Germany’s Obscura needs no introduction. They have resided near or atop the tech death heap since 2009’s Cosmogenesis. For me, they peaked with 2016s Akroasis, but all of their albums have been excellent, including their last effort, 2021s A Valediction, which saw former members Christian Munzer (ex-Necrophagist, ex-Spawn of Possession) and fretless bassist Jeroen Paul Thessling return […]

In this frozen wasteland, I bring a tale of a Black Metal horde hailing from Portugal and bringing the 90s spirit of Black Metal all the way from Norway. It creates a tapestry of hopelessness that matches the world climate; be it politics or the actual weather changing in catastrophic ways. Enter Irae. Formed in […]

Mutagenic Host hails from London, England and is an up-and-coming death metal band, who released their The Genotoxic Demo in 2023.  Their filthy and sludgy brand of death metal is impressive and they one-up their demo with their debut album –  The Diseased Machine. 10 songs in 41 minutes and “Neurological Necrosis” starts things off […]

Sometimes I step out of my comfort zone, it’s not often but when I do it tends to go extreme. Such is the case with Nu metal/metalcore act Knogjärn. This is definitely a different style and genre-wise; meaning that I’m in semi-uncharted waters… oh well, I’ve been in those before; so let’s get it going. […]

I have been a fan of Spain’s Onirophagus for quite some time.  I reviewed their 2013 debut album Prehuman and interviewed them for a different site, at that time.  The band blends doom and death metal perfectly and it’s been some time since their last album, their second one from 2019  – Endarkenment (Illumination Through […]

You can virtually cut and paste my review of 2021’s Maere for this Austrian duo’s 6th album, as they are so locked into their despondent, post/ shoe gaze/ atmospheric black metal sound, it’s scary. That said, at a trim 67 minutes on 1 CD as opposed to Maere’s 2 CD, 84-ish minute affair, the band […]

For four albums now, Ex Deo, the Roman-themed symphonic death metal act from Kataklysm’s Maurizio Iacono has steadily improved from a lazy Kataklysm clone with keyboards to a pretty solid act. Well with a Switch of labels from Nalapm Records to Reigning Phoenix, here is a taster EP to celebrate the shift. After covering the […]

The first time I heard Bolt Thrower was in their Realm of Chaos (Slaves to Darkness) from 1989. It turned my Metal mind to full tilt, opening up a whole other level of brutality and extremity. Living in England during the burgeoning Death Metal scene was a special time that I’ll always cherish being a […]

Scotland is fucking beautiful. The Highlands are an amazing sight to behold, rolling, green, and absolutely vast. It’s a place that draws music from the people who in turn pull the rhythm from the very dirt itself. I’ve visited there and was stunned by the beauty. The lochs, especially Loch Ness are awe-inspiring. KILDONAN is the […]

Cerebral Hemorrhage was a short-lived NYDM from the late 90’s to the early 00’s.  In 2001 they released their only album Exempting Reality.  They combined the slam and style of Internal Bleeding, Dehumanized, and Repudilation.  All NY slam bands and I’ve even read online reviews about the debut album and vocalist Matthew Szablewicz being compared […]

I missed the last album 2022s Born to be Dead, from Rogga Johansson’s Revolting project, just one of his 258 bands. However, the last time I heard them, on 2020s The Shadow at the World’s End, it was clear I was getting a bit bored with them, despite really enjoying the 3 album run of The […]

When Panzerchrist released Last of a Kind in 2023 I was fucking ecstatic. It had been a long minute since 7th Offensive and their departure from the Metal community was deeply emotional (I know I cried like a bitch… not really but I was sad for sure) so when Last of a Kind was announced, […]

The year of the EP was 2024. Without a doubt I think I covered more Eps last year than any other in recent memories; granted that my brain is Swiss fucking cheese but whatever. Eps ruled! Abschwörzunge has unleashed hell with its incredibly bleak outlook on humanity in sonic form with Whorl. It’s a dirty, […]

Something is going on in Tennessee. There’s stench in the air, it’s foul and nauseating and is permeating the Death Metal community with some fresh blood. Enter Ritual Fog from Memphis and their chest bursting debut But Merely Flesh. Following a split EP and the release of the single Visions of Blasphemy; both in 2022, […]

Śmierć (‘Death’, ‘End of life’) is a long-running Swedish band paying to Polish hardcore with Polish titles and such. Op​ó​r (‘Resistance’) is their third effort and they were kind enough to reach out to the site directly and send me a copy of the LP, with its gorgeous artwork and all. The album is co-released […]

I’ve always loved soundtracks and instrumental albums in general. This has been a great year for instrumental Death Metal and Dark Wave and these Italian maniacs have crafted a second amaze-balls album aptly named Gothron Vs Fartark. Apparently, there’s a story going on between these alien forces… It’s mind blowing, indeed. From the press release: […]

Remember these guys? At one point in the mid-1990s Denmark’s Konkhra was on the very cusp of international metal stardom. As nu-metal exploded and death metal was selling out/transitioning to more commercial groovy sounds (Gorefest, Grave, Obituary, Entombed, Mercyless, Dismember, etc), Konkhra capitalized on this. And with albums like Sexual Affect Disorder, Spit or Swallow […]

Darkness Everywhere: “Hey guys! I think, we might have released the best Light This City/Darkest Hour-influenced melodic death metal of 2024 with To Conquer Eternal Damnation, I mean c’mon, we have current and ex-Light This City members in the band!!!!” Druparia: “Hold My Beer”. Seriously, first off, go check out Darkness Everywhere‘s debut album To Conquer […]

The debut album from Denmark’s Neckbreakker is a deathcore album. Unless you’re the boss, that may be a dirty word. I haven’t found much to like in what is inconceivably still the “it” genre. Don’t get me wrong, though. This is not THAT kind of deathcore. This is death metal with a heavy emphasis on […]

I received a Mother of Graves shirt through the Metalhead Box a while back and whenever I get a shirt from them I’ll check out the band (most of the time it’s bands I’ve never heard of).  Which brings me to the new album from these Indianapolis purveyors of monumental Death/Doom. The Periapt of Absence […]

I’m thankful for Death Metal. The crushing heaviness of daily life is magically mutilated with each blast beat and sick as fuck riff. Moss Upon the Skull has been the soundtrack to my life for the past week. They’ve been in the game since 2010 and released their “Imperial Summoning” single back in 2014 followed […]

I love the Alien film franchise—yes, even Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection. I also love brutal slamming death metal/deathcore. Italy’s Hideous Divinity mixed the two on their LV426 EP back in 2021, but France’s Xenotheory has entered the fray with their second album does to the genre what Aliens did to the films. Their 2022 […]

Sweden’s Paganizer returns with their 13th album, Flesh Requiem.  This is one of Rogga Johansson’s main acts in the numerous amount of bands he is actively in, which is a lot!!  Paganizer has morphed over the years into a quality Swedish death metal act, with the HM-2 buzzsaw guitar sound.  It is not as bludgeoning […]

For 4 albums since 2020 , Sweden’s Carnal Savagery has been one of those solid to decent Swedish Death metal bands that I have enjoyed, purchased albums, etc, but never truly loved or considered an heir apparent to the legends of the genre. Despite members coming out of the genre’s birth in the early 90s […]

Back in 1987 I was still discovering what Thrash Metal was. I was familiar with Metallica and Megadeth and when the opportunity came, I found myself buying Helloween’s Keeper of the Seven Keys part 1 at the local mall in Shreveport, Louisiana. Holy shit, not only were these guys fast as a fucking shark; they […]