While most are out there blowing their loads over the Tool album, I’ve been sitting here patiently awaiting the arrival of another long awaited progressive metal album, Disillusion’s reunion effort after 13 years!. Yep- it’s been 13 years since the divisive Gloria, which while a solid album, had the herculean task of following up a […]

Texas has quite a nice death metal scene.  With Devourment, Kill Everything,   and many others…but don’t forget about Prophecy.  With Foreseen Scriptures as their 5th album, being newly released I would love to see them do some major touring, because this album destroys from beginning to end.  You want pure brutal American blood-flowing death […]

Do you pine for the grimy years of Blasphemy?  Have you always hoped they would drop one last dirty bomb of skinhead ignorance?  Did you spend month’s booze budget for die hard versions of the last reissues?  If so, then dudes… there are a LOT of options in lo-fi bestial bands who have adopted that […]

Well,  at least I know that Germany’s Unholy Conspiracy Deathwork label knows how to package an album. As with label mate’s Der Rote Milan‘s Moritat, the fourth album from home land act Stellar Master Elite comes in some intriguing packaging, a black embossed  2mm black carton premium digipack, with 3 black foil prints on all sides […]

Arizona Thrash veterans , Sacred Reich, return with their first full length since, Heal, from 1996.  Awakening is their 5th full length and after reforming years ago the band has made it more than a reunion, because unlike a lot of bands reuniting Sacred Reich actually recorded a new album, rather than continuing to rest on their laurels and tour […]

You’ve heard of the Six Degrees of Separation right? Hell, you’ve probably even heard of the quirky, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Well, I guess you could say that it was the Six Degrees of Dave Ingram that led to my introduction of  Cropsy Maniac. You see, it goes like this: I’m a big Benediction […]

I’m unfamiliar with female fronted Minnesotan black metal act False, but seeing as their second effort was released on the usually reliable Gilead Media, who recently dropped the magnificent third Falls of Rauros album, I though Id give this a go. And what I was greeted with was some fantastic 90s styled , Scandinavian semi […]

Virginia’s Witch-Hunt were together for 10 years from 1992-2002 and played a very early form of death metal/thrash, which eventually went towards a black metal sound towards the last few years of their existence.  This anthology collection compiles the majority of their songs throughout their releases, which are: Both 1993 demo’s Born Dead and Fearless,  […]

Most will roll their eyes at blackened deathcore with symphonic elements , but Arizonians Ov Lustra (“Of Glory? Of Shining?”Of Mirrors?) has absolutely knocked it out of the park with this ‘debut’ EP, utilizing some of the most effective orchestration I’ve heard in any metal genre with perfect results. Formerly known as Sun Speaker and […]

New Yorks’ Immortal Suffering return with their second full-length album and a real nice follow-up to their long awaited debut in 2015, the awesome, yet very short Asylum.  Since that record the newest member is Randall Reekstin on drums.  The rest of the band staying intact with Joe Provvisiero and Leo Bakman on guitars, John […]

A seasoned veteran and stalwart of the Swedish death metal scene, the prolific Rogga Johansson (Paganizer, Ribspreader, Down Among the Dead Men and countless other acts) has dipped his toes into solo waters again for sophomore album, Entrance to the Otherwhere. The multi-talented artist handles all lyrics, music and songwriting duties, ably assisted by session […]

Chicago’s progressive-thrash metal/crossover band Aftermath return with the follow-up to their 1994 debut-Eyes of Tomorrow, with There is Something Wrong.  Aftermath reformed in 2014 and this album has Charlie Tsiolis on vox, Steve Sacco on guitar, Ray Schmidt on drums and George Lagis on bass.  So being away for so long and your second album […]

I had high hopes for this.  It was either because it was named after an Entombed song from Clandestine, or that drummer Eric Krebs is the drummer here, and he is in another German death metal band called Golem, who released one of the early 00s most underrated death metal albums, Dreamweaver. Unfortunately, I was […]

Ahh Thrash Metal…For the most part there are usually two camps when it comes to the liking of the genre. One camp simply being lovers of the trade, relishing in everything it is, in all of its neck breaking glory; the other camp tends to keep its distance from the beer and sweat smelling, denim […]

After Whitechapel’s The Valley, you could argue that Thy Art is Murder’s’ Human Target, and Carnifex’s 7th album are 2019s other ‘big name’, veteran deathcore releases. And while I have yet to hear Human Target, The Valley was phenomenal, so where does World War X stand? Well, I had some reservations when I saw/heard first […]

While there’s no shortage of quality bands in the overcrowded modern metal scene, it is increasingly difficult for bands to create something truly unique and original to stand out from the pack. Not to suggest there’s a lack of innovation in modern metal, but it remains refreshing when a band comes along and smacks you […]

Sweden’s Turbocharged have been around for a while now, with 4 albums and various other releases to their name. However, this is my first time hearing them, which is odd as I typically seek out anything with a HM 2 Swedish death metal guitar tone, but I missed these guys somehow. But this isn’t your […]

With a name like Necromutilator, an album title like Black Blood Aggression, and songs titled “Blessed in Hellvomit”, “Putrefaction Rites”and “Black Mayhemic Torment” , you kinda know what you are getting when you hit play on the second effort from these Satan lovin’, leather clad Italians; No frills, raspy, sneering, semi bestial, blackened thrash metal, […]

Hot damn! The floor is lava, my ass. The floor is pure fucking Death Angel fire! Rest assured, the band’s newest thrash platter, Humanicide, will burn you up, consuming your pitiful little being, leaving nary a trace that your ever existed, much less mattered.  A bit much? Maybe, but Humanicide really is that good, we’re […]

Hailing from North Vancouver, Canada Angelmaker return with their third official release and this is their second full-length album-follow-up to their powerful 2015 Dissentient album. Once again independently released by the band this self-titled album sees the 6-piece deathcore act steamroll their deathcore competition.  14 songs in 49 minutes the band brings the quality and […]

2019 is turning out to be a banner year for Power Metal- all the heavy hitters like Sabaton, Gloryhammer, Battle Beast, Beast in Black and two Rhapsody related projects have all dropped excellent albums, and next week, genre grand fathers Hammerfall release a new album, and  then later this year Dwarven warriors Wind Rose drop […]

I don’t listen to much traditional or classic doom metal, but two pure-ish doom records have crossed my desk lately, Church of Bones From Poland’s Monasterium, and this the second effort from Miami’s Nixa, and this by far is the better release and a solid mix of sludge and doom to boot. Horn of the […]

Sorry for the tardy review of a 2018 release, but I just recently got a pack of CDs from new Swedish label SouthCoast Productions, and amid the second effort from Spain’s atmospheric black metal act Neptunian Sun and debut from Finland’s Motorhead lovin’ Poison Whiskey, one of the label’s other  first releases was is the […]

I’m a sucker for tech death, yet I’m also a picky bastard, all too aware of the downsides that finds bands regularly being swallowed by the pitfalls of the often maligned subgenre. The curiously named Flub arrive with their full-length debut platter of technical wizardry, compiled by current and ex members of established acts, Alterbeast, […]

The sophomore effort from Australia’s Disentomb, Misery was a very late discovery and addition to my 2014 year end list, but that won’t be an issue with the band’s stellar third effort, as I’ve had this beast for a while now, and it’s easily one of the year’s best death metal records, even as we […]