Helrunar has quickly jumped to the top of the heap of Norwegian wave black metal imitators. This German band has only a six year recording history but obviously a much longer history as a fan of real black metal. Baldr ok Iss is their third full length release, and second by Lupus Lounge. In terms […]
Wow. What an unimpressive display of nu-metal simplicity. The Ascension marks Otep’s third full-length release since 2002, and not much has changed since then. The down-tuned trademarked guitars are still well in place, Ms. Shamaya’s rap-like delivery is there, and also those boring spoken/crooned/whispered poetry like segments layered over simple and sparse cords are present. […]
Another offering coming from Italy, this time by Elvenking, who play a poppy, Americanized mix of Power metal, Melodic Death, and Folk. I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but the first band that comes to mind when listening to The Scythe is recent Avenged Sevenfold. Extremely accessible melodic metal, with moments of slightly […]
While the popularity of this band has been soaring with each release my interest has been plummeting. I still listen to Ultima Thulée and Memoria Vetusta from time to time, but I didn’t check out the reissues, and if I didn’t get the next three full lengths as review copies I probably would not have […]
There was a time when a new Agnostic Front album, especially one graced with a King Leonidas tattoo ripping out from a hardcore dude’s back would have really excited me, and even their Nuclear Blast ‘comeback’ debut Another Voice, with its modern gloss was a inspiring modernization from one of hardcore’s true legends. However, 10 […]
So let’s say you like heavy metal/black/thrash/melodic death metal stylings of 3 Inches of Blood but the vocals of Jamie Hooper and Cam Pipes are just a little too much or maybe Destroy Destroy Destroy show a little too much ass as for you liking, then maybe Ohio’s Skeletonwitch will fit the bill. Basically plying […]
Experimentation and innovative music must be delivered for success to prevail! Today’s metal fans will burry bands basically because of the flooded genre’s and repetitive rubbings left by uninspiring music. Though I am not as harsh as most onlookers I find it becoming harder and harder for me to get excited over new releases. Lots […]
One of the great things about being on a constant metal scavenger hunt is when you find that golden band that is just full of talent that no one knows about. There’s a sort of pride and gratification in presenting these bands to the unfamiliar. Though I am a reviewer, I do not get as […]
Eschewing the expected ‘Louisiana’ metal sound, Baton Rouge’s long running Black/death metal act Catholicon deliver only their third full length album in their long but rather obscure career, and despite it’s unusual approach, it’s destined to be as unrecognized as their previous offerings. On the surface, Catholicon’s mix of muddy, murky Satanic death metal and […]
Despite really not being a pure black metal act any more, Anaal Nathrakh’s hideous transformation into a more refined but still seething black/death/grind outfit still sees the band delivering some of the most vitriolic and intense yet intelligent extremity around. Where Eschaton had the clean tones of Domine Non Es Dignus, it still reverted to […]
Absolute primal filth. That’s the best way to describe this raggedy, raucous filthgrinder from Poland who put energy, attitude and sheer swagger above any technical musings or to following what’s hot into this, their debut record. Damn, this is so vigorously filthy (that word again) that I can just envisage the smallest basement in a […]
This is my first exposure to Norway’s Pantheon I, the new-ish project of former 1349 guitarist Tjalve (André Kvebek) but I must say I enjoyed the bands mix of traditional and experimental black elements into one, above average, polished and slightly forward thinking slab of blackened extremity. With longer than usual songs and extended segments […]
Austria’s contribution to the thrash revival, Wolfpack Unleashed (WPU) formed in 2005, released a demo, and quickly signed to Napalm. Though throwback thrash is a fitting tag, they don’t quite fit in the same ballpark as say Fueled by Fire or Warbringer. Instead, they seem to fit in nicely beside the likes of Sanctity or […]
It’s a bit surprising that a band formed by former Dimmu Borgir drummer Tjodalv and Satyricon guitarist Cyrus has little or no black metal leanings. Instead it’s very much a classic thrash sound with some interesting compositional choices that add a dark, moody flavor to what could otherwise be easily written off as Metallica/Testament worship […]
Caliban, alongside Heaven Shall Burn, is Germany’s prime export in the field of metal-core, and they’ve been around just as long as any of the well noted originators of the genre, as this is their sixth full length since their inception in 1999. I must say right off the bat that I’m not the most […]
So what if a band from Denmark mixed the happy go drinking folkish pep of Korpiklaani and the earthy, battle weary death metal heft of Amon Amarth or the first Amorphis album? You’d get Svartsot and their simple but thoroughly enjoyable debut album. With a mix of simple, mid paced chunky death metal, deep cavernous […]
So apparently this lot won the 2005 French Rock Hard Magazine contest and as a result got a record deal with Mascot Records. I wonder who the other bands were as this is a pretty mediocre release of solid but uninspiring, progressive, melodic death metal with a hint of thrash. The sort of Death meets […]
Third release from this Polish super-group conceived of members of Behemoth and Vader. Though my knowledge of their previous works is thin, I’m finding some enjoyable moments with 2007’s Distractive Killusions. What I have gathered over the years reading about Vesania is that they failed to impress when compared to other acts in the genre. […]
Arguably the poster child for the current trend of squawking, screeching chaotic pseudo grind, Louisiana’s The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, despite their silly name, song titles, skits and irreverent humor are actually musically more in line with the likes of early Ion Dissonance as well as labelmates From A Second Story Window, Architect and Khann […]
North Carolina’s Jonin are an interesting prospect. They play a sort of haughty and complex Progressive Metal or AOR but with American Metal or metalcore undertones and they have a superb vocalist that sounds like a mix of Maynard from Tool and Tuomas Tuominen from Fall of the Leafe. On paper, it’s a very intriguing […]
I rather enjoyed this Christian metalcore band’s debut LP, Lay Waste the Poets, so I was looking forward to this follow up, but despite a solid attempt at some Life in Your Way/Misery Signals styled harmonics and shimmering guitar work, once again the curse of the clean vocals and commercial acceptability bring the album down […]
Last year, Indiana’s Demiricous burst on the scene with their debut, (One) Hellbound, a thrash homage in a sea of metalcore and rockstars, and while not my personal cup of thrash tea, I can appreciate the follow up, (Two) Poverty, for what it is: an ode to the Bay Area Thrash scene with a little […]
Trustkill and hardcore. That’s got to be a joke right? Well apparently not. In fact it seems that when everyone’s former ‘favourite,’ label isn’t releasing garbage by too many bad bands to name they are unearthing the odd gem, although this is becoming scarcer and scarcer as the years pass on by. Having said that, […]
The latest release from Prong is in some ways refreshing. They’ve dropped most of the industrial, mechanical influence they adopted on Cleansing and have gone for a return to the sound of <i>Beg to Differ</i> or Prove You Wrong. In other ways it’s disappointing – mainly that it’s not as interesting as any of those […]
Quick history lesson for you young’uns out there: Before Shadows Fall had their breakout album, Of One Blood in 2000, they actually released their (far more death metal sounding, and still my favorite SF release) debut album Somber Eyes to the Sky in 1997. That album featured original vocalist Phil Labonte, who, as most of […]