Lots of good stuff coming out of Ukraine in the last decade, and here is yet another addition to the stockpile over at Svarga Music in Twilightfall, with their debut album The Energy of Soul. Now, I’m Read more […]
Progressive power metal: a double edged sub-genre of brilliant instrumentation at times, and clichéd mead hall vocal choruses or equally obvious musical hooks on the other. And then there’s how much Read more […]
Editor’s note: This review is of the cd only, the dvd was not available for review. The tribally inspired percussive elements of Sepultura’s music have always made them stand out from virtually every Read more […]
Quite the misleading band name, ya know? Project Arcadia isn’t much of a “project” as it is a Bulgarian outfit fronted by the ever-awesome Urban Breed, he of Tad Morose, Bloodbound, and currently, Read more […]
Isolation is a hell of a boon for evolution and experimental growth, no matter the subject. I recently read an article on BBC documenting the long history of Iceland and its relationship as a literary Read more […]
German melodic black metallers, Dark Fortress, present their seventh full-length album, Venereal Dawn. Since 1994, this band raveled in darkness, death, necromancy and sovereignty. Essentially, they put Read more […]
Essentially, if you want to get signed these days, become a retro rock band. DR would like to say it’s that simple, but it’s really not – some varying degree of talent and songwriting acumen is required. Read more […]
There was a point in In Flames career where each new album release was an “event.” The metal community was excited to hear what the band was up to. Sadly, the past few In Flames albums have not been Read more […]
Active for five years, Portland, Maine quartet Hessian possess a boatload of old school metal energy and occult rock atmosphere/texture on their debut full length album, the interestingly titled Bachelor Read more […]
Bit late on this one but better late than never to thie party, especially when the party is this filthy and concise. A sort of slimmer cousin thematically to last year’s stellar Grave Miasma release Read more […]
Iron Reagan’s second album, The Tyranny of Will, is the type of album that will work you into a frenzy. A metallic crossover group that takes ‘80s thrash and hardcore/punk in equal portions and spews Read more […]
Hard to believe Cannibal Corpse has reached the lucky number thirteen! The band has weathered the test of time longer than most, never felt the need to disband and reunite, and have waved the death metal Read more […]
The joy of the debut when expectations are often muted and the potential for surprise is the highest it will ever be. Enter Tennessee’s own Alraune and their historically sound and cathartic take on Read more […]
Bloodtruth’s claim to fame is that it was started as a side project by Fleshgod Apocalypse members Francesco Paoli and Paolo Rossi. But it’s kind of a moot point, since neither has been a part of Read more […]
Atmospheric black metal many times can lie in either the more shoegaze camp or in the pagan realm. Of course, this is a generalization and there is much which exist both in between and outside of these Read more […]
Productivity is a hallmark of the Mid-Atlantic heavy/power metal quartet A Sound of Thunder. In a genre where many acts consider releasing new full-length records every 2-3 years pushing creative limitations Read more […]
The latest offering from Texas’ Hod is sure to sate the thirst for grinding death metal that afflicts the best of us from time to time. These tracks hit with a relentless jackhammer heaviness that’s Read more […]
This one reaches out to all the diehard death metal maniacs. With one outstanding debut album, Unwilling Flesh remind us what death metal is all about: a flesh-flaying massacre of mind-mutilating carnage Read more […]
Sometimes it’s nice to just have a blast of death metal. Lago’s debut album (after a demo of the same name two years ago) offers enjoyment on that most primitive scale. Blackened death metal of the Read more […]
If you’ve ever wondered what Nine Inch Nails might’ve sounded like had it never released The Fragile and Trent Reznor died somewhere in 1997, Distorture might almost be the result. 1998 is everywhere Read more […]
Two years later and the Arkansas doom phenom Pallbearer returns to crush the world with its murky and misery-laden forays into the abyss. One of the biggest stars of 2012 Sorrow And Extinction was a monster Read more […]
Brazilian black metallers, Funereus, never digressed of raw forte during their five years as a band. Hard to say whether Return of the Old Goat is more or less “Satanic” than their previous works, Read more […]
King Fowley and his passion for heavy metal is indisputable. Opinionated, outspoken, and bleeding tooth and nail for the cause, he’s been responsible for many classic albums in my collection either through Read more […]
It should be stated that power/progressive is a genre that this reviewer is quite finicky about. While the genre certainly has its merits and there are some high quality bands well worth checking out, Read more […]
Norway, Sweden, Greece, Kentucky. In a discussion on black metal, the latter location should seem extremely out of place, which is all the more ironic that it’s the base of operations for Fornicus, who Read more […]
Ukrainian metallers Narrow House know how to paint an interesting picture. On their second album, Thanathonaut, they put forth an eclectic mix of genres to bring about something that is truly unique and Read more […]
Although their appearance doesn’t suggest as such, Horned Almighty are the right band for street-level, vintage black metal. Meaning, their assembled influences (who else but Autopsy, Bathory, Darkthrone, Read more […]
No matter what the given ‘in’ genre for heavy metal, there’s something to be said about the staying power of street level, classic riffs filled to the brim hook wise and melodically catchy enough Read more […]
Xtreem Music is doing a bang-up job of grabbing excellent international metal bands from interesting locations. We recently witnessed the awesome power of Iran’s Azooma, and are now given Nepal’s Read more […]
The cover says a lot about Clearing The Path To Ascend and the moods it showcases within, many grey moods, each one featuring a different challenge and the end, of course, sending the listener off into Read more […]
