Just in time for Halloween comes this concept album by Dutch symphonic black metal act Carach Angren. The name is taken from The Silmarillion, although there’s no Tolkien reference in the music. And unlike many symphonic bm acts, there’s none of the usual Satanic nonsense either. Instead, Carach Angren have refreshingly built the album around […]

French export Glorior Belli became critical darlings two years ago after the release of the powerful Manifesting The Raging Beast. The praise was deserved; although they stayed closer to traditional black metal than experimental countrymates Deathspell Omega the album offered a well-lit and immaculately produced pathway to Hell. Of course the inevitable question is whether […]

Though it was originally released in 2008, Father Befouled’s Profano Ad Regnum was re-released this summer on vinyl. Now, not having heard the vinyl version, I couldn’t tell you the difference in quality. My guess is that it still sounds like it was recorded in some dank, primordial dungeon, someplace that hasn’t seen sunlight in […]

Well known to European fans of Melodic Metal, Axxis are still somewhat obscure in American metal circles, even though the guys have been keeping their vessel afloat for more than two decades now. Having gone through ups and downs, the band has stood the test of time and remained loyal to its musical credo, which […]

Though plying the same basic musical style and shtick as the relatively enjoyable 2008 debut, Total Brutal, Tim Lambesis’s (As I Lay Dying) Arnold Schwarzenegger themed metal act has grown somewhat. First off, professional Arnold impersonator Josh Robert Thompson (The Howard Stern Show, The Late Late Show) now provides the excellent and amusing Arnold quips […]

I love to drink. I am not an alcoholic (or am I?) but I do enjoy a tasty beverage now and then. There’s never a bad time for good friends and a good game of the drink. So, naturally I should love a band like Korpiklaani with their anthems of inebriation, however this band requires […]

Frank Zappa passed this mortal coil in 1993, leaving behind volumes of brilliant and often criminally underappreciated music. He’s now looking down from The Great Wazoo in the sky, where thankfully yellow snow isn’t a concern. If by chance the sounds of Lye By Mistake’s Fea Jur reached his groovy orbit he would no doubt […]

The first couple of spins of Sanctification’s Black Reign brought to mind two parallel thoughts: it is rather redundant and it borrows heavily from the Cannibal Corpse sound, especially the vocals of George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher. As it turned out, neither of those were bad things and Black Reign has grown on me, mainly because the […]

Three listens back to back to back of Wormwood will leave you laying on the floor in a pool of drool, even if you are up to date on your inoculations. To paraphrase Legion, if you don’t know what Marduk is what the hell are you doing here.  Marduk has a history of short intros, […]

Fans of depressive, atmospheric black metal have a lot to be happy about in 2009. So far we’ve seen fantastic releases from all the greats – Blut Aus Nord, Drudkh, Wolves in the Throne Room, as well as shoegaze/black metal newcomers like Fen, Altar of Plagues and Svarti Loghin. And now here comes this stunning […]

If you do not know Belphegor by now you must have just hatched. Eight studio full lengths and a couple of eps. You would think Austria’s kings of perversion would have it all figured out by now. Walpurgis Rites – Hexenwahn is the title, so the lyrical disposition should be obvious to all. The bonus […]

A new Dying Fetus album isn’t quite the event is once was as since the bands crowning moment, 2000s Destroying the Opposition a revolving line up has kept John Gallagher from attainting perfect chemistry that was achieved with the classic Netherton, Voyles (who of course left after Destroy the Opposition to form Misery Index) and […]

What’s the first thing that comes to mind about Grey Metropolis from Denmark’s Sanctus Daemoneon? With Halloween coming up, it might be one to consider as the soundtrack to one of your morbid holiday gatherings. That statement is not intended to sound like I’m making fun of Grey Metropolis; it is just recognizing the fact […]

Leaving metal powerhouse Century Media for the tempting pastures of major label Atlantic proved to be an ill move for Shadows Fall. Atlantic proved pretty quick they had virtually no clue how to properly promote a metal band in this day and age, and it certainly didn’t help on the bands end that they somewhat […]

Every new release from Germany’s pride and joy U.D.O. is a grand occasion for the fans of the band. Picking up the baton from the great Accept as far back as the mid 80’s, U.D.O. is none other than the very incarnation of everything those Teutonic ironsmiths used to be famous for. The rasping diamond-cutting […]

When I heard Dreamland’s debut Future’s Calling back in 2005 I thought to myself, ‘Damn, this thing is just like a Hammerfall replica from start to finish!’ Admittedly, these guys were a carbon copy of one of the most well known Traditional Metal acts from Sweden, but they were a very good and promising copy […]

Finally given a proper label release (and a nifty new cover) after a self released push from band members (notably the wonderful Jackie Perez Gratz) and friends earlier this year, Giant Squid’s second offering should finally get the attention it deserved before the tragic death of the band’s publicist, Adrian Bromley. And Translation Loss is […]

Despite leaving the fold in Scar Symmetry, Christian Alvestam is still a very busy guy. Currently working on projects with Miseration, Torchbearer, new outfit Solution .45, and this, The Few Against Many, the man definitely has his plate full. The same can be said for the rest of the band, as everyone here has worked […]

Straight out of Brooklyn, NY and featuring members of Darkest Hour, City of Caterpillar, Majority Rule and Verse Em Coma comes Ancient Sky. I don’t know if I’d call it any kind of trend, maybe I’m just now noticing, but I’m starting to see bands begin to combine Stoner, Psychedelic and Prog Rock. Bands like Astra, […]

Originally released on vinyl back in 2008, this re-issued split features 3 songs from Bay Area sludgsters Stormcrow and 14 tracks (including 5 bonus tracks for those that own the original Agipunk Records release) from Vancouver grindcore acts Massgrave. The 3 lengthier Stormcrow tracks are festering, crusty, sludgy numbers that are self described ‘stenchcore’ and […]

In the deep south of these United States of America a man known as Mortigan stands defiant in the midst of trend whores and mall metal junkies, opting instead to (basically) go it alone and make raw, minimalist black metal rife with sordid tales of sadomasochism and bizarre fetishes. Performing under the moniker Octagon, new […]

I really wanted to like this. After all, it’s on Profound Lore Records, features the legendary Dan Lilker (Nuclear Assault, Brutal Truth), members of doom act Orodruin and they play a totally old school form of death/black/thrash metal culled straight from the early wave of extreme acts likes of Venom, Celtic Frost, Nifelhiem, Sodom, Bathory […]

The newest addition to Italy’s Supernatural Cat/Malleus Art collective musical and graphic arts family are these five homeboys from Pistoia who join psychedelic sludgies Ufomammut and proggy instrumentalists Lento to represent some of the best of modern Italian innovative heaviness. The group has elicited some blips on the international underground radar, with Converge‘s Kurt Ballou […]

With an ever-changing roster of members, the only constant in Vader’s lineup for the duration of the band’s 26-year history has been guitarist/vocalist Piotr “Peter” Wiwczarek. While the man must be either completely dedicated or insane to grind the axe that long, it’s clear that his vision has remained focused through the years and leagues […]

Even after two utterly punishing albums in 2005s The Healing Process and 2007s The Ills of Modern Man, Canada’s Despised Icon have a bull’s eye directly on their back for the deathchore haters and scene haters to take pot shots at. From their cocked hats and Vans to their clinical triggered sound and shift from […]