Viking metal should make you want to load up a Norse ship with muscle-bound heathens and sail to a foreign land to usurp and plunder. Sweden’s Thryfing is one of the exceptions. Whereas their country mates Amon Amarth aim a broadsword at the throat, Thryfing offer cerebral Viking metal. The seven tracks on the new […]

Ibex Moon Records is pleased to announce the licensing of Asphyx’s Death…The Brutal Way from Century Media Records Germany for distribution in the United States. Death…The Brutal Way will be released in the US on September 1, 2009. The legendary Dutch death metal act reunited in 2007, playing several shows, releasing a 7″ EP in […]

Australian black metallers PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS recently inked a worldwide deal with Pulverised Records for their latest opus In Memoriam, Ill Omen. In a world filled with disease and mindless genocide, it is no wonder why PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS chose the term “Anti-Human Plague Black Metal” to represent their brand of devastation. In Memoriam, Ill Omen is […]

First documented Christian Thrash band, HEAVEN’S FORCE…demos to be released Heaven’s Force, the earliest known Christian thrash metal band will see their two demo’s released as a limited edition digipak (500 copies) on July 21st via Open Grave Records under the title, “Aggressive Angel”. Heaven’s Force was based out of Fort Worth, Texas. They recorded […]

Due to a recent turn of events, reunited cult favorites Goreaphobia will be replacing Pathology on this summer’s Slaves to Society U.S. tour featuring death metal legends Master and Ibex Moon Records label mates Dreaming Dead. This trek across the States, the band’s first in over 17 years, will be more than just an opportunity […]

Not content with Dawn of Demise and their super chunky, hefty style of death metal Deepsend has delved into the Danish death metal barrel once again, and pulled out another killer, similarly styled act in The Cleansing. Formed from the ashes of Usipian featuring cross band members of Panzerchrist and Corpus Mortale (notably Martin Rosendahl […]

Credit where credit is due, Hungary’s Ektomorf have been playing their version of Soulfly’s 1998 self titled album for nearly a decade now with little sign of letting up of changing style five albums in, even with a label change from Nuclear Blast to AFM Records. At least you know exactly what you are getting […]

Montreal based death metal quartet Synastry have posted the new songs “Dividing The Double Helix” and “Dead To Me” from their sophomore album “Our Memetic Imprints” online at http://www.myspace.com/synastry. The album was recorded in Montreal with producer JF Dagenais from Kataklysm and is expected to surface in late 2009.”The new album ‘Our Memetic Imprints’ brings […]

UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) fighter DAN “THE OUTLAW” HARDY, who is currently preparing for his next fight at UFC 99, is now officially sponsored by Earache Records. DAN HARDY is set to compete against MARCUS DAVIS at UFC 99: The Comeback, which takes place this Saturday, June 13th in Cologne, Germany. The event will be […]

Despite often being labeled as the Finnish Cult of Luna, I still feel that 2006s Noir is one of the better examples of the post rock/NeurIsis genre of the last few years, mainly because the cello just added something different to the typical build ebbs and thunderous peaks. However, with providence there has been somewhat […]

You’ve got to respect a band like Eluveitie. To make such a bold move like this after a highly impressive album like Slania is rather bizarre, especially when your fan base is just starting to grow. Evocation I – The Arcane Dominion, departs far from the melodic death approach and firmly embraces the bands desire […]

Norwegian Progressive Metal veterans, MADDER MORTEM, will release their highly anticipated album, Eight Ways, in the United States, on June 16th on Peaceville Records. Eight Ways is the follow up to the band’s acclaimed 2006 Peaceville release, Desiderata, as well as the band’s fifth studio album since their inception in 1997.Eight Ways was recorded, produced, […]

Quite frankly, I’ve grown away from TN12LLY since their killer debut EP, Put on Your Rosy Red Glasses, as the band through Sad. Nuclear. Sad and 2007s Mongrel have become progressively (literally) more quirky and experimental, dropping almost all of their feral brutality and grinding mathcore/deathcore fury in favor of melody, spazzy experimentation and far […]

Who knew such a calamitous, primal and experimental noise resided in the very depths of Southwestern Missouri, and that such a sickly, harsh example of cracking, fuzzed out, lo fi misanthropy is the brain child of a polite, unassuming twenty something college student named Adam Kalmbach? This is one of those releases that’s sure to […]

Death, magic, and doom; yep, sounds like Candlemass to me. And what a rejuvenated band the legendary quintet have become with the addition of Solitude Aeturnus howler Robert Lowe. It’s not like the self-titled comeback album with Messiah Marcolin is anything to sneeze at (it is indeed a great disc), but when Lowe entered the fold for King of the Grey Islands, he breathed new life (new death?) into the band, a quality that is even more evident on Death Magic Doom, an album that saw Lowe actually record with his band mates. It is certainly my favorite of the last three albums and, dare I say, one of the best albums of the group’s career. It is a grand declaration of Candlemass doom that weaves Leif Edling’s crushing, yet darkly beautiful, riffs with morose melody and a songwriting effort that is nothing short of stellar. Lowe discusses his place in the band, as well what will easily end up one of 2009’s top metal albums in Death Magic Doom.

Australian atmospheric metallers Be’lakor have added two new songs to their myspace page: The two tracks come from the bands forthcoming second self released album entitled Stone’s Reach, set for a June 20th release. The band released their critically accalimed debut, The Frail Tide back in 2007.

sunn 0))) will be heading to the Midwest for the first time in quite a while, playing shows in many cities and states they have not been to before. The lineup for these Midwestern sonic rituals will be: Attila Csihar – Invocations | Steve Moore – trombone, keys | Stephen O’Malley – Guitar | Greg […]

Now this is some excellent death metal right here. Spanning many sounds and variations of death metal, Germany’s Lay Down Rotten bring a well balanced and never tiring extreme metal pallet. Head-banging, groove based riffing and superb, emotive melodic leads punctuate this disc in an immediately memorable fashion. A lot of this stuff brings a […]

In addition to their upcoming trek across North America with Pathology and the legendary Master, Dreaming Dead have been added to the first half of Monstrosity’s summer tour. Thirsty for blood and eager to wreak havoc across the countryside, Dreaming Dead promise to deliver nothing but the most blistering performance at every stop. These recently […]

Singapore’s almighty maelstrom returns, possibly with their most furious release to date. IMPIETY are one of the world’s most notoriously destructive bands, gaining that reputation over the course of their near 20-year existence. The band’s incalculably destructive nature amalgamates insanely high-speed blasting, brutally-fast riff structures and relentless guttural torment, resulting in some of the most […]

You better be in the right frame of mind for this one. And by “right,” I mean not right at all. Kembatinan Premaster is the second full-length from Havohej (or “Jehovah” spelled backwards), the work solely that of one man, Paul Ledney (Profantica, Incantation, Toten, Abomination, etc) and it is 34 minutes – not sure […]

From the metallically fertile landscapes of Sweden comes the three piece Hero. Thier newest album Immortal showcases a melodic, yet melancholy sound with lots of mid-tempo, double-kick headbanging passages and sweeping, ambient ballads. The sound is somewhat unique in the way it combines it’s influences. It’s got the tight guitar sound and epic keyboard layers […]

‘Occult Horror Doom’ metal band MOSS has completed work on its new album. The sinisterly titled Tombs of the Blind Drugged will drop in North America on July 7 via Rise Above Records. Hailed as, “the bleakest, darkest doom metal ever recorded”, MOSS cooks up eerie anti-music that transmits the occult like none other. The […]

I hadn’t thought about this North Carolina band in years, but I do recall being impressed with 2004’s self-released debut album Lesser Traveled Waters, although I’ve had no luck locating my review of that disc. As such, let’s just say the band’s shape shifting ways on that album left me impressed and the arrival of […]

Rape Pillage & Burn get things started off on the right foot with Songs of Death…Songs of Hell — the click of a trigger, a shotgun blast to the face, and damn, you’re on your way. Considering the utter lack of frills or niceties in this EP’s five hell-fueled tracks, the album’s introduction is a […]