The ho-hum nature of sludge metal and its various offshoots is becoming quite the thorn in one’s side, specifically Blistering’s. The fundamental elements of this style predicates that song structure, Read more […]
When Job For A Cowboy broke a few years ago, some of the primary complaints hurled at the band related to the obtuse and convoluted nature of their songs. While there was no questioning the band’s technical Read more […]
Big ‘ole minus points for the name, a moniker only a pre-incarceration Michael Vick would be down with. Nevertheless, Dog Shredder is a power trio from Portland, Oregon, purveying a brand of messy punk Read more […]
Responsible for the creation of a lot of crappy bands, High on Fire have at least the good sense to retain their relevancy after breakout albums like Blessed Black Wings and Death Is This Communion. Read more […]
Able to sustain their career based primarily off the twin success of ‘95’s Wolfheart and its Irreligious successor, Portugal’s Moonspell remain not only their country’s biggest metal export, Read more […]
During my college years, this New York act steadily took a hold of the crossover scene because of their genre bleeding tendencies. Drum beats equally hardcore and metal, guitar parts that veer from thrash Read more […]
There should be some type of moratorium on bands not only having “Wolf” in their name, but also having to start their album with the sound of thunder crackling in the sky. It’s as if there’s some Read more […]
Something about typing “ex-Nevermore guitarist Jeff Loomis” doesn’t feel right. And it shouldn’t, to be honest. Loomis’s stronghold on the Nevermore sound help make the Seattle metallers one Read more […]
First impressions can be harsh and so it was with “Cold Call,” the opening track on this, OSI’s fourth album. It seemed as if Kevin Moore and Jim Matheos’ low-key, industrial prog project (with Read more […]
The first three thoughts that came to mind upon listening to A Sound of Thunder’s Out of the Darkness album: 1. Female-fronted metal. Thank heavens there’s no Goth here; 2. The flight goggles Read more […]
A bit odd not seeing the Century Media name associated with God Forbid. The two parties were rather synonymous with each other for most of the 00’s thanks to the label’s emphasis on new wave American Read more […]
Surprised Ministry is still functioning, and probably so is mainman Al Jourgensen. The frontman’s tales of drugs and debauchery are nothing new; same bodes for his total disgust for the Republican Party Read more […]
Hilarious how quickly the word “djent” has become anathema to the metal press. Blistering notwithstanding, a lot of our cohorts are dogging the style just as much as we and rightfully so – it’s Read more […]
Forget about “Rock You Like A Hurricane” for a second and think about what the best Scorpions song is. It’s not found on Comeblack, an assemblage of re-recorded songs and covers that span the Germans’ Read more […]
Scary to think, but we might be reaching the rung on the Goth metal ladder where Epica, not Nightwish are the primary point of comparison. Not like we have any beef with Simone Simons and team, yet they’re Read more […]
A beacon of light that shines through in the foggy haze that is the current retro death metal movement, Stockholm’s Desultor (go figure) have created a cacophonous maelstrom of DM madness on their Masters Read more […]
Municipal Waste has the market cornered. No, not on “party metal,” but the crossover market is essentially all theirs. When Blistering uses its finite brain power to think of other worthy crossover Read more […]
The back story of Angel Witch is one about a British metal classic (1980’s self-titled debut) and of being the NWOBM bridesmaid to Iron Maiden. You see, Angel Witch were supposed to be every bit as big Read more […]
Always found these guys to be a bit too clean and pristine to be a melodic black metal band. Then again, it would be counterproductive if they sounded like they recorded their albums in a shoebox, Read more […]
When a band has so many influences as France’s Klone, it’s normally causes one to call a bluff. You see, most bands do look to styles of music outside of metal for inspiration, they just don’t Read more […]
Listening to Bobby Blitz on The Electric Age…feels like a sniping dog coming at you. And it’s not like Overkill hasn’t been nipping at everyone’s heels the last few decades, it just feels like Read more […]
Those who aren’t well-versed in the metal underground or even the top rung bands probably still think the acoustic guitar is reserved solely for power ballads. You know, dim the lights, pull out your Read more […]
Walking a fine line between power metal, progressive metal and the more melodic elements of thrash, New Jersey’s Dark Empire have crafted a fine album for their third outing and their first with new Read more […]
How convenient is that most people have totally forgotten about the time when Max Cavalera had two turntables and a microphone, and that lame-o from Limp Bizkit rapping about “clowns.” Those were some Read more […]
Probably a smart move to go back to full-on metal for 3 Inches of Blood, especially considering the toned-down, 70’s rock attack of 2009’s Here Waits Thy Doom. As the title suggests, Long Live Heavy Read more […]
The discussion on British black metal typically begins and ends with Cradle of Filth. The question if they’re a “true” black metal band has always been up for debate (Mike Sloan would be the right Read more […]
Swallow the Sun’s gradual drift away from their strict melodic doom metal roots started with 2009’s excellent New Moon, an album that married the band’s deep-rooted death metal affinity with airy, Read more […]
An expansive concept to go along with even more expansive progressive metal are part and parcel, it seems. One has to think a lot of these bands are scared to go the dumbed-down lyrical route because Read more […]
Blistering will never get into the consulting business (even though they make quite the chunk of change, apparently), but our review of Borknagar’s 2010 Universal did suggest that the Norwegians Read more […]
Come the Thaw is light as a feather, but heavy as a ton of bricks, if that makes any sense. The depth in which San Francisco-based Worm Ouroboros creates music is unlike any other band going in North Read more […]
