Wow. The last time I heard this Belgian band on 2001’s Codex Barathri, they were playing a solid but unspectacular form of fantasy tinged pagan/folk black metal. Well, apparently starting with 2004’s genre shifting EP Incognition and after some substantial line-up changes, the band decided to play a form of progressive, technical melodic death metal. […]

The End has been relatively quiet in 2006 thus far, but with August and beyond unveiling amazing releases like Agalloch, Unexpect, Giant Squid, Virgin Black and Stolen Babies albums, The End looks to again to back on track and dominate year end lists with their brand of superbly unclassifiable music. Starting with Agalloch’s third masterpiece, […]

Album number three from this highly underrated Italian Melodic Death metal band that features Bjorn ‘Speed’ Strid of Soilwork fame on vocals, and ol’ Bjorn has to be pissed that his little Italian side project blows his full time band out of the water.Yeah I said it. Disarmonia Mundi, and this album especially, blows (recent) […]

Unfortunately, despite Victory Records spurt of semi metal here recently, (Beneath The Sky, Emmure), Florida’s A Day to Remember, following up their tepidly commercial debut, And Their Name Was Treason, deliver a predictably mundane yet Victory styled sophomore album that will appeal to the Hot Topic crowd. Whereas label mates Beneath The Sky seem genuinely […]

You’ve got to give FASSW some credit for trying something a bit new here. After the incredibly heavy debut EP, Not One Word Has Been Omitted, the Ohio act had a bit of a line up change with vocalist Will Jackson coming over from St. Louis act End Of All and bringing with him a […]

San Diego’s Cattle Decapitation have always been in the periphery of my death metal vision, lurking outside my favorite band circle, inching closer with every release due to my usual lack of affinity for grindcore. However, with Karma. Bloody. Karma Cattle Decapitation have burst into the circle, wide eyed and drooling with a full on […]

Rising from the tragic ashes of Windir, Norway’s Vreid (Wrath) continue to move away from the pagan/Viking tones of Windir and build on the fine debut, Kraft.Pitch Black Brigade is a black metal album at its dark, pulsing heart, but it’s a bold and creative form of black metal that introduces some grimy black ‘n’ […]

Wow. So good, but so fucking short. If you, like me were disappointed with Misery Index’s Discordia, grab this tasty little (literally) release and strap in for a 7 minute hellride of crusty, grinding intensity. Featuring Misery Index’s Own Jason Netherton, as well as Ruiner?s Danny Porter and ex-Swarm of the Lotus drummer Chris Csar, […]

I was rather interested to see how Massachuset’s All That Remains would follow up the precise American metal assault of This Darkenered Heart after a stint on Sounds of the Underground and rash of releases from their peers since that album (God Forbid, The Autumn Offering, Shadows Fall, etc). Well, Im glad to say ATR […]

Don’t you hate it when a band makes a slight tweak to a well-established style and claims to be revolutionizing a genre? Urkraft claims that their “thoughtful addition of keyboards” modernizes the death-flavored thrash style that they play. In all honesty, that and the matching outfits on the promo photo gave this record a couple […]

Finally, we have a winner. I’ve been mowing through the latest batch of Locomotive releases and each has been more uninteresting than the last when finally I hit the debut solo release from former Praying Mantis singer Tony O’Hora. The record came about when O’Hora started exchanging musical ideas via the Internet with guitarist and […]

I’m not a big fan of cover songs let alone a complete album of cover, despite being played by one of my favorite bands, so reviewing this 14 song insight to Between the Buried and Me?s infleunces was a bit of a oxymoron for me. First off, here is the track listing. This alone should […]

If you miss the days of big hair and spandex, I’d suggest picking this record up as soon as possible. Otherwise, take a pass. Not to be confused with the Christian death metal band which later changed its name to Vengeance Rising (perhaps because this band had already claimed the name), this version of Vengeance […]

Hailing from Rhode Island (not to be confused with the UK Death metal act or the Danish heavy metal band), Anoxia deliver a pretty run of the mill but competent take on tight US brutal death metal.There’s nothing to get too excited about here unless your liable to really enjoy some slightly second tier Unique […]

Very superficially this could be described as Hellhammer simplified with samples, noise, electronic loops and droning guitars added. None of which is an improvement on the original. Thralldom hail from New York City and A Shaman Steering The Vessel of Vastness is their third full album. They claim to be dark death metal, more on […]

You’ve got to respect the UK’s Twin Method for plying a genre that has become the laughing stock of metal over the last 8 years, but with Nu metal’s larger faces (Papa Roach, Limp Bizkit, Staind, Korn, Mudvayne, POD) being less relevant than Anna Nicole Smith, I’ll give some credit to Twin Method for at […]

I’ve never been a huge Zyklon fan, heck I wasn’t even really a great fan of Emperor so the fanfare that has preceded each Zyklon release thus far has not really made sense to me, especially considering the pretty standard quality of both World ov Worms and Aeon.However, with Zyklon’s third album, something seems to […]

With their latest release Still, Wolverine continue both their ascendancy towards prog metal’s elite and a rescinding of their more metallic roots. A furthering of their unique mixture of highly charged yet tranquil music, this release can only add more ambivalence to Wolverine’s position in the metal world. No matter my preference against some of […]

Wastefall may be the strangest combination of musical styles that I’ve heard this year. There’s Dream Theater-style prog, there’s Meshuggah-like angular riffing, there’s Korn-like nu metal influence and there’s some straight up 1980s hard rock. It’s an interesting mix to say the least, and when it works, as on the rocking second track “Willow Man,” […]

Album number 4 from one man black metal entrepreneur (his albums are mostly self released and self produced) Ron Vento (I.C.E, Lestregus Nosferatus), whose band Aurora Borealis has served as a stepping stone for three of drumming’s biggest names as Tony Laureano, Derek Roddy (Nile, Malevolent Creation, Divine Empire, Council of the Fallen, Hate Eternal), […]

Flourishing not only as an effectually transcendental aural barrage, but also as genuine philosophical pontification, The Trident finds Unearthly Trance to be maturing, with listeners becoming the beneficiaries of a continuing state of musical evolution. Let’s focus squarely upon what this record sounds like, before lapsing into any overtly narcissistic interpretations of the nature which […]

Building upon the framework laid by last year’s debut, Total Universe Man, those wild and crazy outer space rockers Valient Thorr have returned with Legend Of The World, a twelve track offering once again focused on the charismatic personality of frontman Valient Himself and his band of intergalactic bearded sonic warriors. Sonically, the appeal of […]

The glut of reunion and comeback efforts continues with Celtic Frost’s attempt to get back in the ring with their first album since 1992. Though no introduction should be necessary to readers of this site, I’ll give the brief one. Celtic Frost formed from the ashes of Hellhammer and released a couple of fine black/death/thrash […]

Swiss tough guys (that sounds like such an oxymoron) Cataract return with the follow up to the burly With Triumph Comes Loss which saw the straight edge band forsake their melodic metalcore sound in favor of a more in your face chugging hardcore stance, and it continues competently if unimaginatively on Kingdom. The recipe is […]

Despite their distribution through Matador Records in the earlier part of this decade; Scotland’s Aereogramme have remained in that class of bands who have found their most devoted audience among their musical peers. Rather than speaking/singing directly to a more general fanbase, their albums have trickled-down through the recommendations of their more commercially successful counterparts […]