Reviews

VI – De Praestigiis Angelorum (Agonia Records)

With French black metal, the expectation is basically this: Be obtuse, partially confuse the listener, and circle back every now and then to the core. In a sense, it’s created a sort of mini-competition Read more […]

Seven Witches – The Way of the Wicked (The ILS Group)

The tenth studio album from New Jersey’s Seven Witches happens to be the second consecutive release retaining the same lineup in quite a while. Transforming themselves from a straight traditional metal Read more […]

Ares Kingdom – The Unburiable Dead (Nuclear War Now Productions)

Part of the old, but quite savvy guard that isn’t obsessed with playing fast death metal all the time, Ares Kingdom have doing their thing since 1996. If our counting is correct, then that would mean Read more […]

Broken Flesh – Broken Flesh (Luxor Records)

Christian death metal is something that metal fans often joke about or ponder the legitimacy of such. After all, the feral nature of the genre (as well as its lyrical inspirations) often do not lean easily Read more […]

The Black Dahlia Murder – Abysmal (Metal Blade)

Current genre stalwarts The Black Dahlia Murder may have hit things big from the start with Unhallowed, but with each go-round they seem to become even bigger. But the band has never let it get into their Read more […]

Huntress – Static (Napalm)

Surviving uterine cancer surgery and battling lifelong mental disorders from bi-polar to schizophrenia and memory loss proves Huntress’ Jill Janus has a lot on her plate to channel through the healing Read more […]

Crimson Sun – Towards the Light (Maple Metal Records)

With the sheer volume of death metal that comes across this scribe’s inbox, sometimes it’s nice to just get away from the more extreme face of metal and dive into something a bit more melodic. Finland’s Read more […]

Horna – Hengen Tulet (World Terror Committee)

Long-running stalwarts of true black metal – Finland’s Horna have returned with their ninth (!) studio release since releasing their first demo way back in 1995 (for perspective, the same year bands Read more […]

Abhorrent Decimation – Miasmic Mutation (Self-Released)

When it comes to death metal, there’s a part of it that you either start with and you “have it” or you don’t. It becomes very clear upon first listen to Miasmic Mutation, Abhorrent Decimation’s Read more […]

I Legion – Pleiona (Self-Released)

I Legion took the metal world by storm with their debut, Beyond Darkness, back in 2012. Featuring the vocal talents of Chris Clancy (ex-Mutiny Within/Wearing Scars), Bjorn Strid (Soilwork), and Jon Howard Read more […]

Chaos Frame – Paths to Exile (Nightmare Records)

Delivering the best in ‘regressive’ metal since 2010, four-fifths of Minnesota’s Chaos Frame hail from that state- while singer Dave Brown resides in Delaware. It may make for trouble replicating Read more […]

Iniquitous Savagery – Subversions of the Psyche (Grindethic Records)

When one thinks of Scotland and death metal, the first band that comes to mind is that of Man Must Die. Countrymen Iniquitous Savagery are relative newcomers to the table, doling out only 2011’s Compelled Read more […]

Once Human – The Life I Remember (earMusic)

Marketed as guitarist Logan Mader’s return to the fold (he formerly of Machine Head and Soulfly), it was a good way to get some eyes on the band. Mader didn’t really disappear though, so much as spend Read more […]

De Profundis – Kingdom of the Blind (Wicker Man Recordings)

Being introduced to De Profundis through last year’s Frequencies EP, the band’s fourth full-length, Kingdom of the Blind, was a welcome treat to my inbox. Taking much of the same formula that fueled Read more […]

Synapses – Devoutness (Cimmerian Shade Recordings)

Having a bit of a soft spot for aggressive and relentless metal, this seemed right up this writer’s alley. The sophomore effort Devoutness by Italian death metal band Synapses takes all of the necessary Read more […]

Hope Drone – Cloak of Ash (Relapse)

Seems that we were a bit out of step by noting Relapse hasn’t dipped into the black metal pool. Well, they have, just not that particular black metal. (See: Scandinavian BM.) Hope Drone, as we are alluding Read more […]

King Heavy – King Heavy (Cruz del Sur Music)

Lest we ever undermine the influence of the Swedish Sabbath, otherwise known as Candlemass. The Leif Edling-led unit essentially brought classic doom into Scandinavia, producing several classics in the Read more […]

Xenosis – Sowing the Seeds of Destruction (Self-released)

Active since 2010, New Haven, Connecticut’s Xenosis are a progressive death metal quintet that place an equal amount of emphasis on hooks and melodic aspects as they do impressive musicianship for their Read more […]

Re-Armed – Total Lack of Communication (Self-Released)

Not having come across Re-Armed before this release, this three song EP turned out to be quite a treat. The Finnish band has already put out two full-length records, the latest being 2014’s Rottendam. Read more […]

Gloom – Doggod (Morbid Shine Productions)

Genre bastardization and blurring is all but inevitable nowadays. After exhausting the tropes of each particular “genre,” it’s time to start meshing the parts that you like and putting things together Read more […]

Temple of Void – Of Terror and the Supernatural (Shadow Kingdom)

Detroit death/doomers Temple of Void generated some buzz for themselves with their 2013 demo. The band then went on to independently release Of Terror and the Supernatural the following year (thus bringing Read more […]

Stratovarius – Eternal (earMusic)

Keeping up in the seven letter title themes for the post-Tolkki era (Polaris, Elysium, Nemesis), Stratovarius certainly has handled the trials and tribulations of a long career rather well considering Read more […]

Cruciamentum – Charnel Passages (Profound Lore)

You know those bands that manage to make plenty of buzz with a few demos and EPs? Cruciamentum is one of those darlings, who took the death metal world by storm with 2009’s Rotten Flesh Crucifix and Read more […]

Decomposed – Hope Finally Died (Candlelight)

Some back story on Decomposed’s Hope Finally Died: Originally released in 1993 by Candlelight, the album was only pressed once. Unavailable for several years, demand for the album made its original copies Read more […]

Display of Decay – Dust of Existence (Self-Released)

Having checked out last year’s Outbreak of Infection, looking into the band’s now second full-length, Dust of Existence, seemed like a no-brainer. Thrashy death metal with a brutal underling tone, Read more […]

TesseracT – Polaris (eOne Music)

Think back to pinnacle moments in a band’s discography and often you will notice a running theme of timeless achievement on the third go around. The Number of the Beast, Master of Puppets, Reign in Blood, Read more […]

Pyogenesis – A Century in the Curse of Time (AFM)

Come the late-90s, many European Gothic metal bands were sucked into the idea they had to change their sound in order to stay relevant with the times. The examples are pretty well-known: The Gathering, Read more […]

Kadavar – Berlin (Nuclear Blast)

Now that a lot of these retro/throwback rockers are on their third and fourth albums, it’ll be interesting to see how they fare now that cool/hip/happening sheen has partly worn off. Rewind to 2011 and Read more […]

Serial Butcher – Brute Force Lobotomy (Unique Leader)

To paraphrase the band’s statement in a press release, there’s music for introspection and peaceful mediation and then there’s music that is incredibly violent. Care to guess which part Serial Butcher’s Read more […]

Masters of Metal – From Worlds Beyond (Metalville)

Easy to get Masters of Metal confused with Metal Allegiance. Well, anytime you put the word “metal” into a band’s name, there’s bound to be some crossover. But anyway, Masters of Metal’s From Read more […]