Continuing the harrowing black metal stylings of the landmark III, former Antaeus vocalist MkM has fulfilled the expectations of arguably one of 2012s most anticipated black metal releases. No ifs and or buts, Arrow in Heart is and will be one of the most striking and regally filthy black metal releases of the year and […]

Apart from bestial black metallers, Deiphago, I can’t recall ever coming across any other metal bands from The Philippines. A quick search on Metal Archives provides a statistical reason: less than 200 bands with under 400 releases have ever come out of that region. Why so few metal bands exist in the world’s twelfth most […]

One might have thought to himself at least once in his life that it would be unbelievably bitchin’ if Minor Threat sang only about anti-Christian themes and the Devil instead of all that straight edge and political mumbo jumbo. Or, if that would never happen, it would still be cool if a band came along […]

So Dark Descent Records has taken a little break from their Finnish death metal revival to license this 2012 release from this Swedish/Hungarian act, which was originally released on Mi Saco Un Ojo Records.  Fans of the likes of recent acts Necrowretch and Necrocurse should take note, as Megatomb ply the same sort of black […]

What is it with South America and their death metal bands? It seems as though each one is forced to read some sort of how-to guide about their metal because the overwhelming majority of metal bands from South America have the same goal: create and unleash absolute fury and hell with every single album. Ever. […]

Up until Regain Records reissued the band’s discography in 2009, I never really cared for Sweden’s blackened thrashers Nifelheim. The band hasn’t released anything since 2007, but vocalist Hellbutcher has been busy and one of his latest projects is Necrocurse – a band that combines Nifelheim‘s black thrash, spikes ‘n’ satan visage with the current […]

Comatose Music, the Willowtip of brutal death metal, has been known to unearth some gems. Underground heavyweights such as Kraanium, Septycal Gorge, Dysentery and Lust of Decay have, or still do, call the label home. They’ve snatched up Logic of Denial for their second full-length, one that pulls from the relentlessly punishing template known to […]

It appears Finntroll have been out troll’d. With Finntroll becoming a bit less ‘trolly’ on their latest effort Blodsvept, dumping the fur and bones in favor of a steam-punk meets Pirate of the Caribbean visage and branching out into more symphonic, circus-ish and experimental realms and less polka/humpa inspired fun (though still a fine album), […]

Split EP’s are a good idea in theory but are often a mixed bag in quality. Whether it’s one band clearly out-playing the other, inconsistent recording quality, or its generally skimpy length, the concept doesn’t always hit the mark. This latest offering from Relapse Records pits Windhand and Cough head to head, and the two […]

Regarde Les Hommes Tomber add a few wrinkles to the blackened sludge milieu with their self titled debut. Mining similar influences as country mates Celeste, they combine the wiry riffing of black metal with atmospheric sludge and a big dose of hardcore to create an album that doesn’t sit neatly within any of the aforementioned […]

Fans of murky, muddy, atonal death/black metal along the lines of Vasaeleth, Mithochondrion, Paroxsihzem, Ulcerate and Australian nasties like Impetuous Ritual and Portal, take note. Here is a duo from the depths if Philadelphia PA, that deliver that same churning, icky, sickly discordant noise and deliver it with an exclamation point. And that’s no surprise as the […]

It’s hard to believe that the origin of October Tide dates back almost two decades now. Jonas Renkse and Fred Norrman started the project during Katatonia’s brief break-up in ‘94 and released two now-classic albums before disbanding in ‘99. Norrman eventually resurrected the moniker in ‘09 after his departure from Katatonia. The decade-long hiatus, lack […]

Bursting forth with 10 vitriolic blasts of hate-fueled extremity, Colorado’s Call of the Void make quite the impression with their debut full-length, Dragged Down a Dead End Path. Stitching together elements of grind, hardcore and crust, Call of the Void keep it short and direct, creating their own violent, murky combo drawing influence from the […]

You may recently have heard the name Ola Englund in death metal circles, as he is the guitarist on the latest Six Feet Under release, Unborn (but don’t hold that against him or Feared), but he has been messing around with other bands for a few years, mostly Feared which has been around since 2010 […]

It’s fitting that the second full-length offering from this mysterious Polish entity is named after a poisonous, hallucinatory plant and the band is named after a book from Lovecraftian mythos, because each night I listened to this release at night time, on head phones, it resulted in nightmares, unsettled sleep, and according to my wife, […]

The Chicagoland area has certainly been home to many a great metal band over the years. Trouble, Master, Macabre and Cianide have paved the way for newer bands Nachtmystium, Cardiac Arrest and Bones. Add to the list of quality metal bands from the Midwest’s greatest city, Terminate, who hail from the northwest suburb of Morton […]

This album starts out promising enough, with a nice chug riff backed by some pounding double bass. But once the overly-nasal, high-pitched pig squeal of vocalist Jaymes Grundmann kick-in (a stylistic choice that’s unfortunately overused through the entire album), you might find yourself reaching for the skip button. This is brutal death metal at its […]

Seems like Ghost (or Ghost BC, as the lawyers like to call them now) has made a deal with the Devil. They got a major advance for their sophomore album – $750,000 buys a lot of face-paint and incense. You can hear it in the production and atmosphere, as thick and as decadent as blood […]

With a name like Asenblut (which apparently translates roughly to Æsir Blood according to a quick and dirty Google translate) I would expect the band to be either an epic melodic death metal band full of Norse and Viking lore in the vein of Amon Amarth or perhaps more of a folk metal band similar […]

I’ll get the big Mumakil out of the room right away. Yes, Utah’s Caladan Brood are heavily, and I mean heavily influenced by Summoning. Plodding but regal, majestic, and somber synth laden black metal with brittle guitars using fantasy literature as a backdrop (in this case Steve Erikson’s The Malazan Book of the Fallen series, […]

Though only active since 2008, Cerekloth is comprised of several members of the Danish metal scene including folks from The Cleansing, Usipian and Altar of Oblivion and following a couple of EP’s (Pandemonium Prayers & Halo of Syringes) the band has finally consolidated a solid line-up and released this accomplished debut album of grimy, groove-oriented […]

Christopher Bowes may be on the verge of becoming a new musical hero of mine. First he gave us Scottish pirate metal, now Scottish epic fantasy metal, and it’s just as much fun. If you’re familiar with Bowes’ other band, Alestorm, it will be no surprise that Gloryhammer’s music is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it’s […]

While a greased up Maurizio Iacono parades around in his pony tails, faux amour and recycles Kataklysm riffs under the guise of Ex Deo, Italy’s Ade have released their second album (I have not heard the band’s debut Prooemivm Sangvine) of truly Romanic inspired death metal, and it’s going to be one of the best death […]

The kids these days just seem to be much more musically advanced at this stage in their lives compared to when “the glory days” were, right? It seems like every day some new band full of teenagers (or dudes in their early-20’s) are popping up all over the place and ripping off intricate riffs, dazzling […]

Skineater is a new entrant into the world of sometimes manic, sometimes melodic Swedish death metal, but these aren’t pimpled-faced kids just starting out. The lineup is filled to the rim with dudes who have been in Dark Funeral, Vicious, In Thy Dreams, Defleshed, Carnal Forge, among many others. It’s expected that Dermal Harvest, the […]