It took its sweet time, but finally, the UK is finally churning out quality, quality metal. Granted, there’s not the level of innovation that graced this island in the 80s and early to mid 90s but, there is a high volume of quality but more importantly, diversity. What’s more, it’s not just simply hordes of […]

It’s funny about revelations, moments of clarity, epiphanies and the like. When they come to us, it seems like a deep spiritual phenomenom, the type named and generally described better by eastern rather than western religions, what with their deja-vu, preja-vu, reincarnations and similar “god moves in mysterious ways” mumbo jumbo, but in reality it’s […]

Boston Massachusetts metalers THE RED CHORD are gearing up for the release of their fourth full length album (third for Metal Blade) titled Fed Through the Teeth Machine, due out on October 27th in the US. THE RED CHORD already has dates lined up with labelmates and interplanetary gods GWAR along with labelmates Job for […]

HELLBASTARD formed in the UK in 1984 playing non-compromising crossover, mixing the ferocity of punk with the crunch and chops of metal, and bearing socially-conscious lyrics. HELLBASTARD released the Natural Order record on Earache in 1990 and released several demos, compilation tracks and remix collections.  After breaking up in 1993, HELLBASTARD reformed in 2008 with […]

Brooklyn, NY heavy psych rock band NAAM has completed work on its debut album.  The fast-risingbuzz band will drop the self-titled Naam on October 20, 2009 via NYC’s Tee Pee Records.     A sneak peek at what NAAM‘s debut holds in store is available now as the new song “Skyling Slip” can be heard as part […]

With 2007s Victory Songs, Ensiferum laid to rest any worries if Norther’s Petri Lindross could replace Jari Mäenpää who left to form Wintersun. From Afar not only cements Lindross as a competent replacement with serviceable blackened rasps and guitar playing, it also shows that new keyboardist (and female vocalist) Emmi Silvennoinen is a fantastic addition […]

Though released last year, Punishment 18 Records only just sent me this, and considering Italian metal has been pretty solid in 2009 (Destrage, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Disharmonia Mundi, Malfeitor, Fomento), I thought this decent release deserved some press. I’ll tell you right now, Lunarsea’s second album is doing nothing remotely original in the melodic death metal […]

First off, I have to admit being puzzled as to why Century Media would not want to release one of the decades most eagerly anticipated reunion albums in the US (though its really Van Drunen reuniting with founding member drummer Rob Bagchus than a full reunion), leaving it up to the perfectly suited Ibex Moon […]

Do bands have to abide by the rules of labels they sign contracts with? I guess it’s true to some degree, and there is a lot of evidence showing the most unusual transformations occurring throughout the history of metal. Something like this happened to Pathosray, a promising Progressive Metal five-piece from Italy as soon as […]

Boston’s Ravage, one of the newest bands to join Metal Blade’s ever-growing roster, sure does have a strange discography. With more than 10 years and two full-lengths under their collective belt, the group has more EPs, live albums and demos than you can shake a studded stick at. They even have a best-of album (which […]

I think I liked Threat Signal more when they were basically a Fear Factory clone (right down to Christian Olde Wolbers producing). Yeah, ok, shades of Soilwork’s melodic thrash/death and Strapping Young Lad’s atmospherics were present as well. But the point is that I didn’t find the mimicry on Under Reprisal to be a problem; […]

I’ve held off on this review for a while, hoping the record would grow on me a little more, but I think it’s time to let it go. You won’t find a much bigger fan of Tim Owens than me (you may remember my rants when he was booted from Iced Earth last year), but […]

Finnish Viking metal warriors ENSIFERUM recently shot a video for the song “From Afar,” the title track off their forth coming new full-length, scheduled for release on September 8th in the US! View the stunning new video here: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=451309518&blogId=508701426 In related news, ENSIFERUM will embark on a full North American headlining tour this November. Support […]

After reading the interview Scott Alisoglu conducted with this Michigan melodic death metal act, I decided to check out the band’s second, aquatic themed album. After all they are on the fine Bombworks Records and guitarist Briant Daniel was in Summer Dying, one of the US’s most underrated and criminally unsigned melodic death metal acts […]

First off, congrats to A Hill to Die Upon for the year’s best album cover- a commissioned painting from renowned Serbian artist, Bogdan . Hailing from the depths of Illinois, A Hill to Die Upon is a fresh new black/death metal act started by the Cook brothers (Adam-guitars/vocals, Michael-Drums), and for a band that’s only […]

After a successful sojourn of plundering ‘n’ pillaging across the US and Canada earlier this spring, Napalm recording artists ALESTORM will once again set sail for high adventure as part of this year’s HEATHENFEST AMERICA tour. Alongside Belphegor, Eluveitie, Vreid, and Kivimetsan Druidi, ALESTORM will bring their “True Scottih Pirate Metal” to stages across the […]

Hailing from the craggy depths of New Jersey, Helcaraxë are one of the resurgent US bands plying Viking inspired forms of metal (Oakhelm, Hammer Horde, etc) and is one of US metal very best kept secrets. After their impressive debut, Triumph and Revenge, the trio has tightened up their form of gruff, dense and loose […]

I say “goddamn, I like it!” When I noted that the astutely named Blood I Bleed would be unleashing 23 songs in 17 minutes I wondered, “Can they pull it off and make the arrangements come alive?” The answer is a resounding “yes,” by grindcore standards anyway. Like the best grinders, in my humble opinion, […]

Highly anticipated among true thrash metal fans, NOCTURNAL FEAR’s fourth full-length album, Metal Of Honor, will be officially released worldwide by MORIBUND RECORDS on November 3rd. Reviewers with access to advance tracks claim this offering to be “more aggressive, more pissed-off, and more original than any thrash metal relesase in many years.” The steadfast duo […]

My introduction to Tyr came a few years back when I was asked to take on Eric the Red. I’d read rave reviews about it all over the Web, but personally, I was unimpressed. In all honesty, I found the record fairly boring. It’s been a while since that review, and I really hadn’t thought […]

Upon receiving Swashbuckle’s album Back To The Noose for review I sharpened my best Jack Sparrow cutlass for the inevitable disembowlment of the latest in the growing list of pirate metal bands. I have a general disdain for pirate metal. When I see an album I feel like I’m looking at an advertisement for a […]

The little bit I did gather from the long-ass, convoluted bio for Italy’s Carnal Rapture is that they’ve been around in one form or another since 1992. What they play on the mysteriously titled Promo 2008 is a mid-paced, jazzy tech death that is all twisted, turning, and lopsided with mid-range scratchy growls that fall […]

Brooklyn, NY’s own A STORM OF LIGHT will unleash their new full-length, Forgive Us Our Trespasses on September 22nd via Neurot Recordings. The follow-up to the band’s critically acclaimed debut, And We Wept The Black Ocean Within, finds its power through a dense bringing together of melodies, moods and textures, ensuring that while things are […]

Southern California’s heavy fuzz rock legends FU MANCHU have completed work on their eleventh full length album. The electrifying group will drop Signs of Infinite Power on October 20, 2009 via Century Media Records. Originally formed in 1985 as a Black Flag-influenced hardcore punk band called Virulence, FU MANCHU has since become one of hard […]

One wouldn’t think it would be the crushing weight of despair that brings couples together, yet here in the wake of Nadja‘s many successes we find ourselves with another product of unholy matrimony in the form of Laudanum‘s The Coronation. The apparently unhappily married Judd and Becky on guitar and drums/vocals respectively form the core […]