There’s a stunning level of consistency between this Italian orchestral death metal band’s 2021 debut, Apotheosis, and their latest EP, Veils Of Transcendence, despite the label change from Germany’s Rising Nemesis Records to homegrown label, Dusktone (who have been more on my radar recently for their reissues of Stormlord and Spite Extreme Wing albums). It’s […]

I’ve been on a bit of a black metal kick of late, and one band that has scratched that particular itch is German trio Stiriah and their third album, Portal, released back in February. Lying squarely in the 90s second wave, with a semi-melodic and symphonic sound (there are keyboards here and there but it’s […]

Brat may very well become the new “it” band. Oddly enough, I recently saw them with Escuela Grind (for the 7th or 8th time), Bonginator, and Take Offense. A gentleman slightly older than I called Escuela the new “it” band and it was hard to argue. After he saw them for the first time, he […]

I went blindly into the promo for this release, as I have been in an ‘atmospheric black metal’ mood of late. But then I dug into the project more and was even more excited as it’s a multinational trio comprised of Jacob Buczarski of Mare Cognitum on drums, an Argentine dude named Dany Tee on […]

35 years. Existence and longevity come from quality and excellence. Releasing album after album with diabolical precision has been the Rotting Christ ethic throughout their career, since 1988 when they were a Grindcore band and then transitioning to Black Metal in the early 90s with 1993’s Thy Mighty Contract, they have forged and put together […]

Three years ago I reviewed the second album Bushmeat from Dipygus.  The band waited until after COVID to release their third album, Dipygus, a self-titled affair.  This Californian sludgy death metal act has returned with their longest album, complete with their longest song, “Sacral Brain”, at over 11 minutes and the heaviness is just as […]

I have been waiting patiently for the first full-length from these sickos from Chicago patiently since their 2019 Light Eater EP debut. So, here we are, nine-track debut album. The opening track “Of Ruin” sets the tempo for the whole album. Kicking things off with a two-minute instrumental is a bold choice but it works […]

Did you know Darkest Hour was still together? I didn’t. I mean the last thing I reviewed by them was 2009s The Eternal Return. They have released 2 albums since then with 2014s self-titled effort and 2017s Godless Prophets & the Migrant Flora, I own apparently but lord knows I could not tell you when […]

Good Lord, it’s been 21 years since I heard this Greek blackened-sludge band’s debut, …and Voices, Words, Faces, Complete the Dream way back in 2003. It was, and still is one of the more caustic, brittle, and downright nasty albums I have ever covered, especially vocally. I guess the band has dropped 2 other albums […]

There’s a saying in my part of the good ol’ USA. “Raise hell, praise Dale!” I’m certain it’s used countrywide, but I believe my area, particularly a couple hours away from where I was born, probably has a trademark on it. I’m certain there’s no question it’s regarding Dale Earnhardt, or “The Intimidator.” Decals on […]

What’s the heaviest band you’ve ever heard? Sunn O)))? Black Sabbath? Electric Wizard? I’m talking about music that is slower than a Sloth crossing a road. Dooooom! But where Mudshow is concerned… they mix into their music spoken word poetry from Arthur Rimbaud’s ‘A Season in Hell’ which [successfully] creates a foreboding atmosphere. This is […]

I don’t pretend to know much about the Cuban metal scene. Let alone the Cuban Symphonic Black Metal scene. But when I saw this promo for Symphonic Black Metal pop-up, I checked it out, and it has turned into one of those ‘buy everything the band has released’ affairs. This is the band’s debut from […]

So here is a reunion I’m not sure anyone was really clamoring for. Fall of Serenity came up with fellow Germans Heaven Shall Burn, releasing their first material on a split with HSB in 1999. They released four albums between 2001-2007 that all delivered the same sort of metalcore/hardcore/melo death sound (although their debut was […]

Judas Priest will go down as one of the greatest Heavy Metal bands of all time – without a shadow of a doubt.  This is the first time for me reviewing a Priest album and I am excited to do so.  I will say this….sometimes I get overly excited reviewing some of my favorite bands.  […]

After a solid career that saw TLTSOL emerge as a solid upper-tier US deathcore act with 6 albums, guitarist Wyatt McLaughlin saw his band gutted back in 2022. He rebuilt TLTSOL and delivered a solid EP, The Disquisition of an Execution in 2023 to get the new lineup greased up and ready for what was to […]

Toronto Canada’s tech deathsters Apogean make their debut with Cyberstrictive. Vocalist Mac Smith filled in for Bill Robinson of Decrepit Birth recently. Off the bat, Zach Ohren’s (The Faceless, All Shall Perish, Immolation, etc.) mixing and Mastering work is elite. Things get kicked off with “Blue Night Sonata.”  The technical prowess of these guys is […]

Lutharo: A timeline, Tarantino style. Rewind to November of 2023 and I happened to see Paladin was to play at one of my favorite venues, Westside Bowl in Youngstown, OH. I gazed upon the digital flyer and saw Lutharo would be headlining. I remembered the band name, thinking someone at this site had reviewed them […]

There is one single reason I checked out the promo for the debut from this new Italian Black/Death metal project and that is the stunning artwork from the band guitarist Astahrot. My gosh that is killer- for the love of god, put that on a shirt, please! Now onto the music. Keres plays a relentless […]

International supergroup Vltimas released a killer debut in 2019,  Something Wicked Marches In, which I reviewed and gave high praises of their stamp on blackened death metal.  One of the many things going for that debut was how damn catchy it was – I still listen to that sucker!  The same members return with Flo […]

I’m an Albuquerque native, I’ve lived in New Mexico, specifically the Albuquerque area for the better part of my life, which makes me a local. The scene here is stronger than ever before, having been blessed by bands like Unearth, Infested Corpse, Laughing Dog, Manias and Smashed Hands. To the new generation of bangers with […]

I reviewed Ministry’s 14th album Moral Hygiene in 2021, on here and really enjoyed it….a lot and now Hopiumforthemasses, their 15th album-wow, is here and sees Al Jourgensen incorporating elements from all the various Ministry eras on here…That’s right.  There are moments going all the way back to their 1983 With Sympathy debut album, which […]

On its surface, the third album from this German solo act doesn’t seem like a very “Prosthetic Records’ styled release. It’s a synth and choir-drenched slab of European melodic death/power metal in the vein of Ensiferum, Wintersun, Brymir, and such. But then I remember Prosthetic Records has released two albums from Foretoken. The gentleman at […]

Gotta give credit where it’s due – Finland’s purveyors of thrashy ermine mayhem, Necro Weasel, really hit the nail on the head when it comes to their chosen moniker. If you caught my review of the band’s 2022 offering, Never Again, I made mention of many of the reasons Weasels are not to be fucked with, including their […]

I don’t know if Ihsahn’s new album qualifies for one of my most anticipated of 2024 because I received the (streaming-only) promo slightly before it came out. It still hit me out of nowhere. I will confess to being a fan, but his solo works haven’t done much for me on the last few records. […]

If you fell asleep at the end of 2023 then you would have missed up-and-coming band Red Vinter’s We Built Our Own Death Machine demo, which literally dropped, right before 2024.  While it’s a demo, any release that drops at the end of a year is dead in the water, so to speak.  The band […]