More Christian metal here, though this time more in the form of the choppy, technical deathcore with melodic chops akin to For Today, A Thousand Time Repent, Hereafter An Odyssey and such. Obviously, folks that hate deathcore and Christian metal have already clicked of this review, but if you enjoy both or either your could […]

UK thrashers EVILE, who recently announced their first full headlining UK tour, are currently hard at work on the follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2007 debut album, ENTER THE GRAVE. EVILE lead guitarist OL DRAKE checks in with some details on the band’s highly anticipated second offering: “We’re very glad to announce we’ll be working […]

I’ve never been a huge God Forbid fan. I’ve given their albums cursory listens, but essentially lumped them in with the likes of All That Remains, Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage and such as far as they ply chorus driven American Metal that has one foot in the mainstream and one foot in the underground, and […]

Candlelight Records today confirms the worldwide signing of England’s Anaal Nathrakh. The popular extreme metal duo are currently in the studio working on their label debut titled In The Constellation Of The Black Widow. The album is expected for a summertime release. Vocalist V.I.T.R.I.O.L. says, “Candlelight have shown a strong belief in Anaal Nathrakh and […]

Ladies (if there any that read this) and Gentlemen: I give you the first album of 2009 that will be vying for a spot on my 2009 year end list. I’ll admit, my expectations weren’t too awful high for the sophomore release from Ohio’s Christian melodeath/thrashers Woe of Tyrants as their Tribunal Records debut, Behold the […]

Feb. 24, LOS ANGELES – Animals As Leaders, the Washington, D.C.-based instrumental/progressive band that features renowned eight-string guitarist Tosin Abasi (ex-Reflux), has signed with Prosthetic Records. The group’s self-titled debut is slated for an April 28 release, and an advance track, “Tempting Time,” is currently streaming on their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/animalsasleaders). “Animals As Leaders is […]

With 2006s Karma. Bloody. Karma, San Diego’s Vegetarian grinders added a sickly pallor to their chaotic deathgrind, and while that element seem to have been reigned in and the cleaner tones of Humanure and To Serve Man making a return, the resulting balance between sludgy oozing throes and deft caustic grindcore makes for an album […]

Loren Battle Have Already Developed A Cult Online Following With Over 300,000 Plays, 35,000 MySpace Fans And Show Stealing Performances With Suicide Silence, Job For A Cowboy and Emmure.  Phoenix based Loren Battle have announced more dates in support of their recently released debut album “Word Begin Wars“. The band has been added to dates […]

Acid Drinkers are to this day the best and the most spectacular thrash metal band in Poland. During their long and eventful career they played over 500 concerts, including still well remembered gigs at Jarocin festival, Metalmania, Węgorzewo, Przystanek Woodstock or Odjazdy. They supported such metal giants as Deep Purple, Megadeth, Bruce Dickinson, Sepultura, Paradise […]

Gothenburg based metal sextet MARIONETTE recently entered Studio PH with  Pontus Hjelm (Dead By April, ex Cipher System) to begin the tracking for the band’s follow-up to the 2008 release “Spite.” Also included in the recording team is two time Grammis award winner Åke Parmerud and metal extraordinaire Fredrik Nordström (In Flames, At The Gates, […]

On this day (January 15, 2009), Saxon’s Biff Byford turned 58 and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal icon dismisses it as just another day. Yet it is another day in an illustrious 30-year career as front man for one of the most pure, consistent, and too often underappreciated (at least on these shores) heavy metal bands of all time. On this day, he can once again speak proudly of the release of an outstanding album, Into the Labyrinth, one that combines heavy metal thunder, sleazy electric blues, and triumphant hard rock. At the center of it all is a sound that is distinctly Saxon. There is no secret formula at work here. Members Byford, Doug Scarratt (guitar), Paul Quinn (guitar), Nibbs Carter (bass, keys), and Nigel Glockler (drums) stick to a fundamental songwriting approach on Into the Labyrinth, one comprised of great riffs, memorable choruses, and a rock solid rhythm section, as has been the case with pretty much every Saxon album. It matters not if the style is an epic one (e.g. “Battalions of Steel” and “Valley of the Kings”), an unapologetically heavy one (“Demon Sweeny Todd”), or a bluesy one (“Slow Lane Blues”). As Byford discusses below, it is about remembering your roots, yet always looking to the future, and never forgetting the basics.

The great Absu moving from ideal to actual. The ideal lineup we all know, the actual lineup is now on display. The question is is the comparative equivalent Candlemass with just Leif, or Gorgoroth with no founders? Take one member from an acclaimed lineup and give him the band name and the reigns, disaster awaits. […]

These are the sound waves we should be blasting out into space for other cultures to hear, not Elvis and the Beatles. Other worlds might actually send emissaries instead of shunning us. Way back in 2001 Vindsval announced the title of his next Blut aus Nord album as Dialogue With The Stars. After several side […]

According to various news sources including Blabbermouth.net, Miika Tenkula, former lead guitarist and main songwriter of the acclaimed Finnish band SENTENCED, was found dead at his home yesterday. He was 35 years old.Nalle Österman (GANDALF, LULLACRY, CHAOSBREED) tells BLABBERMOUTH.NET, “It’s true, confirmed personally by [former SENTENCED] drummer Vesa Ranta. “The fact remains that Miika had […]

The Phoenix-based death/grind quintet LANDMINE MARATHON, whose late 2008 release “Rusted Eyes Awake” continues to earn critical acclaim, has inked a deal with Prosthetic Records. The band, whose three-release Level Plane Records discography has drawn frequent comparisons to NAPALM DEATH, CARCASS and BOLT THROWER, will tour throughout the spring and perform at both the New […]

The haters can hate all they want, but I stand by my conviction that As the Palaces Burn and Ashes of the Wake are two of the most satisfying metal albums of the past decade. Lamb of God‘s (official) debut New American Gospel was impressive just for its caustic, spastic fury, but Palaces took that […]

LAMB OF GOD’S ESCAPE THE PLAGUE SITE SET TO GO LIVE TUESDAY FEBRUARY 24TH   UK TRIP PRIZE DETAILS ANNOUNCED  On Tuesday February 24th Lamb Of God will release their latest album entitled, Wrath. In conjunction with the album’s launch, the band’s Escape The Plague contest site will go live at http://www.lamb-of-god.com/escapetheplague. As previously announced, the […]

HURTLOCKER vocalist Grant Belcher recently checked in with this exclusive update: “We have just finished recording three songs intended to be demoed for Napalm. As you know, we have done two albums for them and are under option for two more. We are really looking for things to pick up this time around, and we […]

If you still think of classic Metal bands as veritable dinosaurs, not dying off soon enough to make way for more advanced and sophisticated contemporaries, then you are sadly misinformed about the current state of the genre. In fact, it’s as large as ever, and more often than not, a trove of new ideas being […]

Band preps for Scion Rock Fest and SXSW appearances, tours with Amon Amarth and Kylesa  Midwestern metal warriors SKELETONWITCH will premiere their debut music video, “Sacrifice For The Slaughtergod,” on Friday (Feb. 20), exclusively on MySpace Metal. The track comes from the group’s acclaimed Prosthetic Records debut, Beyond The Permafrost.   “It’s killer that the video […]

The Lancaster, Penn.-based post-metal act CENTURY – whose 2008 Prosthetic debut, Black Ocean, was named one of Revolver Magazine’s Top 20 albums of 2008 – were recently rejoined by original drummer Grant McFarland and bassist Ricky Armellino, the respective drummer and vocalist of fellow Lancaster act This Or The Apocalypse. Additionally, the group has announced […]

The debut album, Hate Takes its Form, from this Danish death metal act was a pleasant surprise back in 2007 and a nice find for Deepsend Records. So I was really looking forward to this EP, especially after hearing from the label owner that is was to contain 3 rather tasty cover tracks as well […]

What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger; words that seem most appropriate in the context of the demise of Belgium doom/sludge merchants Thee Plague of Gentlemen after the arrest of vocalist Steve Wackenier in 2006. In trying times like those, the best option was to disband Thee Plague of Gentlemen and forge ahead with a new venture that expanded upon the sound of its predecessor. Bassist Steven Van Cauwenbergh, drummer Frederik “Cozy” Cosemans and guitarist Frederic Caure wasted little time in forming Serpentcult and releasing the Trident Nor Fire EP on I Hate in 2007, this time with a female vocalist by the name of Michelle Nocone who worked wonders for a band looking to utilize a traditional vocalist and incorporate a more melodic approach to go with the crushing heaviness. It all came together on the band’s full-length debut, Weight of Light, on Rise Above Records. The approach is unequivocally low-end doom in those leaden riffs and ironclad rhythms, yet the tempos are varied and Nocone not only provides brilliant contrast, but also makes the already ably written tracks more fluid, colorful, and of course tuneful. Time may heal all wounds, but finding one’ s creative groove in the aftermath of tragedy closes them even quicker.

Fifteen years and nine albums in, Suidakra’s Crogacht is not only exactly what you would expect form the band but an inviting return to their earlier sound. The past few albums had some missteps (2005’s Command to Charge comes to mind) but 2006’s Caledonia showed the band coming around. What is displayed on 2009’s Crogacht […]

This is the first release by a one-man project out of Germany. 24-year old Pius Grave handles songwriting, vocals and all instruments, including a triple guitar attack. Before putting this in, I had no idea what to expect, but this was a nice surprise. Soulthreat performs a combination of progressive and classic heavy metal, with […]