Mining melodic death metal bands in them there metalcore hills can be a struggle in these United States, so when you find an act from the Boston area like My Missing Half that swings further on the former Read more […]
This year’s Halloween was disappointedly mellow, too quiet, not enough chaos, very few freaks, hardly any tricks. But, plenty of treats! As much as I love chocolate, I’d say the best treat of all was Read more […]
Originally self-released by the band last year, Boogie from Hell, the fifth album from Swedish rock metallers Transport League, serves as a semi-reminder of the stronghold attitude-laden rock has on metal Read more […]
Now well past its glossy/potentially commercial period, Danish melodic metal has yet to find a band to work competently with Mercenary, who in spite of a massive singer change several years ago, remain Read more […]
Carcass needs little introduction. After a big year in 2013 for the band, who saw their triumphant return to the world’s stage come to fruition with an acclaimed album and extensive touring, Surgical Remission/Surplus Read more […]
Generic wrap-up: A band from Portland that plays black metal. Before you run to the hills screaming “oh no, yet another Cascadian black metal band,” allow yourself the time to actually check these Read more […]
Posthum’s 2012 sophomore outing Lights Out presented a myriad of possibilities. Here was a by-the-book Norwegian black metal band essentially flirting with elements of post-BM, which may or may not encapsulate Read more […]
For some reason, Finland’s Ghost Brigade has been perpetually overlooked by many, despite their ever-consistent (and evolving) formula. For those in the know, the three year wait between 2011’s exceptional Read more […]
Mushroomhead, not quite a band with the most sterling of reputations amongst true-blue metallers (i.e. anyone who didn’t jump on the nu metal boat), have managed to survive well into their second decade. Read more […]
Short Sharp Shock (SSS) have been in the crossover thrash game for quite some time. Despite that, they’ve never really caught on with much of the metal crowd. Perhaps due to the more politically/socially Read more […]
Hailing from Belgrade, Serbia, Númenor plays fantasy-literature inspired epic black metal with twinges of power and symphonic metals. In existence since 2009, the band released Colossal Darkness in 2013, Read more […]
Traditional power/progressive metal may not possess the same reverence in North America that it does overseas, but thanks to the internet and the decade plus run of the Progpower festival, consumers gain Read more […]
The most ubiquitous member of the Big 4 bands in terms of media functionality, Scott Ian, in spite of Anthrax’s mind-numbingly up-and-down career, has turned into a bit of a renaissance man. To his list Read more […]
Seminal Bay Area thrashers Machine Head have hit a tricky spot with their latest offering, Bloodstone & Diamonds. Their first for Nuclear Blast, it seems the band has become a bit scatterbrained. If Read more […]
Here’s some well-educated and semi-sophisticated satanic black metal chockfull of ancient esoteric philosophies. If music is going to be occultist or satanic, it might as well go full-throttle into the Read more […]
Not the first tried-and-true folk/Celtic metal band (that would be Skylad), Ireland’s Cruachan looked like they were on their way to some quality underground face-time by way of 2011’s strong Blood Read more […]
The return of Ziltoid has been a long time coming. Ziltoid marked a sea change for Townsend, who in 2007, was trying to distance himself from Strapping Young Lad and the music industry as a whole. 5 Read more […]
After discovering Grorr’s first album, Anthill, on Bandcamp at the beginning of the year, learning of The Unknown Citizens was a real treat. Anthill was a conceptual album that utilized a multitude Read more […]
With their latest release, Brisbane, Australia’s, Aversions Crown have further cemented their position as dogmatic deathcore purveyors. They have the formula down pat, but this proves to be a dubious Read more […]
Eschewing the standard black metal practice of producing multiple demos, EPs, or splits before a proper full-length, Italy’s Hornwood Fell probably could have used some good ‘ole growing pains before Read more […]
Australia certainly has a potent extreme metal scene these days, gaining a larger fan base by the minute thanks to the touring escapades and consistent product from acts like Deströyer 666 to Psycroptic, Read more […]
Repurposed out of the shackles of funeral doom, the one-man project that is The Howling Void (i.e. multi-instrumentalist Ryan, also of San Antonio’s Hordes of the Morning Star), Runa happens to be a Read more […]
The last few years have seen a major uptick in the number of old school death metal revivalist movement. You can’t seem to turn a corner without running into a band that directly plagiarizes one of Read more […]
Since just after the end of Blunt Force Trauma’s tour cycle, Cavalera Conspiracy frontman Max Cavalera has voiced his intention to write a brutal, nearly grindcore-style album with brother Iggor that Read more […]
Can’t say that in the years proceeding, Job For A Cowboy ever caught much attention from yours truly. Since their signing with Metal Blade back in 2006, the band’s brand of deathcore seemed to be Read more […]
Too bad they don’t look the part – Kaledon would make an excellent sidekick to Rhapsody, or Rhapsody of Fire, or Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody. (Any one of the three will do.) An Italian outfit who has Read more […]
The pronunciation is “sahl-yeh,” not like “Sally,” which is a girl’s name. (Always with the names…) Saille is a Belgian quintet who has been kicking around since 2009, playing a linear, extreme-or-nothing Read more […]
2014 has been a good year for the charismatic Finnish power metallers Sonata Arctica. To start, the band had a return-to-form of sorts, with the release of Pariah’s Child in March. A great album, it saw Read more […]
Ubiquitous musician Chris Black lets the creativity flow, striking while the iron’s molten in a variety of bands. His longest running outfit happens to be the one under the current reviewing landscape, Read more […]
This Indianapolis-based doom crew hit a visual home run with the unforgettable cover for Last Sunrise. In an age where generic and played-out digital graphics dominate the album artwork landscape, Apostle Read more […]
