Finland has long been a hotbed for intensely melodic metal. Take the addictive, neoclassical thrash of (earlier) Children of Bodom, the overripe pomp of Nightwish or the thrilling Viking blare of Moonsorrow – all lush, atmospheric and stylish as hell. And that’s not even touching wackadoo black metal like …And Oceans or the classic, always-evolving […]

What’s this? A hefty, experimental metal band from France on Prosthetic Records? Is it the new Gojira? Nope, but close. Originally released on Dental Records in 2007, it appears Prosthetic Records has snapped up this Alsace band’s debut in order to whet everyone’s appetite for the upcoming The Way of All Flesh, and good thing […]

Like Hollow Corp’s recent The Cloister of Radiance album, the third album from Denmark’s The Psyke Project was originally released in Europe last year and now has a stateside distribution. Also like Hollow Corp, The Psyke Project mix harsh, caustic metal with a few injections of post rock, and gain the results, while solid are […]

Admittedly, I’ve never been much into punk. Got into metal, stayed put. By the time I finally got around to checking out some of the much-vaunted bands I’d always heard about – The Misfits and Samhain being the two that most piqued my interest, being a horror buff and all – I was kinda disappointed. […]

Are you tired of the great thrash revival that is going on these days? If you answered yes then I would say avoid this record like the plague. However, if you’re more like me and miss The Crown with a vengeance then this isn’t such a bad thing. Stronghold of Men is probably an unnecessary […]

If you enjoy midpaced metal soaking in keyboards then you might as well stop reading this review and go right out and buy this. However I’ll keep going if you want a bit more detail to help you make up your mind. The vocals are of the clean variety and while they sound decent enough […]

This is going to be a hard album for me to review because being a professional demands more than just saying this sounds like bad AC-DC with really weak vocals. Imagine the Snake of the last few Voivod albums during a fit of whining and you have an idea of what I’m dealing with trying […]

Indricothere, living during the late Oligocene epoch (part of the Tertiary Period in the Cenozoic Era), is thought to be the largest land mammal that ever walked the earth. A distant relative of the rhinoceros, they were not as fearsome as their descendents would have you believe – they looked more like gigantic, tree-munching giraffes. […]

It’s been said that anyone who generalizes is an idiot, but it’s gotten to the point where if I see a CD that has a pretty face on the cover and the Napalm logo on the back, I can predict exactly what I’m going to get. Beast Within is no different: inoffensive, poppy midtempo gothic […]

Here’s a solid if unspectacular record from Britain’s Frightener who mix hardcore, grindcore and death metal into one crusty, rumbling album that on paper comes across as a mix of Napalm Death, Integrity and Entombed, but just lacking some creative brilliance to make it more than a mere mix of those appealing bands. With a […]

Every now and then a record comes along that is truly hard to describe to anyone, this is one such album. It is in fact not so much an album as an endurance test. This is something you listen to when you want to drive yourself over the edge in a bad way. I do […]

I’m probably the wrong person to be reviewing a prog album as for the most part the entire genre bores me. However I will try my best to explain where they lay in the progscape. My guess is that these guys would be right in the middle to be honest. They are accomplished musicians however […]

See, I’ve never been a big fan of the ‘Croptic crew from down under. I enjoy portions of Isle of Disenchantment and most of Scepter of the Ancients, but they just never struck me as a band I could listen to again and again. I saw them live at Summer Slaughter (their first North American […]

For those that don’t know, in the mid/late 90’s Overcast were a respected crossover/hardcore/metalcore band who had a couple of somewhat revered albums and EPs that some considered the start of the early metalcore movement (not the trite fashion show of today). However, when the band split up in 1996, vocalist Brian Fair joined Shadows […]

Now here’s a band that has come a long way. Slowly morphing from doom/death to moody, emotional rock, Anathema has lost some old fans, while gaining some new ones. But for the most part respect for them has been well preserved (and certainly well deserved). After some uncertainty of the band’s future, we’ve come to […]

Atrox has reminded me of one of the central tenets of my existence on this album, specifically the one about murdering anyone who thinks techno and metal are a good combination. This is very clean industrial-nu-metal without a hint of malice to it anywhere, even the Planet of the Apes sample. The drumming is the […]

Some people need to get more current with information technology, because this is how records like this happen. No one got the memo that Nu-metal was found dead in an alley with its Korn shirt torn to pieces, raped, stabbed, raped again and set on fire by a horde of people with good taste. This […]

While I enjoyed Misery Signal’s recent Controller effort, I have to admit the debut from this Lancaster, PA act stole some of that album’s thunder by delivering a very similar and almost as competent delivery of melodic, layered and emotional metalcore. While bands like It Prevails, Rosesdead and more recently November 5, 1955 have tried […]

There’s nothing really wrong with the debut from this Philadelphia deathcore act, as their debut is a competent delivery of now familiar genre traits; dual vocals, choppy squealing thrashing, some techy noodling and a plethora of breakdowns. However, on the whole, it really sorta bored me and I found my self reaching for After the […]

Here’s one of Ironclads better and more mellow releases of late, the Back to the Future named metalcore/post rock act from Boston, Mass who deliver a fine debut of emotional, melodic metalcore with threads of delicate passion and elegance. With busy, melodic guitar work and vocal cadence of Shai Hulud, shimmery emotional layers of Misery […]

On first listen I thought Twilight of the Thunder God sounds good but not as good as the last one, by the tenth listen I am anticipating the music, nice catchy riffs, cool melodies, tremendous power, you know the formula, by the twentieth listen it felt like an old friend, a classic and I’ve only […]

Let me start off by saying that this is the most misleading band name of all time. Why do I say this? There is nothing revolutionary about this album other than the fact that it’s a few years too late. Metalcore is the new trend, not numetal. Lateness offends me, at least when it results […]

This is the third full-length from this Greek epic/heavy metal band. Apparently epic metal is its own sub-genre of heavy or power metal, but if this is any indication, I don’t think I will be researching more of its bands. It all starts promising enough on the intro. Mediterranean-flavored strumming and a subdued male operatic […]

Have you ever unconsciously drifted from a genre and then you hear some new band that totaly gets you back into it? Well its been a little while since I’ve really enjoyed death metal that didn’t have the words “progressive”, “avant garde” or “doom” tagged on them. Those Who Bring The Torture completely made me […]

While I generally don’t care too much for female fronted, sugary Gothic metal, a couple of releases of late have broken from the ‘Naplam Records’ formula and piqued my interest; the debut from Jennie Tebler’s Out of Oblivion (Quorthon’s little sister) and this 2007 debut from the gorgeous French artist Eilera. With a voice as unique […]