Italy’s Faust brought in the big dogs for the recording of From Glory to Infinity. Luckily, the musical aspects of said disc far exceed the visual ones (i.e. the cartoon cover of the amply bosomed nun). Feast your eyes on this lineup and you will understand why the musicianship on the album is top notch: […]

The staying power of Nile, not to mention its rightful place among death metal royalty, has been firmly established for years now. They have never released a bad album – not even close – and in many ways redefined the brutal/traditional end of technical death metal (compared to, for example, a band like Necrophagist). Then […]

This is the debut album from these Luxembourg-based thrashers, and at first, Democadencia seems like another rehash of chunky, down-tuned mid ‘00s groove-metal. Devildriver immediately comes to mind. Vocals also stir up some déjà vu – first with the clipped phrasing and bark of Wayne Static (of Static X), and then, in the more melodic […]

It is not often I’m totally smitten with a doom band, much less a funeral doom act, but Germany’s Ahab has shocked and awed me ever since I reviewed The Call of the Wretched Sea, the act’s second release (after The Oath EP) in a trilogy (the “Nantucket Saga”) of sea-based tales, based upon stories […]

Following the departure of Christian Alvestam, Scar Symmetry were left with some big shoes to fill. So what do they do? The hire not one, but two new vocalists, one specializing in clean vocals and providing back up growls (the relatively unknown Lars Palmqvist), the other handling primary growls and back up cleans (Roberth Karlsson […]

It’s not too surprising that Luxembourg act Le Grand Guignol shares a label with Carach Angren – both play a melodramatic, heavily ornamented style of symphonic black metal that’s sure to send the troo and kvlt into paroxysms of bile-spewing rage. However, where Carach Angren is steeped in horror-movie theatrics – all furious strings and […]

Struck By Lightning is the new project of former Mouth of the Architect frontman/keyboardist Gregory Lahm, but those expecting an ambient, massive wall of post rock will be sorely disappointed. Instead, Lahm’s new iteration is a more traditional, dissonant, caustic form of angular hard core based metal rooted in the likes of Coalesce, Botch, Cable […]

Not to make excuses, but Subarachnoid Space isn’t exactly the hardest band to lose track of. Having released three good-bordering on-excellent albums on Relapse’s experimental imprint, Release Entertainment, the instrumental group led by guitarist Melynda Jackson (that’s not her on the cover) has sort of always floated on the periphery of the experimental space rock […]

So I decided I needed a forum to discuss and generally blather on about the weekly, typically music-related (but not exclusively) activities of my life. And I have a weird obsession with play lists, particularly since my tastes run the gamut from hard rock to extreme grindcore, though extremity and violence generally wins out over […]

I’ve always considered myself an open minded music fan. While admittedly, I have always most enjoyed those artists who are innovative and creative while still focusing on song craft which is coherent and relatively accessible, I have also always had a yen for the off-the-wall and experimental. John Zorn making his sax sound like a […]

On paper, the combination of female vocalist London Wilde (an experienced metal lass with various writing, engineering and vocal credits to her name since 1994, even performing bass tracks on the 2004 Chastain album In An Outage) and Dave Starr, a 25 year metal veteran who served as bassist for relatively legendary Bay area Thrashers […]

Candlelight Records today confirmed January 26th as the American release date for After, the new album from former Emperor vocalist/guitarist IHSAHN.  Recorded during the first half of 2009, After completes the musician’s planned trilogy of initial recordings. The album showcases the Norwegian icon with drummer Asgeir Mickelson (Spiral Architect), bassist Lars K. Norberg (Spiral Architect), and […]

Writing this review was difficult due to the fact that Croire, Décroître sucked my brain into a black, abysmal hole from which no reasonable thought could come (at least temporarily). Initially the whole thing felt without emotion, like something glossy that could be appreciated but not cherished, but once I got to the core I […]

I kinda dug the last album from these young Minneapolis pseudo grinders, back when they were called A Second From the Surface. Though it was still sort of squealing, chaotic nu grind at its core, it had a hearty punk backbone and some surprising melodies thrown into the mix. Little has changed other than the […]

Post Mortem were the perennial underdogs of the 1980s underground metal scene. They recorded one bona fide classic – Coroner’s Office – yet never received credit for being years ahead of most bands now regarded as the godfathers of death metal. Their follow-up albums Festival of Fun and Destined For Failure were wildly experimental. Instead […]

Another release on my hometown’s September Riot Records, this time from Dubuque Iowa three piece Lost Apparitions, and while label mates Estrus called themselves progressive, Lost Apparitions are actually a much more progressive, experimental act. Plying a sort of catchall, angular and jangly post rock/post hardcore that reminded me of instrumental acts like Sleeping In […]

I caught Rammstein‘s first US tour about twelve years ago (before the Family Values tour really introduced them to America), and it was one of the funniest, most entertaining shows I’ve ever seen. Explosions during every song. Dummies lit on fire and flung about on wires above the crowd. Vocalist Till Lindemann stalking around the […]

Well this was a nice surprise. Hailing from the Netherlands, newcomers Expulsion display some pretty serious chops on their debut full length Wasteworld. Combining elements of black and death into a ripping and technically stunning thrash assault, Wasteworld is a relentless beast from beginning to end. With mostly short and concise tracks, the songs on […]

How the fuck is it that 3 my favorite albums of 2009 are self released (two being Kalisia and Be’lakor) and one of them, Cephalectomy’s An Epitaph to Tranquility is a FREE FUCKING DOWNLOAD????? That’s right. The full length follow up to 2004 excellent Eclipsing the Dawn (not counting the 28 minute single track, The Dream […]

Following three very special US appearances this summer in Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York (effectively breaking their streak of visa issues), Swedish black metal battalion MARDUK will return for a full headlining North American tour this November. The band will be joined by Nachtmystium, Mantic Ritual, Merrimack and Black Anvil (on select dates). An updated […]

Italian melodic-death metallers Disarmonia Mundi have finally completed their new record entitled “The Isolation Game”. The album has been recorded, produced, mixed and mastered at The Metal House Studio by Ettore Rigotti and contains 13 brand new tracks of wallshaking extreme metal also featuring guest appearances by Björn “Speed” Strid (SOILWORK) on vocals and guitarist […]

Greek modern metallers The Fallen Within signed with Coroner Records for the release of their debut album entitled “Intoxicated”. The album, presented as an avant garde melodic death work with many dark atmospheres, was recorded and produced by Bob Katsionis from FIREWIND, mixed and mastered by Ahti Kortelainen at Tico Tico Studio in Finland. The […]

I have a very vague recollection of this Swedish bands full length debut 2006, Serene Catharsis as a mix of gruff Swedish death metal with a slight melodic, progressive lean, and this re-issue of their 2005 WIll and Perception demo EP along with two new tracks and a reworked 2004 demo track (“Common Walls”) seems […]

Ok, I’ll admit I’m reviewing this because September Riot Records is based in my hometown, and even though the band Estrus hail from Central Illinois, its always nice to see some local folks get involved in an otherwise barren Central Missouri metal scene, even if it is pretty standard modern hot topic styled metalcore/screamo. Despite […]

“L’Eterno Maligno Silenzio“, the third album from enigmatic Italian Illuminates TENEBRAE IN PERPETUUM, is being streamed in its entirety at the following location : http://www.debemur-morti.com/ecards/DMP0058. Recorded & mixed at Necropalace Studio and mastered at 322 Studio, “L’Eterno Maligno Silenzio” will be released on October 30th via Debemur Morti Productions. The limited digipack edition is currently […]