Together now for a decade, Finnish sextet Marianas Rest didn’t let the lack of live gig opportunities bring them down to support their third album Fata Morgana released in March 2021. They did what many Read more […]
You can always get a leg up on the competition if you have elite musicians even in guest spots. Case in point – Italian melodic death metal band Embryo, who recruited Nile drummer George Kollias for Read more […]
Iceland is a country known for many things. Beautifully varying natural landscapes, unique culture, a sustainable and a high quality of life. How to sign up, right? For the purposes here, however, the Read more […]
Our February 2023 Album of the Month pick is Anno 1696, the new platter from long-running Finnish melancholic melodic death metallers Insomnium. Anno 1696 is a concept record about the “Great Famine” Read more […]
You build a strong community of musicians as people pay attention to other acts – which often allows new bands to arise. Case in point – Dutch sextet Haliphron. Containing members with ties past and Read more […]
Italian trio Bad Bones have packed a ton of adventures over the course of their sixteen-year plus career. Including a move to Los Angeles, California for 2009-10, major festival appearances in the USA/Europe, Read more […]
Generally speaking, symphonic death metal has had its ups and downs. The worst entries are an overreliance on the symphonic with less emphasis on the metal, leaving albums that are ultimately unbalanced Read more […]
Based on album title and moniker alone, most will know we are dealing with death metal of the old school variety in Bastard Grave. Swedish roots elevate the credibility factor – together since 2012 and Read more […]
Post metal is quite the creatively freeing style. Having become more prevalent in the last five years or so, there’s a seemingly infinite number of genre combinations. One of the earlier purveyors is Hamburg’s Read more […]
People appreciate the slow, steady climb into success in most endeavors. Kamelot have been a dominate force in the melodic power/progressive metal genre for decades – first gaining success in Europe Read more […]
While most people look to the United States, Germany, or the UK for many leaders in specific heavy music categories, there are diamonds in other countries. Greek act Riffobia originally started in 2004, Read more […]
Our first exposure to Gorod was their booking at Maryland Deathfest 2010 – 13 years ago, sheesh – with a scintillating performance that was one of the better ones at the fest. That led to grabbing Process Read more […]
Part of the Magna Carta roster during the late 90’s/early 2000’s, Ice Age flew the flag for progressive rock/metal in the New York area at a time when internet bulletin boards were all the rage to Read more […]
There’s a chance I got a bit burned out trying to make sure I didn’t miss anything pretty late in the game for 2022. I decided to check out over 300 albums that were things I may have missed, so really Read more […]
As an unabashed melodic death metal lover, these ears are always open for the latest band to give the famed sound a spin. The last few years have had a large number of newer bands releasing quality albums Read more […]
There’s something endearing about fun-loving musicians continuing to stick to their guns for 16 years in an old school, traditional form of heavy metal as you’ll hear instantly when taking in Canada’s Read more […]
Hailing from Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada, Nomad is a four-piece outfit that have been woodshedding their material while solidifying the ideal lineup over the years. They’ve been able Read more […]
A favorite with most of the scribes at Dead Rhetoric, Night Demon pound for pound are one of the shining stars for the current breed of classic-driven traditional heavy metal. Outsider is the latest full-length, Read more […]
Full of Hell, Maryland/Pennsylvania’s filth Hounds of Hades and Primitive Man, Colorado’s death sludge titans, have finally released a collaborative record aptly named Suffocating Hallucination and it’s Read more […]
See is the debut album for Texas three-piece Temptress, in the making since late 2019 and finally arriving on the marketplace. Completing the album in late 2021, they would sign with Metal Assault the Read more […]
Most would agree that instrumental mastery is an important trait for a band. When it comes to the technical death metal spectrum, though, a lot of it misses the mark for yours truly. Too much guitar wankery Read more […]
While planning our trip to New York City for Powerwolf (check out our review here), I saw a show announcement that dropped the old jaw like a Looney Tunes short – Hulder announced a one-off headlining Read more […]
Powerwolf in Times Square, courtesy of Powerwolf’s Facebook page. The long awaited holy heavy metal mass has finally arrived in the US! While Hell & Heaven Metal Fest 2020 was technically the first Read more […]
Entheos has stayed a prominent name in extreme music, which is why it feels crazy to say that their sophomore effort, Dark Future, was released at the end of 2017. Nonetheless, a proper follow-up is Read more […]
The Nordic scene isn’t just known for its extreme or power/progressive metal landscape – there’s always been an active interest in more melodic, classic formats of hard rock/metal. In fact this five-piece Read more […]
Causing quite the stir, Ocean of Grief impressed with a shockingly mature and refined debut album in 2018’s Nightfall’s Lament. Putting forth a melodic death/doom style that hit the right buttons for Read more […]
