Guild of Destruction – a.k.a. G.O.D. – has got to be Australia’s best kept death metal secret. In a land known for its extra ferocious, Christ crushing, war fed metal, G.O.D. fits right in as a behemoth in its own right. It was 2007’s Into Oblivion that first got my attention; ah hell, it knocked […]

Liturgy of Dissection arrived just in time, as I needed a fix of bullshit-free brutal death, the likes of which can be found on labels like Unmatched Brutality, Unique Leader, and especially Vomepotro’s home, Sevared Records. If there ever was a form of death metal that most either loved or hated it, it is the […]

Don’t worry, I’ll keep this review only focused on the music…. The third and final album from despondent musician Umesh sees Brown Jenkins continue the more guitar based, droning approach of Angel Eyes, straying away from the more ambient depressive hues of the debut, Dagonite. And while the result is less suicide inducing than the […]

When listening to the self released debut from Canada’s Aquila (featuring former members of Bloodshoteye), I get a little sense of Deja Va as I’m reminded of Loren Battle’s Words Begins Wars, release earlier this year; Confident, well done, polished, epic artwork – and all of it self released. But it’s also plying a genre […]

With their debut self released EP, Italy’s Unconventional Disruption has simultaneously added to 2009s self released excellence (Belakor, Cephalectomy, Kalisia, Vengeful, Avicularia) and to Italy’s impressive, growing death metal scene, (Hour Of Penance, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Vomit the Soul, Gory Blister). With a chunky, angular, down-tuned sound, these five excellent songs reminded of a more controlled […]

That album cover repulses everyone that I show it too, which only makes me want to continue showing it to folks, no matter how disinterested they may be. It kind of reminds you of something Cannibal Corpse might have on a cover, doesn’t it? That would make sense because on Obesidade Morbida (even I can […]

“Rebirth of Gorgorooooooooth!!!!” It’s fitting that after all the legal and personal issues that have plagued this Norwegian stalwart black metal band over the last few years, that the third track has returning vocalist Pest spit out this line during the aptly named third track, “Rebirth” Truth be told, I’ve never been a huge fan […]

Sure it may not be as impressive as being the “5th Beatle” ala George Martin, but being the 6th Cephalic Carnage ain’t too shabby either. Colorado based musician, sound-tech and all-around internerd Matt Blanks has made a decent name for himself contributing on the sonic support end for the well-regarded hydro-grinders, as well as assisting […]

The debut record from Fool’s Game is a promising collection of melodic metal tunes, if at times frustrating. The clear strength of the record is in the guitar work of Matt Crooks and Matt Johnsen of Pharoah fame. The six-string mastery is the foundation that the band is built on and is solid enough to […]

An Entire Legion is a band with a personality conflict. It’s a band that strives for a traditional feel, but at the same time wants to be current. It’s a band that lives on hard rock guitar riffs, but at the same time works to appeal to an artsy commercial crowd. In short, it’s a […]

If you fancy yourself fan of vintage, no frills thrash metal and you’ve not yet heard Hirax, then you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of El Rostro De La Muerte as soon as possible. In the way of a brief history lesson, Hirax were part of the early Metal Blade roster […]

As the name might give away, For the Fallen is not happy-sunny-funtime music, and as such, should not be played at parties — unless, of course, the party is a funeral. Then it might be appropriate. France’s Mourning Dawn is the creator of this extreme exercise in depression and paranoia. It’s an unsettling slab of […]

Hyadningar’s The Weak Creation has been on my review list for a while now, sitting idle among a few goregrind and old-school death metal CDs like an orphaned stepchild. I’m glad I decided to play it before the first decade of the new millennium closed. Here’s one black metal album from 2009 that deserves to […]

Primal and unadulterated hate is what fuels Slovenia’s Bleeding Fist, as is evident upon hearing Bestial Kruzifix666ion, which — spelling aside — is a most excellent release. The four purveyors of morbid sounds comprising Bleeding Fist (with evil/awesome names like Infernal Karburator and Krieg Maschine) trample listeners with earful after earful of satanic, raw black-death-thrash. […]

You know when you burp and sometimes you ‘vurp? You know, that hot sour taste as what seems like beef stew rises up the back of your throat, into you mouth, and then you are forced to swallow back down its acidic, regurgitated goodness. You know the look on your face when you swallow it? […]

A lot of folks downplay GWAR, thinking of it as a relic from the mid ‘90s when Saddam A Go Go was worshiped on Beavis & Butt-Head. Granted, their efforts on CD haven’t always been up to their other antics. Despite some strong outputs, funny songs and appealing humor there has been quite a bit […]

After previous album Antares, I hoped that Sybreed would dwell onto try out new things and develop their sound even more. Seems like I’ve got my wish, as The Pulse of Awakening is definitely something new for the band, even if at its core the mechanical heart pulsates, spewing out industrialized metal in the vein […]

Canada is hardly a hotbed for melodic death metal, but recently, with the likes of Muspellheim and now the debut from Montreal’s WarCall (formerly known as Plan B), things might be changing. Though only active for 2 years, this four-piece delivers a pretty solid if unspectacular and often hot/cold debut in Demonarchy. Nothing groundbreaking or […]

Unlike their label mates Call for Blood, Life As War only have one working gimmick for them, that being they are also of Swiss origin. However, the results on this EP are more succulent but, much too brief. Whereas Call for Blood focus on girth and bludgeoning you to death, Life as War are more […]

This came out of nowhere. I had no idea that Jesse Leach (the original Killswitch Engage vocalist) was still making music after Seemless, and it seems like the man has been at it hard because Awaken is a beast, and to be frank it puts the Killswitch effort this year in the shade. Even after […]

Disconcert Music has done a solid job of reissuing albums by the likes of Canopy, Agony, Stigmatized, Symbiontic, etc, and now they have added the 2007 self released debut from Canada’s Muspellheim, winners of the 2006 Long & McQuade Metal Fest (apparently judged by Gene Hoglan and Devin Townsend). Boasting a razor sharp production and […]

You can think of France’s Merrimack as a slightly known kult band because of their fifteen year existence and minimal output, or as a reborn band finding their voice only about five years back. All three of their full length studio recordings have come since 2002 and it is a safe bet most listeners only […]

Shall we get the gimmicks out the way? Call for Blood are a beatdown mob from Switzerland, and they have a girl singing, I know it’s unusual, but there you go, now down to business. Their self titled debut  EP for Conatus (who formerly released records by Unholy Matrimony and Weeping Birth) is blunt and […]

I dug the debut self released demo from this Portland metal act, and on their 6 song follow up, they have shown lots of improvement to their modern take on metal that includes lots of sweeping, epic synths, breakdowns and dual melody laden metalcore. Admittedly, this music is for a pretty niche group, but for […]

After two albums on At A Loss Recordings, the former Cavity and –16-duo jump to Southern Lord Recordings for album number three, and despite the label change, Chronomega picks up exactly where Bestial and Feather and Stone left off: gritty, crumbling sludge metal with a dash of discordance that comes across like a nastier, more […]