Let’s get one thing straight: Black Star Riders is not Thin Lizzy. That fabled 70’s outfit died in 1986 when Phil Lynott passed away from a drug-related illness. Essentially though, Black Star Riders Read more […]
Yet another Rogga Johansson band, someone whom we’ve already espoused his seemingly endless supply of time and creativity. Does the man even hold a job? Eh, let’s not waste much time pondering that, Read more […]
Danish metal outside of Mercyful Fate, offshoot King Diamond, and current Elvis-metal headliners Volbeat has maintained more of a cult-status appeal across the globe. Take the traditional act Witch Cross Read more […]
Probably teetering a bit too close to the line of unimaginative, unimpressionable black metal, Sweden’s Svartysn have nonetheless found cause to reel off three albums in three years. Discussing the number Read more […]
Every genre has those carbon copies musicians who year after year release washout records unto the athirst masses, not to mention artists who haven’t the slightest clue of when to call it quits. Immolation Read more […]
The second part of a dystopian album trilogy, ReEvolution is the follow up to 2011’s DeEvolution from California progressive metal outfit Cynthesis. For those of you in the know, this quartet features Read more […]
Production, among many other things, has often come to define death metal. The never-ending debate over Scott Burns creations, or Colin Richardson manned recordings, or the present-day arguments over the Read more […]
Well, here’s a name that hasn’t come down the pike in a while: A Canorous Quintet. Primarily known for the band in which current Amon Amarth drummer Frederick Andersson got his start, ACQ also features Read more […]
The product of multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Hiram Lohr, Thousand Year War is a poorly-conceived, ragged death/thrash concoction. Now, there’s no threshold for how far someone can push the double-tracked Read more […]
The supposed final album from Lee Dorrian and his gang of doomsters, The Last Spire puts a cap on a legendary and partially groundbreaking career in doom for Cathedral. For a band who got its start in Read more […]
Prior to the recording of this album, Teutonic traditional metal act U.D.O. faced the unenviable task of replacing not one, but both guitarists. Main Accept compatriot Stefan Kaufmann stepped down due Read more […]
Basically Candlemass if they went really sludgy, Italy’s Victims of Creation pose a familiar, yet somewhat craft doom take on their Symmetry of Our Plagued Existence album. One will have to side-step Read more […]
Don’t look at this too quickly – one might think it’s “Woe of Tyrants” we’re talking about, not “Years of Tyrants.” Tyrants, man…they’re everywhere. Years of Tyrants are a French five-piece Read more […]
Siegewyrm have been around for a little over three years and you have to admire the moxie they display in such a short time. Hailing from Buffalo, NY the band successfully blend tones of melodic death Read more […]
Let’s not get carried away and proclaim Sodom has passed Kreator in the Teutonic thrash arms race, but seriously, Epitome of Torture doesn’t mess around. Maybe it’s the addition of drummer Markus Read more […]
The classic/occult/doom revival scene is alive and well in the wake of the last few years of Witchcraft, Graveyard, and The Devil’s Blood coming in, making their marks, and moving on or imploding outright. Read more […]
Responsible for launching the careers of Behemoth, Carpathian Forest, Katatonia, and Keep of Kalessin, Italian label Avantgarde knows how to pick ’em. It would be nice to have the sort of blind faith in Read more […]
Denmark/Sweden’s Amaranthe aren’t too far removed from another Swedish band of similar characteristics, Sonic Syndicate. Sonic Syndicate, of course, were more known for their good-looking bass player Read more […]
The post-metal heyday has long since passed but that doesn’t stop the outflow of bands producing serviceable, even spectacular, albums in the style. For British purveyors Light Bearer they fall closer Read more […]
Still waiting for that elusive “next level” album from Arsis. While there’s some significant merit to both 2008’s We Are the Nightmare and 2010’s Starve for the Devil (two albums we championed), Read more […]
Blackened death metal is always a tricky sound to work with, not only due to the fickle nature of the audiences involved, but the sonically divisive realms of black and death. Much like Polish mainstays Read more […]
Instrumental metal albums became in vogue during the Shrapnel Records 80’s heyday, a focus for the guitar shred community who wanted to up the ante as Yngwie Malmsteen added his neo-classical arpeggio Read more […]
The year that is 2013 has seen Joel Grind do a bit of closet cleaning, hasn’t it? First, Toxic Holocaust’s From the Ashes of Nuclear Destruction compilation hit the streets, and now Grind’s The Yellowgoat Read more […]
Cave-In and the notion of missed opportunities seem to be proper bedfellows. The Boston based one-time aggro metallers, one-time space rockers, then eventual corporate rockers have had a career few can Read more […]
A new feature we’re rolling out is a review “face-off,” where upon two DR staffers will tackle a high-priority release. Since there’s little chance any of us can agree on anything, it serves to create Read more […]
You’d think more dynamics would come from something with Jesper Stromblad’s name on it. The former In Flames guitarist, responsible for the band’s most priceless songs, has narrowed his focus with Read more […]
The search for the next Electric Wizard has yet to materialize. It could be for a number of reasons, the most obvious being that there is a limited number of bands with the warped sense of distortion and Read more […]
Probably the most visible Russian band going in the underground at the present time, folk metallers Arkona are doing what any self-serving and righteous band would do: releasing a live album. We’ll not Read more […]
A combo band that comprises of members of Concentric and Northless (wouldn’t that make them “Concentricless?”), Ara rolls out a promising display of progressive death metal on their The Blessed Sleep Read more […]
Bands should be wary of making improper associations to Katatonia. That’s sacred ground we’re talking about. If you’re going to use the Swedes as a reference point, then you’d be best able to deliver Read more […]
