I always like to support the local scene, which is more important than ever until somehow the world decides to unfuck itself. For me, there is a “local” scene just a few minutes away, but I really mean Pittsburgh, which is obviously larger and within an hour. Supporting this local scene is why I attended […]

Baltimore’s Codex Orzhova are a highly original act.  Whether you want to call them mathcore, deathgrind, Nintendocore, Robotron/Defender grind noise, I feel Baja Blasted is the most original album for 2020.  The band released a self-titled album 2 years ago, however this album contains some of those songs and I am unsure if that first […]

I knew some HM2 boss pedals had made their way to South and Central America by way of Zombiefication and Nocturnal Hollow, but it appears some have made to all the way to Chile and they are used to full effect on the band’s impressive homage laden second album. It’s clear immediately (after a short […]

Through every metal fad I’ve seen rise and fall over the years, I don’t think any swept me up so thoroughly in its current than the explosion of Folk Metal in the early/mid 2000’s. The mighty, but refreshingly upbeat and peppy sounds of bands like Finntroll and Turisas wormed their way into my ears and, […]

Having been around since 2009 Death metal international group Serocs are to me one of most underrated Tech Death bands out there right now.  Vore features Laurent Bellemare on vocals who is also the vocalist for the band Sutrah that I reviewed earlier this year.  Serocs also features Kevin Paradis on drums also of Benighted […]

Almost exactly a year after their debut, De Rerum Natura, Italian Symphonic metallers Moonlight Haze has already cranked out their second album. And you would think it would be a bit rushed and have a drop off in quality, but to their credit, they have kept things on a predictable, but high level with Lunaris. […]

I have thoroughly enjoyed Turkey’s brutal death metal act, Decaying Purity’s previous three releases and their fourth one Mass Extinction of the Providential Ones is on pace with yet another long album name, as well as more brutality to knock the COVID right outta ya. 9 songs in 32 minutes and “Darkness Falling Down Through […]

Sarpa ( the Sanskrit term for serpent) is the Austin, Texas-based one-man black/death project from the mind of David Baxter, formerly of industrial thrashers Skrew). The aptly named album Solivagus (roughly translated from Latin to ‘wondering alone’) is his first effort, no demos, no singles, just right into this ambitious 7 song 48-minute affair that […]

North Carolina’s Æther Realm caused quite a stir with their astounding 2017 sophomore album, Tarot. Indulging in an addictive, intricate form of melodic death and folk. The album was my number one pick in 2017 and is regularly revisited several years later. With success comes high expectations, and prior to its release, worries had set […]

Falconer holds a special place in my heart. Their 2003 album The Sceptre of Deception is one of my favorite power metal albums of all time. I was quick to find out, however, that this was not the definitive lineup of the band. At this time, they were operating with vocalist Kristoffer Gobel, with whom […]

Listen, I have my guilty pleasures, and one of them is female fronted or dual vocals (‘beauty and the beast’ I call it) styled Gothic/symphonic metal (or ‘cleavage-core’, for the kids) . Since the days of Thalarion and Beseech, How Like A Winter, early The Gathering, Theatre of Tragedy, Draconian, Epica and Delain and Tristania, and more […]

I’m so very happy, but I’M ALSO FUCKING PISSED. I’m happy as I always am any time I discover a new band I’ve never heard, especially one that falls in that sweet thrashy death wheelhouse that makes me all giddy and tingly inside. And I’m doubly happy to discover one that includes a female lead […]

So recently, I have received a few progressive experimental and often symphonic metal/death metal albums. The Outsider‘s one man effort, From Ancient and Forbidden Books, Orbit Culture’s hammering, Gojira worshiping self titled album, and this, the second effort from the UKs Rannoch. With Opeth and Gojira worn openly on their sleeve, Rannoch delivers 12 tracks […]

When the new thrash bands started to re-emerge in the 2000’s one of the best bands, that put many of the bigger acts to shame were and still is California’s Warbringer.  I was lucky enough to catchy them on their debut album tour for War Without End when they toured with Exodus and Kreator.  I […]

I have a lot of inappropriate shirts. Perhaps my favorite is my Carach Angren “You came to the wrong forest, mother fucker.” It’s not my Satanic Warmaster shirt where someone is getting sawed in half through the genital region, which I once accidentally wore (or so I told my girlfriend at the time) to the […]

Originally self released last year, but picked up by Prosthetic Records for a CD and gorgeous baby blue/purple swirl LP, Eternity’s End is the debut from this Ohio based melodic death metal trio featuring 2 members of Viking metal band Hammer Horde and 1 from Blood of the Prophets. Don’t let the term melodic death […]

Well, isn’t this just a barrel of rainbows and fucking unicorns? Scottish Hardcore rays of sunshine Razor Sharp Death Blizzard obviously aren’t mincing words about their current outlook on life. If it’s light-of-heart positivity and joy you’re looking for, just keep walking, friend – ‘cuz This shit is bleak. Like, BLEAK bleak. Somebody please give […]

I know it’s a broad, sweeping generalization, but it’s a pretty common phenomenon for metal, and death metal in particular to have a geographical sound or recognizable style. You’ve got Sweden’s buzzsaws, Florida’s punchy technicality, New Yawk’s groove, Finland’s filth and Canada’s uber complexity. But what is Norway’s know death metal sound? It’s not really […]

Montréal, Quebec’s ultra-brutal tech-death/deathcore act Beneath The Massacre return with their fourth album, Fearmonger.  The band seemingly going into a hibernation for some years, as their last album Incongruous, was released in 2012.  Much of the band has remined intact, the newest member is Anthony Barone, on drums.  When bands are so over-the-top brutal I […]

I’ll make a full confession so you know where I stand. I am a Lamb of God fanboy. I have the Wrath era logo tattooed on me in what was, at the time, the most painful place I had yet to receive a tattoo (I will not confirm or deny if it was my b-hole). […]

I’m a big believer in being honest with yourself. Knowing who, and what you are (and just as importantly, aren’t) goes a long way towards helping you build a happy, successful life for yourself. That’s not to say that personal growth and exploring new things is by any means a bad thing or useless endeavor […]

Epic doom isn’t really my thing. Well, it never used to be. Sure, one of my favorite vocalists of all time is Ronnie James Dio. I have no children, so the closest I have is my black cat and his name is Dio, so that’s the best tribute I can give. Side note: I picked […]

For years I have seen the Collision band logo and never investigated them until now. They hail from The Netherlands and stated in 2000. They have several albums under their belt and The Final Kill is their newest release-a 7 song ep. Collision plays a hybrid blend of thrash-crossover mixed with brutal grindcore. When I […]

I know this review is a month or so late but it’s been 18 years since the last actual…And Oceans album so, I think I’m good So, after 18 years, … And Oceans are back and not just back, but back to their symphonic black metal roots that they abandoned when they became more industrial […]

I once read a review regarding Belgium’s Pestifier and their then, sophomore release, Reaching the Void, where the group was described as sounding like a collision of Obscura, Beyond Creation, and Vektor. I’ve always like that analogy of the band. It’s true, clean, concise, and includes by association other influential acts such as Pestilence, Death, […]