The leaders of the entire Taiwanese metal scene, Chthonic has always been a band that has been both loved and criticized. On one hand, they’ve enjoyed an ever-growing fanbase for their style of symphonic black metal and sweeping atmospheres. On the other hand, they’ve always been labeled a cheap Cradle of Filth knockoff, one that […]

EPs are usually a fun time to quickly jam through some new material. If the EP sucks, it’ll be over in no time. However, in the case of Ghoul’s Intermediate Level Hardcore, it’s one of the best ways to kill about eight minutes and not ever worry about getting them back. Ghoul has always been […]

When listing countries that churn out the best death metal, India would likely be way down the line of most people’s lists.  But lurking in the depths of some of these lesser known countries, however, you can find some solid metal being played.  That’s the case here with three piece band Plague Throat, who has […]

Well Big Al, has said this Ministry album, their 13th, will be the last Ministry album…We’ve heard that before and my only question is WHY???  This is one of the strongest Ministry albums ever and one of the most extreme the band has ever done.  From Beer to Eternity features a variety that encompasses the […]

Where the hell did this album come from?  If Sweden’s Graveyard met California’s Queens of the Stone Age and made a baby with an attitude problem, its name would be Medusa.  Stoner, doom, sludge, and balls out rock ‘n’ roll collide to compose the aggressively fun 15 minute EP called Divine Malice. There is so […]

Over the years I’ve failed to give The Ocean much attention, and quite possibly attention they strongly deserved. Having initially learned of their existence and being purveyors of the sound championed by bands as Neurosis, Isis, Cult Of Luna, Iron Thrones and even my personal favourite from home, Helm, I made an attempt on 2007’s […]

Since appearing as a Rob Halford wannabee on Pantera‘s Power Metal in 1988, Phil Anselmo has appeared in a large number of different projects; the pioneering groove metal in the aforementioned band, the seminal Louisianan sludge/southern/stoner metal outfit Down, the black metal groups Eibon and Christ Inversion, the hardcore Superjoint Ritual and Arson Anthem and […]

Technical death metal is a demanding trade–and not just in terms of sheer speed and accuracy. Bands fall prey to various traps in the tech-death world: songs that overstay their welcome, boggling the listener’s mind with endless flurries of notes; a lack of musical coherence as the songs change tempo and/or time signatures over and […]

Windhand’s self-titled debut dropped early last year and was one of the more promising doom debuts of the year.  The Richmond, Virginia 5-piece inked a deal with Relapse on the strength of the album, and following a solid split EP release with Cough, the band is back on deck with their second full length, titled […]

Here is the first release from new Colorado based label, To The Head Records. It is a 5 track split EP from two Colorado bands in Murder Cafe and Earth Burnt Black. Both ply sort form of doom metal, which appears to be the label’s focus, but both bring something a little different to typical doom […]

This is a polarizing release for me. When I first heard it was happening, I was confounded. I didn’t think the bands fit together, and though I absolutely love Panopticon, the inclusion of Vestiges I was decidedly less enthusiastic about. Vestiges play a mash-up of Fall of Efrafa-esque post metal and crust with inclusions of […]

The self-titled album. A tradition as old as almost metal itself. There are several reasons for the eponymous album title. An introduction, by which the band simply says “We are Iron Maiden. We are Black Sabbath. We are Bathory. And this is our sound.” Or a re-introduction, where the band has undergone some significant change, […]

Coldsteel reformed last year and are a melodic thrash band from L.I. NY and their singer, Troy Norr and I go back to knowing each other for close to 25 years. I won’t give you a history lesson, I’ll save that for my interview with him forthcoming. I’m here to review their new ep, America […]

As I have stated here many times, before part of the fun of this website reviewer gig is being able to expose folks to smaller, independent bands that they may never get a chance to be aware of. I mean sure, its nice to review the likes of Carcass and Gorguts, but we all know […]

With the release of Nations to Flames, it’s safe to say that New York’s A Storm of Light have hit their stride as a band. After a decent debut album And We Wept the Black Ocean Within and a not-as-good follow-up in Forgive Us Our Trespasses, the band finally came through with the solid As […]

The recent wave of crusty, punky, black metal has been both a blessing and a curse. While a lot of great acts have crept up from the mire in the past few years (notably: Martyrdod, Seeds in Barren Fields, Young and in the Way), there has still been a glut of uninspired Darkthrone clones releasing […]

My dealing with Wisconsin’s Halo of Flies records have mostly been Lightbearer/Fall of Efrafa or Protestant related with a few other crust /hardcore releases scattered in there. However, here is something a little off the beaten path but still is a perfect fit for the label- a female fronted, black-ish post rock/post hardcore band from […]

The reaction to The Wild Hunt, the latest full-length release from Swedish black metal veterans Watain can be summed up in one word: this will be interesting. Without question, the old school/hardcore/lifelong Watain fans will largely cry out in anger that their beloved Anti-Cosmic Luciferianism heroes have sold out, never to return. The other faction, […]

Since the day that I first gave The Invisible Mountain its first spin in my Hi-Fi last year, Horseback have compelled and intrigued me to no end. I was blown away by the sheer audaciousness and ambition of that album – just four songs stretched across nearly forty minutes of music, each song underpinned with […]

Upon receiving this album for review from this Washington State band I was fearing either lo-fi, basement level one man black metal (due to the cover and the use of “ov”) or some more typically Pacific Northwest ‘cascadian’ black metal. I was wrong on both counts, as the second album from this duo is actually […]

I buy pretty much every new release Deepsend Records puts out and label owner Graham Landers is always giving me recommendations from his label & outside his label.  He knows me and he’s always on the money with his recommendations, which my wife appreciates, with all my cds coming in every week.  I never heard […]

Fattura Della Morte is a band not afraid to wear its influences on its sleeve. On their newest EP Ouranophobia (the fear of heaven), if I didn’t know they were from Australia, I’d assume they were from Louisiana. I’ve been aware of the band for a few years and even had a copy of their […]

The debut album from Vista Chino has arrived with minimal fuss, especially considering the pedigree of their key members. A Kyuss reunion of sorts, Peace features the killer line-up of John Garcia, Brant Bjork, Nick Oliveri (since replaced by Corrosion of Conformity’s Mike Dean) and relatively unknown guitarist Bruno Fevery. Following a bitter lawsuit waged […]

Chicago based Born of Osiris return with their fourth album, Tomorrow We Die Alive. I know there are strictly a lot of people on TOTD that do not like deathcore and BOO definitely still retain those influences on this, however they also incorporate djent styled industrial influences as well as full on death metal, with […]

Perversion is a death metal band hailing from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Pillars of the Enlightened is their debut full length album (they had an EP, The Origins of Horror, in 2008) which was originally self released in 2012, but has been picked up by the fine folks at Blast Head Records […]