Daylight Dies return with their latest epic doom opus, Lost To The Living. The record hits stores June 24, 2008 and will prove to the planet that this band is one of the best contemporary acts of their genre. Their US tour with Candlemass begins this week and sweeps across the country, showcasing some material […]

Much like Bloodbath’s Resurrection Through Carnage in 2002, the debut from Hail of Bullets is an album forged by a group of death metal veterans plying a pure homage to classic death metal. Headed by vocalist Martin Van Drunen (Pestilence, Asphyx) and joined by guitarists Paul Baayans and Stephan Gebedi (Thanatos), bassist Theo van Eekelen […]

Judging by their name, you’d expect Herrschaft to be a German industrial act, all brooding Teutonic sturm und drang. You’d only be partly right – they’re actually French, and spew a harsh, danceable mix of pounding industrial, bristling electro and crunchy metal riffs. The vocals – heavily processed, of course – are definitely the most […]

Hailing from the Netherlands, Heidevolk are Napalm’s latest folk metal darlings. Hot on the heels of the likes of Svartsot and Alestorm, Heidevolk might be the best of the bunch, and arguably the best folk metal album I have heard since Ásmegin’s Hin Vordende Sod & Sø. Apart from the expected gallop of Viking-tinged hymns […]

Swiss Straight edge hardcore act Cataract return with their fifth album of burly, chugging metallic hardcore that won’t really make much of an impact on the genre, but is a sturdy release none the less. However, as when the band changed things up from Martyr’s Melodies to With Triumph Comes Loss from melodic metalcore to […]

There is not much about modern contemporary modern hardcore that excites me any more, as I’m pretty much just holding my breath for the impending Killing The Dream release. Then along comes a slew of releases from the quiet of late Saw Her Ghost Records (Empires, Across Tundras, Beast in the Field), and included is […]

When was the last time you heard of a band from Slovenia? Devil Doll doesn’t count. So, maybe never. I mean, it’s a little country. Smashed between Italy, Croatia, Hungary, and Austria, with a slice bordering the Adriatic Sea, Slovenia is like, say, Estonia (Hello, Loits) or any of the other Baltic countries. There’s a […]

Nuclear Blast Records has officially signed Santa Cruz, California metal outfit Decrepit Birth. The band was formed in 2001 and has previously released two albums with Unique Leader Records. The following statement has been issued by the group: “Nuclear Blast has a special tradition for signing some of the best Metal acts of all time […]

Three years is a long period of time in general, but in music, it can feel like an eternity. Its bad enough when most bands make you wait two years, which is the accepted and often standard gap average between albums (unless you’re Shai Hulud, Metallica, Tool, etc) but three can begin to stretch the […]

Hailing from St Petersburg, Russia, Stalwart bills itself as modern death/thrash metal. That’s being modest, though – this is a progressive metal band through and through, melding elements of Meshuggah, Nevermore and Symphony X. After an ominous, symphonic intro, opener “System is Insane” unleashes a blast of Morbid Angel-like syncopation, taking a bludgeoning approach to […]

I tell you, if you don’t know what to expect from Zero Hour, it can be a somewhat overwhelming experience. They’ve gotten a new singer since I last heard them (which was the amazing Towers Of Avarice album) and seem to have really cranked up the intensity level. They were already heavier than most other […]

Original Dream Theater vocalist Charlie Dominici returns with the third installment of his epic, conceptual trilogy. I must confess to ignoring the first two chapters strictly based on Charlie Dominici’s presence. I never liked his vocal style in Dream Theater, so I surmised that I would not like it in his own band either. I […]

Female-fronted Epic Power Metal…this description alone should be enough to inform you if you’re interested in going any further. Still with me? Ok, then. Edenbridge is what I call a “Genre Band” (I need to copyright that). If you’re into the specific genre to which they belong, then no arguable reason can be found for […]

Is this a feeble scream from the depths of a prison unknown? “I’m getting out soon, look at me, I’m still relevant, I can still channel the power from dark dungeons,” or is he just a lost and forgotten Kristian. An anthology release in advance of a prison release. There are many bands with controversial […]

I’ve got mixed feelings on the latest record from Circle II Circle. On one hand, Delusions of Grandeur has some really good songs, perhaps some of the best in the history of the band. On the other hand, the flatlined mix is incredibly weak and makes those great songs difficult to enjoy. In places, it […]

Genghis Tron are such a unclassifiable, hard to review act, that any attempt to give a reader an idea of the band’s sound just seems redundant lip service, but as it may, one of Relapse’s newer signings have released their sophomore album, and it deserves your ear despite my forthcoming clumsy attempt at describing it. […]

Like its namesake, Ghosts I-IV appeared out of nowhere, suddenly manifesting on nin.com with little advance warning. 36 tracks of ambient instrumentals, it’s exactly the kind of anti-commercial labor of love Trent Reznor’s been hinting at in his mounting criticism of the recording industry’s strangehold on artists and their creations. To that end, he’s put […]

Yet again more turmoil precedes a Soilent Green release, this time an album that’s surrounded by post Hurricane Katrina tragedy (last album, Confrontation was released mere weeks before Katrina hit), deaths of former band members, and a label change from Relapse to Metal Blade. And that’s before the John Van Fleet artwork was revealed… Artwork aside, […]

The title, artwork and full tracklisting of ARCKANUM’s forthcoming fourth album are finally disclosed. Recorded at Sunlight Studio and mastered at Necromorbus Studio, Antikosmos reflects Shamaatae’s worship of the anti-cosmic Old Norse religion and his workings of the dark runes. The cover art can be seen here. Tracklisting is as follows: 01. Svarti 02. Dauðmellin […]

They took my pens. While being re-admitted for Day 2 of the 10th annual New England Hardcore & Metal Festival at the Palladium in Worcester, Mass., the frisker at the door takes my ballpoint pen and black Sharpie out of my pack and unceremoniously throws them away. “Hey, are you serious?!?” I state. “Yeah, they […]

Canada’s NEURAXIS has issued the band’s latest webisode video clip entitled “NEURAXIS Studio Episode #3 – vocals and bass,” featuring footage and interviews from the recording of the band’s fifth studio record. Footage is available online at the band’s MySpace page . Neuraxix tapped Jef Fortin (of fellow Canadians Anonymus) to record the band’s debut […]

Kiuas 2005 release, The Spirit of Ukko, was one of those records that I dream of finding in a stack of CDs by bands that I’ve never heard of before. A mix of power, death, thrash and folk metal, it was one of those rare albums that I can honestly say sounded like nothing else […]

King’s X is a band that has lived a tumultuous life. They’ve found themselves on the edge of mass success, all the while watching other bands of arguably lesser talent cross that edge into worldwide stardom. They’ve had people on both sides of the Christian rock debate give them hell over their lyrics (ie too […]

Brutal Truth’s first new songs in 10 years to be released on This Comp Kills Fascists…In the tradition of the legendary Cry Now, Cry Later compilations of the 90’s, PIG DESTROYER / AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED’s Scott Hull has brought together some of the very best of today’s underground grindcore, hardcore, and power violence bands for volume […]

After a nine year studio silence, the Bay Area legends Testament have given us The Formation of Damnation – a 10 song (11 with intro) thrash opus that delivers quality just as you would expect.As for the direction they’ve taken this time out, band founder and mainstay Eric Peterson mentioned before the release that it […]