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 […]
After reviewing 2008s Slania, I never really went back to Switzerland’s folk metal act Eluveitie, I have not even heard 2012s Helvetios or 2010s Everything Remains or the band’s acoustic album, Evocation from 2009. I always thought the band was a bit over hyped and were simply Darkest Hour with a Hurdy Gurdy and a violin […]
The physical release of Starless Aeon entails a cassette edition limited to 50 copies, which comes in an onyx stardream (whatever the hell that means) 6×6 box with the Starless Aeon sigil stamped on top in metallic silver ink, a 12×12 poster of the album artwork on parchment, the black, metallic-silver imprinted cassette itself in […]
After a tasty little debut EP back in 2011 and a few splits and subsequent EPs, former God Macabre front man per Boder has finally released a full length album from Mordbrand, a dusty, d beat driven old school Swedish death metal return, and it’s a ripping little release. While certainly old school and Swedish, […]
Like Sectu’s Nefarious, the Third album from Greece’s Mass Infection is unfortunately liable to get a little bit lost in the early summer/spring deluge of killer death metal namely the stuff Unique Leader releases. Which is a shame as Comatose and Mass Infection have released pretty damn solid death metal record in For A am […]
Unique Leader, one of my favorite labels, has smashed yet another home run. The sophomore album by California tech-death metallers Inanimate Existence is an absolutely stunning effort on every level. After going through this album a few times, what struck me the most is the dense, ambient, dare I say beautiful (!) song structures and […]
Four albums into their career and Alestorm have outgrown and honed their ‘Scottish Pirate Metal’ sound and become arguably one of Scotland’s more famous metal acts. And the all important contract album, album number 4 certainly cements that with a larger than life collection of drinking songs and Pirate-y raucous rockers, but also a sense of impending […]
Gruff, groovy and packed with their endlessly inventive weed puns, death metal parodies and demented lyrical tales, Cannabis Corpse are well and truly in the zone on their fourth full-length album, entitled From Wisdom to Baked. After kicking around on Forcefield records and Tankcrimes the band’s hard work and genuine scene cred has culminated in […]