“Post-rock” is always a genre I’m reluctant to throw around because of its inherent “what the fuck genre is that?” status. For my part, slapping “post-rock” anywhere near or around a band has many times put them in listener’s purgatory, and I have shoved numerous worthy post-rock bands aside prior to hearing their albums that […]

Judging by the scrawled logo and temple backdrop, I’d hoped this EP would be a black metal offering, since I was in the mood for something new in that vein. Nope, these Aussies play death metal, but of the odd and evocative variety, which is just as good. There’s a lot of US influence here […]

While I’m sure it’s been by their own choice and almost certainly in their best financial interest, Behemoth have had a bit of a nasty habit of jumping into bed with a different record company every other release they’ve notched on their belt over the years. To usher in their new business relationship with the […]

Though hailing from Italy, Thy Majestie have less in common with fellow countrymen Rhapsody than most (present company included) might immediately presume. However, upon hearing the Sicilian sextet firsthand many will likely draw comparisons from other regions of the world, Sweden in particular. Sharing much stylistically with the Swedish power metal scene, Thy Majestie sits […]

Formed in 2006, Chicago-based Progressive Power Metal quintet Mindwarp Chamber meditates upon the imperfection of the world we live in, treating the everlasting subjects of hatred, stupidity, greed, vengeance and hopelessness in their vivid metaphorical lyrics. Rarely does a metal album’s verbal content manage to divert my attention but Delusional Reality did just this, for […]

Maurycy “Mauser” Stefanowicz of Vader fame, announced some time ago that he would be leaving his long running extreme outfit to focus on his new project, Unsun. For straight up, death metal, Vader fans, the only enjoyment you’ll get out of this proposal is looking at the rack on lead lady Aya. However, followers of […]

Maybe it’s unmetal, but I love Christmas. When the end of November rolls around, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra records and a few others will hit my CD player, I’ll be putting up lights around the house and looking for a tree. Heck, I’ve got my TSO tickets in hand already. But when it’s sunny, 85 degrees […]

Though I was very impressed with this young act’s debut, Akeldama back in 2006, my recent experience of them at this year’s Summer Slaughter, and exposure to their new material left me somewhat unimpressed. Whether it was the lack of full time keyboard player, the more experimental material, or just an off night in a […]

Retroactive Records is getting a lot of mileage out of master guitarist Bill Menchen. What with Titanic and The Seventh Power releases already in circulation, both of which are headed up by Menchen, we are now treated to a new project under his own name. As stated, Bill Menchen is a fantastic guitarist and Classic […]

Lord Belial assaults or speakers once again, and we all happy for it of course. They continue the trademark blackened death metal stylings that have gotten so much good press over the years. That should continue here because this is a good album. Imagine a more bass heavy Dissection with the scales leaning a bit […]

I had never heard these guys before I got this disc and I am rather mad at myself because of it. This is some really good primal black metal, though it doesn’t sound the least bit primitive. By that I mean it doesn’t have a truly awful production that many seem to think is the […]

This album is beyond me. Not as a writer or extreme music enthusiast, but as a human being. It opens doors to places I have never seen, and maybe never want to see again. Yet I keep listening. I have been contemplating this record for over a month, and I still can’t make heads or […]

This is my first experience with East of the Wall, an all-instrumental prog/rock/sludge outfit formed from the rubble of The Postman Syndrome and Day Without Dawn, and featuring current members of Biclops. Comparisons to Pelican are close enough, but there’s an even more unusual, jazzier prog influence here, like Mastodon covering Steely Dan. And big […]

Any album more than two years in the making has the daunting task of living up to the expectations of those fans who are eagerly awaiting it. For California thrashers Once Dead, this will be no easy task. The lineup alone, with former/current members of cult icons Hirax and Vengeance Rising, is enough to raise […]

To Gravdal I would like to say, congratulations on having one of the hardest logos to read in the history of metal. I almost didn’t review this on account of not having a band to name in the review. That said on to the music. Gravdal like to make noisy, caustic black metal in the […]

I’ve enjoyed watching Light This City evolve from their rough and ready debut The Hero Cycle in 2003 to through their brilliant third album,  Facing the Thousand , to what is now their swansong, Stormchaser, a mere five years later. The band has evolved from a mere At The Gates worship to a powerful, polished an […]

The Dead are a death metal outfit that comes to us from Australia.  This is a very short album with 9 songs in 29 minutes. If you are looking for something new and exciting then skip this one.  To be honest I’m really not into this one at all as it slavishly obeys all of […]

Misery comes to me by way of Australia and it’s not half bad. They tread upon well-worn ground in the vein of Obituary and Morbid Angel especially with the guitar as there are plenty of leads borrowed from Trevor Peres and half the solos smack of Azagthoth. The tempo is mostly slow and bruising which […]

You know what? This album really has a lot of good things going on, though I recoiled in vehemence the minute I heard the first track, “Forever”. Last thing we need is another pop punk quazi-metalcore band like AFI, Atreyu or Avenged Sevenfold. Right? Well…don’t flame me for saying I like it. A lot. This […]

This is a band that would appeal to only a small percentage of extreme metal enthusiasts. So let me start with this: if you don’t like your doom/death mixed with serious amounts of experimentation, then you probably won’t dig this. But to the nuts like me out there, this is a whole new realm of […]

My preconceptions of this album were not at all positive. One look at the cover art, logo, album title, song titles, and the band members themselves (super trendy emo look) had me dreading this review. But they certainly proved you can’t quite judge a book by its cover. Opener “Hated Youth” took me by surprise. […]

While you might expect yet another clichéd take of breakdown reliant deathcore based on the band name, label and overly dramatic album title, the fact is, once you discover The Plasmarifle hail from arguably the tech metal capital of the world, Montreal, feature former Neuraxis vocalist Maynard Moore and a familiarly tight mastering effort from […]

I can’t say I was very happy to hear back in 2007 that Matt Barlow (then former Iced Earth front man) had stepped into Lance King’s shoes as the new vocalist for Power Metal outfit Pyramaze, one of my favorite bands from Denmark. The reason was that I was really keen on the idea of […]

Scotland’s Nazareth is certainly entrenched deeply into the Classic Rock fans’ collective psyche with their hits “Hair Of The Dog” and “Love Hurts”. Simply say the name and scores of grizzled, bearded, half-drunk minions will raise their glasses and scream “Now you’re messin’ with a…a son-of-a-bitch!!!” in less than a nanosecond. The album those songs […]

Due to their ferocious female vocalist Grace Perry and a solid mix of thrash, hardcore and Bolt Thrower, Arizona’s Landmine Marathon have always been in my periphery, but never quite taken it to the next level. With their 2006 debut release Wounded and subsequent split EP , they only come across as a band with […]