Throughout the years, split EPs between two or more bands have always been one of the greatest nuances of the entire metal scene. It’s always been an inexpensive (and just downright cool) way to sample a few bands that one might not ordinarily spend hard-earned money on. There is nothing worse than dropping some coin […]
It has been a few years since Inter Arma scorched a trail through the underground with their debut LP. A corrosive whirlwind of doom, sludge, grind, and thrash, Sundown was a welcome blast of fresh air. Since then they’ve been scooped up by Relapse and spent the intervening years writing their sophomore full length. Sky […]
Hailing from Austin, Texas, Morgengrau is a 4 piece playing old school US death metal in the Master/Death/Incantation/Immolation vein. What makes them even more interesting is that the band is fronted by former Autumn Tears/Hod/Ignitor vocalist/guitarist Erika Tandy and the drums are played by another femme fatale, Reba Carls. Not that being females in death […]
Aside from their almost iconic band logo, not much has changed with Immolation throughout the years. When they first bombarded the world with their debut album Dawn of Possession back in 1991, Immolation established themselves as one of the most brutal and uncompromising death metal bands on the planet. Fast forward more than twenty years […]
Having enjoyed their last full length five years ago, nOn, it was good to see The Amenta back in LP land. Their blend of pseudo-industrial death metal caught my attention years ago and I was stoked when I heard this was coming out. On Flesh is Heir, the band picks back up with that same […]
Growing up in Chicago, it was engrained into my brain basically to loathe anything related to Wisconsin. The people, the state, the cheese (though the cheese is great from there) and their pro sports teams. Aside from some good cheap beer, Wisconsin was always a lousy state in which I never wanted to step foot […]
Part of this writing endeavor is getting sent records by unknown obscure bands. Sure, we get to review Soilwork, Nile and other international super acts that really don’t need our lip service — but it’s so more rewarding to get a promo from a band like Russia’s Wandersword, and be able to spread the word […]
This actually might be the greatest album ever recorded and I’m not kidding around, either. Now, ten seconds into Energia!, the stone-faced, grizzled and too-serious metalhead out there will turn it off and squawk something along the lines of, “What the fuck is this shit?!” and quickly reach for his can of Old Milwaukee and […]
The debut from Germany’s Revel in Flesh, Deathevocation, was one of the very best examples of Old School Swedish Death Metal, and one of my favorite releases of 2012. So a mere year later, here is the follow up and what do you really expect here? Of course its the same style, delivered with the […]
I remember the collective groan Morbid Angel received when they said they would be incorporating elements of electronic and industrial in to their next record. While that experiment turned out to be… well… let’s say less than good, the sad reality of Ilud Divinum Insanus should only serve to highlight all the great bands out […]
After 2005’s Absence and 2006’s Anatomy of Life, Finland’s Noumena looked to be on the verge of breaking out and rising to the levels of fellow Finns Amorphis, Insomnium, Swallow the Sun and previous greats like Rapture and Sweden’s Slumber in the realms of melancholic death metal. However, the band took a hiatus and simply […]
Doom/stone metal is typically a subgenre of the metal scene that fans either take or leave. There are some kickass bands in the scene like Fu Manchu, Monster Magnet, Trouble, Down, Sleep and, of course, Kyuss and Black Sabbath. The troubling aspect of the genre is that most of the bands all sound like one […]
Just Before Dawn is a multinational super group of sorts. It was formed by Blood Mortized guitarist Anders Biazzi with old school death metal mercenary Rogga Johanssen (Revolting, Megascavenger, Paganizer, etc.) providing the vocals. However, the project snowballed and a bunch of other vocalists from old school death metal acts got involved and as a […]
If anything is to be clear, it is that the Italian solo artist Nerij has come quite a long way since “Fato Ottenebrato Ghermente Anime Inquiete” of last year, a patchy eighteen minute demo that introduced me to his work on a less-than-satisfactory note. Ripping black metal and dark ambiance in virtually equal measure, it […]
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 […]