Without fail, the same thing happens at the end of every year; I submit my year end picks to various outlets, only to have a release cross my path that would have made the list. In this case the second self released EP from Long Island’s Painted In Exile would have hands down been the […]

Dead Man’s Hand hail from Norway, play a modern sort of European death/thrash, and The Combination is the bands debut full-length. It’s not much of a stretch to compare them to early period The Haunted, Dew-Scented or Hatesphere, but it’s probably a little too soon to be including them in that same class of ass-kicking, […]

Death metal icons MASTER recently completed the recording of their upcoming Pulverised full-length The Human Machine. The mixing/mastering process is currently underway. Said MASTER founder/frontman Paul Speckmann of the new long player: “I’m very happy with the way things have turned out; it’ll be killer to finally have a CD released once again on a […]

An interesting fact about trolls: besides lurking under bridges, in forests and on message boards, they’re also able to change their form at will – usually to trick the humans they like to torment. I mention this only because Troll, the Norwegian black metal band started by Nagash (Covenant/The Kovenant, ex-Dimmu Borgir) in 1992, has […]

Ihsahn’s work has always been forward-thinking and progressive, but its roots have also been easily traceable to that of earlier masters. From the Wagnerian fury of Anthems-era Emperor to the baroque intricacies of Prometheus, The Adversary and angL, it’s obvious that Ihsahn has studied and absorbed classical music and theory in a way that few […]

You know its a stellar year for metal when all the the staff asked if they could submit more than ten favorite albums this year, and then snuck in numerous other top albums by way of honorable mentions, new discoveries and such. Still, you cant argue with 2009s wide array of quality albums. The year was dominated by technical death metal, and littered with unsigned gems and unexpected surprises. I mean, when was the last time a year see releases by the likes of Mastodon, Isis, Behemoth, Napalm Death, Nile and Suffocation and they only get cursory mentions?

Thanks to everyone who all who made the site what it is and thanks to all the readers who make it what it will be. Here is to another great year of metal in 2010.

Where available, reviews have been linked so you can read our highly specialized, professional, humble and opinionated reviews of these albums.

As usual feel free to ridicule, mock our picks, add your owns lists and ensure that the old fashioned saying about opinions holds true…

California technical death/grind four-piece EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT will release their second full-length, Vivid Enterpretations Of The Void, in the early part of 2010 (label TBA). The follow-up to their Fear of Reality Exceeds Fantasy 2007 debut, Vivid Enterpretations Of The Void is based the Reptilian Agenda, a theory researched, written and spoken about extensively by British […]

And so Australia’s assault on excellent extremity continues with the third album from Tasmania’s black metal horde Ruins. My last contact with this act was the 2004 EP, Atom & Time, which to my recollection, was a traditional, frosty, clinical style of blistering black metal. I missed 2008’s Cauldron (even with its belated US release […]

  The sixth studio from Polish death emtal act Trauma, entitled “Archetype Of Chaos” will be released in February 2010 via Witching Hour Productions. Trauma finished recordings of its new masterpiece in November, meanwhile negotiating the contract with several labels. Finally in December, Trauma inked a deal with Witching Hour for the release of “Archetype Of […]

Not every Finnish band needs to emerge from a Nosferatu-style coma to write a good black metal record. Beherit might get the most attention because they dropped off the face of the earth for almost two decades before this year’s strong comeback. The smart money is on Azaghal, a black metal outfit that seems to […]

I’ll get straight to it. One of my favorite releases of the year, and indeed of the last few years is the debut from California’s Fatalist, “The Depths of Inhumanity”. Why? well, I’m a sucker for old school Swedish Death Metal, and Fatalist, right down to the logo, song titles and even some promo photos are Entombed incarnate. I caught up with band founder Neil Burkdoll to take The Left Hand Path and discover The Truth Beyond….

Though we spend most of our time mired in all elements of the extreme, dark, violent and misanthropic, we here at Teethofthedivine.com still understand the importance of things like family, friends and whatever religious implications come with this time of year. So with that, we here at Teethofthedivine.com would like to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year as we take some time off and gear up for 2010.

Also, we’d like to take a moment to wish all those in the Military serving their respective countries around the world at this time, a safe Holiday Season and thank them for their continued service.

For those that don’t know, John Peel (RIP) was a BBC radio DJ who championed the extreme and the underground. While BBC Radio 1 and 2 (back then), was busy playing The Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, Mel and Kim and other pop chart topping tripe, Peel and his late night Sunday radio show was playing […]

Guild of Destruction – a.k.a. G.O.D. – has got to be Australia’s best kept death metal secret. In a land known for its extra ferocious, Christ crushing, war fed metal, G.O.D. fits right in as a behemoth in its own right. It was 2007’s Into Oblivion that first got my attention; ah hell, it knocked […]

Vetis Monarch – vocalist/guitarist/leader of Canada’s Weapon – is a thoughtful sort and one whose art cannot simply be explained by alter ego\ or the commonly accepted conventions of artistic expression. Weapon is his living, breathing personification. Taking a far deeper philosophical approach to concept/lyrical development, Monarch’s worldview is somewhat atypical for black metal in that it is based not on a Christian, and ultimately anti-Christian background, making the exploration of Satanic philosophies far more refreshing. But it is the music of Drakonian Paradigm that sucked me right in and kept me coming back for more, making the album an immediate 2009 Top 10 selection in the waning weeks of the year. Black metal at its core, yet not solely traditional in a tremolo-picked and blast-beaten sense, Drakonian Paradigm brilliantly mixes in elements of thrash, death, and even traditional metal, in the process creating memorable songs and varied arrangements all wrapped up in the kind of palpable genuineness and sinister atmosphere that is lacking on so many BM releases. And now to answer my feebly probing questions, I give you Vetis Monarch.

Liturgy of Dissection arrived just in time, as I needed a fix of bullshit-free brutal death, the likes of which can be found on labels like Unmatched Brutality, Unique Leader, and especially Vomepotro’s home, Sevared Records. If there ever was a form of death metal that most either loved or hated it, it is the […]

Don’t worry, I’ll keep this review only focused on the music…. The third and final album from despondent musician Umesh sees Brown Jenkins continue the more guitar based, droning approach of Angel Eyes, straying away from the more ambient depressive hues of the debut, Dagonite. And while the result is less suicide inducing than the […]

When listening to the self released debut from Canada’s Aquila (featuring former members of Bloodshoteye), I get a little sense of Deja Va as I’m reminded of Loren Battle’s Words Begins Wars, release earlier this year; Confident, well done, polished, epic artwork – and all of it self released. But it’s also plying a genre […]

With their debut self released EP, Italy’s Unconventional Disruption has simultaneously added to 2009s self released excellence (Belakor, Cephalectomy, Kalisia, Vengeful, Avicularia) and to Italy’s impressive, growing death metal scene, (Hour Of Penance, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Vomit the Soul, Gory Blister). With a chunky, angular, down-tuned sound, these five excellent songs reminded of a more controlled […]

That album cover repulses everyone that I show it too, which only makes me want to continue showing it to folks, no matter how disinterested they may be. It kind of reminds you of something Cannibal Corpse might have on a cover, doesn’t it? That would make sense because on Obesidade Morbida (even I can […]

“Rebirth of Gorgorooooooooth!!!!” It’s fitting that after all the legal and personal issues that have plagued this Norwegian stalwart black metal band over the last few years, that the third track has returning vocalist Pest spit out this line during the aptly named third track, “Rebirth” Truth be told, I’ve never been a huge fan […]

Sure it may not be as impressive as being the “5th Beatle” ala George Martin, but being the 6th Cephalic Carnage ain’t too shabby either. Colorado based musician, sound-tech and all-around internerd Matt Blanks has made a decent name for himself contributing on the sonic support end for the well-regarded hydro-grinders, as well as assisting […]

The debut record from Fool’s Game is a promising collection of melodic metal tunes, if at times frustrating. The clear strength of the record is in the guitar work of Matt Crooks and Matt Johnsen of Pharoah fame. The six-string mastery is the foundation that the band is built on and is solid enough to […]

An Entire Legion is a band with a personality conflict. It’s a band that strives for a traditional feel, but at the same time wants to be current. It’s a band that lives on hard rock guitar riffs, but at the same time works to appeal to an artsy commercial crowd. In short, it’s a […]

If you fancy yourself fan of vintage, no frills thrash metal and you’ve not yet heard Hirax, then you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of El Rostro De La Muerte as soon as possible. In the way of a brief history lesson, Hirax were part of the early Metal Blade roster […]