Here we have a Swedish entry to the current wave of classic thrash that’s seemingly pouring out of every corner of the world. But where most of these bands are typically pretty young, Guillotine formed in 1995 under the name Holocaust by members of Nocturnal Rites. The experience shows on Blood Money, as all 11 […]

Scott “Wino” Weinrich needs absolutely no introduction to Metal fans. Even if you’re not a fan of any of his bands (The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand, Saint Vitus) then you’ve surely at least heard his name mentioned in reverence. His name is synonymous with raw, ugly American Stoner/Doom Metal. His guitar style and […]

In this, their 30th year since the self-titled debut, Saxon releases album number 27 Into The Labyrinth. Now, when a band lasts this long there are always hills and valleys in the discography; some inspired and some less so. After spinning this CD a few times now, I am happy to report that Into The […]

In “The Art of Dying,” vocalist Joe Duplantier growls, ‘Take no possessions; I would rather travel light’ – but this thunderous, harrowing meditation on death is anything but. That track, arguably the core of The Way of All Flesh, begins with shamanic chants and tribal drumming before puncturing the veil to the other side – […]

Not to be outdone by Metal Blade’s group of teenage deathcore kids, Fate, here come Mediaskare/Century Media with their own group of growling, blasting, shredding, breakdowning kids plucked right from the halls of a San Diego High school. Though most might cringe at yet another group of snot nosed kids who can’t even buy a […]

Crematory has been turning out their musical wares since 1991, in one incarnation or another. They were a little more raw in the early days, adding subtle hints of Electronica and cranking up the Goth a bit on the way. Their 2008 offering Pray is a full on Gothic Death Metal assault complete with the […]

Elder play a form of heavy, grooved out Sludge/Doom Metal with hints of Stoner/Space Rock sprinkled in for good measure. The tones are vintage and dry, which gives it a timeless sort of vibe. I’m tempted to throw in the typical Black Sabbath references here, but honestly, it’s more of a subtle influence than an […]

Neither as influential as country mates In Flames, Dark Tranquillity Dismember and such and not as prolific as the likes of second tier acts like Centinex, Sweden’s Diabolical has been on the periphery of Sweden’s melodic death metal elite for over a decade now, with only two acceptable but hardly groundbreaking albums in 2001’s Synergy […]

Listen up, if you enjoyed Burst’s more adventurous, experimental and unpredictable take on the whole Post Rock genre with Lazarus Bird, just go ahead and grab the fourth full length album from this Swiss quartet. Now. Former Digitalmetal writer John Gnesin had always told me to check these guys out, long before the genre exploded […]

Another year another Six Feet Under album, but surprisingly like 2007s Commandment, Barnes and Co. appear to be back on track after a couple of albums of suck. With a change in producer and studio from Erik Rutan and Mana for Commandment to Chris Carroll at Morrisound, Death Rituals sounds a bit rougher and analog-y, […]

Well, Profound Lore has done it again. This time finding a self described “English Heritage Black Metal” metal trio from the UK comprised of member of Atavist and Wodensthrone. I’ve often wondered, with our rich history, why there are not more UK bands (though Iron Age Records appears to have uncovered a few) plying metal […]

In my line of work, I’m all about first impressions. I will generally make a snap judgment about a person and determine their veracity within about 30 seconds. Luckily, this does not apply to metal albums and reviews, because if I had simply relied on first impressions, Among Flies would have been album of the […]

Here’s a pretty solid debut EP from French act Diluvian (meaning a “deluge”) that combines melodic death metal and modern polished brutality (I hate to use the term deathcore here) into a impressive 5 song EP that holds a lot of promise. Though I’ve seen the term ‘deathcore’ thrown about in regards to this release […]

Hailing from Algeria in North Africa, Devast play a form of jagged, choppy, twangy technical death metal, that while fits all the paradigms of technical death metal, has a little of its own character and differs from the sudden flurry of California tech death that’s assaulted the scene of late. The 8 songs on this […]

The album cover alone told me what to expect; Gothic influenced Metal with a dramatic/opera styled delivery. These types of albums are difficult to pull off convincingly. Ayin Alpeh I certainly give it a shot, though. As I said, imagine Gothic Metal with a flair for the dramatic stage. One thing that is immediately noticeable […]

Joe Lynn Turner is obviously best known for his stint in Rainbow singing such radio friendly hits as “I Surrender”, “Street Of Dreams” and “Stone Cold”. He’s honestly a great singer and he’s made a solid career singing the songs he’s known for long after the band he sang them in dissipated. He gets tapped […]

Remember when Marylin Manson covered “This Is Halloween” from The Nightmare Before Christmas? Ok, blend that with the theme from The Munsters and you can envision every song from Creature Feature’s The Greatest Show Unearthed. I was tempted to end my review there. That is truly the best way to describe this album. The songs […]

Nothing has been heard from the Guapo camp since 2005’s Black Oni on Ipecac Records and founding member Matt Thompson’s untimely departure from the fold. The remaining duo of keyboardist Daniel O’Sullivan (who now assumes all guitars and bass from Thompson’s vacancy) and drummer David Smith take up the helm of this UK-based experimental, mostly […]

Angra vocalist Edu Falschi and bassist Felipe Andreoli have made the most of their main band’s hiatus and formed Almah. Not straying from their Power Metal roots, in fact heading a little deeper into the Prog Metal sound, Almah puts forth some impressive musicianship and honest Power Metal spirit. “Birds Of Prey” kicks things off […]

The UK certainly has its share of melancholy, Doom laden bands. The Peaceville Three notwithstanding, there is a certain musical atmosphere amongst English bands in this genre. They tend to have a subtle romantic undertone coupled with growled, Death Metal vocal delivery and an overall sad, despair ridden vibe without sounding violent. The Drowning is […]

John Ricci and company break an eight year silence with the release of Thrash, Speed, Burn. Anyone who’s heard Exciter knows what to expect (as if the title of the album didn’t give it away) and the boys do not disappoint here. Decidedly old school, full of venom, energy and ready to teach the world […]

Laaz Rockit has been around a lot of years. In spite of this fact, though, I have never listened to them. Now, after hearing their latest offering Left For Dead, I am going to make it a point to dig into the catalog as this is some good quality Metal. I didn’t know what to […]

Seriously people, its about time we start talking about New Hampshire’s Trap Them as one of the US’s best kept metal secrets, as with their second full length album, the band has once again delivered a sonic donkey punch that mixes crusty chaos and hardcore (think Converge), Rotten Sound and the midrange pummeling of Wolverine Blues […]

2008 was a pretty good year for melodic, contemporary hard core with the likes of Verse, Have Heart, Brothers, Take It Back and the almighty Killing the Dream. Yet here comes this nautical themed debut from this awesome SoCal three piece featuring members of Graf Orlock and comes close to taking the throne of 2008s […]

This disc is for all those Xasthur fans looking for a fix. Long dense songs, many better than ten minutes, with distant rumblings, subsonic screams, and guitars so distorted not only can you barely make them out, they obscure nearly everything else as well. For those not in the know, this is not a new […]