d think I’d be more familiar and versed with Greece’s long running Septicflesh. They are after all part of the long running and somewhat influential Greek metal movement from the early 90s along with Rotting Christ, Thou Art Lord, Varathron and Necromatia and of course, one of the early death metal bands to add cinematic orchestration to […]
Those who thought that former Cryptospsy vocalist Lord Worm’s new project, Rage Nucléaire was a mere flash in the pan had better think again. Lord Worm has returned two years after his first real, post Cryptopsy foray with yet another hate fueled, apocalyptic, industrialized slab of unrelenting black metal, and it’s just as solid and unforgiving […]
Much like the Czech Republic’s Brutally Deceased, who took their name from a song by Swedish death metal legends, Grave, Southern California’s Skinfather is named after a Dismember song. And while the band’s sound is mostly rooted in the old Swedish buzz of yore, it adds a little modern crust and hardcore to it, not unlike fellow […]
Tremendous energy courses through this excellent sophomore LP from Norwegian melodic black metal four-piece Vinterbris. Although Vinterbris sit comfortably in the melodic black metal category, instead of retreading the past they offer a fresh, vibrant take on the style, crafting a modern black metal album of enormous depth and quality. The band’s distinctive riffs and […]
Despite hailing from the darkest depths of Cincinnati, Ohio, you’d be forgiven for assuming Valdrin reside in Scandinavia due to their impressive take of that locale’s melodic black metal sound as encapsulated by the likes of Emperor, Dissection, Naglfar and Dimmu Borgir. Fear not Dimmu Borgir haters, this isn’t overly pompous theatrical black metal, that is more […]
Along with the likes of Origin, Spawn of Possession, and Beneath the Massacre, Hour of Penance has been one band that has been at the forefront of the technical brutal death metal genre. Their style, along with the others mentioned, comes at you from all sides like an infantry battalion, with riffs flying all around […]
If you were to ask me who are the most promising new era black metal bands that can carry the post ridden sub genre into the next millennium, I would tell you the divisive Deafheaven, Australia’s Woods of Desolation, but also France’s The Great Old Ones and Greece’s Spectral Lore. The latter two burst onto the scene […]
For all of the subgenre division going on in metal, there is an equal amount of incestuous cross-breeding. A growing number of bands now practice a fusion of crust punk, grindcore, and a dash of black/death metal–notably Nails, among others. Trap Them made a significant impact themselves a few years ago with their previous album, […]
Continuing the old timey, dusty death metal vibe of the label’s previous releases by Trenchrot and Omnivore, Canada’s Sabbatory are here to deliver some no nonsense old school death/thrash metal. And like this years earlier release from Morfin, the primary influence is an easy one to hear: (very)early Death. Sure, there is lots of other old […]
Are my ears ringing? Why is everything in this style sounding so similar? It’s like déjà vu all over again for the umpteenth time. I remember listening to this everywhere – in my car, in the room, even in the bathroom. I listen to metal a lot. I’ve heard this as Liturgy, I’ve heard this […]
Sometimes I just need a break from all the brutal music I listen to. Whether it’s some bouncy folk/viking metal, some melodic black metal or just something else to reset to internal brutality meter. Recently, it’s a few choice releases- the debut from Moldavia’s Arcturus worshiping Chordewa, Deathpoint’s soaring metalcore, Barishi’s prog waft and this, the second album […]
Remember the likes of Cryptic Slaughter, Wehrmacht and Beyond Possession, from years past?? Well Gammacide, from Texas, kind of got lost in the shuffle back in the day, which is a shame, since their only album, Victims of Science was a brutal blend of thrash, hardcore influences and blast beats. Also some Rigor Mortis influence, […]
Despite their ever snowballing popularity, Mastodon has gained their fair share of detractors during the post-Leviathan phase of their career. The bombastic showmanship and scattershot songwriting of Blood Mountain proved a bit too left field for some listeners, while the tangled prog-rock odyssey of the brilliant Crack the Skye no doubt left some portions of […]
Où est le boeuf? Apparently it’s in Montreal, Canada an it’s all located on the second, fun as hell record from the awfully named Dark Century. But luckily the band’s tongue in check delivery allows for the moniker and the album name and the album cover, but the music itself is where its at here. Dark Century play […]
I have to admit that I am positively delighted by the proliferation of the two piece over the past decade of heavy music. Perhaps it’s because the setup has become fairly pervasive in the genres that are nearest and dearest to me, sludge, stoner rock, noise, and doom, but its effect is not all that […]
It would be impossible to avoid mentioning Neurosis in this review, so let’s get it over with at the beginning. The bassist and singer from Stoneburner, Damon Kelly, is none other than the son of Scott Kelly, founding member of experimental metal titans Neurosis. Damon has been on tour with his father’s band a few […]
Willowtip’s entry into 2014 early/Spring run of superlative tech/brutal death metal comes by way of the tiny country of Malta and the third album from Abysmal Torment, a band previously unknown to me. And boy is it a doozie. Using Floridan death metal as a very broad template, Abysmal Torment manage to dirty the core sound […]
I am only casually familiar with Wretched‘s previous release, Son of Perdition, which struck me as a more technical, less core-ish Carnifex, and belonging to that sort of ilk that has all the right ingredients but somehow didn’t manage to make it stick. With their fourth full-length offering, Cannibal, Wretched has stepped up the game […]
It is a rare and beautiful thing when a band is heavy not for heaviness’ sake, but as a necessity to reaching a deeper, more worthy goal of expression. Both the post-sludge and post-black genres of metal are oft-exploited templates for such explorations, and therein lies their crossover appeal. With Savage Gold, Brooklyn’s Tombs joins […]
The second album from the reformed Pillory, (who released one album, No Lifeguard at the Gene Pool back in 2005 then broke up in 2008) isn’t quite what you’d expect from Unique Leader. And while it continues the label’s excellent run of simply killer 2014 releases, it does it from a slightly different angle. Rather […]
