Nervosa – Jailbreak (Napalm Records)
The implosion of any band lineup can take a toll mentally as well as physically. To survive this happening twice over the past five years could be catastrophic for most – but not in...
Sinnery – Below the Summit (Exitus Stratagem Records)
Smartly following up last year’s great Black Bile album, Israeli band Sinnery serve listeners a five-track EP in Below the Summit. There’s a sense of urgency tempered with finesse, sophistication, and passionate aggression through...
Sodomisery – Mazzaroth (Testimony Records)
The name Sodomisery ringed a slight bell when the wife mentioned that their new album would be right up my alley. Maybe the name being an odd and interesting play on words was what...
Skull & Crossbones – Under Tyrant’s Rule
Photo: Michael Vetter
The power, the strength, the might of Teutonic heavy metal. It’s been a part of the genre for decades – no matter what feels trendy, there’s nothing quite like the sound or...
Deathblow – Rotten Trajectory (Sewer Mouth Records)
Although there are plenty of Deathblows across the globe of the death, gothic, or doom variety, this specific Deathblow hails from Salt Lake City, Utah. Originally formed as a cover band, they changed monikers...
Uada – Crepuscule Natura (Eisenwald)
When it comes to workhorse bands in the black metal scene, it’s hard to out hustle Portland’s Uada. Constantly touring with diverse packages, these fellows have managed to grow their following exponentially. They’ve also...
Night in Gales – The Black Stream (Apostasy Records)
Within melodic death metal circles, those truly in the know have Night in Gales near the top of the most influential and finest of the many acts the genre has to offer. Nary setting...
Primordial – The End Is Near
Photo: Fergal Flannery
With over thirty years invested as a group, Irish veterans Primordial are a reliable force when it comes to Celtic folk/black metal. Epic songwriting, cultural aural tapestry, lyrical content surrounding history, heritage,...
Electric Callboy – September 15, 2023 – Palladium Times Square, New York, NY
You know what metal shows need more of? FUN! With a very firm history of extreme music concerts in my backpocket, which I absolutely love, increasingly over the last few years I've longed for...
Cannibal Corpse – Chaos Horrific (Metal Blade Records)
One of the premiere acts in the death metal genre, Cannibal Corpse didn’t neglect the time away from the stage when locked away working on their previous record Violence Unimagined from 2021. Instead, they...
Terra Builder – Solar Temple (Transcending Obscurity)
Who doesn’t love unfiltered aural onslaughts that overwhelm and leave complete annihilation in their wake? Swifties, perhaps? Pay no mind to that nonsense; what we have here may make their eardrums collapse like a...
Blackbriar – A Dark Euphony (Nuclear Blast)
Of all the acts that weren't getting signed over the last decade, Blackbriar certainly stood up as one of the most consistently headscratching. A beautiful, gothic-drenched symphony that dreamt up whimsical and haunting fairy...