Here’s an example of quality fan engagement: Irish power metal troupe Stormzone are offering fans the opportunity to access four exclusive bonus tracks if they enter a code found within the CD booklet Read more […]
When looking for metal bands who have achieved authentic headlining status in the power genre over the past 15 years, two European groups come front and center. Sweden’s Sabaton is the first, thanks Read more […]
What can be said of the ever-consistent and perpetually in motion Kataklysm? Ever since the early 2000’s, they’ve decided what works best and they’ve stuck to it. Sure, there are variations here Read more […]
There’s something to be said for suffocating, lumbering doom. It’s not something that you can just pick up and listen to at a given moment and requires a certain level of time and patience to let Read more […]
If you like your thrash served up from the Bay Area kitchen, filled with crunchy guitars spitting out thick, meaty riffs with plenty of bite and strong melodic vocals, then look no further than Perzonal Read more […]
If there’s one thing you can do, here in 2015, to make sure that your band sounds like other bands, it’s using an HM2. The resurgence of old school Swedish death metal has gotten to the point where Read more […]
Off the beaten path doom and black metal fans already regard the small, independent label Hypnotic Dirge, and for good reason. They have a knack for uncovering absolute gems, and this split is no exception. Read more […]
Even when trends ebb and flow in the metal realm, certain genres become mainstays. There’s always going to be love for Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, etc. – newer people gaining exposure Read more […]
It seems as though the longer High on Fire goes into their career, the less interested they are in fooling around. “Fooling around,” as in, ponderous song structures, pretentious soloing, and worse, Read more […]
Brooding, precise, depressive and sinister black metal touched with well-placed atmospherics is the sort of music that newcomers Azavatar offer unto the world on their debut effort, the self-titled Azavatar. Read more […]
An album loosely based on Juan López Moctezuma’s 1977 horror film, Alucarda in which two teenage orphan girls living in a Catholic convent unleash a demonic force and ultimately become possessed by Satan, Read more […]
Some bands make it exceedingly difficult for writers to nail their sound into a few choice snippets, and this is a good thing. What’s the point if one is simply able to say, “oh, it’s genre X” Read more […]
Occasionally veering off into teacher mode, often a band name that reflects something in science is easy clickbait on Bandcamp (particularly in genetics). Hence, this is the story of how this scribe randomly Read more […]
It seems more grind is resurfacing as of late, and thankfully these new bands seem to be taking in on its strengths and not its shortcomings. New Jersey’s Organ Dealer is the latest new arrival to check Read more […]
Melodic grind? One might think that the term would be a bit of an oxymoron, but then again, perhaps they just haven’t been exposed to up and coming grinders Ambassador Gun. But don’t worry grind Read more […]
Ever truly wonder what rotting and putrefaction truly sounds like? Chances are you should investigate Undergang, whose third release, Døden Læger Alle Sår is practically festering. A minimal cover Read more […]
Master purveyors of the neo-classical progressive metal realm, Symphony X over the past two decades plus has given consumers reason for the home town crowd to look stateside for quality releases. Benchmarks Read more […]
Although being a little bit late to the party with Trials’ previous release (the excellent In the Shadow of Swords), it was a band that left a lasting impact and This Ruined World became a rather anticipated Read more […]
Amid some rather frequent changes in band members, Cradle of Filth has persevered through the years. But not without a series of ups and downs in quality. The band has floated between great and mediocre Read more […]
Never one to rest on his laurels, current Ozzy guitarist and Firewind main man Gus G. isn’t letting his sideline status close off the idea fountain while the original Black Sabbath twirls for one final Read more […]
During DR’s days as an active musician, a fellow local Pittsburgh rocker regularly harped upon Fuck the Facts and how much “in love” with vocalist Mel Mongeon he was. (The dude in question was speckled Read more […]
Together since 2002, Hartford, CT quintet End-Time Illusion certain have paid their dues in building their style. Deities at War is their third full-length record but first occasion for this journalist Read more […]
As far as one-man projects go, Mexico’s Majestic Downfall are one of the best. Handled by Jacobo Cordova (he of Zombification fame), Majestic Downfall ably combine the domineering doom of early Katatonia Read more […]
Too often, Stockholm and/or Tampa gets pegged as the designated rip-off sound in death metal. Understandably, the scene’s biggest bands originated from both territories, which cements the obvious notion Read more […]
Within the folk metal genre, there is usually a dividing line. The bands that take the genre more seriously by going in a more somber direction, and those that have a more party-oriented atmosphere. Read more […]
Don’t be fooled by the extra colorful band logo/name, comically disturbing artwork, or the song titles that are displayed on Party Cannon’s debut full-length. While it doesn’t look like a very serious Read more […]
The proliferation of bands in the ProgPower movement can be highly attributed to the Internet connectivity explosion over the past two decades. Message boards, websites, and chat rooms expanded awareness Read more […]
The latest in Unique Leader’s quest to grab as many of the most brutal and technically-inclined death metal bands available, Kronos fire off their fourth album, Arisen New Era. Fitting in line with Read more […]
Finland’s Shape of Despair is a rather revered name in funeral doom. But even though the band has been around since 1998, Monotony Fields only marks their fourth full-length (and first since 2004’s Read more […]
A band who has been successfully able to navigate from noodly-prog to quality song-prog, Italy’s Kingcrow (their name is from an Edgar Allen Poe reference) have been active since 1996. Fresh off the Read more […]
