Though keyboards and synths have recently been used more frequently in death core, it was the 2005 debut, A Cold Day In Hell, from this California band that seemed to use them in a more symphonic black metal way that really got my attention and the attention of Century Media. So now armed with a […]

Circus Maximus’ debut record really caught my attention a few years ago. Despite a heavy leaning toward Dream Theater worship, it had some really interesting and memorable moments. It’s taken me a little longer to get a bead on the group’s sophomore effort. There are the good things that I remember from the first record, […]

So here’s a re-issue of the 2005 cassette only third release from the Hungarian one man project comprised of Vorgrov, and after doing some research I was pretty excited to hear this supposedly folky take on one man drony, doomy ambient and atmospheric black metal. Well, its OK I suppose. It’s primal and grim with […]

Charleston, West Virginia natives Byzantine are back with their third (and sadly final) album Oblivion Beckons, an impressive effort to say the least. Combining some technical flair with stout groove and bits of thrashing, Oblivion Beckons is well rounded, skillfully played and diversified without ever wandering away from the sound that they can firmly call […]

Isole have been moiling in the underground since the early 90’s. Completely underrated, this Swedish act has only just begun to see the light of day in metal news and charts. 2005’s debut record Forevermore was a healthy slab of traditional epic doom in the vein of Solitude Aeternus, but with its on twists and […]

Ugh. I just hate it when good or decent music is ruined with below average vocals. Example: this new Hell Within disc Shadows of Vanity. Musically, it’s accessible modern thrash with some melody, ala Sanctity or recent Trivium. Vocally, it’s the standard harsh/clean trade off sound of metalcore, courtesy of one Matt McChesney, who most […]

I’ve already outed myself here as a Skid Row fan and proud of it. Despite their regrettably hairy hits, “I Remember You” and “18 and Life,” I do think Skid Row was one of the best hard rock bands to emerge from the late 1980s scene. The latest release by former singer Sebastian Bach, though, […]

I’m not sure if there are any real porn stars in this band, but I feel pretty safe in saying there probably aren’t any real poets when the best chorus they can come up with for the record opener is the tired, “it’s just rock ‘n’ roll to me,” that’s been used at least a […]

Brilliance often breeds polarity. For example, Kezia, the 2006 debut from this group of young Canadians, split the metal community down the middle, with a love it or loathe it mindset. That being said, of all the non extreme metal albums I reviewed, Kezia seemed to be that rare non death, grind, black, thrash metal […]

Sculptured is the side project from Don Anderson of Agalloch fame. Back in 1998, The Spear of the Lily is Aureoled was a solid effort that showed promise in the Opeth, Katatonia, and Agalloch territory. This was enough to gain my interest and in 2000 the band came out with Apollo Ends, a more progressive/jazz […]

Often the press and promo sheets that come with albums for review are the greatest work of literary fiction since “A History of Great French Military Victories” came out. However in the case of Alestorm it simply says this: ‘Scottish Pirate Metal.’ I’d say that about covers it. Formerly known as Battleheart, Scotland’s Alestorm (arguably […]

Recorded live at the Worcester Palladium in April of 2007, this 29 track DVD features most of the ‘popular’ Metal Blade artists. But while I have no problems with production or fairly bare bones but entertaining back stage interviews, I have issue with the fact Metal Blade went withtracks from teh likes of Beyond The […]

There are a lot of bands popping up with a sound that is a throwback to the glory days of ‘80s Sunset Strip Sleaze Rock. Most notably, Buckcherry (who recently went platinum), but also Vains Of Jenna & Hardcore Superstar. Call it the 20-year cycle…2007 is seeing 1987 manifest itself in the Rock scene. Witness […]

It’s a tried and true formula. You’ve put out a couple of records that were slightly different in style and perhaps not as good as earlier records, a few fans grumbled. You want to make it clear you’re returning to your old style, so you name your new record after one that’s widely considered by […]

Enemy of the Sun is the latest musical endeavor from Grip Inc mastermind Waldemar Sorychta. The material on debut offering Shadows is undeniably metal, but there’s much more at play here than just that. The heavier thrashier parts are most comparable to Strapping Young Lad’s wall-of-sound cyber thrashing, but then there’s the not so intense, […]

The brutal death bug has now even spread its wings over Italy, one of the last places I’d (and I should know) expect to find gore obsessed lunatics concocting gory, slamming death metal. What’s more the bug has bit hard, as Putridity join the likes of Vomit the Soul, Septycal Gorge, Stench of Dismemberment, Vulvectomy […]

For a band named Wrath they sure have gotten rather mellow. Before I delve too much farther into this review of Vreid’s third album let me explain that remark. I started out this morning listening to Gorgoroth, all of their stuff in chronological order, and then I switched to Vreid, starting with Kraft, then Pitch […]

Hailing from Sweden, System Shock play melodic death metal not too far removed from anything you’ve heard before. Later day Dark Tranquillity serves as a loose template of what System shock plays. Add more emphasis on the use of keys in most places, a strong sense of accessibility, a vocalist more comparable to Amon Amarth’s […]

From the same coalition that brought us the excellent Sickening Horror release, comes another phenomenal technical death metal release from a part of the world you would not usually expect, this time in the form of the full length debut from New Zealand’s Ulcerate. Though not quite as experimental as the Sickening Horror release, Of […]

After making some waves with their debut release from The Faceless, the second release from the label is a smartly similar release of forward thinking, synth laced, techy, progressive, death metal/deathcore. Throw in some Between The Buried and Me styled arpeggio flourishes, and you get a pretty solid, if all too short release. Clocking in […]

Here is the winner for best release thus far in 2008. Virgin Black has created one hell of a masterpiece in Requiem-Fortissimo and probably the best album to come out of Australia in years. Fortissimo means loud or played very loudly. Considering this is the second chapter in a trilogy by the band (Pianissimo being […]

Just in time to cure drag me out of my Power Metal funk, along comes Saint Deamon with an album that is already on my Top Releases of 2008. I was getting burned out on all these Power Metal bands still going to great lengths to reinvent the wheel that Gamma Ray had already worn […]

After a fairly disappointing year in metal in my opinion, I have been anxiously awaiting something fresh and exciting. If I only heard this CD earlier, it would have surely made it into my top ten of the year. Australia’s Insomnius Dei, are flat out miserable bastards, I love it. Mark Kelson is the mastermind […]

In over a ten-year span, Opeth have continued to give us beautiful, classic, and timeless CDs. Till this day, there really isn’t too much to complain about with the band. Sure, you will always have the naysayer who thinks they are overrated, but those of us who really enjoy the band can sit back and […]

Oklahoma’s The Agony Scene is in dire need of some therapy, because they have a considerable personality crisis. First, on their 2003 self titled debut, they unleashed a promising, Darkest Hour-ish, blackened form of Euro-death laced metalcore, then on 2005’s The Darkest Red, they went commercial metalcore with clean vocals and catchy choruses. So now, […]