Features

On Top – No Rest for the Wicked

The daily grind, putting in the work, watching the slow climb, and grabbing ahold of any opportunity that comes your way. The rock and metal dreams may start in youth, but the usual success stories as Read more […]

The Contortionist – Change and Creativity

One of those bands that you can truly examine, The Contortionist are always one to take a step forward with each album. From the blunt heaviness that defined their first release, Exoplanet, to the shifts Read more […]

Visual Rhetoric – August 2017

While the glory days of Headbangers Ball (or MTV itself, for that matter) are far behind us, it hasn’t stopped bands from using videos as a way to release their music to the public. With many people Read more […]

Ensiferum – Folk Pathways

A band that’s practically synonymous with folk metal at this point, Ensiferum have been one of the genre’s flagbearers since their inception in the ‘90s. Gaining more traction with each subsequent Read more […]

Inanimate Existence – Melt the Skies

Lots of changes abound between last year’s Calling from a Dream until this point for the California death metal act Inanimate Existence. They switched labels from Unique Leader over to the quickly rising Read more […]

Counting Hours – Rapture From the Deep

Featuring past and present members of The Chant, Rapture and Shape of Despair, Counting Hours are about as good as it gets for those who relished in the glory of not only the aforementioned acts, but dark, Read more […]

Elegy of Madness – Transforming the Intangible

Combining multiple genres of music isn’t out of the ordinary these days. Recently discovering Italian band Elegy of Madness through their third full-length New Era, it’s obvious that this group strives Read more […]

Paradise Lost – The World Made Flesh

Practical inventors of the U.K. gothic doom sound, Paradise Lost aren’t exactly ones to gather in a circle and listen to their old creations for inspiration. Rather, it’s in their DNA, a strain that Read more […]

Loviatar – Fire and Lightning

Clocking in at approximately 37 minutes, Loviatar’s self-titled first full-length (hereby released by Prosthetic) is formatted in such a manner that you don’t understand the entire scope of the band Read more […]

Septicflesh – Unearthing the Codex

Easily one of the go-to names when it comes to symphonic death metal, Septicflesh has built a growing reputation as being able integrate orchestral elements without simply abandoning their heaviness. It’s Read more […]

Excalion – Bringing the Dream Alive

Whatever happened to good, old fashioned power metal? The type of music where the guitars and keyboards convey melodies as easily as the commercial-oriented choruses – encouraging unison audience participation Read more […]

Grima – To Wander the Solitary Path

Let us never underestimate the influence of nature on black metal, which has long been the style most favorable to Mother Earth and her endless beauty. Often floated as “pagan” black metal, this angle Read more […]

Sifting Through Bandcamp – August 2017

We may have touched on this concept earlier in the year, but in the realm of things that are both positive and negative, it seems that Bandcamp is an even harder nut to crack. Even more label-backed stuff Read more […]

Dawn of Disease – Ascending from the Grave

The guys of German death metal act Dawn of Disease have been on a fiery kick as of late. Last year they came zipping in with their third effort, Worship the Grave, on their new label Napalm Records. Read more […]

Serious Black – Delivery of Magic

No rest for any metal band worth their salt these days. Especially in a scene where any prolonged absence can lose listeners in droves, the choices limitless for product to consume. Which makes it all Read more […]

Accelerator – Hustling Outbreak

Based on social data and music tastes, bands can take advantage of such findings and target their products to the best potential audience. Case in point: discovering Long Island crossover death/thrash Read more […]

Xanthochroid – A Journey through Etymos

Xanthochroid have never been much for convention. Adding layer upon layer to the music from the beginnings, they have designed a fantasy world all to their own and each release has served to broaden the Read more […]

Leprous – Continued (Prog)ression

Never a band to sit idly by, nor content to churn out more of the same with each new release, Leprous have steadily climbed towards the top of the progressive heap. No surprise really when one examines Read more […]

July 2017 Rapid Fires

In writing these short reviews, it dawned on DR that print as a medium, whether digital or physical, is having a tough time of late. With video content gaining steam and large media corporations (see Fox Read more […]

Masterplan – PumpKings 2.0

What is old and nostalgic can become new again – especially to a younger generation less fortunate to experience the wonders of a classic band in their prime. The current fervor surrounding the Keepers-oriented Read more […]

Dead Asylum – Death and Glory

Emerging Brazilian thrashers Nervosa found themselves in a pinch last year when their drummer, Pitchu Ferraz, couldn’t commit to a round of North American tour dates. Needing someone who was capable, Read more […]

Crimfall – It’s a Long Road

It’s often said that good things happen for those who wait. After Crimfall’s second album, The Writ of Sword, the band found themselves label-less. Instead of rushing out and trying to grab the first Read more […]

Brian Slagel – For the Sake of Heaviness

Even if, by some odd reason, you don’t recognize the name Brian Slagel, chances are you’ve heard of Metal Blade Records, of which he founded and is the CEO of (you are at a heavy metal website after Read more […]

Empyrean Throne – Born of Chaos

When you think of the symphonic black/death movement, one has a tendency to immediately jump towards Europe to find the best of the best. It’s been lingering below the surface here in the North American Read more […]

Protean Collective – Colorful in Collapse Part II

Read Part I HERE. Dead Rhetoric: How would you describe the attitude and philosophy of Protean Collective live- and what types of reaction are you used to from the audiences? What have been some of Read more […]

Protean Collective – Colorful in Collapse Part I

Meeting in college through mutual love and admiration for various styles of progressive rock and metal, Boston’s Protean Collective have been sharpening their skills in the studio and on the road for Read more […]

Exit Eden – Pop Goes Metal

There are certain lines that most don’t have the gusto to cross. When heavier bands start to pull in more pop references, it can often be a death sentence, or at least alienate a portion of the potential Read more […]

Portrait – Burning with Steel

Seeking out a love of true/traditional heavy metal with bursts of speed and power, Swedish band Portrait started on their quest to develop their sound a little over a decade ago. While many are quick to Read more […]

The Lurking Fear – Unsettling Darkness

A complete vortex of death. The cover art for The Lurking Fear’s debut, Out of the Voiceless Grave seems to sum up the band’s mission statement more than anything. Comprised of rather well-known members Read more […]

Project Renegade – Cerebral Renegades

Bands that seem to have a clear vision and idea about themselves and their music out of the gate is more of a rare thing. With easy access to recording equipment and technology, sometimes the option of Read more […]

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