Reviews

Suffocation – Pinnacle of Bedlam (Nuclear Blast Records)

Still a very much relevant entity on the death metal front, Suffocation presently characterize “old man” death metal about as anyone. Since their 2004 reformation, the New Yorkers have put together an Read more […]

Howl – Bloodlines (Relapse Records)

The sludge derived world is a fruitful one, spawning bands as wide in influence as they wind up producing in sonic signatures. To imagine Mastodon and Warhorse once grouped under the same heading is a Read more […]

Gama Bomb – The Terror Tapes (AFM Records)

Thrash appeal remains worldwide. The thirst for speed picking, up pace snare hits and tom fills, and multi-part gang vocals roaring out the choruses is at an all-time high once again. People clamoring Read more […]

Tombstone Highway – Ruralizer (Agonia)

“From the muddy shores of the Po River in Piacenza” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as “from the Bayou” or “The Muddy Banks of the Wishkah” (holy smokes, a Nirvana reference? Yikies!), Read more […]

Nader Sadek – Living Flesh (Self-Released)

A death metal live album essentially embodies the term “useless,” even as the parties involved try to convince the metal public otherwise. Heck, it wasn’t until the last decade that death metal started Read more […]

Vreid – Welcome Farewell (Indie Recordings)

Vreid really rocked, thrashed, and everything else’d on 2011’s V. Excuse the cliché, but it was the album they were always threatening to make, with Milorg serving as the breeding ground for the band’s Read more […]

Supuration – CU3E (Listenable Records)

A curious beast, this one. A kind of side-band (same members, different music) of the French avant-garde monsters S.U.P, Supuration is a groove-laden but left-brained take on death metal that in parts Read more […]

Lightning Swords of Death – Baphometic Chaosium (Metal Blade Records)

A prime example of how fast the underground moves – and how easy it is for a band to get lost on the shuffle – California black metal brigade have gone mostly quiet since their 2010 Extra-Dimensional Read more […]

Circle II Circle – Seasons Will Fall (EarMusic records)

Former Savatage singer Zak Stevens continues to plod away with Circle II Circle after parting ways with his former band. During his tenure in Savatage, Zak gave new life to the struggling outfit after Read more […]

Megascavenger – Descent of Yuggoth (Selfmadegod)

Mr. Rogga Johansson has so many projects going on at the present time that Dead Rhetoric wonders if the Swede rolls out of bed, tunes up his Pro-Tools, and records another album. The frequency in which Read more […]

Saxon – Sacrifice (UDR/EMI)

Biff and the boys are no dummies – they know what works, perhaps moreso than any old geezer band going right now. This run of glory (surprised the band hasn’t used that tag…Run of Glory sounds totally Read more […]

Stratovarius – Nemesis (Armoury Records)

Quite a laugh to hear old ‘mate Timo Tolkki speak of Nemesis’ production and songwriting values…the dude said not too long ago that Strato wouldn’t last another five years. Could he be trying to Read more […]

Revelation – Inner Harbor (Shadow Kingdom Records)

When you follow an artist from their underground demo days through a series of albums, it’s exciting to watch the transformation as they mature and grow older. Especially in the case of progressive rock Read more […]

Arsenal of Empties – Arsenal of Empties (Self-Released)

This is the sound of being slugged by a biker drunk on rage because his wife left him and fucked the neighbor. This is the sound of waking up in a dark alley covered in blood and hobo hair. This is the Read more […]

Zatokrev – The Bat, The Wheel, and the Long Road to Nowhere (Candlelight)

Apparently, there’s a lot to gain from being part of the sludge rank-and-file. You get accepted quicker, people become less prone to comparing you to other bands, and if you have even the slightest differentiator, Read more […]

Omnium Gatherum – Beyond (Lifeforce Records)

Omnium Gatherum are now six albums in and they have truly perfected the style of melo-death on the Beyond. This new release is riveting, sticking closely to their trademark sound of atmosphere, aggression, Read more […]

Lost Society – Fast Loud Death (Nuclear Blast)

Thriving times for thrash fans. Everywhere you look, you can find prime albums churned out throughout the globe, as the veterans and newcomers aim to take residency in a competitive marketplace. Look at Read more […]

Portal – Vexovoid (Profound Lore Records)

Australia’s Portal find themselves in the unique class of death metal bands where upon they have their own set of descriptors. Oftentimes, the words “warped,” “vacuum” and “abyss” get shuttled Read more […]

ALTAAR – ALTAAR (Indie Recordings)

The new year is alive and well, bursting at the seams with a wealth of sludge/doom derived groups, coming to the fore in a variety of forms. For Norway’s ALTAAR, it’s the long and drawn out experimental Read more […]

Ulcer – Grant Us Death (Pulverised)

It takes six men to play death metal in Ulcer. This “strength in numbers” attempt would suggest there’s a lot more to the band’s grisly grind, but let us not be fooled – this is straight-up, Read more […]

Destruction – Spiritual Genocide (Nuclear Blast)

For those of you who don’t know, the German thrash metal juggernaut known as Destruction actually began life as Knight of Demon. Now can you imagine almost 30 years of playing at a fierce level of intensity Read more […]

Inter Arma – Sky Burial (Relapse Records)

There are times when an album catches you completely by surprise and leaves you out cold. It takes familiar elements (in this case in both cases, a pairing of oft-overused elements) and fuses them in such Read more […]

Devourment – Conceived in Sewage (Relapse Records)

One of the bands that pops up only when discussion for the usual brutal death metal suspects has waned, Dallas’s Devourment are back on the ‘ole killing trail with Conceived in Sewage, their fourth Read more […]

Koldbrann – Vertigo (Season of Mist/Underground Activists)

A lot of angle-less black metal has been parading around lately, hasn’t it? Maybe it’s because of the voluntary faceless nature of Cascadian BM, or the noticeable lack of anything exciting happening Read more […]

Kaledon – Altor: The King’s Blacksmith (Scarlet Records)

Ah, glorious European power metal! Behold the incessant double bass, soaring melodies, syncopated guitar and keyboard lead breaks, and the overwhelming need to sing in unison to the uplifting choruses Read more […]

Hatebreed – The Divinity of Purpose (Razor & Tie)

“All pit, no shit, eh?” How long do you think until that pops up on the back of t-shirts? Hatebreed, specifically Jamey Jasta, have proven to be rather adept at coming up with cool slogans, ones that Read more […]

Nero di Marte – Nero di Marte (Prosthetic Records)

To date, almost all of my interactions with the Italian metal scene have come through two groups, Lacuna Coil and The Secret. One being a gothy-alterna act everyone should be familiar with and the other Read more […]

Damnation Plan – The Wakening (Coroner Records)

Originally forming in 2004, melodic death metal act Damnation Plan have slowly developed their style, solidifying their lineup over the course of eight years and finally ready to unfurl their debut album Read more […]

Enshadowed – Magic Chaos Psychedelia (Pulverised Records)

Well, so much for being exotic. Greek metal bands have come to perfect the difficult union of extreme metal and exotic elements. Look no further than the main triumphs of Rotting Christ and Septicflesh Read more […]

Raven Black Night – Barbarian Winter (Metal Blade Records)

Take it from someone who used to be in a band with singer(s) who had the capability of singing in falsetto: It’s an easy target for people to rip on. Bands who used to inhabit the same rehearsal space Read more […]