Posts Tagged ‘Review’

Damnation Defaced are a German quintet that touts groove as a major selling point to their death metal sound, and I gotta say they are right on with that description.  After going through the album a few times, the main comparison that jumped out was Kataklysm, only with a bit more of the aforementioned groove.  […]

What do H. G. Wells, Doctor Who, Emmett Lathrop Brown, Bill S. Preston, Esquire, Ted “Theodore” Logan, and Chile’s Demoniac, and their debut full-length album, Intemperance, all have in common? Time travel of course, you silly gooses. In fact, Intemperance may be the closet thing any of us actually get to achieving time travel here […]

I really couldn’t claim that I knew a lot of Norwegian doom until Purple Hill Witch’s debut long player crushed my heart in that early Hellhound Records’/Count Raven style that always alternated effortlessly between melodic and flesh ripping riffage (with vocals and rhythmic crunch to match).  Their mates of state Red Mountains won me over […]

Well you may not know but 75% of Spectral Voice are also in Blood Incantation. If you did not know that, well then you learned something new today, so be happy. Spectral Voice have been around for 5 years and their Necrotic Doom ep is what really started making the underground take notice. I saw […]

Nashville, Tennessee’s Laser Flames on the Great Big News may not have an easily digestible name but their motor revving, road ready blend of proto-metal guitar grandeur, infectious vocal trade-offs between Stevie Bailey (guitar/vocals) and John Judkins (guitar vocals), rough n’ tumble punk-inspired rhythms, psychotic murder metal touches and the auxiliary keyboard support of producer […]

During past Halloweens, I’ve set the mood for trick-or-treaters by playing horror movie music – The Exorcist, Halloween, Poltergeist – and baroque Cradle of Filth instrumentals out of the windows. If I really wanted to terrify our visitors this year though, I could switch it up for the new Blut Aus Nord. Then again, it might […]

Despite switching from FDA Rekotz to FDA Records, the German label has stayed true to delivering  old school death metal, especially the Swedish/Stockholm style finding bands from Germany like  Endseeker, Revel in Flesh, Lifeless as well from as other countries like Funeral Whore, Fatalist, Ending Quest and Massive Assault. Well, add Italy to the list in […]

Contextually, this album was a challenge for me to write. As a fifteen year old some twenty two years ago I was fortunate enough to Bergen Norway’s Enslaved at Mirage in Minneapolis along with fellow Osmose Productions label mates at the time, Absu.  Unfortunately for me Mirage in Minneapolis has not existed for many years […]

I’m not sure what it was that made me choose to cover The Netherlands’ based act, River of Souls, and their debut album, The Well of Urd. Maybe it was divine intervention from the metal gods themselves. Whatever it was that drove me toward the band, I am glad it did, as River of Souls […]

  Amidst the myriad of styles and cross-genre pollination, sometimes it’s nice just to get back to the bare basics of what draws many of us to metal in the first place: speed, aggression and riffs, riffs, riffs. Australia’s Bloodlust keep things lean, mean and appropriately nasty with their violent brand of old school blackened […]

There is a host of bands vying for the throne left vacant by Dismember. The likes of Infected Chaos, Brutally Deceased, Harm, Blood of Seklusion, Evocation, Endseeker, Massive Assault, Fatalist, Interment and Germany’s Lifeless are certainly near the top of the list. I’ve cowered the bands prior two efforts, 2010 Beyond the Threshold of Death and […]

After hanging out with David Mikkelsen, from Undergang, during their recent US tour, he mentioned he was also in Phrenelith, from Denmark and their debut album, Desolate Endscape was out on Dark Descent Records, but that the music was different than Undergang. Obviously on Dark Descent Records, for me is going to be an immediate […]

Like an Ennio Morricone soundtrack meets Goblin and Zombi with liberal sprinkles of Inter Arma, Grim Ravine, Graves at Sea, Black Sabbath, Icepick Revival, Indian, Soulpreacher, Rwake, Swedish/Finnish gloom and an unholy, nail you to a cross of shame sludge attitude; Ottawa’s trio Longhouse have dropped a fearlessly frightening sludge-themed album that not only adheres […]

I wasn’t sure how these young Canadians would follow up their excellent 2014 debut, The Lucid Collective, a completely over the top , noodling clinical and triggered tech death tour de force, only since topped by First Fragment‘s Dasein since then as far as sheer tech death insanity goes. Well, they are up the the […]

Slovenia’s Eruption came into my radar in 2013 when Xtreem Music signed them and remastered and reissued their debut 2009 album, Lifeless Paradise.  I was impressed by this thrash band, who looked to be developing a sound that could hang with the big thrash bands.  I immediately picked up the second album, Tenses Collide and […]

Although The Black Dahlia Murder have often had a tendency to divide listeners, those who have kept the faith and followed the band over their decade plus career have been duly rewarded by some killer albums and a consistent track record.  The band’s tireless work ethic and expert refinement of their thrashy melodic death formula […]

Witch Vomit is very much like the black mold that is abundant in the pacific northwest. If you live in the region, you know and experience this phenomena. The band is very much like it; black, murky and gives you that creepy feeling. Their sound just oozes blackness and filth. Slow, dark and pummeling is […]

It’s been 10 years since Kansas City’s  Lo- Ruhamah released their impressive debut, The Glory of God, and then a subsequent interview with the band, cleared up the band’s deep philosophical themes and leanings, leanings which again arise on the band’s long awaited follow up, Anointing. Though not a Christian band, as you see by […]

When you and the crew are hanging out in the basement smoking and watching epic fail videos on Youtube are you the tunes master?  The one who is trusted to wield the aux cable to feed the vibes, facilitating the good times until the last dude is passed out?   Are you getting gripes under breath […]

Iron Reagan, the side-project from Municipal Waste and Darkest Hour members return with their third album. I was a huge fan of their prior albums: Worse than Dead and The Tyranny of Will. Caught the band live, opening for the Napalm Death/Voivod/Exhumed tour and they were phenomenal live.Iron Reagan play a brand of crossover thrash, […]

It wasn’t until 2014s Titan that I got into Greece’s Septiciflesh, which is a surprise considering I’m a sucker for big, epic orchestration in metal. But as with Titan, and even prior releases like The Great Mass that I went back to, Septicflesh remain all fluff and no real substance.  But the fluff, remains some of […]

So while we wait with bated breath for the long overdue to Disma’s follow-up to their 2011 debut Towards the Megalith the band has put out this new ep featuring the title track: “The Graveless Remains” and “Sempiternal Deformity”.  Some new line-up changes as well.  Guitarist Daryl Kahan and drummer Shawn Edlridge are out.  Taking […]

Vancouver butcher Graham MacSkimming has crafted a pretty impressive underground resume.  As a vocalist he channels Reagers’ era Vitus with an eerie tonality and violent vocal schizophrenia in sludge/doom overlords Witchsnake and he’s had his hands in seminal death/thrash/punk cultists Violent Christ, Ligeia and several other projects that are well-worth a listen.  Vile Ent is […]

Last year, I received a demo from San Francisco’s Sentient Ignition, they didn’t want a review, just some feedback from me about their sound. The basic premise of my feedback was they were promising, talented, sounded like Black Crown Initiate, and the vocals needed some work. Well, they wrote me back earlier this summer and sent […]

I’ve been a fan of Finland’s Desecresy for the last 5 years and have really loved their past 4 albums.  They used to be a two-piece act, but vocalist, Jarno Nurmi decided to bail last year leaving Tommi Grönqvist, who plays all the instruments and is the band’s artist, holding the bag.  Rather than pack […]