Hailing from the Netherlands, The New Dominion is a exciting and talented multifaceted act that features drummer Yuma Van Eekelen, who drummed on Pestilence‘s 2011 effort, Doctrine. And while that once great band’s lackluster return and that particular album might not lure you into listening to this loosely affiliated band, be aware that The New […]

While I am far from the highest authority when it comes to ultra-kvlt, super underground, cassette only, no website Black Metal, it is not frequent that I come across a release from a band, or in this case two, that have been around for nearly half a decade or more, that I have never even […]

When it comes to Swedish melodic metal excellence, Darkane are an underappreciated force with a top-notch track record. Formed in the late ‘90s, the band has never been anything less than solid. Their exceptional debut, Rusted Angel, is something of a minor classic, and their 2005 release, Layers of Lies, was another fist-pumping gem, displaying […]

Sidious is the side project from some of the members of UK doom act Eye of Solitude, and while I generally don’t dig EPs (musical cock teasers), Ascension to the Throne Ov Self is a fucking killer little 4-song release, and I very much look forward to a full-length. Sidious is a complete 180 from […]

They say good things come to those who wait. Well, in the case of the debut from Germany’s Sulphur Aeon, that is most certainly true. Originally released at the beginning of the year/late 2012 on Imperium Productions then licensed via FDA Rekotz, I finally ordered the album after months of waiting, forgetting, and looking on […]

The whole of Anarchic finds Skagos focusing upon their atmospherics and expanding further on the sounds found on the Split with Panopticon (whose tracks form one half of his brilliant On The Subject Of Mortality). This is a complicated record that is “lyrically complex, focusing on the death of the Earth and the renewal inherent […]

Kylesa are, along with such other psychedelic sludgy metal counterparts as Mastodon, Baroness, Black Tusk and Zoroaster are part of the Georgian scene, which at this rate could at some point go down as legendary as the early ’80s Bay Area thrash or the late ’80s Floridian death metal scene. Like their contemporaries Mastodon and […]

Zealotry is a project that features Roman Temin, a former metal journalist for blistering.com, Unchallenged Hate, as well as a couple of other skilled veterans of death and experimental metal. While Temin plays rhythm guitars and does lead vocals, he has plenty of veteran and skilled assistance by way of Philippe Tougas of Chthe’ilist and […]

Oh, good old My Dying Bride, we go back a long way. You commiserated with me during my depressing teen years and helped me feel something whenever life would turn mundane. I’ll admit to skipping over your then-infamous (not so much now) 34.788%… Complete only to discover it’s quirky gloom a few years later, and […]

For those unfamiliar with All Pigs Must Die, they’re essentially a supergroup comprised of members, both currently and formerly, from acts such as The Hope Conspiracy, Converge, The Red Chord, and Blood Horse. Two surprises come out of this musical juggernaut’s output: firstly their sound is not what you’d expect, and secondly this group is […]

It’s not often these days that my mind is completely blown away by a musical album, but the latest output, Coal, from Norwegian progressive metallers Leprous did just that. Not once, not twice, but goddamn, the album rolls throughout the entire 60-minutes. I first caught a glimpse of the band at this year’s Tuska Open […]

It’s kind of hard to be a death metal band in the 21st century. You know you want to play something that is heavy, brutal and has growling in it. The question is, how brutal do you want to be? How technical should you play? Should you be more experimental and throw in some saxophone? […]

“This should not be seen as a gathering of two humans playing music, for it doesn’t simply stand for “music” but a real Communication between an incarnated being and vibrations coming from a non-manifested paradigma where the Essence of what has suffered thousands of incarnations and names wanders eternally through the halls of it’s last […]

So here is a 9 song, 23 minute EP or short LP from France’s Years of Tyrants, and one thing is incredibly clear, these guys really like Beneath the Massacre. So much so, that when a track started playing, I had a hard time telling who they were seeing as I still have Beneath the […]

As the big name bands continue to put out disappointing albums (looking at you most recently Blood Red Throne… I mean wtf?!?), it has allowed the underground to show where the action’s at. You can be forgiven if you’ve never heard of these Ohio broot-brewers, as it’s been almost 10 years since their last full […]

In this day and age of super speed, mega brutality and throwbacks there is something to be said for just riffs. Simple, catchy, driving riffs. And on their second effort of largely mid paced black ‘n’ roll styled metal, Germany’s Sonic Reign deliver them in spades. Those who hated Satyricon‘s last couple of outings, Now […]

Dark Descent Records has been on an absolute tear of killer releases in the past few years. Off the top of my head they have put out great records by: Ritual Necromancy, Entrails, Burial Invocation, Mitrochondrion, and Thantifaxath. If the rest of their catalog is as good as the aforementioned, or Lantern’s spectacular debut Below, […]

It feels a little odd reviewing Abyssal‘s re-released debut, Denouement so close to the excellent review of their second offering Novit Enim Dominus Quie Sunt Eius, but here I am listening to and enjoying Denouement actually a little more than the band’s latest Profound Lore release. Originally self released by the band on individual, hand […]

Last year was a rough one for Sofy Major. They made a trip from France to the States to record Idolize at producer Andrew Schneider’s (Keelhaul, Cave In, Unsane) brand new studio in Brooklyn and tour. Unfortunately, their trip coincided with the arrival of Hurricane Sandy and the studio was wiped out just a few […]

Norway’s Blood Red Throne achieved a little attention in the 00s, being an American sound death metal band hailing from the then black metal dominated country of Norway and featuring Tchort of Emperor as well as a rotating line up of other Norwegian luminaries. They released a number of solid, well received albums, notably their […]

Another one that slipped through the cracks late last year, Ireland’s Grot are a new grind/death band who, by all accounts, sound like they could be sticking around for a while. Sporting a polished overall production, their debut EP I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is a scorching six songer that clocks in […]

Norway’s Extol seemed to be that rare Christian metal band that were saved the usual ridicule and cries of “Get God out of my metal!” from knuckle dragging satanic metal heads when they surfaced in the late 90s. Whether it is because like thrashers Believer before them, they played a ‘real’ brand of metal (a […]

Life Sentence marks the long-awaited comeback album from one of the underrated spearheads of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Satan were around and kicking at the tail-end of the ’70s before emerging with their debut album, Court In The Act, in 1983. That album has since achieved somewhat of a cult status […]

Well it looks like America and Canada are finally having some profound influence on Black Metal around the world. Last year’s excruciatingly awesome demo by the Russian troupe Kalendae was “Cascadian,” “atmospheric,” Black Metal of the absolute highest caliber. The 20 minute, 2 track demo was absolutely the best slice of such a thing since […]

Hybrid is an apt name for this experimental Spanish metal act. Melding grindcore, djent, death metal, tech/math metal and jazzy experimental flourishes, the band is certainly adventurous with its sound, and on their second effort it creates one challenging, creative , if at times testing listen. This isn’t Azure Emote levels of crazy experimentation, but […]