Virginia’s crossover/thrash lunatics Municipal Waste return with their seventh album. I remember when this entire genre resurged like around 2000 and MW were the new kids on the block. Now it’s over 20 years later they’ve been around and are veterans. I was really happy when drummer Dave Witte joined in 2005. He’s a great […]

A couple years back, I had the great pleasure of reviewing Intoxicated’s long-awaited comeback (whether or not you knew it) EP, Walled. I’ll let you go back and re-read that review for the very long, complicated, but VERY interesting back story of the band’s history dating all the way back to 1990, but suffice to […]

The first time I heard Indiana’s Demiricous was their debut One (Hellbound). I remember thinking that if the Bay Area bands had an orgy; Demiricous would be the outcome of that unholy union. They are undeniably heavy, with razor sharp riffs and often soaring solos, some impressive drum work makes it a total package that’ll […]

Hate über alles is the 15th album from German thrashers Kreator. IMO they are the best German thrash band, ever. Seen them live so many times and other than 2 meh albums, Outcast and Endorama their discography destroys. Kreator are not reinventing the wheel but maybe the new bassist Frederic Leclercq (Loudblast) said let’s up the ante a little more. “Sergio Corbucci […]

OK, so look. I’ve made my love for the whole old school Blackened Thrash thing very well-apparent to this point. Give me a group of dudes wailing away on some nasty riffs, tortured vocals about demons and Satan and shit, package it up with some more raw, stripped-down production, and you’ve basically got me hook, […]

I’ve had a Power Trip sized hole in my heart since the untimely passing of Riley Gale. Last year’s Spiritworld helped fill it temporarily (giggity), but not permanently. What I didn’t anticipate was an album on Unique Leader, the undisputed kings of deathcore, staking a claim. So, here comes Extinction AD. The title track is […]

Can you believe a brand new recording from Bay Area Thrashers, Vio-Lence, after close to 3 decades?  I would never have guessed it.  Seeing the band lay waste at the Thrash of the Titans benefit show for Chuck Billy and Chuck Schuldiner, back in 2001 was one my live highlight experiences for sure.  Maybe the […]

This is, apparently, album number 3 for these dudes – but it’s my first ride at the Mentor rodeo. I will say this: when I saw the excellent album cover of Wolves, Wraiths and Witches, I had a few preconceptions about what I’d find inside – that being some heavy, stonery-y doom metal project dripping […]

Exodus’ 11th proper full-length album, Persona Non Grata, finally sees the light.  The band opting to delay it twice due to Covid, as well as drummer Tom Hunting’s cancer diagnosis and treatment, so the release could be closer to when the band could begin playing live shows again.  Time really flies and their last scorching […]

Let’s start off by saying “female-fronted metal” is not a thing. Well, let me walk that back. It’s definitely a THING, it’s just not a genre. If you’re one of those who thinks it is, I pose to you; Do Jinjer, Arch Enemy, Brutus, Nightwish, Capra, Lady Beast, and Cripper all sound the same? I […]

I know what you’re thinking, “Why the hell is Flotsam and Jetsam‘s latest full-length, Blood in the Water, being reviewed now, months after the album’s release in June”? Well, I can give you two reasons for this. First, and this is the most important reason, Blood in the Water is 100% THE SHIT. This album […]

This past year has been a tough one for… well, so goddamn many reasons. But in particular, the last year has seen the Metal community lose a heartbreaking amount of legendary and highly influential artists. LG Petrov (Entombed, Firespawn), Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom, Bodom After Midnight), Sven Gross (Fleshcrawl), Mike Howe (Metal Church, Heretic), […]

That album cover… I mean, BRA-FUCKING-VO. The mighty-as-hell Manowar-esque dudes holding various severed heads, the barely-clothed dusky maidens gazing upon our heroes here in awe and wonder. I mean, it’s just a thing of goddamn beauty. A modern classic in the realm of retro metal. I’ve been an absolute glutton for all these newer bands […]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh Nunslaughter… We’re creeping up here on 35 years of relentless, blasphemous chaos from the band now – and everything about a career as illustrious and heralded as theirs, has been as far removed from conventional as you can possibly imagine. This is, after, only the band’s 5th full-length studio release in all that time, […]

For a little while now, we’ve found ourselves in a new golden era of Thrash, and being that it was pretty much my gateway drug into the world of metal, I couldn’t be more thrilled that thrash itself has expanded and become home to such a wide-reaching spectrum of bands and sounds. From the dizzying, […]

I’m gonna go out on a real limb here and guess that you, dear reader, are probably no stranger to Horror films. You might even call yourself a fan of horror. Heck, I’m gonna double down here, and bet you might even have an affinity for shitty, low-budget horror flicks with the aesthetic appeal of […]

Vultures are, far and away, the gnarliest friggin’ birds you’re ever gonna come across. I’m not talking about those oddly and simultaneously ugly and pretty King Vultures, or those powerful evil-wizard-looking bearded vultures, OR those badass mythical motherfucker Griffon Vultures. No, I’m talking your everyday, nightmare-inducing, boiled-skull-looking turkey vulture. LOOK AT THAT FUCKING THING. Terrifying. […]

Maybe it’s just me. I mean I was listening to a lot of old German thrash, the usual culprits, Sodom, Kreator, and Destruction, at the time of my reviewing Aggravator‘s new EP, Unseen Repulsions, but I’ll be damned if I don’t hear a marked increase of Teutonic influence in Aggravator‘s sound of late. When I […]

Kryptik Mutation are a new upcoming Texas death metal band and Pulled from the Pit is their debut album.  Short little ditty of a full-length – 8 songs in 23 minutes.  Before I get to the review I have to comment how much I love the album cover.  It has a nostalgic late 80’s flair […]

This is not the same Solstice, who are from the UK and play incredible epic and heavy doom, no this is the death/thrashy bastids who originated from Florida in the 90’s.  About a decade ago I reviewed the excellent compilation Pray for the Sentencing which included their first 2 outstanding albums – I reviewed that […]

Thrash is off to a flyer in 2021. The classic metal genre has dished up numerous quality releases in the first chunk of the year, headlined by top notch releases from Enforced, Demoniac, Demiser and Cryptosis. Young guns rising to ensure it is not left to the old dogs and veteran warhorses to keep the […]

Bees are totally fuckin wild, man. Yes, I’m one of those “SAVE THE BEES!” guys. They’re really fucking important! Yeah, they’ve got the stingy bits and everyone in my generation was scarred by the end of “My Girl” and blah blah yadda yadda WHATEVER. Sure, some folks have potentially deadly reactions to be stings. That […]

No frills, no fuss, lots of fuzz. In short, that’s basically what you’re getting from Morbid Breath’s new EP In the Hand of The Reaper. Simple, effective, thrashy Death Metal riffs and super fuzzy bass backbone, over simple, solid rhythms, and some raspy, growly vocals. Classic Swedish Death Metal 101. If this all seems like […]

Oh goodness this is good. Er, uh, wait – I mean, “GREAT BLAZING HELLFIRE THIS IS FUCKING RIPS!” Sorry. It’s finally springtime, friends! While I personally am a very big fan of winter (an not just because it’s the GRIMMEST time of year), I have to admit that after a year of the pandemic, a […]

As much as I love the opportunity to promote new, young metal acts trying to make their way in an increasingly difficult world, it’s just as gratifying to help spread the word about a group of older dogs out here trying out new tricks, trying to push through and re-make a name for themselves with […]