Reviews

Virulency – The Anthropodermic Manuscript of Retribution (New Standard Elite)

Bound to be the new gold standard in just how inhuman you can get vocals in death metal, Virulency will test your tolerance for low gurgles as you move through their debut, The Anthropodermic Manuscript Read more […]

Blade of Horus – Monumental Massacre (Lacerated Enemy Records)

Australia’s Blade of Horus is the next band to try to make it big in the tech death field, with Monumental Massacre being their first dip in the pond. A short, 22-minute EP comprised of 6 songs and Read more […]

Entropia – Ufonaut (Arachnophobia Records)

First hearing Entropia’s debut album Vespers, it seemed that the band had some potential. They were playing along familiar lines with the whole ‘blackgaze’ thing, but it was a strong effort that Read more […]

Mefisto – 2.0.1.6. (Vic Records)

The full title of 2.0.1.6. is “2.0.1.6.: This Is the End of It All… the Beginning of Everything…” but no one wants to read that in a review header. Anyway, Mefisto were one of the first extreme Read more […]

Crimson Moonlight – Divine Darkness (Endtime Productions)

The words ‘Christian black metal’ have always been a tough sell for most metalheads. Perhaps that’s why Crimson Moonlight have always went with the ‘unblack metal’ tag instead. Their second Read more […]

Varg – The End of All Lies/Das Ende aller Lügen (Napalm)

Of all of the subgenres heavy metal has come up with over the last decade or so, Varg’s “wolf metal” is one that seems to stand out. Not entirely sure what it means, other than the relation to the Read more […]

Redemption – The Art of Loss (Metal Blade)

The sixth studio album The Art of Loss from California’s Redemption sees the group on fresh terrain – new record deal in place, and five years beyond their last original record This Mortal Coil. The Read more […]

Abyssic – A Winter’s Tale (Osmose Productions)

Abyssic, or, A Winter’s Tale is perhaps the result of when a bunch of name Norwegian extreme metal musicians get together to find out they have too much time on their hands. The brainchild of Susperia Read more […]

Divinity – The Immortalist Part 2: Momentum (Self-Released)

Technically-driven melodic death thrashers Divinity are back with the second part of their The Immortalist trilogy, Momentum, following 2013’s Awestruck. Firing on all cylinders, the band also included Read more […]

Brimstone Coven – Black Magic (Metal Blade)

“Backwoods Sabbath,” perhaps? West Virginia’s Brimstone Coven make little attempts at covering up who their primary influence is, which would be, obviously Black Sabbath. Throw in Pentagram, Blue Cheer, Read more […]

Redwest – Crimson Renegade (Bakerteam Records)

This Italian act pull out all the stops to strive for originality in a metal world where most believe every type of sub-category or genre bending to each light to heavy extreme is already out there. Redwest Read more […]

Delain – Lunar Prelude (Napalm)

Vibrant times for Delain – prime time tour exposure (since the fall of 2014 in North America alone on runs with Sonata Arctica and Nightwish separately) and a series of albums that keep their infectious Read more […]

Baphomet’s Blood – In Satan We Trust (Iron Bonehead Productions)

As if the name weren’t enough of a giveaway, Baphomet’s Blood are all about Satanic speed metal. The Italian thrash quartet formed in 2003 and has since released two demos, two EPs, three full-length Read more […]

Hell in the Club – Shadow of the Monster (Scarlet Records)

At some point, singing about fantasy and folklore gets old. Or maybe doesn’t, but tackling some more “carefree” topics feels appropriate. Either way, such is the chosen path for Elvenking singer Read more […]

Black Tusk – Pillars of Ash (Relapse)

You know, all of these bands with “Black” in front of their name sure can confuse the easily confused, which would be this writer. Black Tusk, unfortunately, are easy to confuse with Black Cobra, who Read more […]

Bombus – Repeat Until Death (Century Media)

Will be curious to see once Bombus starts making the interview rounds how many times they’re asked how about melodic death metal. After all, they are from Gothenburg. It’s a trap a lot of us journalists Read more […]

Tarchon Fist – Celebration (Self-Released)

On the scene for just over a decade, Italy’s Tarchon Fist have released three full-lengths, a couple of demos, and this second compilation following My Graveyard Productions personal reasons for dropping Read more […]

Sinbreed – Master Creator (AFM Records)

Eschewing bombastic intros to charge right from the start with a double-bass, twin guitar harmony fueled passage that signals opener “Creation of Reality” proves the third album Master Creator from Read more […]

Voivod – Post Society EP (Century Media)

Identifiable guitarists in metal, unfortunately, are few and far between. Advancements in technology, not to mention the ever-shrinking riff pool have subsequently diminished the value of singular inventive Read more […]

Torture Rack – Barbaric Persecution (Memento Mori)

When one thinks of Portland, Oregon, one is drawn towards the hipster culture and of course, Cascadian black metal. But that’s not at all what you are about to receive with Torture Rack. If the name Read more […]

The Resistance – Coup de Grace (earMUSIC)

Yet another one of those “supergroups” that everyone hoots and hollers about, The Resistance most famously re-united ex-In Flames axemen Jesper Strömblad and Glenn Ljungstrom with The Haunted’s Read more […]

Twins Crew – Veni Vidi Vici (Beyond the Storm Productions)

Significance to this Swedish sextet’s name comes down to the twin guitar players Dennis and David Janglöv are actually…twins! At least Twins Crew is a touch heavier than those golden locked Nelson Read more […]

Primitiv – Immortal & Vile (Transcending Obscurity)

Hailing from India, the aptly-named Primitiv isn’t out to showboat or run technical circles around the rest of the death metal world. Instead, Immortal & Vile wants you to take it slow and ride on the Read more […]

Obscura – Akroasis (Relapse)

When it comes to technical death metal, one has to look towards Obscura as one of the genre’s leaders. One of the few bands instantly recognizable in the scene, their ability to play dizzyingly technical Read more […]

Envenomed – Reckoning (Self-Released)

Capitalizing on the re-issue of their self-released debut album Evil Unseen through Punishment 18 Records last year, Australia’s Envenomed felt the need to issue an EP featuring one newer song and a Read more […]

Illusions Dead – Celestial Decadence (Self-Released)

Death metal has a tough time with melody. Incorporate too much of it and you’ll be called a ‘melodic death metal’ band. Don’t put enough in and you risk putting out 8 versions of the same track. Read more […]

Textures – Phenotype (Nuclear Blast)

If Meshuggah were the progenitors of what we now call djent, Textures has to have laid claim to being the second band through the gates and pushing the sound in a few different directions. It’s been Read more […]

Stone Magnum – Holy Blessings to None (R.I.P. Records)

Heaviness comes in many forms – the purest of which to these ears in the metal genre is doom. Conjuring emotional turmoil and unrest from the deepest recesses of the soul, there’s a reason why no matter Read more […]

Fuath – I (Neuropa Records)

Of the seasons, winter is one of the finest to accompany black metal. Cold, isolationist, and just enough melancholy, Fuath’s I surely fits the mood of the season. If Fuath doesn’t ring any bells, Read more […]

Holy Grail – Times of Pride and Peril (Prosthetic)

Traditional metal and its power/speed offshoots will never die. It may slink back into the underground during tough times (the first half of the 1990’s especially when alternative/grunge and extreme Read more […]