Belphegor released this album in 1995 on Lethal Records and no one noticed. Those that wanted it later could not find it so Last Episode was gracious to re-release it in 1999 complete with six bonus tracks. Mercenary Musik is now re-releasing the original version, according to their web site, with all art work restored. […]

Austria’s masters of “cruel blasphemic hyperblast aggression” get the re-release treatment courtesy of Mercenary Musik. Blutsabbath was originally released in 1997 by Last Episode. For those who already own the original version, read no farther- this is an exact copy. For those new to the band, Belphegor play black/death and can be described as Morbid […]

After adding veteran metal vocalist Rob Rock (Impellitteri, Angelica, M.A.R.S.) to the fold, Warrior returns with its third full-length album The Code of Life. This is an album full of good riffs, strong melodies and stellar sonics. Compared to past Warrior records, this one has a darker, more ominous feel to it. This is at […]

This old style keyboardless black metal band from the Pacific Northwest has been around for a few years. Warlords of Hell is a successful follow up to Satan’s Wrath. While it might be a stretch to refer to them as maturing, they are definitely more accomplished musically. Where Satan’s Wrath was an interesting if not […]

Back in 1994, three bands were leading the savage path of black metal into the mainstream. Emperor released Into the Nightside Eclipse, Cradle of Filth released Principles of Evil Made Flesh, and finally Ancient released Svartalvheim. All three were landmark albums and eventually led to more acclaimed albums and propelled two of the bands to […]

There are two opposing factions when it comes to this British five piece. Either you hate them, and think that their over-the-top theatrical metal is cheesy synth-heavy fodder for basement dwelling D&D fanatics. Or, you love the bombastic barbarian imagery and grandiose epic metal styling, set to fantasy inspired orchestrations. I fall in the latter […]

This Finnish atmospheric black metal band has released a string of demos since 1996, and finally put out a full-length debut. With so many bands vying for position within the atmospheric black sub genre, it seems Finland is cornering the market on top flight talent. Uhrilehto is yet another talented newcomer with good musicianship on […]

Oh yeah! Classic melodic, technical thrash lives! Ohio’s Antithesis plays a blistering brand of classic metal akin to Helstar, Sanctuary and even old Realm and Toxik. They blend choppy, thrash-like riffs, excellent guitar harmonies and lead work, tight, technical drumming and clean, yet edgy vocals into a hard hitting record that is both fresh and […]

No, I’m not going to spend a lot of time explaining why grindcore is so excellent; if you tend to get sick of my polemicizing, believe you me, I get sicker quicker. So I’ll confine myself to remarking that grind roolz, and death metal (for the most part) droolz. Now on to the album at […]

Impetigo were considered by many to be the kings of true underground death metal when they broke up in 1993. This band played a large role in furthering the expansion of the underground during the tape trading days of old. They also remain a huge influence on our current international death and gore metal scene. […]

Peaceville never plied the safest of waters with its artists or its artists’ statements. The label’s outspoken stance on artist integrity is seen not in the atmospheric delight of Anathema, My Dying Bride, et al., but in the likes of Autopsy, GGFH and, most importantly, Dark Throne. Autopsy’s Shitfun cover was the progenitor of the […]

If there was ever a band in metal that reveled in defying expectations and restrictive labels while continuing to move in a forward direction, it has been Amorphis. Ever since their groundbreaking effort Tales from the Thousand Lakes, they have been on a seemingly endless track of experimentation and evolution. Am Universum, their latest effort, […]

Aeba, a German outfit, describe their style as “apokalyptic black metal.” They do have a female keyboardist, but she doesn’t sing. This is atmospheric black, not gothic black – and they are fully corpsepainted, with studs and leather. Rebellion – Edens Asche is a lengthy album and features eight songs and runs 66 minutes. The […]

Don’t want to go on the whole free will/determinism riff, but I firmly believe that many of life’s pivotal moments come down to a single choice. For Beantown sluggers Virulence, said moment was when they let vocalist Chris Danecek go anywhere near a microphone. I imagine it seemed harmless enough at the time. Chris: “C’mon […]

In 1995, Godflesh’s Ben Green retired to a remote cottage in the Cambrian Mountains of Wales, where he had spent much time as a child. For the next year, he virtually isolated himself from the modern world and allowed nature to speak to him in ways in which he previously could not decipher. Equipped only […]

When a fan of The Swans and Merzbow calls an album dense, you know they ain’t kidding. Kill.Crush.Destroy is a product of two different recording sections, and its first four tracks are so layered and thick that you can barely discern the guitar notes. After listening to the CD’s second half, you realize that the […]

Let’s play ‘What if…’ shall we? What if David Wayne had never left Metal Church in the first place? What if they dropped some of the thrash influence and worked in a more straight-ahead metal approach for the follow up to The Dark? What would it sound like? If you have these questions burning in […]

Italy’s Aborym formed in 1991, released a demo and broke up. The same members reformed the band in 1997 and released their debut album, Kali Yuga Bizarre in 1999. Fire Walk With Us is their second full-length, and the first to feature Attila Csihar, formerly of Mayhem, as permanent vocalist. Thier aim is to break […]

Since 1987, K.K. Null’s noise outfit Zeni Geva has honestly raised the bar on Japanese rock so high that it has yet to be matched. Main throats like Cryptopsy’s Mike DiSalvo and his ilk are still dead ringers for Null’s largely Japanese and broken English growls, though the band has created an alternate metal universe […]

As metalcore shape-shifts every month, the borders of the genre continually expand, absorbing death and thrash metal, jazz, fusion, hardcore and every other music genre it decides to take on. Death metal in sound and hardcore in attitude, Germany’s Heaven Shall Burn are one such metalcore outfit, whose sound is more reflective of Amon Amarth’s […]

Holland’s God Dethroned exponentially improves on their brand of catchy death metal with each album. With the release of Ravenous, there’s no questioning the band’s commitment to creating high-quality extremity. Ravenous comes at a time when death metal is experiencing a resurgence and bands in the genre are pushing the genre’s limited boundaries. It also […]

Arch Enemy were tight-lipped about who would fill in for vocalist Johan Liiva after he left to form NonExist with Andromeda axeman Johan Reinholdz. Rumors were everywhere, claiming former Carcass frontman Jeff Walker would reunite with guitarist Mike Amott and take the mic for an album’s worth of trademark growls. Alas, the rumors proved to […]

The legendary Horna is back with a vengeance, and even better, back on cd. After releasing seven vinyl only recordings as limited edition 7 inches, they have signed to Woodcut Records and now those of you not into spending money on split seven inches to get a few songs from Horna and a few from […]

How in the world have I never heard of Threshold? According to their website, Hypothetical is their seventh album! Kudos to Inside Out for snatching these guys up because they are very good! I say this without the benefit of hearing the band’s past albums (obviously), but this CD definitely makes me want to hear […]

I suppose you could call Ark a supergroup. The band’s pedigree is more than impressive. Guitarist Tore Ostby (Conception, DC Cooper), drummer John Macaluso (TNT, Yngwie) and vocalist Jorn Lande (Beyond Twilight, Millenium) got together a couple of years ago with the collective hope of making music with no boundaries. Their resulting self-titled effort was nothing […]