After the metal heydays of the 1980’s when major media coverage boomed and audiences filled arena-level venues, the plummet the following decade would be swift and severe – at least for the United Read more […]
Gaining a second chance to make a first impression thanks to the historical value of the metal genre, vocalist Steve Grimmett is quite content to take advantage of global touring demand for Grim Reaper Read more […]
The year is inching to the finish line (let’s get this election out of the way, too), which means the release schedule will be less voluminous than before. However, independent metal labels are often immune Read more […]
“This is the most important music and album I have written and released,” says Trees of Eternity’s Juha Raivio, who in his full-time gig, is the primary songwriter for melodic death/doom beacons Read more […]
At the risk of being redundant, there’s a certain rush that comes with finding bands out of the blue on Bandcamp. Particularly when they are as striking in nature as that of Wisconsin’s OncetheSun. Read more […]
Many musicians feel very comfortable taking two sub-genres of the underground metal movement and developing a fresh nuance to an established sound. For Norway’s Wyruz, thrash is certainly the foundation Read more […]
After accidentally missing out last month (oh, where does the time go?), this month we are primed once more to deliver all of the Bandcamp goodies. Plenty of gems to choose from, as it seems to be the Read more […]
Formation: 2009 Location: Salem, MA Style: Traditional heavy metal with aspects of stoner, progressive, and thrash influences. Personnel: Andy Small (vocals, keyboards); Scott Randall (guitar); Brett Read more […]
All too often, bands settle into a comfortable place and stay there. They’ve identified their sound and their niche, and don’t come out from it except for a rare occurrence. And for some bands, it Read more […]
One of the pluses with the internet explosion has been the proliferation of musicians now coming from unlikely locales around the globe. Those attune to the work of Sam Dunn/ Banger Productions may remember Read more […]
One of the best aspects of heavy metal is that bands can take a core sound and then go anywhere they want with it. Some purists may not always approve of the more drastic changes a band may employ, particularly Read more […]
Many musicians possess a natural calling to channel their affinity for a particular set of bands into their own creative outlet – regardless of what’s in fashion. Pennsylvania’s Beyond Fallen started Read more […]
In July, The Reticent mainman Chris Hathcock received some surprising news: He was nominated for The Grammy’s Music Educator Award. Hathcock’s day job as a music teacher has brought him in front of Read more […]
On the verge of breaking through the underground, Amaranthe has come a long way since the release of their first album back in 2011. Their hybridization of power metal, melodic death metal, pop, EDM, Read more […]
To proclaim one selves as different yet truly be are two different things. The world of black metal often encourages such claims, where bands can either go to the end of the earth or succeed while doing Read more […]
Formation: September 2014 Location: Providence, RI Style: Symphonic metal with power, classic, and extreme touches. Personnel: Jason Shealy (vocals); Ryan Spahr (guitar); Greg Rosche (guitar); Nico Read more […]
Bands may come and go, but melodic death metal (much like the rest of the genre) stands forever tall. In fact, it’s the bringing in of new talent and bands trying to improve upon the classic sounds Read more […]
Read Part I HERE. Dead Rhetoric: How would you describe the band’s live show? Is it a challenge for Ron to handle the high pitched, melodic vocals over the top of all the progressive riffing and drop Read more […]
Thrash is alive and well in 2016 folks. Veterans like Overkill, Death Angel, Testament, Sodom, and Destruction unleashing strong new studio albums and circling the globe touring circuit, while there are Read more […]
A Finnish label with only a handful of bands to its credit, Blood Music does not fit the profile of a typical free-wheeling metal record company. Owner/founder J. has dutifully placed the label’s focus Read more […]
After the Big Four, one of my favorites in the thrash genre as a teenager would be Testament. Headbangers Ball played the video “Over the Wall” off their debut album The Legacy and most metalheads Read more […]
Les Discrets mainman Fursy Teyssier is nothing if not honest. After two well-received albums of intelligent, swirling, post-metal/rock (2010’s Septembre Et Ses Dernières Pensées and 2012’s Ariettes Read more […]
The last few months of 2016–like every other year–will bring forth a wealth of releases in which to tackle. This bottleneck is near-impossible to navigate, but we’ll give it our best shot, including Read more […]
In a move counter to their identity-less, mysterious existence, Netherlands blackgaze masters An Autumn for Crippled Children launched their own Facebook page a few years ago. Sure, the band had/has a Read more […]
“Best friends.” That would be the not-so-black metal description of Imperium Dekadenz’s Horaz and Vespasian. The two men have steadily guided the band from the unheralded rungs of German black metal Read more […]
Restraint isn’t really a word that one tends to associate with a band like Anaal Nathrakh. The band’s feral energy and chaotic yet majestic sound have propelled them along the way for many of years, Read more […]
If there was a band that perfectly personifies their name, it’s Epica. Through the years, they’ve added more and more layers and influences to their sound, which seems to grow more and more “epic” Read more […]
It’s been pretty busy times for The Agonist over the last two years. After finding a new vocalist in Vicky Psarakis, the band released their fourth album, Eye of Providence. They jumped on a number Read more […]
Starting out in the ‘90s as an outlet for Hypocrisy mainman Peter Tägtgren to expand his horizons, so to speak, outside of the death metal realm, Pain has come a long way since the first self-titled Read more […]
Because black metal has splintered into so many directions, there are defined camps. Affinity for the seminal Norwegian old guard still exists; as does for first wave acts Bathory, Hellhammer, and Venom. Read more […]
