For anybody wondering what happened to Chton, the answer is simple: they disappeared for a period of time to focus on other projects and when the time was right, created another album. Aside from a demo in 2006 called Death Awaits, the metal world hasn’t heard a peep for the Trondheim, Norway residents since their […]

Somewhere between their debut, Weltenkraft and their second effort Zum Tode Hin, Germany’s Finsterforst made a subtle change from a pure Equilibrium-worship band playing a more bouncy and uptemo form of blacked viking/folk metal, to a more somber and slower paced band more akin to Bathory with only hints of folky Equlibrium-isms. Well, on their Napalm Records […]

Having some Hirax and Metal Church blood in their ranks at one point or another, and hailing from L.A. in quite the audible fashion, I gotta say Heretic gets quite the hype sauce a’boilin’ as they’re rushing back into the scene after almost a quarter of a century with this record. Still, I find it […]

It could be said that all music is mood music because who honestly puts on an album they aren’t in the mood for? We’ve all got go-to albums for our moods. Records we put on when we’re sad, when we want to relax, when we cook. Birth Control is the kind of album to listen […]

Lurking somewhere between the doom stylings of It Will Come and the sludgy hues of Mares of Thrace, Swiss all female act shEver released their second full-length album, Rituals, earlier this year and it instantly gives a shot in the arm to all female bands, breaking away from the current trend of smoky voiced ‘vest metal’.  […]

I’m typically one that’s all for experimentation and avant-garde elements in music, I respect most musicians that push envelopes and boundaries with their music. However, sometimes it gets a little too much for me and that’s the case with Botanist — a one man plant-themed project delivered from the point of view of a man […]

The gents over at Horror Pain Gore Death Productions have been steady with their reissues and whatnot. This time around, the label was kind enough to re-release the out of print EP from Canada’s thrash troupe Minax. Vengeance Rising is a collection of five pissed off, riff-laden thrash tracks that are as in your face […]

It’s not death, black, doom, sludge, metalcore, or thrash; it’s just blues-informed, stoner-tinged, ass whippin’ hard rock, so move on over to the side if you’re a metal-only type of guy (or gal). In fact, “Super Texas Boogie” is how Honky describes itself and most folks would be hard pressed to come up with a […]

New Orleans based “supergroup” Down is back – finally. I won’t lie, I’m a huge fan so maybe I’m a bit biased in their favor, but this new EP is rad. Sticking with the Led Zeppelin/Van Halen styled numbered album titles, The Purple EP is supposedly the first of four installments of their fourth chapter, […]

So while a majority of the retro death metal resurgence has focused on the Stockholm sounds, reviving the classic tones of Entombed, Dismember, Grave and such (and there’s nothing wrong with that), what if you had a hankering for a nostalgic death metal sound that wasn’t from Sweden? What if you were craving a band […]

The press notes for this French black metal band mention the strange, underground terror of Les Legions Noires as part of their heritage. Not quite; that’s a comparison better suited for atmospheric and boundary-straining countrymen like Deathspell Omega or Blut Aus Nord. I’d place Fhoi Myore – named for a tribe of frost giants from […]

Sick Human Essence, a four-song EP from Italy’s Blessed Dead, is the perfect introductory sample of what the band is about. Mixing elements of Symphonies of Sickness-era Carcass, Symbolic-era Death, some riffs found on Cradle of Filth’s Dusk and Her Embrace, modern day Cannibal Corpse, and various other influences isn’t exactly an easy accomplishment. Blessed […]

Germany’s Downfall of Gaia is a new act to me and one of Metal Blade’s more recent, under the radar signings, but I was curious about this release due to the artwork and creative album title resulting in me checking out the digital promo we received. And after only a few listens, it resulted in […]

I’m admittedly one of those criminals that only first got around to discovering Forgotten Tomb‘s work with their fifth (previous) release, Under Saturn Retrograde.  That being said, I immediately dug the way this project’s mastermind came up with a brand of black metal that simply isn’t solely comprised of the elements shaping up this genre […]

A new Enslaved album has become an event for fans of challenging and atmospheric progressive and extreme metal, promising a depth and soulful, honest authenticity that few bands today cannot match. Theirs is a ceaselessly adventurous, bold and fearless persona, and every new album is a journey all its own. With RIITIIR, the 12th studio album in a […]

Wow.  This… ummm… folks this is bad.  I mean real bad.  I tell you what – if you’re a fan of All That Remains (as I am), then here is what you need to do:  Stop reading right now.  Go grab a copy of The Fall of Ideals, or the underrated Overcome, turn them up […]

Rejoice! All ye who’ve hoped and prayed over the past several years for a return of the SnailKing, the second half of Ufomammut’s two part Oro has arrived. Rather than continue on in vein of Opus Primum’s spacious doom, the Italian trio has returned to their gritty sludge roots on Opus Alter with faster and […]

Considering the amount of stuff we get sent to review, you’d better be pretty good to be an independent Polish industrial/cyber death metal band and your 6 song demo EP gets my attention enough to warrant a review. It’s also lucky that I haven’t heard any really good rushing cyber death metal in a long […]

With a name like The Fat Dukes of Fuck, I figured on name alone this would be awful.  But after spinning it a few times, I have to say this is album grows on you like whatever it is you picked up from that girl you banged the other night when you couldn’t see straight. […]

Getting their start over the past decade with a demo and EP, The Netherlands’ Malicious Dream has been picking up the pace more recently. After meeting some positive reception for their live performances, their debut has apparently been awaited with some anticipation by those with the fortune to have heard the band before this. Complete […]

You are going to have a hard time believing this, but there was a time when I was actually questioning whether I should review the latest release from Finland’s epic folk metal stalwarts Ensiferum. You see, I actually seem to have soured a bit of folk metal in 2012, (I know, I know, its like […]

Relapse Records has been in resurgent form over the last couple of years, revitalizing their roster and boosting their legendary track record and proven ability in providing exposure that some of the lesser known bands deserve.   Canada’s Weapon is another fine addition to the label’s large, esteemed staple.   Plucked from the grimy underground, Weapon applies […]

Shoot ‘em Up, the self-released album from Canadian death-thrashers Mortör is one of those efforts that you hear every once in a while that makes you think it could have easily been released on a metal label of some repute. It’s catchy, it’s grooving, and it’s just plain tough. With nary an ounce of fat […]

Though released much earlier this year, the debut full length album from Spain’s Mass Burial only recently found its way into my mailbox, but the wait was well worth it. Despite hailing from Spain, Mass Burial would have you believe they reside in Stockholm, Sweden… and that’s its 1990. Yup, like country mates Unconsecrated (actually […]

The guys over at Zeitgeister Music sure are creative, I’ll give ’em that. That’s the small German label responsible for avant-garde black metal act Klabautamann, the opulent and tragic Woburn House and the hoary progressive doom of Valborg, among others. It’s an incestuous collective, with the members freely circulating from one act to another, and […]