Reviews

Primal Fear – Delivering the Black (Frontiers)

Seems like only yesterday that I remember ex-Gamma Ray vocalist Ralf Scheepers and Sinner bassist Mat Sinner got together to form a new traditional/power metal group with Primal Fear and release a debut Read more […]

Graveborne – Through the Window of the Night (Séance Records)

With so many in the black metal scene watering down the formula with shoegaze and atmosphere or blending it with thrash or death, no one bothered to tell Finland’s Graveborne that pure black metal is Read more […]

Depicting Abysm – Immersion (Naturmacht Productions)

Depicting Abysm, hailing from Saint Petersburg, Russia, remind us about their region’s strong ties to the sea. On their debut, Immersion, we glimpse the album artwork of a ship with ragged sails negotiating Read more […]

L’Hiver en Deuil – Ter Aarde (Self-Released)

The early years usually seem to be the most frustrating for metal bands as bodies and minds come together and try to carve their voice out of the darkness. For some it comes quickly and for others, it Read more […]

Apostolum – Winds of Disillusion (Moribund)

Last heard from in 2006, where their cover of Katatonia’s “Brave” was a sort of scraggy version of the original, Italian depressive/Goth black metallers Apostolum with their first full-length in Read more […]

The Kennedy Veil – Trinity of Falsehood (Unique Leader Records)

If one where to pick a movie title to accurately represent The Kennedy Veil, The Fast & The Furious would be the pick of choice.  Not because they race sports cars and are surrounded by scantily clad Read more […]

Within Temptation – Hydra (Nuclear Blast Entertainment)

At least female-fronted symphonic metal bands don’t hide their aspirations for the next level. You know, stadiums, ego-ramps (seeing Sharon den Adel on one wouldn’t be a bad sight), high-production videos, Read more […]

Hexis – Abalam (Halo of Flies)

The grimy world of blackened grind/hardcore/whatever and its steady rise to underground prominence is fascinating. The bleak world the music often portrays is a fitting portrait of both common everyday Read more […]

Waldgeflüster – Meine Fesseln (Bindrune Recordings)

German “Forest Whispers,” Waldgeflüster have an old-fashioned black metal quality with immersible tones, emotive atmosphere, and nature-bound core, but with an unprecedented originality in folk attributes. Read more […]

Down from the Wound – Violence and the Macabre (Comatose Music)

Outside of bass players (because really, no one cares what they’re doing), death metal vocals of the indecipherable kind have the easiest setup. Being that chances of comprehension of the vowels, syllables, Read more […]

Alcest – Shelter (Prophecy Productions)

We already knew they are something different, but Alcest will still find ways to shake up the scene. They have long been recognized for their innovative intrepidity in mending their own branch off black Read more […]

Warfather – Orchestrating the Apocalypse (Greyhaze Records)

Steve Tucker is a name that should speak volumes in death metal.  Since his three-album stint in Morbid Angel (has it really been 10 years since Heretic was released, wow!), he joined the excellent Nader Read more […]

Eternal Helcaraxe – Against All Odds (Abyss Records)

Tolkien terminology in the house: “Helcaraxe” is described as the “perilous icy wastes that formerly lay between Araman, and Middle-Earth in the forth north of Arda.” (We never would have stumbled upon Read more […]

Lay Down Rotten – Deathspell Catharsis (Apostasy Records)

Boy, was this a tough one to get through. Now it does bear reminding that as a community of metal-loving people, we got spoiled throughout 2013  from a host of bands including Deafheaven, Altar of Plagues, Read more […]

Zemial – Nykta (Hell’s Headbangers)

Greece’s Zemial is a one man show of Archon Vorskaath, a man who probably never feels the pressure of time constraints.  Zemial’s first full-length effort was brought forth back in 1996, but he waited Read more […]

Legion of the Damned – Ravenous Plague (Napalm Records)

Ah, Legion of the Damned.  Ever the consistent bunch, the Dutch death/thrashers aim to keep up their top notch brand of European death/thrash with their sixth release, titled Ravenous Plague.  With their Read more […]

The Isolation Process – The Isolation Process (Version Studio Records)

“Post”-everything has become the fallback term for bands that breeze past some of the more staunch conventions in metal. After all, anything bordering on expansion is met with resistance, so such a Read more […]

Tides from Nebula – Eternal Movement (Long Branch/SPV)

The Polish post-metal instrumental entry, Tides from Nebula, as expected, engage in those well-worn, toughened, but dainty quiet-loud-quiet dynamic set, which is really the best way for a band of this Read more […]

Dawn of Tears – Act III: The Dying Eve (Inverse)

Cited – and rightfully so – as a knock off the ‘ole Gothenburg block, Spain’s Dawn of Tears serve as a reminder that the cherished sounds of early At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity, and In Flames Read more […]

Exhumed/Iron Reagan – Split (Tankcrimes)

Split releases seem to be all the rage lately, especially through Tankcrimes.  One has to wonder though, how the combination of a death/grind band such as Exhumed matches up against a crossover hardcore Read more […]

Cult of Fire – मृत्यु का तापसी अनुध्यान Ascetic Meditation of Death (Iron Bonehead Productions)

Cult of Fire are boundless disciples of occulted black metal, but also exotically visionary artists, and they are the Czech trinity of Devilish (vocals), Infernal Vlad (strings), and Tom Coroner (percussion). Read more […]

Benedictum – Obey (Frontiers)

All this Chastain talk of late puts a band like Benedictum in more perspective. It’s the now standard strong female, big pipes, dominant personality, backed by a bunch of competent dudes with neo-classical Read more […]

BAT – Primitive Age (Tankcrimes)

BAT is a three-piece “supergroup” consisting of Ryan Waste (Municipal Waste), Felix Griffin (D.R.I.), and Nick Poulos (Volture). This is a tribute to ‘80s bands such as Motorhead, Venom, and Hellhammer Read more […]

Vardan – …Dreaming…Living My Funeral (Moribund)

Ah, the joys of winter being in full swing (not that I’m particularly feeling it here in central California), for what better way to wrap up the year than an overdue indulgence in a necro-to-the-max Read more […]

Moon – The Nine Gates (Moribund)

Released way back in February, but only making it across our desk until now (Moribund has been mysteriously quiet of late), Australia’s Moon – not to be confused with the Polish Moon – play a detached, Read more […]

Mutoid Man – Helium Head (Magic Bullet)

Cave-In’s gradual re-gravitation toward metal should be met with some trepidation. After all, weren’t these lackeys in hot pursuit of major label, non-metal gold after Satellites blew up over a decade Read more […]

Kauan – Pirut (Blood Music)

What a peculiar combination of elements this one is. Kauan is a Russian band who sings in Finnish and works the disparate worlds of funeral doom, folk, and even minor trappings of post-rock together into Read more […]

Bones – Sons of Sleaze (Planet Metal)

No sweat that this thing is telegraphed; what else could one expect, really? Chicago’s Bones have a few Chicago metal holdovers in its ranks, from Usurper (all three) to the railed BM of Nachtmystium and Read more […]

Tragodia – Mythmaker (Kolony Records)

Tragodia’s third full-length effort spares no expense in the realm of epicness. Tastefully utilized orchestral elements, excellent melodies, and occasional progressive twists take listeners to foreign Read more […]

Cleanteeth – Pushing Rope (Self Released)

In this day and age with so many bands putting out music and it being so readily available, who you are has become just as important as the tunes being cranked out. With a few clicks one can find everything Read more […]