The only thing more satisfying than human misery is a new Impiety disk. You know those days when you are mightily pissed off at the world, bright sun, not a cloud in the sky, smiling faces everywhere you look. Tourist season is upon us and in anticipation I have been out blasting Impiety in public […]

For a band whose whole shtick is rooted in the cinematic prog-synth of 70s forebears like Tangerine Dream and Goblin, nostalgia is an expected part of the experience. Although previous albums Cosmos and Surface to Air are fine on their own merits, they really hit home (at least for me) because they recall those bands’ […]

Let’s get this out of the way: FatTooth’s debut album is kind of a wreck. The riffs are warmed over like a tin of Dinty Moore beef stew and the songs sound like a bad fourth-generation dub of The Sex Pistols. Mixing Green Jelly, The Meatmen and cock rock is either an act of bravery […]

Coexistence, formed in 2008, is a long-distance project between guitarist Gregory Giraudo and vocalist Carl Lindquist. One lives in South France, the other in Stockholm, Sweden. Considering the distance between the two, and the fact that the music was recorded in France and the vocals in Sweden, this four-song EP is not a bad little […]

It would be easy for me to simply cut and paste my review Obituary’s real comeback album, 2007s Xecutioner’s Return considering this has the same sort of throwback glorious artwork, sense of album ranging classic Obituary riffage, Ralph Santolla’s leads and oppressive, murky production that made Xecutioner’s Return so good. Ultimately that’s what most of […]

This album is one fucking weird cocktail of styles. Stoner rock mixed with a vocalist similar to John Joseph (Cro-Mags) and tiny touches of crust added in for good measure. As I judged this book by its cover I thought I was in for a d-beat treat, mainly because the cover art and layout are […]

Poland’s Pagan Records did not have to go far to farm their fellow countrymen Gortal from their own back yard. Occasionally the “homeboy syndrome” clouds a label heads judgement and I’m happy to say that does not appear to be the case with Gortal. These fuckers and this recording deserve the contract. When I put […]

Formed by members of the decidedly non death metal act Ananda (and other hardcore acts), Carmina is the full of death metal assault and only the second release on fledgling Rewolucja Records (owned by Carmina bassist Bif), and it’s a pretty scorching little EP. Clocking in at 25 minutes, the 7 no nonsense songs that […]

So here is the first and last album from Amesoeurs, another genre pushing French act featuring Neige from Alcest and Peste Noire fame, and if you enjoy Alcest’s gentler take on black metal as well as the current trend of organic artistic black metal like Wolves In The Throne Room, Fen and Altar of Plagues, […]

The first thing that grabs you with Battle Dagorath is the Christophe Szpajdel  logo. Next is the fact that they fail from California. Sure they have mountains out there but not really the land of Cosmic Frozen Landscapes. Another notable tidbit, at least for us Vinterriket fans, is that Christoph Ziegler is the keyboardist. Eternal […]

I was only recently introduced to Ireland’s Primordial by way of 2005s The Gathering Wilderness and 2007s To the Nameless Dead, and only in the last month or so have I had a chance to go back and check out the Candlelight reissues of 2000s Spirit the Earth Aflame and 2002s Storm Before Calm. However, […]

I like what Tribunal records has done recently; Asecretdeath’s impressive debut, re-releasing Inferi’s solid 2009 self released debut then re-issuing two of 2008s better self released efforts; Iron Thrones’ brilliant Visions of Light, and the self titled debut EP from this young but immensely talented Denver, Colorado quartet. Though only 4 songs and 18 minutes in length, […]

My only previous exposure to this grinding Swedish trio was their 2007 split with Relevant Few, and I immediately thought the likes of Gadget and Rotten Sound finally had some competition to be Nasum’s heir apparent. Now I have not heard the full length debut Svarta Dagar, so I can’t compare Vid Helvetets Grindar, but […]

Slick, sick, catchy and hook-laden songs swollen flush with incisively razor-sharp riffs, wailing leads, crushing breakdowns and vicious vocalizations spewing acidic critiques of this mediocre and moronic zeitgeist. 53 of them. In 22 minutes. Thus the epic saga of “Japanese Action Hero Fighting Game” (still my favorite translation to date) continues, a journey in which […]

One only need look at the Jon Baizley-ish artwork, the Scott Hull mastering and the label to have a guess as to the style of this solid full length debut from this Florida duo: droning, psychedelic, doomy post rock styled sludge cut from the same cloth as Deadbird, Rwake, Samothrace, Minsk and such. While hardly […]

Funeral doom is a disturbing catharsis and artistic reaction to despair. It creates a violent and oppressive landscape with a melodious undertone. Canada’s Longing for Dawn are a miserable bunch that have been releasing quality material under the radar for sometime now and on this their third release, the apocalypse sounds closer than ever. Between […]

Curiosity got the best of me when I signed up for this one, the third full length from The Legion. Their drummer, Emil Dragutinovic, is also in Devian (and once in Marduk), a band who I’ve had my eye on the past couple years. All I really knew of them is that they were more […]

Give yourself over to space. Aran of Lunar Aurora fame formed Trist back in 2000 as a side project but like most people I never ran across any of his recordings until much later. His first album was released in only 500 copies. Being a long time Lunar Aurora fan I like to see what […]

American stalwarts Cage return in 2009 with yet another lesson in aggressive, rip-it-to-shreds, speedy Heavy Metal. Now, a lot of people file Cage under the Power Metal tag but, while not entirely untrue, it doesn’t quite cover it. Don’t come here looking for the epic grandeur of a Rhapsody (Of Fire) or Fairyland. This stuff […]

Once I heard that Amorphis’ ninth album once again delved into Finnish folk literature a la the legendary Elegy as well as Eclipse (Skyforger, like Eclipse is based on the Kalevala poems, this time focusing on Ilmarinen, one of the central characters), I had my hopes pretty high. Even more so when you consider that […]

Evangelical Christians are a productive lot – perhaps it’s something about building God’s kingdom on earth. Hack writer and huckster Tim LaHaye cranks out a kitschy Left Behind novel each year and ascends the bestseller list. It’s a different story for team Satan – perhaps it’s the time necessary to properly apply corpsepaint or elude […]

To tell you the truth, I’ve been just about “progged” out in recent years. I’ve reviewed stacks and stacks of predictable prog, but just when I get to the point where I groan when I pull a new one out, I find a record that renews my hope in the search. The latest from Spheric […]

I literally knew nothing about this Nevada band before seeing this suddenly appear in Metal Blade’s digital promo site, apparently their second full length album – no press hype from Metal Blade, no other inklings about the style or substance of the band before I pressed play. And when I did press play I was […]

After more than a decade of aggression, the time for divine intervention has arisen. After the blood sacrifice was deemed properly performed, selecting just the best pieces of babies, “In darkness thou shalt worship me,” so states the sacred text of Synagoga Satanae, Tom G. Warrior answered the call to the old gods and appeared […]

I’ve been trying to get on AFM Records’ mailing list for a while because they do carry several bands that I like. So I finally get three AFM releases in my hands, and after these reviews, I’m afraid my chances may be shot. First there was Elvenking’s latest, then Magica, now Exilia, and unfortunately, it’s […]