Hailing from Edmonton, Canada, one might assume that Tales of the Tomb are yet another impressive act of technicality and time signature wielding wizardry, especially given that Christian Donaldson (Cryptopsy) handles the mixing and mastering of the band’s latest sophomore EP release, Volume Two: Mendacium. Yes, one might assume this solely based on our experience […]

Waaaaay back in 2017, California’s Northwind Wolves released their aptly named debut, Dark…Cold…Grim, a superb and authentic delivery of 90s symphonic black metal that made my year end list. Well, as expected for a second album, the follow up delivers the same sound, expands on it a little, but never quite reaches the dark cold […]

I was immediately intrigued by this release as it’s another symphonic/tech black/death whatever release from The Artisan Era who have already wowed me in 2019 with the likes of Singularity, Oubliette, Mordant Rapture, The Odious Construct, Warforged and such, but also that the band features former members of Council of the Fallen, one of the […]

I am new to the Obsequiae hype train and after my good buddy Graham, from Deepsend Records-RIP, recommended this album to me, I could not be more than happier with his recommendation.  Under this name the band has been around for over a decade and released Suspended in the Brume of Eos in 2011 and […]

This review is long overdue – about four months late – but can you blame me? There was a lot to take in on this one! And since it’s going to wind up high on my year-end list, I figured it’s time. I’ve been an Opeth fan since late 1997, when I first heard “Nectar” […]

If you haven’t checked out Virginia’s Construct of Lethe, do so now. Their 2018 effort Exiler, was one of 2018s best death metal albums, and now founder Tony Petrocelly has gone back to Construct of Lethe‘s past to deliver a vision of the band’s future…bear with me here. Back in the early 00s , before […]

Long Island New York death metal act, Day of Doom return with their 5th album, Epitaph of the Darklord, on their own newly created label-3 Demon Records.  I reviewed their previous album, Descent of Humanity on here back in 2017 and I feel Epitaph of the Darklord is their finest work to date. Starting off […]

Here is a remastered reissue of Ungfell’s self released debut album, and for those unfamiliar with Swiss duo Ungfell, as I was, they play a form of raw, demented black metal inspired by medieval times and the dark ages. Think Peste Noire meets Lugubrum and early Abigor (Verwüstung / Invoke the Dark Age/Orkblut). It’s a […]

Occasionally I get sent some pretty obscure, late stuff in the mail, and one such release is the second effort from Italy’s female fronted act 5Rand (grand? five rand?), released earlier this Autumn. It’s clearly marketed to ride Jinjer’s current wave of popularity, but actually stands on its own as a pretty solid release, largely […]

As one of the godfathers, if not THE godfather, of the deathcore genre, Despised Icon have enjoyed a special place at the top for fans of the style.  Though the band themselves have rejected the label, they have no doubt played a huge part in spearheading a genre that is oft-hated, but no doubt has […]

Sometimes I get in the mood for some good old fashioned, no frills, second wave black metal, and occasionally a release comes along that fills that void perfectly. Earlier this year it was Germany’s Darkened Nocturne Slaughtercult and their album, Mardom, and here in the fall/winter as the nights grow longer and darker, the fittingly […]

England’s Unfathomable Ruination return with their third full length Enraged and Unbound.  I must admit I am not too familiar with this group. Unfathomable Ruination play a style of brutal technical death metal similar to: Cryptopsy, Origin and Internal Suffering.  Needless to say these gents waste zero time getting things moving and shaking. “An Obsidian […]

Relatively new to the death metal scene, Connecticut’s Vomit Forth have been acquired by Maggot Stomp to take both the 2018 Vomit Forth demo and Inherit Laceration ep and throw them on a cd combining the 2 new songs in 2019, making up the Northeastern Deprivation for a total of 9 songs on this compilation […]

With autumn upon us and the seasons starting to turn colder this review is a bit ironic for this reviewer in that if fills me with so much joy to review another insanely talented band from Minnesota for your ears to discover. Formed in 2008, Grand Demise of Civilization is a meticulously layered Black Death […]

If you have ever been out to dinner with Toxic Holocaust, you know what to expect from the band’s sixth full-length album, Primal Future: 2019. While Toxic Holocaust releases have never been the Wolfgang Puck or Gordon Ramsay of thrash metal, they are far from being the local McDonald’s brand of drivel that barely satisfies, […]

Strigoi is the new death/doom/crust project from Paradise Lost‘s guitarist/vocalist Gregor Mackintosh after he disbanded Vallenfyre, after 3 albums. And even though hes joined by a slightly different line up (bassist Chris Casket of Extreme Noise Terror and session/studio drummer Waltteri Väyrynen, also of Paradise Lost), the result sounds exactly like Vallenfyre’s latter, crustier output, […]

Ave! Italy’s Romanic death metal warriors ADE are back with yet another new line up,  another label and another quality album..despite that Dance of Death level artwork… Lone original member/founder/primary song writer Fabivs again has a whole new legion surrounding him including bassist Cornelvuis  and vocalist/lyricist Diocletianvs  (both formerly of Suicidal Causticity/ Oredreth), the band’s […]

What’s in a name? Are you the type to disregard a metal band due to a dubious moniker? Germany’s Fvneral Fvkk would probably fit into the category if you were so inclined to feel that way. Is this a lo-fi piss-take black metal act or novelty metal band? If you thought you had the band […]

Sweet Texas watermelon! Has it been two years already? Wow…it really doesn’t seem like a couple of years have passed since Exhumed released their fan and critic praised Death Revenge, but here I am blasting my eardrums as well as my face, clean into oblivion with the aural onslaught that is Horror, Exhumed‘s seventh full-length […]

Despite being the arguable top act in the Swedish death metal revival since 2010s Tales From the Morgue, I had some reservations about the band’s sixth album. Mostly due to yet another line up change surrounding founder Jimmy Lundqvist, this one involving the addition of Markus Svensson on guitars but mainly, Penki Samuelsson moving to […]

If the novel “War of the Worlds” and any Zelda game ever created got together and had a baby, the result would be Rings of Saturn.  That’s about the most succinct way I can sum up this album. On Gidim, the band’s fifth full length album, they have continued what they have dubbed “aliencore”, and […]

2019 has been a banner year for power metal, especially for some of the bigger name bands, and more importantly power metal bands I actually like: Battle Beast, Beast In Black, Twilight Force, Sabaton , Grimgotts, 43 Rhapsody based bands and even grizzled Hammerfall all released albums,  with some of them certainly in the mix […]

Hailing from Denver, Colorado Blood Incantation return with their sophomore album Hidden History of the Human Race, the follow-up to the monstrous 2016 debut, Starspawn, which I reviewed on this very site. In their existence since 2011 Blood Incantation has garnered a well-deserved reputation for their raging live show and yes live, they’re one of […]

Transcending Obscurity is on quite a roll in 2019, firmly establishing themselves as one of the best labels going around in the underground metal scene. Already the label has dished up an impressive quota of quality metal releases this year, and with the upcoming The Drowning album yet to drop, there’s plenty more goodness to […]

Do you like early Asphyx? Do You like early, Drunen led, Consuming Impulse Era Pestilence? Then the always reliable FDA Records has a release for you, the full length debut from German death metal act Evoked, and it’s a scorcher of an album, despite its clear influences. Culling heavily from The Rack as well as […]