Perhaps cognizant of how close they were to full embrace of Dimmu Borgir/Septicflesh worship, Spain’s Noctem have done what any savvy band would do: they’ve gone back to basics. Now, a basic album Read more […]
Those lifers in heavy metal know there are peaks and valleys in the popularity of the movement. Sometimes you just need to ride things out to enjoy the highs. Bay Area thrash veterans Testament burst onto Read more […]
Once considered the viable side-project of Swallow the Sun principle songwriter Juha Raivio, Trees of Eternity will sadly never go beyond one album. The April 2016 passing of vocalist Aleah Starbridge Read more […]
German melodic act Nothgard have been doing their thing now for about 7 years, with two previous full-lengths within that time span. The German part is what come as the surprise here, if you hear the Read more […]
”Anyone who compares us to Joy Division is a bored and sad human.” Okay, then. Won’t go there! Such are the words from Soft Kill vocalist/guitarist Tobias Sinclair in a recent interview with CVLT Read more […]
Salem, MA may be best known for the witch trials, but there seems to be some potent metal brewing through the likes of this quintet Olÿphant on this full-length Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. Although Read more […]
When one thinks of brutal Swedish death metal, Deranged has to be one of the first bands that come to mind. Struck by a Murderous Siege is their 9th album to date, and the second full-length following Read more […]
There’s no other band quite like Anaal Nathrakh. Despite the overly caustic atmosphere and deranged sense of majesty, it’s quite easy to pick out a song that the band has done. Mostly because no Read more […]
It’s no secret that thrash has long been a favorite genre to this scribe – growing up through the first generation of Bay Area, East Coast, and Teutonic waves of the 1980’s, only to see things subside Read more […]
Wonder if Diamond Head and Tygers of Pan Tang are keeping tabs on one another. Diamond Head released an absolute gem of a self-titled album earlier in the year, garnering the best reviews and fan reaction Read more […]
In recent years, Ulcerate has had their stock shifting way up. Seen as one of the strongest of the dissonant death metal bunch, Vermis saw them getting some appropriate attention after a string of impressive Read more […]
Algos initially impressed last year with their debut album, The Death of Seasons. A doomy, melodic death metal affair, it stood out for its ability to retain some aggression in the mix, as opposed to Read more […]
If Heritage and Pale Communion didn’t totally close the door on Opeth’s unprecedented progressive death metal run, then Sorceress is the emphatic slam shut. Main dude Mikael Åkerfeldt had generated Read more […]
Venom is the key component of what this UK death metal act unleashes with their debut album, Animus. Venom Prison storms out of the gates with barbaric energy and doesn’t let up over the course of the Read more […]
This five-piece heavy metal act Dark Ministry hail from Ottawa, Canada – containing long-time ex-Exciter drummer Rik Charron who spent 19 years with the group from 1996-2014. Establishing a new band Read more […]
Mare Cognitum (named after a sea on the Moon) have come for the outer darkness with new album Luminiferous Aether (a theory dealing with how light travels in space). I’ve briefly touched on the explanation Read more […]
High-energy acts within the extreme genres often face a difficult decision. That being whether to go full-throttle from start to finish and make things (sometimes) blur together and keep the energy dialed Read more […]
Perhaps there needs to be a label out there that reads ‘steamroller death metal.’ Because when you hear an album such as Escarnium’s Interitus, it really is the most apt description – this is Read more […]
A couple of sub-plots here worth noting: Usurpress’s The Regal Tribe is loosely based on vocalist/lyricist Stefan Pettersson’s battle with bone cancer, providing a rare, if not human angle to a death Read more […]
Always keen to tackle favored genres from fresh bands, Wyruz hail from Hamar, Norway as a filthy thrash quartet with extreme nuances on their second album Judge and Jury. Not really surprising given the Read more […]
Olav Iversen is the only original member of Sahg left, a band whose mid-‘00s launch was more noticeable because of who was in the band instead of their actual output. Back then (which makes it sound Read more […]
If it looks like old school Swedish death metal, and sounds like it too – it must be Swedish death metal right? Wrong, in the case of Decomposed. Despite having a tonal quality to it similar to the Read more […]
Ever the busy guy, Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth, ex-Soilwork) lent his considerable skills to Freya’s fifth album, Grim. Not exactly at opposite ends of the spectrum, but certainly not in the same orbit, Read more […]
Old school death metal never does seem to die. Be it Swedish, Floridian, or New York-influenced, the death metal of the past still holds much power for bands of today’s status quo. The Italian act Read more […]
There has been a press buzz growing around Crowhurst, the one-man outfit led by Jay Gambit. The band certainly fits the mold as would-be critical darlings, playing a contrarian, noisy style of black metal Read more […]
As one of the forerunners to the various mutations, permutations, and sub-fields that have come to define black metal, Norway’s In the Woods… were the embodiment of evolution in the ‘90s. Their steady Read more […]
A Motor City act that straddles a progressive metal with rock stance, Imminent Sonic Destruction lands with their second full-length Triumphia. Fortunate to grab some prime tour slots in North America Read more […]
“Consciousness based music through the exploration of flotation tanks, philosophy, meditation, yoga, and other embodiment and mindfulness practices.” My, that’s a mouthful, even for our mouthy, sometimes Read more […]
Epic metal started back in the 1970’s and early 1980’s through the work of Rainbow and Black Sabbath in classic songs like “Stargazer”, “Heaven and Hell”, and “The Sign of the Southern Cross”. Read more […]
After being impressed by two self-released EPs back in 2013, Shadecrown seemed to be marked for going places. A few years has passed, but the act has finally released their first full-length album and Read more […]
