Apparently, the sweep arpeggio is the new breakdown.  Arguably thanks to Between the Buried and Me and since successfully cloned by the likes of The Human Abstract, All Shall Perish, Protest the Hero, Veil of Maya and With Passion, here comes the second wave of kids trying their hand and deathcore/hardcore/metalcore meets arpeggios. Whereas the recent […]

Stand the old adage on its head; if it sounds good it is good. With Azaghal if it sounds bad it is good. Azaghal is one of those bands that never disappoint. There are many bands that are more talented and scores that are less talented but Azaghal keep on churning out enjoyably crude raw […]

Returning with the creatively titled third album, III, Canada’s Cursed, as with the likes of Advent, Black Cobra, Protestant, Harlots and such, prove they are still one of the most feral and angry hardcore bands around, and are actually above and beyond the simple ‘hardcore’ tag as far as tangible, snarling, tumbling metal. The 11 sonic […]

Just as the critically-acclaimed new release from Japan’s Boris hits shelves (officially out 4/29), the band announces it’s latest North American tour beginning in June with Torche (Wolves In The Throne Room were initially booked for the tour but have since withdrawn from the venture). Boris are currently on tour in Europe. With major features […]

Despite hailing from Chile, hardly the black metal capital of the world, Animus Mortis have some experience with members all being or have been in obscure acts such as The Last Knell, Hetroertzen, Oculus, Ruined Sanctuary, Leuku, Nefastus Abbatia, Wildes Heer, Gorjeo Seglar, Hominis Nocturna, and it shows on the proper debut ‘on loan’ (licensed) […]

Moonspell has been a fan favorite of mine since the release of Irreligious, but I think the Portuguese lost their focus after The Butterfly Effect. Darkness & Hope, The Antidote had only a few good things going for them, rendering the releases quite forgettable. Moonspell wasn’t the only band in creative doldrums. Anybody care to […]

Can you be too into music? Music’s always been an extremely important thing to me, but I’ve been pondering that question quite a bit today. The reason? I’ve been sitting here all day stupidly staring at the new single from Iced Earth with anticipation and a very real sense of dread, unwilling to push play. I’ve been […]

Brutal death metal band DEFEATED SANITY from Germany are very proud to announce details of their first shows in the USA which include an appearance at the 2008 installment of the Maryland Deathfest in Baltimore, Maryland and at the Gathering of the Sick festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico. DEFEATED SANITY’s live trek is divided into […]

I was one of those people that thought Clayman, Reroute to Remain and Come Clarity were all pretty good records. (I am, however, in agreement with the majority on Soundtrack to Your Escape), but it still took me a while to connect with In Flames’ latest A Sense of Purpose. My initial reaction to opener […]

For those fans too ADD to sit through any previous albums by 5ive, these Boston psych-drone warriors return with their most accessible and arguably their best album yet. Hesperus is the band’s first long-player since 2001’s Telestic Disfracture, with two EPs (2002’s The Hemophiliac Dream and 2004’s Versus) and a solo project (guitarist Ben Carr’s […]

Prolific is a word that’s often used to describe the Toronto-based experi-metal duo Nadja, as they’ve released over a dozen recordings in the past two years. How many of them are worth a listen is another story, but Aidan Baker (guitars, vocals, woodwinds, drum machines) and Leah Buckareff (bass, vocals) dip into their past on […]

This is a difficult album for me to review. After three above average albums and one stellar one we get Eidolon, in your face aggression, straightforward song structures and a distinct lack of intense melodic lines. If I had never heard this band before I would be giving it high marks but after the amazingly […]

Though there was a time that I really enjoyed it, I’m tiring of folk and power metal with classical female vocals. I think pretty much everything that can be done with it has been done with it, and frankly, I’d rather hear the women in metal sounding a little more aggressive. Of course, there’s always […]

“MONTANA?!” Is what I said to myself when I discovered where one of Candlelight’s newest death/black threats, Martriden hails from. Who would have thought the state of Montana, which I always kind of regarded as Bum Fucked Egypt, was capable of producing talent in the metal world? I for one certainly did not, but I […]

The 80’s and early 90’s metal scene was known for being overcrowded with thrash metal acts, one more repetitive than the other. But despite this generic flood, there were a few names back then that gave new meaning to the word “thrash”. One of them was the Louisiana-based Exhorder, a band who had a massive […]

After introducing the brutal sound of Despised Icon and Beneath The Massacre’s devastating debut albums to metalheads worldwide, Galy Records is proud to unravel Montreal’s newest breed of Technical Death Metal: The Last Felony. The band’s craft of morbid melodies, intricate guitar work and extreme drumming will not remain unheard for long. Recorded & Mixed […]

Despite a rotating cast of musicians, no one in the melodic/power metal realms has produced more consistent records over the past several years than Firewind. Their latest record, The Premonition, is the second record for Century Media and the second with the same lineup, a first in the band’s history. While it doesn’t bring any […]

The discussion on Erik’s recent blog post about promo CDs made me start thinking about a prospect that I find very troubling. The discussion came down to the way that younger fans consume music, and whether or not the physical product matters. I grew up in the 1980s. I’m a material guy, for lack of […]

Originally released in 2006 on JCM records (RIP), Metal Blade apparently saw enough in this Minnesota band’s second effort to send the band back to studio to re-mix and re-master (and add two tracks and new cover art) to the follow-up to 2003’s promising but flawed effort, V.II R.VI. With considerable line-up changes, Epicurean appear […]

Moribund is extremely pleased to announce the signing of Lebanese duo Ayat. Absolutely the most insane and crazed band the label’s heard in forever, Ayat’s forthcoming Six Years of Dormant Hatred album is a nuclearblackmetalgoatpunk assault on everyone and everything, poetic in its depravity but unmindful of its consequences. In a prepared statement, vocalist Filthy […]

Recently, Napalm Records started using voiceovers on their promotional CDs. Granted, voiceovers are not quite the full on FUCK YOU METAL MEDIA!!! that digital downloads are, but it’s certainly a tip of a finger gently circling around the rim of my anus. Listen labels, I guarantee (and this isn’t directed at just Napalm Records), screwing around with your promotional […]

So, three years after the caustic Converge-meets-Isis worship of Luce, Italy’s The Secret return with yet another well-done, brittle and calamitous slab of noise — with a thin post-rock visage. And while the genre has certainly seen its fair share of Converge wannabes over the last few years, The Secret are by far one of […]

How many years has it been since Mr. Coverdale & Co. graced us with a new album? Well over 10, I’m sure. They’ve been back on the touring circuit now for a few years and have given us a live album & DVD, but this is the first album of all new material since 1997’s […]

For some bands it’s the place of origin that determines their music, and Brutality is certainly among them. The group hails from Tampa, Florida – the capitol of American death metal. Unfortunately, being overshadowed by death giants like Cannibal Corpse, Obituary and Decide, Brutality never managed to get the proper acclaim for their work. Metal […]

Knowing that Power Quest was formed by keyboard player Steve Williams and bassist Steve Scott after leaving Dragon Heart (now known as Dragonforce, of course) in 2001, you might expect some resemblance between the two bands. The good news, however, is that Power Quest spends less time showing off their technical wankery and puts more emphasis […]