What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with a good slab of old school death metal? The debut album for Zombie Inc. was released to the world on February 14, and I am sure it was the soundtrack for many a candlelight dinner. Well ok probably not, but it definitely reeks of ironic humor […]

There’s something about album art drawn in the Marvel Comics style that goes really well with neo-classical power metal. Is it because this particular American comic drawing style is reminiscent of the ‘80s, which reminds one of the group vocals so commonly heard in power metal from that same decade (and for every ‘80s power […]

Metal-jazz fusion or jazz-metal fusion? Or is it neither jazz nor metal? Live Blackjazz is a dvd/ cd release recorded at Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo by Shining. A quick history from the metal context has them forming as a jazz quartet in 1998 and releasing several well received albums before getting to perform with […]

There’s a very fine line as a critic between liking something and disliking something. A production issue, a vocal issue, a song writing issue or any number of things that can sway an opinion between praise and disappointment. Case and point; 40 Watt Sun’s largely revered album, The Inside Room and Pallbearer‘s debut album. Both cathartic, […]

So Mexico is getting in on this retro death metal resurgence with Ominous Crucifix and their take on cavernous, gnarly simple old school Incantation-y death metal. And while Ominous Crucifix don’t really do anything wrong on The Spell of Damnation, the album is still a pretty average effort resulting in one of FDA Rekotz’s weaker […]

So being a huge fan of Gorefest I had to check out the second album from The 11th Hour, a doom metal project featuring former Gorefest (and current Hail of Bullets) drummer Ed Warby and guitarist Frank Harthoon. That respectable duo is joined by Officium Triste growler Pim Blankenstein,  who brings his super deep, typical […]

A new discovery for some and a reaffirmation for others, old school Swedish death metal has achieved a level of appreciation and acceptance these past few years that exceeds that afforded it during its original era. As an admitted fan I’d be the last person to find fault with that, but let’s not forget the […]

The Pacific Northwest gets a lot of USBM love – all those towering primeval forests, rugged coastlines and deep, billowing fog banks conjure the same fascination and mysticism as the old country (i.e. Norway). But what about the Great Northeast? There’s more up there than just Martha’s Vineyard, dropped r’s and lobster rolls. They’ve got […]

France’s Comity constructs lengthy songs from short, violent outbursts of tightly wound riffs. It’s spastic, ragingly violent hardcore with a heavy dose of noise rock and a touch of post rock shimmer. It’s nothing that hasn’t been done many times before, but the restraint they show in the second half of The Journey is Now […]

My relationship with Widow has been up and down. I really liked my introduction to them, On Fire, when they were a female-fronted, horror-themed outfit. Their last outing, Nightlife, just didn’t do anything for me. So I went into Life’s Blood not really knowing what to expect, and that’s probably why it took me so […]

I’ve made no bones about the fact that I’m not a huge fan of A Plea For Purging‘s shift from awesome, twiddly shreddy metalcore to more serious, personal djent styled music. I have not really cared for the band since 2009’s Depravity, and frankly haven’t really cared to, as in my opinion nothing will top […]

Blacks Skies’ stock-in-trade is a blend of early Pentagram-style proto-doom and stoner rock. Their vibe and sound is more rough and tumble rock n’ roll than crushingly heavy. Driving riffs are the theme here, not obliterating heaviness, and the band rumbles forth convincingly, if unexceptionally, on their third full length release. The intro and main […]

The name, Hellcrawler, immediately piqued my interest, while the combination of album title and grim cover art guaranteed that I’d have to give Wastelands a spin or 10. While maybe not as perpetually disappointing as finding out the girl with the sexy voice on the phone looks nothing like she sounds, making the leap from […]

Oh Stéphan Forté, if thou art female, I’d be swooning all over you right now (and you’d probably be the best girl shredder out there). Seriously, how did this album escape the radar of countless popular metal websites and blogs last year? The guitarist of French progressive neo-classical band, Adagio, Stéphan Forté has finally and […]

Israel’s Total Rust Music has carved out a nice little niche for themselves on the black/doom/sludge genre with a number of quality releases from the likes of Highgate, Lords of Bukkake, Pyramido, Funeralium and such. 2012 looks to be of to a similarly high quality start with a trio of releases by Spain’s Tort, French black […]

Viktor Scheer and András Nagy are the only holdovers from the last album. Viktor producing and András doing virtually everything else.Everything old is new again. Welcome back founding guitarists János Barbarics and Csaba Csejtei. János played on The Pagan Winter, Phantoms and Haunting, Csaba played on The Pagan Winter, Phantoms, Forsaken Symphony and Glory And […]

Metal fans listen to their favorite genre for many different emotional responses. Some of us seek an exhilarating high from its more epic and powerful expressions. Others find an outlet for frustration and aggression from its visceral, blackened and bludgeoning strains. And some enjoy the intellectual immersion and awe that comes from its most ambitious […]

In 2001 something happened. Something that changed the world altogether. Something big. Something that should never be forgotten. Something truly awesome: newborn Swedish power metal gods, Lost Horizon, released its debut Awakening the World via now defunct label Music for Nations. The reason I’m speaking about an 11 year old album is because The End […]

Their press info lists them as a metalcore band, but to lump these Germans into such an oft-hated genre does a bit of a disservice. These Germans play a form of thrash/death/punk with a large dose of early Napalm Death for good measure. So if you do want to put them in the metalcore genre, […]

40 Watt Sun is the new band from Warning’s Patrick Walker and if you’re familiar with Warning and Walker’s signature vocal style, you’ve some idea of what to expect. The Inside Room is dour, pallid, melancholic doom for the most part. Though similar to Warning in many respects, 40 Watt Sun is more drone and […]

You know if I’m reviewing a September 2011 release here in 2012, it has to be good, and holy shit is this good. Hailing from Norway, Beaten to Death consists of a few of Norway’s veteran players from short lived or middle tier bands like Insense, She Said Destroy, oh and drummer who has played […]

It’s been 4 years since Mithras‘ stunning last album, Behind the Shadows Lie Madness, so rather than prolong the agony, the guys have dropped this quick little EP. Two new tracks and three live songs. Not a ton of material, but Mithras doesn’t just write songs – they write galaxy-destroying, mind-warping, all-consuming astral death metal […]

Do you hate your life? Are you on the verge of a big break-up? Or do you just plain wish everyone was dead? If you said yes to any of these then your ears should not be treated to this record for fear of suicide or mass murder. Well actually fuck it listen to it […]

Moribund has always been notorious/iconic for having a roster of bands that sound as though they record their albums with faulty walkie-talkies. It really makes me wonder how these bands connect the amps to those walkie-talkies, and doesn’t doing this void the warranty for the walkie-talkies as well? What if they got trapped in their […]

When Nightwish’s Imaginaerum came out in Europe back in November, I didn’t pay much attention. I had a fling with Nightwish quite a few years back, but it didn’t last long. I know it will be sacrilege to a certain segment of the band’s fans, but it was really Tarja Turunen’s vocals that did me in. […]