3 – The End Is Begun Special Edition (Metal Blade Records)
A band that has piqued the curiosity of many in both the underground metal and progressive scenes, Woodstock, NY's 3 (or just "Three") are getting the 'ole reissue treatment on one of the most...
Eluveitie – Slania (Nuclear Blast Records)
Scheduled to take part in the inaugural Paganfest with Ensiferum, Tyr, and Turisas (drools on keyboard…), Switzerland’s Eluveitie is the newest participant in the ever-expanding folk metal arena. Part Battlelore, part Dark Tranquillity (especially...
Landmine Marathon/Scarecrow – Split (Level Plane)
‘Tis a cool concept for a split – two bands that actually don’tsound like each other, Landmine Marathon continuing in their rumbling, primitive (lots of Bolt Thrower) approach to crusty death metal, while Scarecrow surprisingly emerges as...
Dead to Fall – Are You Serious? (Victory Records)
With nothing more to show than a reputation as a good live band, Chicago’s Dead to Fall have veered off the metalcore path with a tongue-and-cheek album ragging on the scene they have been bottom-feeders of...
To-Mera – Delusions (Candlelight Records)
Clearly one of the more left-field and adventurous albums to feature standard female vocals, Delusions from To-Mera is a bit too much on the experimental side, the band unable to recreate the sterling dynamics from its...
Agalloch – The White (Vendlus Records)
Limited to only 2,000 copies, The White is an EP featuring various ditties Agalloch has recorded the past three years. 'Tis a cool thing because their latest few length, Ashes Against The Grain one was one 2006's shining...
Hellhammer – Demon Entrails (Century Media Records)
For anyone in search of a good read and some of the most honest and bare-bones insight on the 80’s metal underground, check out Tom G. Warrior’s Are You Morbid? - Into the Pandemonium of...
Iron Maiden – Live After Death DVD (Sony BMG)
The second part in Maiden’s “Story Of” series, the Live After Death DVD not only features the live concert in which bears its name, it also contains a 60-minute documentary detailing the recording of the Powerslave album and the massive...
Vader – Lead Us! (Regain Records)
Although Lead Us! contains no new material, it’s pretty kewl, as Vader has always been reliable in terms of churning out something new at least once a year with some odd quirk. This time, it’s the...
Biomechanical – Cannibalised (Earache Records)
Live, Biomechanical may be notoriously hit and miss, but on record they've never been known to under-perform. Cannibalised continues in that vein, this time offering up much more of a challenging, furious listening experience than on previous outings....
Stuck Mojo – Southern Born Killers (Napalm Records)
Sheesh, it really was 10 years ago when Stuck Mojo were all over the place on WCW Wrestling? My God, where does the time go? Their Rising album was their arguable peak, the album that allowed...
BLACK SABBATH: First North American Tour Date Announced
BLACK SABBATH will launch its world tour with a series of dates beginning next month in New Zealand, Australia and Japan. Later this summer, the band will kick off its North American tour which will...
Martriden – The Unsettling Dark (Candlelight Records)
Matriden’s home state of Montana has about as many palm trees as metal bands, which is why Matriden is quickly earned a rightful position amongst the North American modern black metal scene. The band’s...
Various Artists – Pagan Fire (Nuclear Blast Records)
A compilation of the best-of-the-best epic folk metal bands (sans Borknagar and Tyr), Pagan Fire is an excellent introduction into another one of metal’s niches that is only picking up steam.
Heading up the roster...
Ascension of the Watchers – Numinsoum (Thirteenth Planet)
The promo copy of this comes with a blurb just under the band logo that simply states, “FEAT. Burton C. Bell.” A few small words which carry with them a lot of history and...