At this point in My Dying Bride‘s 25 year career do you really need a review of album number 13? Let’s be honest, you are simply checking this review out to see if, 1. Aaron Stainthorpe is still growling, and if the 2 released singles  (“Your Broken Shore” and “Tired of Tears”) are the best […]

I said it before and I’ll say it again, if you or your PR folks go through the time and effort to send me a physical CD, there is a pretty good chance I’ll review it. If I don’t its normally due to the old adage about saying something nice. Even if the CD is […]

I am and will continue to be a massive fan of Deathwhite’s 2018 debut album For A Black Tomorrow. It was an album I didn’t know I needed at the time. Add into this the fact they are listed as from Pittsburgh, PA, which is my local scene, and I became an even bigger fan. All of the […]

I really got to hand it to Jason Tipton at Willowtip Records.  He has a unique ability to find some of the most intricately brutal death metal bands (Defeated Sanity, Putridity, Abysmal Torment, etc).  Ukraine’s Schizogen are no exception with their 2020 2nd full length Spawn of Almighty Essence. Musically these guys waste zero time […]

Sometimes it’s the dumbest things that cause you the most stress. When I was younger, dumber, and usually a whole lot drunker, choosing a playlist at a house party was so much easier. For one thing, college kids are usually more open to experiences and surroundings that they might not be all that familiar with, […]

I must admit that I am quite sold on everything that The Artisan Era has been putting out recently.  See last year’s unbelievable release by Singularity as an example.  Montreal’s Sutrah have my continuing to pick my jaw off the floor with their 2020 EP Aletheia.  In the bio description they are compared to  Lykathea […]

At the end of last year, Oni released their new EP, Alone. While I was aware of it being released, I didn’t get the chance to listen until after the new year. This nearly 25-minute EP is a digital only release, which may have contributed to it not showing up on my radar. I remember listening to and enjoying […]

Do you like burgers? Of course you like burgers. Burgers are so great that vegans and vegetarians have been toiling away forever to create a viable meat substitute, just so they can still have burgers. That’s one of the best parts about burgers – the spectrum of possibilities for what a burger can be is […]

Viogression started in the midwest, Wisconsin, in the late 80’s, with a bunch of demos before their great 1991 debut album, Expound and Exhort.  The band has a very early death/thrash sound, which is to be expected given the time when the band started.  Enter Mike Juliano, owner of HPGD Productions, an excellent label, to […]

Well here is a unique release.  French death metal band Ad Vitam Infernal debuts with their first full length record Infernal Comedy.  This group consists of Jerome Mahe on guitars and bass and Samuel Girard on vocals.  Both of these guys program the drums.  This is kind of surprising to discover writing this review as […]

I’m not overly familiar with Dutch black metal duo Fluisteraars, (“dreamers”)  as Bloem is my first real exposure to the band, even though it’s their 3rd album. Their 2014 debut, Dromers was reviewed in these pages, and that’s where I started my research and decided to give album number three a go. I’ve since promptly […]

Popularity and/or notoriety are definitely elusive attributes when it comes to extreme metal trying to branch out to a larger audience. Trying to build a band legacy while making an actual financial living from it is indeed the epitome of extreme metal being a ruthless and fickle bitch. What is it that gains one artist […]

I had high hopes for the second effort from Pete Helmkamp’s latest post Angelcorpse endeavor, especially after the nasty little slab of black/death filth that was the debut, Larvae Offal Swine. But alas, Proselyte Parasite Plague is a disappointing, flat (literally) follow up. The main reason for the album’s failure is the guitar tone and production. […]

Ok folks so this year of 2020 you will see some new and expansive reviews from yours truly.  I do not claim to be a Black Metal expert by any stretch of the imagination, however that’s not to say I do not like Black Metal.  My origins with Black Metal are rooted in more of […]

You know the whole “Glow Up” thing? Basically, people on social media post a side-by-side photo comparison of themselves when they were younger, more awkward, and not quite fully developed – next to a recent photo of their more grown up, mature, and (assumedly) more attractive selves. A modern-world representation of The Ugly Duckling, if […]

For a while there, in the mid /late 00s, at deathcore’s peak, Suicide Silence were mentioned in the same breath as genre darlings the likes of Whitechapel, Oceano, All Shall Perish, Despised Icon and such. Even after the tragic death of vocalist Mitch Lucker in 2012, the band were joined by Eddie Hermida (ex-All Shall […]

So Jeff Waters is still slinging the crap out of his guitar?  I had no idea.  Canada’s speed metal veterans return with their 17th, yes you read that correctly, 17th full length album, Ballistic, Sadistic.  Of course you had the classic Alice in Hell album in 1989 and really after that I kind of lost […]

I have not been a big thrash guy since my teens (Sabbat, Metallica, Toranaga, Slayer etc), and none of the ‘nu thrash’ (Municipal Waste, Toxik Holocaust etc) has really grabbed me. The only 2 ‘new’ thrash bands that I have really enjoyed have been Germany’s Mortal Infinity and The Netherlands’ Anger Machine, as they have […]

Necropanther? NECROPANTHER! Hell-fucking-YES, Necropanther. Be honest, you’re only here because of that name. Don’t be ashamed! It’s sure as hell the reason they caught my attention. You see a name like that, and you pretty much HAVE to see just what the hell that’s all about. It’s really a bold, but risky strategy. Yes, the […]

I’ve been listening to New Jersey’s Lorna Shore since 2013/14’s EP, Maleficium,  and 2015 debut full length Psalms . And while I enjoyed the band’s synth tinged take on deathcore, I never expected them to blow up into the full on symphonic blackened deathcore act that delivered Flesh Coffin in 2017. Well, after some delays […]

Holy crap did this come out of left field or what?  Released last year, this promo was just sent to me by the label recently and literally I had to get a review out.  Never heard of this dude, this release and or band and Ian has been in the metal industry for over 3 […]

Do you like the Alien film franchise? I like the Alien film franchise. It’s a mixed feelings type of thing when it comes to these films. Some people like them all, some people hate them all, some people like a few and hate a few, while others couldn’t care less. Me though, I dig ’em, […]

From the label that brought you last year’s excellent Dauþuz album, Monvmentvm, comes the debut of Finnish trio Marrasmieli (‘death of the mind’) and you can go ahead and block a spot for your 2020 year end list, because this is going to be on it. This isn’t just a good album, or a great […]

If you were to ask me where Infirmity was from, based solely on their sound, I’d be hard pressed to come up with an answer. The band and their full-length debut, Descendants of Sodom, is brimming full with influential might. A journey of brutal, melodic, and even blackened tinged death metal groove, Descendants of Sodom […]

They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery. If that’s the case Chris Reifert and Autopsy should be flattered as fuck by this German trio and their second full length album, Outcome of Obnoxious Science. If you like Autopsy and their sinewy oozing ilk like Slaugterday (also from Germany), Nailgun Massacre, Obliteration, Execration and […]