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 […]
It’s taken all the way to September, but we have a late favorite for what very well could be the brutal/slam death album of the year. If you were disappointed in the last LP from USA slam death kings Devourment (as I definitely was), then Saprogenic are here to cure what ails you. They’ve put […]
Last year, Finish act Decaying released their third album, Encirclement, and it was a solid take on Bolt Thrower/Asphyx/Hail of Bullets styled, war themed European death metal. And so here is the follow up, The Last Days of War, and little has changed in the Decaying camp as they still wear the obvious influences on […]
GWAR, GWAR, GWAR… What would the world do without such a band? Regardless of what any detractors might feel or say about the Richmond, Virginia veterans, GWAR is easily one of the most important, most crucial bands in metal today. Check that: ever. Aside from putting on the best live show in the history of […]
Norway’s Devil made an impression on me in 2010 with their demo Magister Mundi Xum and rightly so. Injecting some rough hewn overtones of NWOBHM favorites Witchfinder General in to a bluesy old school doom sound was a perfect antidote to the hordes of image conscious hippies and their retro rock bullshit. Their debut album […]
Though I usually don’t “do” compilation albums, this recent string of bands releasing their rare / hard to find / split / demo tracks on sets of CDs has been very enjoyable for me. Relapse is shortly releasing a 3CD set from Horseback (pre-ordered), Gilead Media has been slowly hinting at a 3CD set compiling […]
After a little bit of a misstep with the Netra release, Hypnotic Dirge is back on track with a handful of very solid releases (Odradek Room, Galaktik Cancer Squad, Lycanthia, Frigoris), the best of which is the second album from Massachusetts atmospheric black metal act Obsidian Tongue, and for those of you who are fans […]
If you’re a grind fan and haven’t hear of Squash Bowels well then… what the hell is wrong with you?!? The Poles have been blasting away since 1994, with a ton of splits and EPs and now Grindcoholism, their 6th full-length album. Despite their longevity, these guys haven’t quite reached the top tier of the […]
So here is only the second release from P2, a label co owned and run by one Paulo Paguntalan, guitarist and vocalist for Copremesis (whose debut Muay Thai Lady Boys still has some of the best cover art ever) and vocalist for Andromorphous Rexalia, so it should come as no surprise that the fledgling label’s […]
Suicidal Causticity is an Italian brutal death metal band and The Spiritual Decline is their debut album. Italy is not only known for their delicious pasta and pizza, but is also becoming known, in the underground death metal scene, as one of the hotbeds for brutal and extreme music. Fans of Hour of Penance, Vulvectomy […]
Full disclosure: My history with the now decade-old, German, one-man, black/doom project known as The Ruins of Beverast extends back a whopping 5 months. Why I didn’t investigate something that’s right up my musical alley much earlier is another one of life’s many mysteries, but once the brilliant new track, “Malefica,” hit YouTube on April […]
Much like my compadre Nick E’s review of this year’s other mega high profile, reunion release in Gorguts‘s Colored Sands, one has to wonder if there is really a need for a review of a release of this magnitude? Arguably the inventors of melodic death metal and a legendary band with 4 certifiably classic, game […]