Týr – Land (Napalm Records)
It probably won’t happen this year or next, but when the time comes to ultimately separate the wheat from the chaff for the now very swollen pagan/folk metal scene, one has to think Týr...
Novembers Doom – The Novella Vosselaar DVD (The End Records)
Now at their arguable peak, Chicago doom merchants Novembers Doom are now getting the live DVD treatment in the form of The Novella Voselaar: Live in Belgium. Professionally shot (but hardly reminiscent of the Metal Mind series), The...
Scar Symmetry – Holographic Universe (Nuclear Blast Records)
The stage for saccharine melodic death metal was set when In Flames unleashed the unabashedly catchy and fun “Only For the Weak” in 2000. Said song put the bounce and pop into melodic death metal, a...
Reverend Bizarre – Crush the Insects Reissue (Spinefarm)
To launch the UK branch of their record label, Spinefarm have delved into the vaults and dug out a couple of reissues, the first of which is from Finish doom legends Reverend Bizarre. Originally...
Nachtmystium – Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1 (Century Media Records)
Perhaps the most significant USBM act outside of Xasthur, Chicago’s Nachtmystium continue their ascension in the extreme metal ranks with Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1. For anyone that has followed the band’s trajectory, it is...
Judas Priest – Nostradamus (Epic)
Three years removed from Angel of Retribution, Priest have once again set themselves up for a precipitous fall in the form of a Turbo and Ram It Down with Nostradamus.
At this stage in their career, the band might have been...
Keep of Kalessin – Kolossus (Nuclear Blast Records)
Fresh off a stellar stint on Dimmu Borgir’s The Invaluable Darkness Pt II tour, Norwegian trad black metallars Keep of Kalessin appear to be poised the upper-echelon of modern black metal with Kolossus. The follow-up...
Headhunter – Parasite of Society (AFM/Candlelight Records)
Defunct since the early 90’s, Headhunter made nary a dent in the American metal scene by the time Destruction’s Schimer was ready to hang up his studded belt and take some time away from...
Power Quest – Master of Illusion (Napalm Records)
You know, there was a time when being anything but menacing in metal was a rather large no-no. No smiles, no good times, and definitely, definitely not any ‘fun’ tunes. That all changed when...
Withered – Folie Circulaire (Prosthetic Records)
The “wall of sound” is a term often bandied about when discussing the rash of post-metal/hardcore/whatever bands that are currently inundating the underground. While excellent bands like Isis, Rosetta, and Cult of Luna have painstaking recreated...