Older metal fans might assume that nearly every band that hails from in and around the Bay Area would be at least slightly influenced by the early thrash of Metallica, Testament, Exodus, and the like. This is true, at least, for the near-teenaged wonders of San Jose’s Heavy Heavy Low Low. Why, in this world […]

With The Exhibitions EP being my first exposure to this German black metal band, I’m not sure I’m able to gage Secrets of The Moon’s standing within the hierarchy of black metal, but based on personal taste alone, I happen to think this band is one of the finest, yet underrated black metal bands around. […]

With their fifth album, Germany’s Fear My Thoughts have now evolved in to a full on modern melodic death metal act, and a good one at that. And while Hell, Sweet, Hell was a glossy but flawed transitional album, Vulcanus sees the band deliver an improved effort that should elevate the band into elite status. […]

The first signing to Metal Blade’s short-lived Modern imprint in the early ’90s, Arizona’s Beats the Hell Out of Me were criminally underrated throughout their career. Their self-titled 1994 debut was a mixture of Helmet’s start/stop rhythms and Tool’s minor-chord fascinations. 1995’s Rolling Thunder Music added more atmosphere with ambient passages, experimental psychedelia, and the […]

Here’s another one of the springs ‘big’ releases, and I was even more intrigued to hear this, in light of how impressed I was with former Naglfar member Jens Ryden’s solo project, Profundi and to simply see how Naglfar would respond with their second post Ryden album. Well. It’s a Naglfar album. It sounds a […]

I’m no sludge expert, but in Materia, Belgium’s three piece Blutch appear to have released a solid sludge/doombeast that should appeal to fans of The Abominable Iron Sloth, Black Cobra, Negative Reaction and such. Slow yet abrasive and menacing, Materia has all the hallmarks you’d expect from such a record; gritty earthy guitars, foreboding, patient […]

So Candlelight has signed a Deathcore band? Though it initially seemed a bit ‘trendy’ to me, but to their credit in Kansas’s Diskreet, they have found a solid act that delivers the goods. Licensed from the UK’s Siege of Amida Records and having 2 bonus tracks, Infernal Rise is exactly what you would expect from […]

Ho Hum. A new Dimmu Borgir album and with it will come the fan division between ‘true’ black metal fans who decry Dimmu Borgir as sellouts and undoubtedly a new generation of more accepting fans either hearing these Norwegian stalwarts for the first time or simply accepting Dimmu Borgir for what they are. When the […]

Prosthetic Records Further highlighting the development of the previously ‘core’ based Prosthetic Records is this pure black/death metal project featuring members of Brian Werner and Sam Molina of US death metal legends Monstrosity. However, even with that slight pedigree, A Symphony Of Suffering shows that not all projects of renowned musicians are worthwhile. While certainly […]

From the ashes of Germany’s Nagelfar comes The Ruins of Beverast, a project originating in 2003. Rain Upon the Impure is the second cd. For a time period of one hour and twenty minutes you can commiserate with Alexander in a maelstrom of doom black metal. Long songs, fuzzy guitars, droning synths, and hypnotic drums […]

I rather enjoyed the debut EP In the Midst of Bloodied Soil from this Sacramento metalcore act, as is brought some synth laced, epic blackened majesty to metalcore. However, with a considerable line-up shuffle, their Earache full-length debut sounds like a slightly different beast. That doesn’t make it a bad record, its just a bit […]

There’s something slightly disturbing about this project to me. First, I see the video for the first single and one of the guitar players in this band looks and moves eerily like drummer Vinnie Paul’s late brother Dimebag. Then, there’s the singer from Mudvayne doing his best Phil Anselmo impression on some of the tunes, […]

This is about as close as you get as a reviewer to a “gimme” review. I mean, it’s classic Black Sabbath. Most of the folks reading this already know these songs and have a long-standing opinion of them, so really this hinges on the three new songs and how well the package is put together. […]

So as I get further down into my packages of CD’s from Poland’s Lifeline Records, I get to this anthology from the now disbanded Polish Vegan Melodeath/metalcore act Sunrise. Cursed Not Alone consists of the band’s two releases, Generation of Sleepwalkers (Sanctuary Records 1998) and Child of Eternity (Sobermind Records 2000), and is are repackaged […]

I really enjoyed this Norwegian extreme Goth outfit’s last record, Free Fall Into Fear, but for some reason Existentia is not hitting me with the same impact. Whether it is the stripped down line-up, the slightly more mid paced, less varied and more Gothic material, or just rather ‘meh’ songs, something is just missing. The […]

Being from Europe myself, I actually grew up watching the Eurovision Song contest, and I still remember England’s Bucks Fizz winning with the inanely catchy “Making Your Mind Up” and becoming huge pop stars-one of the few commercial successes to arise from the contest. Watching the annual submission from Turkey was always a wonderful sonic […]

So, I’ve never really liked YOB or even really enjoyed stoner doom/rock, so when graced with the sudden appearance of Middian’s debut album featuring Mike Scheidt of the now defunct YOB, I wasn’t sure I’d like this 5 track slab of similarly themed metal. However, with a more aggressive, metal edge more akin to the […]

I’ve always sort of pegged France’s Hacride as a ‘sister’ band of The Netherland’s Textures; both are angular jagged, Meshuggah inspired bands, that are good at what they do. However, while in my opinion Textures took a step back with Drawing Circles, Hacride have stepped way up with their impressive second album, Amoeba. What sets […]

Personally, the prospect of wading through a “Best of Atreyu” album would seem like picking the best hemorrhoids I ever had. But I’ll give Victory credit for putting together a sellable, goodbye compilation (the band is now on Hollywood Records) that spans Atreyu’s career, as they are arguably one of the more influential of the […]

Here’s a fucking stout sophomore CD of burly, chunky and aggressive Danish death/thrash metal produced by Jacob Bredahl (Hatesphere) that takes Hatespshere’s tight form of neo-thrash and gives it some balls and dynamics. Though hardly groundbreaking, the robotically themed The Uncanny Valley is sure as hell satisfying. The 12 tracks blast and rumble with typical […]

Here’s the second best record I got from Poland’s Lifeline records, and like the excellent Alienacja record Blades Shall Speak; an awesome digipack holding some solid melodic death metal meets deathcore. Where as Alienacja are (were) a pummeling merciless more death metal beast, fellow Poles ITE, are a more refined melodic, slicing creature with a […]

Last year The Acacia Strain declared that their third album The Dead Walk, was ‘The heaviest album of the year. Period’. In 2007, Connecticut’s Emmure claim to have the most ‘Brutal CD of 2007′. The thing is depending on your definition of heavy or brutal, both are right. I had all sorts of put-downs ready […]

Here’s one quick question for you to determine if you should continued reading this review or click elsewhere: Do you like The Number Twelve Looks Like You?If you answered no, go read another review. Right now. If you answered “yes” and especially enjoyed the bands debut EP Put On Your Rosy Red Glasses. Then read […]

Here’s a musical transition I didn’t see coming. Canada’s The End, after an EP and two albums of Dillinger worshipping, uber complex mathcore, have settled down and spread their wings. Though not quite as drastic as Cave In’s mid era transformation, as The End still deliver plenty of churning, technical riffs and bitter vocal patterns, […]

Warning: I’m about to bare my soul to you assholes, so stop snickering at the back…For a supposedly stone cold, Law Enforcement, metal head kind of dude I’m oddly emotional. Show me pictures of dead babies, crime scenes or autopsies, and I’m not in the least bit bothered. However, anything related to my 6-year old […]