In 2008, Scotland’s Alestorm took the international metal world by storm with their brand of likeable ‘Pirate Metal’ that mixed NWBHM, folk metal, Pirate shanty tunes and Running Wild imagery, even resulting in a US run with the Pagan Knights tour earlier this year. Well, here is the follow up, and though I feel a […]

This band is seriously armed to the teeth in almost every respect. First of all, they have one of the longest, most ridiculous names ever conceived. Second, they’ve matched that with the album title. Third, they have enlisted James Murphy to produce and mix this beast, the Obituary connection continues, at least on the Euro […]

Despite the fact this is pretty obvious The Black Dahlia Murder worship a la Wretched, Mirror of Dead Faces, Sons Of Azrael etc, but it’s better than those bands and I have to say I’m kinda digging this- a lot. From the killer cover to the injection of some excellent Woe of Tyrants – like […]

Right before my former writing job at Metal Maniacs went titties up, I had been given the assignment to do a couple of pages on Dodsferd, and the sole proprietor involved in the project, Wrath. (Just an a side note here; why is it that in all these one man projects the lone guy has […]

This Australian band mixes neofolk, progressive rock, classic heavy metal and Viking/black metal with an epic, narrative approach that should appeal to fans of Empyrium, Solefald and Doomsword. It’s an ambitious album, and obviously a lot of care and thought has gone into it, although in the end I found it as exasperating as it […]

As elder statesmen in the world of Doom Metal, Sweden’s Candlemass has carved a long, deep canyon in the genre leaving a mark like few have since or will again. While not the original vocalist, the now departed Messiah Marcolin is regarded as part of the band’s quintessential line up and his different replacements have […]

I’ve been on a roll of good female-fronted records lately — Luna Mortis, The Agonist, Lacuna Coil (yes, I know it’s poppy and commercial, but I still like it) — so I suppose it was just a matter of time before I got another one of these. Wolves & Witches has a few things going […]

As regular readers of this site may know, I’m generally not a huge fan instru-metal or instrumental metal as I feel vocals are an integral part of metal. However, with the likes of Scale the Summit, Animals As Leaders, Shelter Red and North Dakota’s Sleeping In Gethsemane, my stance may be softening a little. Admittedly, […]

More horrific. More addictive. That’s the aim for Pulling Teeth. Every time they come back they are that much more ugly, that much more putrid but, that much more intoxicating and tempting. Furthermore, with each release, everything just gets better, doomier, faster, of course uglier but paramount of course is the quality which is unsurprisingly […]

Gotta give it up for Galder – the guy is consistent. From 1999’s Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion through 2006’s Vermin, he’s basically been making improvements on an already addictive melodic black metal formula: monstrous, sinister riffs, spooky-key grandeur, thundering, syncopated drumming and that cavernous, blackened snarl. (I love the first two albums too but stylistically, they’re […]

Credit where credit’s due, not only have WFAHM continued to pursue the jagged, distorted path laid down from their prior releases but have more importantly, remained active. It’s particularly admirable given the current climate and the fact that people are becoming more and more fickle about how they burn their disposable income each month (providing […]

Ecclectic. If any one word was to embody the musical mad scientist that is Devin Townsend, that would be it. This newest creation, under the Devin Townsend Project moniker, is about as far from Strapping Yonng Lad as we can get, and yet, its every bit as intriguing and infectious. What Hevy Devy has given […]

Super groups are no longer an unheard-of subject as they have been springing up here and there practically on a daily basis as of late. Finland’s own Black Sun Aeon was formed last year and consists of Tuomas Saukkonen of Melodic Death Gothic outfit Before The Dawn, responsible for all guitars, drums, keyboards and dark […]

I’m always a little nervous when I get an independent CD. On the one hand, I hate to rip them apart. They’re usually bands just starting out that still need a lot of work but could develop into something, and being a lousy guitarist that refuses to give it up myself, I hate to discourage […]

Man, I’m still sweating and I’ve not done anything but sit on my ass and allow the deafening tones of Destruktor’s Nailed to wash over me…like a layer of soot. The Australian firebrands don’t care much about easing into anything; it’s about assuming the position – head down, fingers positioned on the frets, drum sticks […]

What’s this? Another Vegan Straight Edge monolith on Century Media? Unlike Earth Crisis though, Maroon are virtually unrecognizable from the maniacs that unleashed “Captive in the room of the conspirator” and “Antagonist.” Back then it was all about the new school sound forged by Day of Suffering, Arkangel and to an extent Earth Crisis (oh […]

A Canadian band playing bouncy, synth filled, epic, Finnish styled folk power/black metal on Sumerian Records (though Nuclear Blast did do the European release) with a female drummer? Yup. Culling from the likes of Ensiferum, Wintersun, Turisas, early Children of Bodom and such, Blackguard (formerly known as Profogus Mortis) give folk fans another solid entry […]

I have to admit, my expectations weren’t to awfully high for this. An English tech-metal/deathcore band on Earache, but Fetish actually ended up being a surprisingly solid release that will appeal to fans of recent releases by Burning the Masses, Within the Ruins and such. Straddling the line between atonal, grinding, spazzy, metal, tech death […]

When many people first hear the name of this Swedish Heavy/Power Metal band, they may hardly suppress making a caustic joke, but once they hear the music delivered by this group their sarcasm should go out the window in nothing flat. At least, this is what actually happened to an acquaintance of mine when he […]

Can one have epic music with no hooks, no groove? This is black metal heavy on atmospherics and ambience, not pit friendly, but with an unnerving edge that screams epic. You are definitely on a journey. Some think epic means simply write long songs. Geïst could do a  two minute song and make it epic. […]

So after my review of Finsterfirst’s latest album, Einheit Produktionen were kind enough to send me a trio of the labels releases from the tail end of 2008, and all three warrant your attention, especially the 5th full length album from this long running German folk/Viking metal band. Much like Heidevolk, there’s a huge Vintersorg […]

Well whadya know? Another ultra talented tech-ish band from Canada – Montreal to be exact. When I received this promo, Derelict was still an unsigned band, but was recently signed to Year of the Sun. The packaging the band sent the CD in is immediately impressive, giving the notion that this is a band that […]

Give Chimaira some credit, will ya? They fought through criticism from purist metal fans for what some described as riding the nu metal edge on Pass Out of Existence – though Slayer had no problem taking them on tour – and still took flak for the blockbuster that followed, an aggressive and hooky album called […]

If imitation is truly the sincerest form of flattery, then Glenn Danzig has to feel pretty good about this project from Morgan of Marduk and a few unknown guys. The band began in 2000 as a Misfits/Samhain cover act and has apparently released a handful of records and EPs over the years, which I somehow […]

Like Tool, Isis has smartly embraced the notion that their already atmospheric, enveloping creations can be even more enthralling when there’s a visual dimension to play off of. Although it remains to be seen whether Tool‘s Adam Jones’ involvement in Wavering Radiant will lead to the same astounding videos he’s done for his own band, […]