Did I read the name right? Maybe the manufacturing plant put the wrong screening on the CD when they pressed it, because Beneath The Encasing Of Ashes by As I Lay Dying resembles Zao in every aspect, even down to the band photo and signature vocal delivery. Hailing from San Diego, California’s As I Lay […]

Former Pungent Stench frontman Martin Shirenc stormed back into the scene with 1999’s Hollenthon debut, Domus Mundi, an eclectic, hard-hitting foray into a wide variety of metal stylings. The sophomore effort With Vilest of Worms to Dwell takes that catalystic impetus into the 21st century with another inspired album that is practically overflowing with originality […]

This band escaped my notice until recently. In the last few weeks I have seen many reviews touting this band as the best of American black metal. That seems lofty praise, but maybe not unwarranted. If not the best, definitely one of the better. One reviewer said “extremely dissonant and chaotic-more unlistenable than DARKTHRONE’s Transylvanian […]

I quite enjoyed the trio’s blackened take on some dark, metal twinged with folky/Viking melodies on .. And So The Night Became. Then 1999’s Shadows of Old and 2000’s Burning the Shroud, seemed to wander of into more death metal swamped pastures, and while being enjoyably brutal, I missed the atmospheric flare, that gave them […]

While the term “Forest Metal” may sound ridiculous and comical, one listen to Agalloch’s Pale Folklore and their most recent EP Of Stone, Wind and Pillor and it’s difficult not to see large expanses of forest and snow-capped mountains. Much of Agalloch’s allure is its organic sound and sweeping, melancholic melodies – crossing Ulver’s Bergtatt and […]

Personally, I’ve always viewed Absu with a glazed eye from afar. Having only heard a few scattered songs from each of their four records ‘ and, at that, merely thinking they’re a loose ‘n’ clattering retread of old-school German thrash (Sodom, Kreator, Destruction, duh) ‘ but also having heard about band-leader Proscriptor’s ambient side-project, Equimanthorn, […]

Heavy metal really hasn’t changed in the 30 odd years the music genre has been invading the humble homes of suburbanite, disenfranchised kids. Whether it serves as a confidence booster, a unifying rally cry or simply music to party by, heavy metal has and always will be a part of the general overview of music. […]

Y’know – I really wanted to find something wrong with this album. Desperately. I have hyped this band in previously as being the next big thing and have sworn (still do) that their two previous outputs, 1998’s Eos, and 1999’s Sadiam, will live on for years as some of the most awe-inspiring melodic death metal […]

For a band that is seriously responsible for inspiring the current malnourished, virtually talentless, disease of rap-metal infesting America, Tool clearly saw an inspired path out of that emotionally dead scene and dutifully took it. Why, might you ask, should you care about a group who is taking strident steps to remove itself, not only […]

When I learned of some of the musicians participating in Adagio, I knew I had to do all I could to check this one out. Spearheaded by 24 year-old French guitar prodigy Stephan Forte, Adagio crank out some of the most intense, vigorous, and masterful symphonic Prog Metal this side of Symphony X. Sanctus Ignis […]

Germany’s Wizard is more akin to Hammerfall or even Iron Maiden than to pompous glory metal acts like Rhapsody or Symphony X. Bereft of keyboard interference, the guitar work is fast, furious, and heavier than most of the swordswingers in the battle metal genre. In fact, the lyrical content and cover art seem to be […]

Sweden’s Amon Amarth is one of the few bands who started out playing death metal and maintain a steadfast proponent of the genre, musically and ideologically. While the band’s previous death metal masterpiece, The Avenger, solidified Amon Amarth as worldwide death metal entity, on The Crusher the mead-swillin’, Thorshammer-wearin’ outfit seem to be stuck in […]

Summoned from the very same aged and burnt grimoire as Morbid Angel, Incantation and, perhaps, Krisiun, Aeon’s brand of death metal is incendiary, hell-wrought and well scaled. Dark Order is also predictable, but more on that later. Despite genre’s trodden path, Aeon do manage to bend, manipulate and smith their own sound by using a […]

For the first time in many years, hardcore has once again reached a point of critical mass. Granted, some advances have been made in the scene the past few years – hardcore-oriented bands getting considerably heavier and/or going in more experimental/genre-dicing directions, or at the very least, heading for more emo waters; if such can […]

This is one if those really unusual releases that provided me with a serious split personality complex. You see, while I am listening to this debut from this promising and diverse quintet, I am enjoying it completely. Yet, when I am not listening to it, there is nothing about it that makes me crave listening […]

Dark, infectious trip-hop beats kick off “Je(n!)i Force,” the first track off Nowafter, the electronic, indie/goth-laced new collection from This Empty Flow. Akin to Portishead, Massive Attack or something far more sinister – this tune stifles the listener with its scientifically crafted blend of bleak, pop wisdom. Judging from this band’s previous output, including their […]

I’m going to get straight to the point, much like this criminally short mini-album from Thy Pain. More Than Suffering is no frills, no musical jargon kick ass American death metal. I just wish it were a longer ass kicking. Here’s what you get in 21 minutes: some very aggressive, pounding yet melodic American death […]

This new black metal band say they play raw and icy black metal, and the song “Earth,” on Opus I- Discipline of the Elements, is a good example of this, but it is not typical raw black metal. The guitars are cleaner and the music is more atmospheric. There is a doom style to the […]

This one came out of nowhere. I had never before heard of Tierra Santa when I got Sangre De Reyes. After spinning the record many times now, I am not sure whether I am sorry for that or not. I mean, these guys can play! That goes without saying. This record is brimming with top-notch […]

As soon as I saw “Produced by David T. Chastain” on the back cover of 2050, I knew it was to be a total shred-fest! He is truly one of the most underrated, unsung guitar demons in metal history so I knew that if it had his name on it, it would have to be […]

“Shoot to kill, or don’t shoot at all.” This excerpt from the sample that opens Backstabbers Inc.’s newest helping of heart-exploding hardcore catharsis is probably the most appropriate way to describe the attitude these five crazy kids from New Hampshire play their music with. While You Were Sleeping is a total grind/thrash/hardcore blur of swinging […]

With 27 tracks spanning six studio releases (along with a few live numbers and a demo gem), Torn from the Grave is the definitive Autopsy collection, and fans of the ye olde school of death metal need look no further for moronic, blood-soaked, brain-bashing fun. The CD itself is a beautiful digipack, featuring four fold […]

Their sixth studio album (seventh if you count 1993’s Amon: Feasting The Beast, which was basically their 1990 debut in demo form), In Torment surprisingly finds our wily God-hating antiheroes jumping on the rap-metal bandwagon to better reach their new audience on their upcoming world tour as openers for Korn and Kottonmouth Kings. First stop: […]

After enduring turbulent times at their previous label, Washington D.C.’s Darkest Hour finally find solid ground in Victory Records. What doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger, so the adage goes. For Darkest Hour, adversity is the key to survival and, furthermore, the catalyst in crafting their most impressive effort to date. Whereas The Mark […]

Progression, foresight and innovation are all words associated with Fear Factory’s debut album, Soul of a New Machine. The Californian space-metal outfit blended styles as diverse as Godflesh, Head Of David, Swans and Frontline Assembly with death metal sensibilities to forma musical expression far beyond the primitive brutality of Pitch Shifter and Ministry-isms of Skrew. […]