One of the most anticipated records of the year for me was Cavalera Conspiracy, reuniting Sepultura vocalist/guitarist Max Cavalera and drummer Igor Cavalera. Though it’s been eclipsed in my mind by records released since, it was an outstanding effort, and I thought it would be tough for Max’s other band, Soulfly, to compete. So I […]

With most good bands, I remember riffs. Walk up to any metal kid in your neighborhood and ask him to recite the opening riff from ‘Angel of Death’ by Slayer (because he might know the riff from Thin Lizzy’s song of the same name). Actually, chances are, you are that kid. So go on. Hum […]

Following the recent search to fill the long vacant live drummer spot, Mithras have now chosen their man. Previous live drummer / guitarist Ben White (Of Orbeth) departed the band back in 2003 and through a chance meeting which led to an explosive audition, has returned to the fold and his old drum seat. To […]

Sensory Records is extremely proud to announce the upcoming release of Dutch progressive metal band Xystus’ third album, Equilibrio; This rock opera was recorded with a 60 piece orchestra and a 30 member choir, and includes guest performances from Simone Simmons of Epica and George Osthoek of Orphanage. With an influx of gothic, progressive and […]

Could it be that death metal is making a comeback in the good ol’ UK? With Mithras, Man Must Die, Detrimentum, Spearhead, Sarpanitum and now the debut EP from Porkfarm, it appears so…. Compacting enough brutality and savagery into 6 songs to warrant any death metal fans attention, Blood Harvest is a death metal/grindcore mash […]

If I actually review a self released demo here, you know I must like it. There’s a pretty specific target audience for this very tasty, very professionally packaged and produced little 6 track EP (5 songs, one intro) and that’s Killswitch Engage fans. But rather than simply deliver Killswitch Engage mimicry, Portland’s Across the Sun […]

Open Grave Records is proud to announce the addition of Abingdon, Maryland’s Orphan Project to it’s roster. Orphan Project was started in 2001, when vocalist Shane Lankford, collaborating with composer John Wenger, conceived the groundwork for a concept album based on spiritual and physical adoption, incorporating progressive, hard rock, and contemporary influences. With a full […]

I thought Nåstrond was a thing of the past until I picked up the split release with Myrkr that came out last year. That put Nåstrond back on my one to watch list. I first discovered them back in 1995 when I came across them in a Full Moon catalog and figured no way I […]

What is the Beast in the Field? Is it a cow? A ravenous wolf, drawing the torches and pitchforks of an angry mob? Or is it the field itself – a craggy, lumbering juggernaut formed from the earth and rock, wrenching itself up from its slumber to rumble across the countryside? That’s the image that […]

Canvas Solaris hail from Georgia and play an instrumental brand of prog-metal that combines the spacey atmosphere of classic 70s progressive acts with the kind of jazz-inflected technicality found in Atheist, Cynic and late-era Death. Opener “The Binaural Beat” leans more towards the mellow space-rock half of the equation, with a soft, bouncy acoustic riff […]

Ten years ago this band released a demo nobody ever saw, then disappeared. Now he is back claiming a 13 year history with Requiem. Apparently this is no longer an NS band. It all starts with an atmospheric intro called “Intro”. “Cleansed” allows you to focus on instrumentation or quite awhile before the vocals kick […]

Forget second wave, this is throwback to first wave style. The emphasis is on harsh, done through lots of distortion. Aggression and hate, no whining about suicide and depression. The pace is slow and even and the songs are guitar driven not drum driven. They obviously paid attention to the 90’s even though they are […]

Viking black metal giants that seem to be too often overlooked, Helheim are back with their sixth full length and second on Dark Essence. I have followed Helheim to Muspell and back, or from “Muspilli Strid” to “Svart Seid.” Hellheim lineage shines through. This is a return to Solistitium form. Many old elements are in […]

You know that noise a screaming baby makes just after you slit her throat? Torog captured it perfectly on Rituale Satanum but has since bled out and now sings with the voice of the demon that possesses him. The most obvious change is more growl less shriek and the vocals are less powerfully rendered in […]

Sporting ex-Darkane vocalist Lawrence Mackrory (from the excellent Rusted Angel album) on bass and backing vocals, I had high expectations from Enemy Is Us and their second full length Venomized, despite the not so great band name. What I got was a heaping dose of unmemorable mediocrity. Venomized is a lesson in Swedish repetitiveness. Don’t […]

When a band changes their name, it’s usually for the worse-usually a shift in style to be more acceptable, commercial or just downright not metal (see Covenant, Cemetery, … And Oceans, etc). However, the UK’s Gorerotted, after 3 fairly mediocre, stylistically undecided albums, decided to start anew and change their name to The Rotted. The […]

It’s ironic that I recently rewatched both Terminator movies this weekend (which hold up very well many years later) as I geared up to review this Arnold Schwarzenegger side project from As I Lay Dying’s Tim Lambesis. With Destroy The Runner’s Chad Ackerman providing the surprisingly good Arnie impersonations between songs and Tim Lambesis (along […]

Abigail Williams has completed work on their full-length debut album titled In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns. Produced by James Murphy and featuring contributions from Trym Torson (Emperor/Zyklon), the album has been confirmed for an October 28 American release. “We couldn’t be happier with the results,” says vocalist Sorceron in review of the recordings […]

Strap on your sandals and fur codpiece-its folk metal time. And what folk metal this is! Culling from the likes of Finntroll, Amon Amarth, Turisas, Bal-Sagoth and Ensiferum, Germany’s Equilibrium, after an already fantastic debut in Turis Fratyr, have released arguably the most complete, enjoyable, epic and down right brilliant folk metal album since Jaktens […]

For the past few years, Alice Cooper has been trying, with limited success, to recapture the sound and feel of his 1970s heyday. Those records, The Eyes of Alice Cooper and Dirty Diamonds,  had a little problem, though. While some of the tunes hit the right note, both albums had several songs that sounded like […]

The Femme Metal Webzine and Forum is proud announce the release of our first compilation CD, “Ferocity and Femininity”. The CD Features 15 of the finest up and coming Femme Metal bands from around the globe. This is a non-profit release, all proceeds from the CD will be donated to two of the UKs leading […]

I’ve never really been too into instrumental music, with a passing, fleeting interest in the likes of Tides, Pelican, Red Sparowes and such. The last instrumental album I really got into was The Autumn Project’s The Burning Light, on Deepsend Records. Ironically, this album was supposed to be released on Deepsend Records, but instead got […]

Here’s a noisy, caustic spurt of modern grindcore/hardcore hybrid from Switzerland’s oddly named Yog, and while many bands are plying this sort of sonic chaos (Architect, Gaza,  Khann, Romans, Nights Like These, Robinson, Harlots, early The Red Chord, Pig Destroyer, Fuck The Facts, all the Converge wannabe’s, etc) Yog do it very well, and actually […]

What we have here is a stinking, festering, mossy slab of sludge.  From Baton Rouge, Louisiana, no less.  With Peasant, Thou  prestents six tracks of fuzzy, yet heavy doom.  It’s really nothing we’ve never heard before, but they do some things pretty well (though not often enough).  Like a lot of new doom acts, Thou […]

Month-long trek to feature support from Protest the Hero, The Acacia Strain, Whitechapel and more.. Influential metal quintet UNEARTH has completed work on its new album. Entitled The March, the record is scheduled to drop on October 14 via Metal Blade Records. The March was recorded at both MA’s System Recording Studios and Zing Studios […]