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, […]

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 […]

Nevermore have been going through a good momentum after their highly acclaimed (and rightfully so) album This Godless Endeavor. While waiting for a follow-up, the fans of the band, appreciators of good music and quality musicianship, have been graced with two solo efforts coming out from the Nevermore camp. We took the opportunity to talk with the shredder extraordinaire, Mr. Jeff Loomis and ask him a few things about his new album Zero Order Phase and of course, check up on Nevermore.

 So, in lieu of the recent All That Remains disappointment, two records have stepped in to fill the commercial American Metal void somewhat; The Fight Within From Better Left Unsaid and the third album from California’s Antagonist.  I’m by no mean saying Antagonist is a better band than All That Remains, but as far as […]

Metal Church delivers their 10th record and, aside from the lineup, not much has changed since they released their self-titled debut back in 1984. That’s both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, they’ve stuck to their guns and continue to deliver what fans expect. On the other hand, the music here is not […]

SCAR SYMMETRY has offered the following update about their vocalist situation following the recent departure of Christian Älvestam: “Dear friends, When things went from bad to worse and we realized that it wasn’t going to work out with Christian, we were faced with two options; either calling it quits, or seizing the opportunity to take […]

“In this world people will always throw stones in the path of your success, it depends on you what you make from them, a wall or a bridge…” Being one of Sweden’s most controversial and widely debated outfits, Evergrey seem to have been ignoring any disrespect they keep getting year in year out, constructing one […]

What a waste of time. Not that the record is completely able to be shelved, never to be played again or anything, but how is this an hour long? There is an inordinate amount of time that is simply dead air. There’s no explanation, no reason, nothing. Just silence. And isn’t it music that we […]

Demians is a one man band from France, Nicholas Chapel being the man behind it. I’m really struggling to come up with the words to describe this album, other than this really reminds me of a post-metal Tool. This is not just because Chapel’s voice reminds me quite a bit of Maynard James Keenan, though […]

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 […]

Compared to the dense, melancholy psychedelia of Origo, Lazarus Bird surprises from note one by taking a confident step back to Burst‘s hardcore roots. Opener “I Hold Vertigo” attacks with a lurching hammerblow riff, and vocalist Linus Jägerskog tears into his work as if he’s rediscovering it. He sounds fresher and meaner than anything I […]

I have to be honest; I don’t know why anyone reviews Motorhead albums anymore. If you haven’t been paying attention these guys have been doing roughly the same thing for the past 33 years, namely blowing out everyone’s eardrums and loving it. These guys make Nigel Tufnel look like a weakling because Motorhead clearly goes […]

Failing to catch me upon a couple of initial spins, The Immunity Zone, a fourth release from Sweden’s Progressive Metal eccentrics Andromeda, finally lured me into its trap by means of its huge instrumental sections and extremely impressive songwriting. I always thought that one of the principal attributes of Andromeda’s music was its covert ability […]

*thwack* *thud* *sswack* *thwack* Excuse me, I was just beating a dead horse. I figured if I caught it on tape, maybe it could land me a record deal. It’s really no different than Arizona’s A Breath Before Surfacing (ABBS) – mish-mashing At the Gates riffs with excessive blasting, breakdowns, death grunts and growls with […]

CA’s brutal tech-death metallers DECREPIT BIRTH will be embarking on a North American tour with THE FACELESS this Fall. Founding guitarist Matt Sotelo commented: “We are very happy to announce that DECREPIT BIRTH will be on tour with THE FACELESS beginning October 17th through November 22nd, throughout the US and Canada! Along with ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, […]

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 […]

Germany’s best kept musical secret, DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER, are back with their latest album Licht. Currently preparing for a long tour, we had the pleasure of throwing a few questions at the band’s low volume mechanist, bass player Volk-Man and ask him a bit about the latest album, what’s been going on in the Reiter camp and take a look at what makes the band… them. But without further a due, let’s step into the divine light and see what unfolds…

I have to admit, I’m starting to get a little cranky on this island. My balls are chaffed raw from the sand, I’m sick of eating fish and my mind is playing tricks on me: For example, yesterday I hallucinated that Anna Nicole Smith gave me a Cleveland Steamer.

Still, I’m allowed these CDs though, and this time it’s death metal albums that were simply overlooked, under-rated or under appreciated for whatever reasons. Sure everyone knows of the seminal Entombed, Morbid Angel, Suffocation, Deicide, Dismember, Pestilence, Carcass, Nile and other band’s albums that are widely known and considered certified classics within the death metal pantheons. But here are some albums that while nor genre defining or legendary, are certainly kickass albums in their own right, but for a plethora of circumstances, just seemed to slip under the radar when they were originally released. Some got renewed interest via re-issues, but for the most part, these albums simply did not get the audience they deserved.

Yeah, I knows there’s 11 albums here, but fuck you!-my island, my rules, Wilson!

Murder, Mayhem and Destruction are Back for More as Adult Swim’s Dethklok Star in Latest DVD Metalocalypse: Season Two Want Bonus Features? Go Forth and Find Them When Two-Disc DVD Comes out on December 2nd   The world’s biggest, most brutal, murderous and, well, incompetent heavy metal band will once again step into the spotlight […]

“Why is it you and not me?” and “but you’re strong enough to live on,” both lines from Destruction pop into my head. I’m undecided if the mighty have fallen or if it is me. On the first few listens the music is too mellow and stripped bare of metalness. I don’t like the new […]

Finland has long been a hotbed for intensely melodic metal. Take the addictive, neoclassical thrash of (earlier) Children of Bodom, the overripe pomp of Nightwish or the thrilling Viking blare of Moonsorrow – all lush, atmospheric and stylish as hell. And that’s not even touching wackadoo black metal like …And Oceans or the classic, always-evolving […]

What’s this? A hefty, experimental metal band from France on Prosthetic Records? Is it the new Gojira? Nope, but close. Originally released on Dental Records in 2007, it appears Prosthetic Records has snapped up this Alsace band’s debut in order to whet everyone’s appetite for the upcoming The Way of All Flesh, and good thing […]

Like Hollow Corp’s recent The Cloister of Radiance album, the third album from Denmark’s The Psyke Project was originally released in Europe last year and now has a stateside distribution. Also like Hollow Corp, The Psyke Project mix harsh, caustic metal with a few injections of post rock, and gain the results, while solid are […]