Those out there into pre-93 black metal take note of Germany’s Anael, if you have not already for shame. Anael is a relatively new band that formed about a decade ago that I have been enjoying since 2003 but listening to them is like going back to 1991 and earlier. What first caught my attention […]

Chet Scott’s 2006 self titled debut was an excellent doomy, ambient, almost stoner take on depressive Pacific Northwest, one man black metal, giving the scene an injection of creativity that strayed from typical depressive Wrest and Malefic worship. And the follow up, while taking the same elements, delivers an even more tribal, ritualistic, organic and […]

With 2008s watershed of superb, high profile releases, a number of lower profile but still excellent releases from the likes of Mitochondrion, Hour Of Penance, Celebrant, Battalion, Hackneyed and Virginia’s H.P Lovecraft obsessed act Cyaegha got somewhat overlooked. For a debut, Steps of Descent is a confident, under the radar entry into technical death metal, […]

 Are you ready for this? You better be, because it’s going to be a massacre. Whilst I firmly believe reviews should never be a platform to launch personal diatribes against an artist, I have to admit that its going to be hard to not bitterly lay into Too pure to die here. Not just because […]

It’s all in the name. Survival’s predecessor War, was bathed in a rugged, omnipotent glow, each piece striving forth like an all encompassing, battle scarred and therefore battle hardened piece of war machinery that was ready for yet another bout of onslaughts. Survival, as the title connotes, is fervently desperate, this time each piece zips […]

Dead & Buried’s last record The Company I Keep, remains stuck in my mind due to the horrendous typo that was plastered and the CD sleeve, rather then company, you had ‘comany,’ fortunately the printing press had remembered to put the music on there. From their inception they have always been a solid band, writing […]

I’ve listened to and enjoyed a lot of deathcore over the years-most of it from the genres larger names on larger labels. But one of the smaller gems I discovered was an EP back in 2007 from a Canadian band called Dear Black Diary. Hardly groundbreaking stuff, but solid and well done with a crafty […]

Post-punk fans will know Jarboe as one half of seminal 80s act Swans, but aside from a 2003 collaboration with Neurosis, she’s a fairly unknown voice in the metal world. With MahaKali, she crosses over again, with Phil Anselmo and Attila Csihar along for the journey. Yet this is still really not metal, despite a […]

If a complete stranger or non-metalhead were to come up to me today and ask me “What is Black Metal”? I’d give him this record. Sure there’s all sorts of classic options from Emperor through Marduk, Immortal, Leviathan and such, but as of right now A Spell for the Death of Man, for me, seems […]

I was unimpressed with the release of The Roundhouse Tapes on CD only because of my apathy for audio live performances. I just don’t get it. I have the albums. There is no need for me to have a live version. At least Opeth. However, watching a live performance on DVD is a totally different […]

Wow, real Black metal in the US is really starting to impress me and this his SoCal 5 piece look to be an up and coming band with some real potential as this 4 song, 21 minute EP does virtually everything right. With a perfectly balanced raw buzzing guitar tone and some actual presence of […]

Here’s the kind of album that drives old metal heads nuts, but the kids seem to like; squawking, growling, breakdown filled chaotic deathcore, given the ‘grindcore ‘tag’ by the Hot Topic crowd. Ugh. It’s all here for the kids to enjoy; 14 short bursts with Oh so quirky song titles (“Urethra Franklin VS. Queef Latifah”, […]

Kai Hansen certainly has made quite a name for himself in the world of Heavy Metal. The influence of Gamma Ray (let alone his music in the early days of Helloween) upon scores of modern Power Metal bands is simply undeniable. Now, this elder statesman of Metal has documented the current state of Gamma Ray […]

Wow – what a raging blackened death thrash beast this debut is from L.A. based Dreaming Dead! At its core (no pun – there’s no ‘core in site here), Within One is a vicious thrash assault with splashes of melody throughout, excellent guitar work all around, busy, blasting drums, blackened vocals, and a definite old-school […]

As much as I love nasty scary black metal like Anaal Nathrakh, Xasthur, Dagon, Leviathan, Deathspell Omega and such, I have a hard time dealing with such music coming from the relatively peaceful climates of France, England, California, Texas and San Francisco , and while those acts have no doubt injected plenty of hatred, spite, and […]

Hope for the Dying is the first release on the recently re-launched Strike First Records (a subsidiary of Facedown Records that released records by the likes of War of Ages, Sinai Beach, Inked In Blood, Jesus Wept and Bloodlined Calligraphy), and though its basically a repackaged version of the bands demo from earlier in 2008, […]

No introductions required here. Kreator are back with their 12th studio album and first since 2005’s Enemy of God, which is possibly their best (at least it’s my favorite). Four years is much too long of a wait after such an incredible last offering, but I’m glad to say that it was well worth it, […]

Saratan are a modern thrash band hailing from Cracow, Poland, and The Cult of Vermin is their debut LP. I say “modern” because they don’t fit the mold of all the retro or “revival” bands that are coming out of the woodwork, and incorporate a fat dose of groove to their sound. While The Cult […]

This turned out to be quite a surprise. Completely unaware of this super group’s origins, I expecting something of a generic, tin can sounding black metal record. I was definitely wrong on that one. Upon opening the jewel case liner, two VERY notable names jumped out at me. Phil Anselmo being involved took me a […]

Keep reading if blistering death metal is your thing. You’ll probably dig this album. These guys kind of strike me as a mix between Skinless, Nasum and Witchery (though just a bit). They’re not technical, they’re not artsy, they’re not innovative. They’re just fast, heavy, ballsy and damn good. I did kind of expect something […]

Its been 3 year since the debut, Devour the Power, and I knew just judging from the cover and the album title, that Tennessee’s purveyors of uber cheesy fantasy based metal was going to up the ante from the debut-and they do. Cut from the same heavily bearded and classically inspired cloth as 3 Inches […]

Delivering the same intense yet singularly paced style of mechanically precise black/death metal akin to Krisiun, Zyklon or even Crionics and The Amenta (without the cyber elements), Belgium’s The Reckoning (formerly known as Infernal Legion) have delivered a solid second album, that won’t change the genre, but it’s a pummeling, relentless listen. Truthfully, I really […]

Like a treacherously silent volcano, Equilibrio, the last symphonic opus from Netherland’s Power Metal outfit Xystus, has quite unexpectedly erupted somewhere on my third attempt to look into its dark yet flaming musical depths. The point is that I didn’t quite get its multiple dignities during my initial familiarization tours, yet I felt there was […]

Ego is something Manowar had plenty of and they flaunted it with their own robust approach. Some may feel the bands downfall was when co-founder Ross “The Boss” Friedman left the fold. Since then he’s tried his hand in a few different groups and was a founder of the punk outfit The Dictators. Recently, Ross […]

Back out dad’s El Camino, move the paint cans and grab a bunch of extension cords, it’s time to rock! Eighteen Wheels Burning are here to piss off the neighbors on a Tuesday night with their brand of loose, raw, aggressive Rock And Roll. It’s equal parts Garage Rock & Stoner Rock with hints of […]