Though I was very impressed with this young act’s debut, Akeldama back in 2006, my recent experience of them at this year’s Summer Slaughter, and exposure to their new material left me somewhat unimpressed. Whether it was the lack of full time keyboard player, the more experimental material, or just an off night in a [...]

I’ve enjoyed watching Light This City evolve from their rough and ready debut The Hero Cycle in 2003 to through their brilliant third album,  Facing the Thousand , to what is now their swansong, Stormchaser, a mere five years later. The band has evolved from a mere At The Gates worship to a powerful, polished an [...]

While you might expect yet another clichéd take of breakdown reliant deathcore based on the band name, label and overly dramatic album title, the fact is, once you discover The Plasmarifle hail from arguably the tech metal capital of the world, Montreal, feature former Neuraxis vocalist Maynard Moore and a familiarly tight mastering effort from [...]

Due to their ferocious female vocalist Grace Perry and a solid mix of thrash, hardcore and Bolt Thrower, Arizona’s Landmine Marathon have always been in my periphery, but never quite taken it to the next level. With their 2006 debut release Wounded and subsequent split EP , they only come across as a band with [...]

First off, before you read this review, go here  and check out Medeia’s killer video for the single “Cold Embrace”. Making fun of black metal? Making fun of themselves? Who cares-it’s awesome.
Hailing from Finland, Cult is the second album from Medeia, a melodic death metal band that utilize keyboards and a very US sounding canter [...]

Do palm tree leaves turn and fall?

Who cares. The leaves have turned, trees stand barren and wasted, the shadows lengthen and the chill of cold breath fills the air. Autumn, the most metal of seasons is upon us and while I’m sure there’s hordes of obscure black metal albums I’ve never heard that fit the bill, here are some albums (in no real order) I think signal the dawn of winter and bring in the grimmest of seasons as good as any:

Wow.
Not only have Misery Index rebounded from the slightly disappointing Discordia and returned to the full on brilliance of Retaliate, they have responded to the gauntlet thrown down by the recent Willowtip triple headed assault of Kill the Client, Phobia and Maruta as far as American grindcore in 2008 is concerned.
While one could argue Misery [...]

Considering my love of Between the Buried and Me, you’d think I’d be all over the debut from Indiana’s Exotic Animal Petting Zoo; Off kilter, jazzy, Dillenger-ish styled alternative rock and impossibly scattershot structures littered with lengthy ambient, introspective strains of clean vocals and progressive experimental textures. A must have right? Well not just yet.
While [...]

Based on the 18-minute burst of a debut ‘full length’ that was Parasite , I didn’t exactly have high expectations for the sophomore album from this Michigan deathcore act. However, once I saw the cover, titles, new producers Dan Kenny and John Cinotta (Suffocation) and the mastering credits of Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer, Agoraphobic Nosebleed), [...]

Arguably, The Fathomless Mastery is one of the most anticipated death metal records of year, partly due to the return of Mikael Åkerfeldt to vocal duties (which cancels out the loss of Dan Swano), and partly due to the fact that the bands two full length’s (2002s Resurrection Through Carnage and superb but slight step [...]

Released with relatively little fanfare, Unearth’s fourth studio album shows that this Boston band, while certainly never able to attain the level of magnificence of The Stings of Conscience, is one of the most consistent and predictably satisfying American metal acts around.
The formula, as with like minded act Killswitch Engage, is simple; deft Swedish dual [...]

3 months ago, this was the perfect summer album; peppy, energetic, uplifting melodic hardcore with injections of pop/punk catchiness that you hummed along to while driving with the windows open that came across like a Christian Bane mixed with any popular pop punk act (Blink 182, Yellowcard, Sum 41, etc) but now in the grey [...]

Anymore with Facedown Records, you know what you are getting; some form of quality Christian metal, whether it be the melodic death metal (War of Ages, A Plea For Purging), catchy poppy metalcore/hardcore (Take It back, Kingston Falls), or traditional hardcore (Call to Preserve, Sleeping Giant), and now we have Wrench in the Works (basically [...]

After a relatively quiet 2008, Willowtip has literally unleashed the hounds with three top notch grindcore releases; Phobia’s 22 random Acts of Violence, Maruta’s In Narcosis, and this the devastating follow up to Kill the Clients impressive debut Escalation of Hostility.
Though still steeped in the steroid fueled, punky Napalm Death -ish grind and blast noise [...]

While technically stunning, Beneath the Massacre’s transition from deathcore to a more technical death metal band on Mechanics of Dysfunction was a little short on memorability. So here is the follow up and while stylistically the band has continued their batshit insane musical pyrotechnics and uber busy delivery, they have managed to deliver a slightly [...]

It doesn’t get more succinct than that title for the third album from Australia’s down-tuned, grind masters, The Day Everything Became Nothing. Plain white cover, 10 unnamed numbered tracks and 27 minutes of gurgling, groove filled, monstrously mid paced grindcore.
While admittedly this sort of stuff appeals to a niche audience that laps up the likes [...]

As a stop gap between albums, Obituary and Candlelight have given us this tasty little 4 track EP; two new tracks (”Forces Realign” and “Left to Die””), a recording of the posthumous debut album’s title track, “Slowly We Rot” and a cover of Celtic Frost’s “Dethroned Emperor”. There’s also video for “Evil Ways” from the [...]

Despite the fact that this group of Riverside, California kids play the now overdone form of The Black Dahlia Murder worship, like say, Salt the Wound and Sons of Azrael, the fact is, they do it really, fucking well, and possibly even better.

Quite simply, from start to finish, Lamentation is a blazing, relentless and razor [...]

As I stated in my review of All Thats Remains’ latest album Overcome, I was a little nervous talking to vocalist Phil Labonte, considering my lukewarm feelings toward the album. However, after meeting Phil in the tour bus before All That Remains headlining show with Trivium, The Human Abstract and 36 Crazyfists in Columbia , MO, all fears were set aside as we had a lengthy interview and Phil proved to be the consummate professional…

With their second album, the aptly titled This Grand Show, Grayceon have once again delivered a stunning, sumptous opus of cello flocked, introspective and progressive music that defies categorization. And having communicated with cello player and vocalist Jackie Perez Gratz in the past, and found her to an absolutely delightful individual, I thought I’d ask a few question via email about the new album, her other projects and other more amorous endeavors…

Jackie Perez Gratz (Amber Asylum) and her two pals, Max Doyle and Zack Farwell (of skaterock band Walken) have returned to give us yet another stunning record that, like its debut will be in the running for album of the year.
Stylistically, not much has changed in the Grayceon camp. They still play a dreamy, eclectic [...]

While Gojira’s The Way of All Flesh and All That Remains Overcome (and possibly Light This City’s swansong, Stormchaser) are arguably Prosthetic’s bread and butter in 2008, the fact remains; Withered’s Folie Circulaire and now the second album from Seattle’s Book of Black Earth are simply Prosthetics best releases of 2008 so far, and shows Prosthetic as [...]

After having a great interview with All That Remains vocalist Phil Labonte a couple of days ago and discovering him to be a super nice dude, and a superb live performer to boot,  it sucks that I then have to turn around write this less than complementary review. Granted, I knew how I felt about [...]

Hailing from Lawrence, Kansas, Samothrace (not sure if named after the Greek Island or a race of Emperor guitarists) have come out of nowhere with a stunning debut album that mixes the girth and throb of psychedelic sludge/Post Rock (think Minsk and Rwake) with the utterly rending, layered harmonies and beautiful yet wilting melody of [...]

From the label that brought you the excellent Lo-Ruhamah comes another Christian black metal release, this way on the form of Puerto Rico’s Azmaveth (named after one of King David’s strongest warriors) and their symphonic, challenging take on black metal.
Christian black metal from Puerto Rico? Yeah, I know, but amid the glut of symphonic black [...]