The band Chastain, home to virtuoso guitarist and label owner David T. Chastain, and female vocal goddess Leather Leone, was one of the most grossly overlooked, underappreciated heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Combining US power metal along the lines of Sanctuary and Metal Church with a neo-classical flair, they released five albums by 1990, […]

The important thing to remember is that there’s no such thing as progressive metal, rock, jazz or anything. You’re more likely to find something truly ‘progressive’ in anything by Janelle Monáe than anything by Opeth. Reason: ‘progressive’ is a just another genre, which means its hellbound to laws and rules, like any other genre. So now that we’ve got that out […]

The dis on the ‘net is that Kryoburn are Fear Factory clones and so much for them. Well, I just want to say this is really unfair.  Kryoburn are Fear Factory clones that clone a whole mess of other bands as well, okay? Now that that’s cleared up, what separates this New Mexico band’s brand of industrialized metal from […]

As most of you know, I’m a sucker for old school, Stockholm-styled Swedish death metal. And with the recent resurgence of the genre, I’ve very much enjoyed nostalgic acts like Axis Powers, Interment, Entrails, Fatalist, Brutally Deceased, Morbider and Evocation bringing back the glory. Not forgetting the slew of re-issues of previously undiscovered, obscure or […]

It’s 2011, and more than two decades after black metal first slithered out of the darkness, it’s still shifting and changing into surprising and unexpected new forms. Recent mutations include the rambling, crystalline majesty of Pacific Northwest acts like Agalloch or Wolves in the Throne Room, or the unexpected fusion of black metal and shoegaze, […]

Stratovarius is iconic within the power metal scene. Having released their first album, Fright Night, 22 years ago, they have been a near-constant presence releasing 13 studio albums, a live album and no less than five (5) compliations in that time. Founding guitarist Timo Tolkki left in 2008 after a good amount of dramatic press. […]

I enjoyed this one. How’s that for a bare bones, straight forward assessment devoid of all the fluff and metaphor of the typical critical review? But I’m sure I’ll still end up tossing in some metaphorical blather anyway in some desperate attempt to be clever. Singapore’s uniquely <ahem> named Pyscho brings an effective mix of […]

Macabre and Willowtip? Now that’s a pairing that took me by surprise. The Impaled signing and subsequent release of The Last Gasp seemed a tad askew too, though not in any kind of a shocking way. None of that should be taken to mean they weren’t smart signings though; only that Macabre in particular is […]

Starting out originally under the name Etna, the Swiss group Breach the Void takes on a style of synth infused Cyber-Metal that brings them into the ranks of bands such as Sonic Syndicate, Mnemic, Threat Signal, In Flames, Scar Symmetry and Fear Factory. The band’s inception came with Alex Anxionna, whom after his time drumming […]

Okay, so I’m a few months late on this one, but it’s still the right weather outside to grab your headphones and take October Falls’ newest for a wintry walk. As with 2008’s excellent The Womb of Primordial Nature, A Collapse of Faith doesn’t rush headlong through the forest – it explores, wanders and breathes […]

Despite having plied their brand of Eastern European folk metal since 1995, I’m still relatively unfamiliar with Latvia’s Skyforger, having only heard the Paragon Records 2006 re-issue of their 1998 debut, Kauja Pie Saules (The Battle of Saule). I’ve missed the three albums and a compilation that have been released since 1998. When hearing the […]

The name, logo, album cover and Norweigian origin all say extreme metal, but the music on Nekromantheon’s Divinity of Death is pure candy to the ears of classic thrash fans. Nekromantheon blazes through 11 tracks in about 30 minutes sounding like the bastard child of Show No Mercy-era Slayer and very early Sepultura. The songs are short, […]

Seriously I don’t think it’s possible to give a negative review for bands on Facedown/Strikefirst Records as their roster of bands has been consistently great since their very start. Metalcore to hardcore and even melodic death metal Facedown/Strikefirst Records never disappoints in delivering high quality Christian bands to the masses. With that being said, Ace […]

It appears Eastern Europe is experiencing a resurgence in bands playing old school Swedish death metal. Led by the Czech Republic’s Morbider (who’s 2009 CD When Darkness Returns, I highly recommend, especially if you enjoyed Entrails‘ effort last year) and the debut from Lavadome Records, Brutally Deceased’s Dead Lover’s Guide. Swedish death metal aficionados will […]

Here’s a release I saw on numerous ‘2010 year end’-lists, but I never got around to listen to it in a timely fashion myself and thus, I couldn’t determine if it should be a best of 2010 ‘best of’ contender. But with a 2011 US release date via The Anja Offensive, I can now use […]

Jag Panzer certainly need no introduction to heavy metal fans. Stalwarts of American Heavy Metal for going on 30 years now, Jag Panzer has never failed to deliver epic heavy metal to its awaiting fans; flying under the mainstream radar (due largely, no doubt, to the 10 year gap between its first and second albums), […]

Ever hear an album that strangely rides the line between “dude, this is awesome” and “dude, these guys played at Honky Tonk Hank’s again last weekend and a drunk fat chick barfed all over the bass player”?  Well, unfortunately, Elliott’s Keep‘s Sine Qua Non (which apparently translates to “without this, nothing”) appears to fall into […]

Other than Metallica, I wasn’t really that much into the Bay Area thrash of the late ’80s, preferring the European likes of Sabbat, Xentrix and Kreator and the more extreme sounds of Slayer. As the genre has made a denim clad comeback, albeit now somewhat over saturated, I’m slightly surprised that Arizona’s Hemoptysis hasn’t garnered […]

I know it may seem this site has turned into metalcoreofthedivine.com as of late, but in all fairness we are A) trying to clean out the backlog of 2010s releases, and B) we are traffic whores and the ‘core be bringing the traffic, yo. In all seriousness, just click on the review of Hate‘s Erebos […]

I’m having a tough time with the debut record from The Shadow Theory. On one hand, I love the mashup of soft atmospherics, driving heaviness and the occasional hit of weirdness. It’s all very well-played and put together. Those qualities make me want to call it the first candidate for best of 2011. On the […]

It’s time to chalk another one up to the Midwestern metal scene with Minnesota’s After the Burial and their second release on Sumerian Records, In Dreams. This is definitely going to be a favorite for fans of the math metal variety with Meshuggah inevitably being the prime example that comes to mind. And rightfully so, […]

Blood Magick Necromance. Clean and polished. The sound is massive and full and the clarity is excellent, all of which bears witness to one hell of a death metal album. But this is black metal. Belphegor has flowed back and forth from death to black to black death to blackened death to whatever you want […]

There’s an old adage in American Football: You should never lose your staring job to injury. While Drew Bledsoe, Trent Green and Joe Montana might beg to differ, here comes Poland’s Hate to ably replace Behemoth while Nergal recovers from his recently diagnosed leukemia (get well soon!). Long waiting in the shadows of the likes […]

For those who have ever wondered what Killswitch Engage would be like―and I know every fan has―if original vocalist Jesse Leach had stayed with them, you may finally get a little bit of an idea with the release of Hymn of a Broken Man by Times of Grace. It’s the creative collaboration of lead Killswitch […]

Listen, I have no excuses as to why I didn’t get around to listening to and reviewing this album on a more timely basis. It’s even more baffling when you consider that I thoroughly enjoyed Withered‘s previous efforts, 2005’s Memento Mori and 2008’s critically acclaimed Folie Circulaire (which made my 2008 year end list). I […]