Amid 2010’s big name death metal releases, some smaller and more obscure but no less competent, enjoyable releases more than likely crept under your radar. Releases by the likes of Tormenticon, Fleshrot, Entrails, Scrambled Defuncts, Aosoth, Grind Inc, Domination Through Impurity, Burial Invocation and Syn:drom, which might not get the praise and attention as say […]
While certainly getting inundated with digital promos for the latest and greatest and most anticipated releases from large bands and labels is a perk of this ‘job’, one of the more pleasurable elements is getting set stuff from honest to goodness, hardworking bands that actually want a review. Bands that send you emails, thanks and […]
If a band contacts me or the site and politely asks for a review of their self-released record, and sends me a copy of their record from Portugal, you know what? Even if it’s from 2009, when it’s this solid, I’ll review the damn thing and give the Teeth of the Divine readership some exposure […]
I’ve already contemplated about the state of French metal in a few other reviews this year, so I won’t dwell on subject too much. In fact, I’m getting rather tired of being surprised by the quality acts that stem from France; it would be refreshing to receive something that could be labeled as garbage. But, […]
Rise from Ruins is the debut release from melodic death metallers, Posthuman, hailing from the Netherlands. The album really does contain some solid death with fierce guitar work and also brings in some atmosphere with futuristic-sounding keyboards. The album starts out with an interesting intro in which you hear the news on the radio broadcast […]
I’m a bit of a collector of offbeat recordings. I love strange stuff like (good) parodies, metal tunes covered by groups in other genres (and vice versa), metal Christmas tunes, etc. Given that, and the fact that I’ve always been a closet fan of flamenco guitar, Flametal’s Heavy Mellow was a must-listen for me. Guitarist […]
Probably one of the best things about being a fan of metal is that you’re constantly coming across new and interesting incarnations of the music you love; a luxury not so commonly afforded to the “they’ve been there so let’s do that too” mainstream. Another advantage that the underground has over the radio scene is […]
So Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer, who has always seemed a very patriotic sort, has now launched a side project Sons of Liberty and electronically self-released a debut record Brush-fires of the Mind. The project is heavily political and obsessed with conspiracy theories. He’s said that he intends the band and its website to become […]
The members of Daredevil Squadron wear their varied influences on their sleeves on their debut album Out of the Sun, and, to be honest, it’s quite refreshing. There’s a dash of traditional metal here, a bit of 1970s hard rock there, a pinch of 1980s sleaze, just a touch of blues rock and even an […]
Brazilian band Dynahead deliver some strong, tight Heavy Metal with their debut CD Antigen. After several spins of this album now, I’d have to ultimately place it in the Progressive Metal category. But, don’t get visions of some Dream Theater or Threshold clone in your noggin. The Metal on Antigen is much more aggressive and […]
The full-length debut from Italy’s Future is Tomorrow certainly shows some promise, if not much innovation. It’s a concept record that looks at a funeral through the eyes of the deceased, and apparently only the first part of the concept. On a positive note, Future is Tomorrow plays a brand of power/prog without a lot […]
It’s no real surprise that this unsigned Austin, TX based group is vying desperately to win a competition that would have them open for Killswitch Engage, but truth be told- if they did play right before, fans might think they are seeing a KsE cover band or a group of KsE imposters. Not that Die […]
Well, this is it, the final album from the Baton Rouge blasphemers known as Catholicon. Of Ages Past caps a career of some of the most unique black/death metal ever recorded and the band has done it while remaining fiercely independent, firmly underground, and resolute in its disgust for the three major white-light religions (Christianity, […]
I’ve noticed a bit of trend in hardcore/metalcore/American metal of late; First, some really good clean vocalist are starting to surface in these acts and second some bands seem to be injecting true blue progressive metal into their sound. Not just piecemeal stuff or even scatter shot BTBAM styled stuff, but actual, structured, epic and […]
This is why I love this gig. Every month or so, I get a package of random CD promos. Sometimes I know of the bands or the label, but more often than not, it’s yet more mystery discs from the vast reaches of the metal underground. And once in awhile, you wind up with a […]
If you think about it, for gruff metal heads a lot of us are accepting of some pretty mellow non metal acts: Tenhi, Nuen Welten, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, old Mortiis, Summoning, Dornenreich just to name a few, seem to get a free pass with metal heads and as artistically brilliant as many non metal […]
Without fail, the same thing happens at the end of every year; I submit my year end picks to various outlets, only to have a release cross my path that would have made the list. In this case the second self released EP from Long Island’s Painted In Exile would have hands down been the […]
When listening to the self released debut from Canada’s Aquila (featuring former members of Bloodshoteye), I get a little sense of Deja Va as I’m reminded of Loren Battle’s Words Begins Wars, release earlier this year; Confident, well done, polished, epic artwork – and all of it self released. But it’s also plying a genre […]
With their debut self released EP, Italy’s Unconventional Disruption has simultaneously added to 2009s self released excellence (Belakor, Cephalectomy, Kalisia, Vengeful, Avicularia) and to Italy’s impressive, growing death metal scene, (Hour Of Penance, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Vomit the Soul, Gory Blister). With a chunky, angular, down-tuned sound, these five excellent songs reminded of a more controlled […]
That album cover repulses everyone that I show it too, which only makes me want to continue showing it to folks, no matter how disinterested they may be. It kind of reminds you of something Cannibal Corpse might have on a cover, doesn’t it? That would make sense because on Obesidade Morbida (even I can […]
An Entire Legion is a band with a personality conflict. It’s a band that strives for a traditional feel, but at the same time wants to be current. It’s a band that lives on hard rock guitar riffs, but at the same time works to appeal to an artsy commercial crowd. In short, it’s a […]
It’s fitting that this Croatian band take their name from a genus of spider that includes Tarantulas, because their form of spazzy, angular, technical , slightly experimental death metal is the perfect soundtrack for a nature documentary where spiders do their skittish, frantic, unpredictable, spidery things. The twisting, twangy form of death metal that Avicularia […]
Man, not only has death metal seen some excellent , label released goodness in 2009 (Augury, Gorod, Obscura, Ulcerate, Man Must Die, Nile, As You Drown, The Red Shore to name just a few), along come bands like Cephalectomy, Avicularia, Unconventional Disruption, Burial Ritual, Zealotry and Quebec’s Vengeful to self release some death metal awesomeness […]
On paper, the combination of female vocalist London Wilde (an experienced metal lass with various writing, engineering and vocal credits to her name since 1994, even performing bass tracks on the 2004 Chastain album In An Outage) and Dave Starr, a 25 year metal veteran who served as bassist for relatively legendary Bay area Thrashers […]
How the fuck is it that 3 my favorite albums of 2009 are self released (two being Kalisia and Be’lakor) and one of them, Cephalectomy’s An Epitaph to Tranquility is a FREE FUCKING DOWNLOAD????? That’s right. The full length follow up to 2004 excellent Eclipsing the Dawn (not counting the 28 minute single track, The Dream […]