The far-reaching influence of At The Gates‘ Slaughter of the Soul has resonated throughout the death metal genre and as recent releases by Dew-Scented and Corporation 187 have shown, the influence remains as powerful as ever. Even the Middle East now has felt the ‘Gates influence seep ever further afield. While Israel has produced a handful of […]

I discovered this band accidently back in 1997 when the cover of Blutsabbath caught my attention in a record store. I had never heard of them and picked it up solely because of the cover. Shortly thereafter I found The Last Supper at the same store. Ever since I’ve been telling people about them and […]

Woods of Belial is a Finnish “industrialized black doom” band, borrowing from such acts as Skepticism and Abruptum and Darkthrone. They have been around since 1996, started recording Deimos XIII in 2000, and finished it in 2003. This is their first album, following two demos, and three labels. Firebox claims this to be “51 minutes […]

Ye gads, where to start on this one. Two Polish immigrants relocated to Canada unleashed unsupervised upon a recording studio to record their second album. This is one is those albums you will either love or loathe, and much of that will depend on your state of consciousness. Those preferring a continual state of altered […]

A few years back, Berserk’s debut album was a pleasant surprise, an excellent album from an unknown band. Obitus played a significant role with his synthesizers, so I was a bit concerned when I learned that he was leaving and was not going to be replaced. When I first head this new album was finished […]

Let’s start off by saying that this disc came to me for review with no information and nothing that identified which label released it. Neither the booklet nor the disc inself mention a label. Here is what I know. Parasite Records released this album on vinyl limited to 555 copies, it was recorded back in […]

I specifically chose to review this on the heels of the recent Veneficum offering, as they both offer synth laden efforts of melodic black metal from the US, and while Veneficum essentially get it all right, Minnesota’s Epicurean are bright eyed and full of promise with some issues to fix before they can compete on […]

This is a re-release on Behemoth Productions, the first release by that label. Black Funeral is a thing of the past, having long ago devolved into dark ambient industrial noise. This material was recorded without vocals in 1996. The vocals were added in 2000. This is very poor sound (on purpose) very simplistic playing (on […]

When Nordavind, the most corpse-like being in all of black metal, left, I feared the mighty Carpathian Forest would change drastically. His Frostian flourishes were always inspired and were one of the quirks that made the band one of the elite. Easily one of the most consistent of the long standing black metal bands, they […]

Thanks to our friends at Candlelight, this album is now available in the US and it was worth the wait. One of my favorite bands has released the album they’ve hinted at for 2 decent but hard to find efforts. Both Cybersonic Superchrist (2000, Pavement Music) and When We Are Done Your Flesh Will Be […]

This 10 song 70 minute album by the U.S. based black metal misanthrope, Wrest, is described as Judas Iscariot grimness meets Burzum’s mesmerizing quality. Wrest calls it dark art for the satanic elite. Wrest performs all instruments in this mostly slow, pointedly simple music. It does have the mesmerizing quality of old Burzum, but not […]

As promised, more songs based upon novels by the Hungarian musical wizard, or is it demon? Last time the narrator found himself transformed into a demon, this time the songs are based upon the novels of John Caldwell. Demons once again reign. The orchestration is less aimless, more dynamic and more tightly structured as distinct […]

What can I say about Tidfall? Industrial black electronica, a Dimmu Borgir and Kovenant clone. In a word, they suck. Now I guess I have to tell you why. The electronica/ samples are more intrusive, not a good thing. They lack intensity, are not ‘grim,’ fast, blasphemous, evil, tortured… or interesting. The production is not […]

From strength to strength, album to album, neo-thrashers Nevermore never failed to expand and flourish creatively, but three years after the release of nearly unstoppable Dead Heart, In A Dead World opus, the Seattle outfit has hit the proverbial glass ceiling. Whereas Dreaming Neon Black, and the aforementioned Dead Heart, In A Dead World, used […]

Starting with a frantic and menacing pace, before developing some serious creepy-crunch dance floor cred, all the while staying dangerously punk; WithAllSincerity impress me right off the bat. Raging jagged speed riffs sear into the consciousness, beating and pummeling the listener into a pain-induced trance. They convey the garage or vfw thrash out attitude, while […]

Hailing from the grim, frost bitten realms of Brisbane, Australia, Astriaal play voracious black metal that lies squarely between the truest classic style and a slightly more modern razor sharp, melodic take on the genre. Comparisons could be made to Dissection, Naglfar and Marduk (and to these ears, Angel Corpse), but Astriaal make the sound […]

Excuse the cursing, but what the fuck have I done to deserve this? Seriously, I’ve done no harm to anyone, have caused no havoc nor bloodshed during the short time I’ve graced this planet with my presence. Yet, I’m punished as if I was the cause for Liberace being gay and thus making your mothers […]

I’ve read a lot of stellar reviews of the latest record from folk/Viking/pagan outfit Tyr, so I was anxious to hear it, and if I’m being quite honest, I’m a little disappointed. While I can appreciate a lot of the things that they do, and there are certainly some quite good moments on the record, […]

While the concept of “Aussie Doom” alone seems oxymoronic yet appealing, I admit it’s taken many listens for this release to grow on me. Still, while I won’t add more grandiloquent depression to the fire by banishing it to the graveyard, I can’t exactly put my complete support behind it either. Instead, my opinion is […]

This is primitive black metal with minimal distortion, a very clear production, but not burnt. Raw may be favored by many fans, including Nazgul, but this disc proves that sliding the scale upwards slightly yields many rewards. Nazgul says he prefers the more raw, simple and harsh style of Darkthrone, Marduk, and Carpathian Forest. The […]

If found a new game to play and it’s called “Six Degrees of Erik Rutan”. Aurora Borealis is the self-financed project of guitarist Ron Vento, who then just hires session musicians to play other instruments. Former members include Tony Laureano and (Nile, Angelcorpse), Derek Roddy (Hate Eternal and too many bands to mention) and now […]

Finnish sung metal has become more and popular in Finland (what a surprise!) and one can only hope that the basic trend has reached its highest peak. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with it, but most of the bands of the genre, are boring beyond belief. It all basically started with Timo Rautiainen & […]

Signing to a major label doesn’t necessarily result in the immediate benefits that one might expect, especially if the band in question has spent years developing their sound on the independent circuit. Most of these artists fail to make the transition from underground to mainstream success and Amorphis are certainly no exception to the rule. […]

The Greek trio Bullethole, formerly known as Human Decay, has brought their debut CD Incarceration to the mortal kind, also known as human beings (that is us). According to the band themselves, what we’re given is a mix between The Haunted and Hatebreed. And to my surprise, they’re not that far off with their ‘thrash […]

I admit that I don’t have that much of knowledge (if at all) in grind. Sure, when I was young and vulnerable for all sorts of influences I listened to Napalm Death and Carcass from the tape that I stole from my brother, but I found the Sepultura, Dismember and Cannibal Corpse songs more entertaining. […]