This year has been absolutely absurd from start to finish, from early standouts (Avichi, Behemoth, Cynic) to the throws of summer (The Great Old Ones, Agalloch, Triptykon), to the usual post-summer festival Read more […]
2014: another banner year for heavy metal. Now that the model has reversed for bands to somewhat make a living at their craft (these days touring, touring, and touring at hopefully a break even proposition Read more […]
2014 was a big year. Starting here at DR back in October of 2013 and transitioning over to running most of the day to day operations by July afforded me plenty of opportunities I hadn’t gotten despite Read more […]
Some bands end up carrying a certain level of stigma with them. To an outsider, the whirlwind of chaos that encapsulates the sound of Anaal Nathrakh may sound like noise for noise’s sake on occasion. Read more […]
Let’s get this out of the way first: The site’s existence and continual push forward would not be possible without Kyle McGinn and the rest of the staff. The calendar year for yours truly brought forth Read more […]
Sometimes the best music is the one that just randomly grabs your attention from out of nowhere. Personally, Bandcamp has provided that outlet, with the next “great band” could be just around the Read more […]
Nothing like gearing up for the remainder of the year by filling yourself with food and then passing out on the couch (perhaps some of us watching football). Now that the turkey hangover is gone and done, Read more […]
Given Norway’s healthy extreme metal scene that’s received mainstream media coverage, a lot of people forget that there has always been as equally a strong set of acts delivering heavy songs in a more Read more […]
Taking the quality over quantity approach this month, it seemed that writing a little bit more about a few less offerings was the way to go. This will be the last standard edition of this column for the Read more […]
Mallorca doesn’t seem to ring any bells when you start discussing heavy metal geography. A small island in the Mediterranean Sea, there’s not a ton of bands rising out of the area. However, one such Read more […]
Gothenburg, Sweden is probably best known for the birth of melodic death metal, but there are other facets to the scene that still make it potent. Take for instance this Swedish heavy metal act Sister Read more […]
Calilfornia’s Abysmal Dawn have been one of the more captivating death metal bands of the last ten years. While many in the genre have decided to go the route of full technicality, Abysmal Dawn have Read more […]
Oftentimes, music is far too content to just be an escape from reality. A time span that you can forget about all of your problems and life’s worries and just be in the moment. It’s all well and Read more […]
Photo credit: Clever Sangalaza Formation: 2011 Location: Boston, MA Style: Melodic death metal Personnel: Bijan Hennessey (Vocals/Guitar); Alex Elwell (Bass); John Matthews (Drums); Patrick “Ppow” Read more […]
The term progressive metal is one that is seemingly a bit overused in the last few years. It’s truly gotten to a point where it’s barely a descriptor for a band. Progressive could mean anything from Read more […]
Formation: 2005 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Style: Technical death metal Personnel: Bob Meister (Vocals); Chuck Forsythe (Guitar); Jon Haden (Guitar); Tim Church (Bass); Mike Rush (Drums) Latest Release: Read more […]
Formation: 2013 Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan Style: Power/ Thrash, US style. Unafraid of triplets, double bass, and strong, multi-octave melodic vocals. Personnel: David Cuffman (vocals); Matt Cremeans Read more […]
Don’t fret: Finland’s Jess and the Ancient Ones were probably just as surprised as you were when they got the call to open King Diamond’s North American trek. Logical signs pointed to King bringing Read more […]
2014 has been a pretty big year for Devin Townsend. After a wildly successful crowdfunding campaign for his Casualties of Cool project, this spring saw the release of said album. Seemingly right afterwards, Read more […]
Formation: 2011 Location: Athens, Georgia Style: Melodic doom/death metal Personnel: Tim Rowland (drums, guitars, vocals); Tiler Kuykendall (guitars); Sam Dunn (bass); Chris Wilder (guitars); Kellen Read more […]
Formation: 1994 Location: Chicago, IL Style: Power/prog on the heavier end of the spectrum Personnel: Rob Such (bass); Chuck White (drums); Rich Knight (guitars); Chris Lotesto (guitars, keyboards, Read more […]
Dead Rhetoric: How do you view the current thrash scene? Do you think the development between veteran and new acts has made things healthier and more sustainable than in the first wave of the 1980’s? Read more […]
Touring is the backbone to spreading heavy metal’s collective energy to the masses. There’s something special in regards to hearing a record for the first time at home or with friends, and then going Read more […]
Halloween is over and the clocks are going back tomorrow (how’s that for a public service announcement). The last of the leaves are hitting the ground outside in preparation for the winter to come. Read more […]
Liv Kristine has been a force to be reckoned with since 1995, singing with Theater of Tragedy. Getting unceremoniously dropped from the band in the early 2000’s, she quickly got back on her feet, forming Read more […]
Formation2013 Location: Boston, MA Style: Symphonic Power Metal with loads of darker, theatrical and extreme touches. Personnel: Adrienne Cowan (vocals, keyboards, orchestration); Jack Kosto (guitars); Read more […]
2014 has been a good year for classic death metal. We’ve had albums from bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Entombed (well, Entombed A.D.), and now we’ve come to the latest album from Florida’s Obituary. Read more […]
A bit truncated this month, but don’t get the impression that there’s nothing intriguing out in the Bandcamp scene. Far from it in fact, and the interesting bit here is as you go through the “discover” Read more […]
[8/10] No one has had more riffs stolen than At the Gates, a fact any yokel can reinforce by listening to metalcore circa 2001-2007, as well as the lesser sort of melodic death metal bands who could never Read more […]
The unfortunate consequence of starting a new band after leaving a popular, quasi-legendary band is that said previous band will always come up in the discussion. Soen, as it stands, will forever be the Read more […]
