German Progressive Death Metal Super Group Alkaloid have returned with the follow up to their 2015 debut The Malkuth Grimoire with Liquid Anatomy.  The brainchild of former Spawn of Possession and Aborted guitar Danny Tunker. Alkaloid also features three former members of the group Obscura in drummer Hannes Grossman, Bassist Linus Klausenister and Guitar Christian […]

2018 has been a busy year for melodic Swedish metal with releases from groups like Necrophobic, The Crown and At the Gates. Germany’s Fragments of Unbecoming make their presence felt with their fifth full length release Perdition Portal.  I must admit that it has been some time since I last heard a release from this […]

On the always esteemed Grimoire label comes the debut from instrumental doom/sludge/prog/metal weirdos Thought Eater and their full-length debut, Bones in the Fire.  These Baltimore bruisers do Maryland proud with their mash-up of influences that seem to encompass The Fucking Champs, Karma to Burn, Life is Abuse Records’ luminaries Yeti and Tarantula Hawk as well […]

I have to hand to to Travis Weickum. He has been fronting Colorado’s  Skinned now since 1995 and over the course of 4 albums, 2 splits, some demos and singles, some on labels, many independent. He has been the sole member of Skinned that’s been on all of them amid a whirlwind on members that has […]

About muthaeffin’ time Brazil’s Psychic Possessor’s 1988 debut, Toxin Diffusion, was finally released on cd. Thank you to original label Cogumelo and Marquee Records for finally getting this done. In the 1980’s I fell in love with the Brazilian metal scene. I used to trade vinyl with Brazilian pen pals I would find in ‘zines. […]

Back in 2015, Matt Harvey of Exhumed fame gathered some of his pals from Possessed, Malevolent Creation and Derketa and released Savage Land, an  almost note for note  homage to Chuck Schuldiner,  Death and the seminal Leprosy album. He followed it up with an EP, Dimensions of Horror  a more raw release that seemed more focused on earlier Death […]

The debut EP Attendre La Mort from devastating, French death/doom crew Black Box Warning (BBW, he he!) is an utter desolation trip that’s well-worth taking for fans of the genre.  Reminding me of Winter, Coffins, Warcrab, early Morgion and Famishgod, this shit is fuckin’ sick and heavier than a cement mixer full of pre-made tombstones.  […]

India’s crust/sludge/grind punk maniacs False Flag impressed me with their rotten demo debut about 2 years back.  I’m not sure what rock I was under but since that came out they’ve release a three song shorty officially titled EP.  There’s a lot of good stuff coming out of India the past couple of years and […]

Excellent!!!! I say out loud to myself as a twiddle my fingers with euphoric glee! YES! YES! YES! New Zealand’s Organectomy make their presence felt numerous times over with their first full length album Domain of the Wretched.  Organectomy are more than a standard, run of the mill slam band.  I would consider more a […]

What grabbed my attention immediately about the promo for this initially digitally, self released (since licensed by Canada’s fledgling lack Market Metal), Swedish death metal styled album was that is was mixed by Tomas fucking Skogsberg, AND has guest appearances from LG Petrov (Entombed)and James Murphy (Death, Obituary).  That’s an instant click bait for me. […]

per the Lord of the Rings wiki compendium, Orthanc is the black tower of Isengard where resides the corrupt wizard, Sarumon.  Keys of Orthanc are an atmospheric black metal band whose identity is firmly obvious, belonging to a near endless metal museum wing of bands using the formative Tolkien universe for which to base their […]

In 2012 I was quite impressed with Germany’s Revel in Flesh debut album, Deathevokation.  Really taking the Swedish bludgeoning guitar tone and brutalizing throughout the entire album.  There was and continues to be a decent amount of melody on all their releases and the song structures and catchy tunes stick in the listener’s head long after the music is turned off.  Since then Revel in Flesh has released 3 other ferocious death metal albums and the new one Relics of the Deathkult is actually a compilation of prior 7″ and split eps.  As always the care and concern with presentation has always remained top shelf with Revel in Flesh. Their album covers and layout designs are some of the best in the entire scene.  I developed a friendship with the singer years ago and Ralf is a die-hard death metal fan who just so happens to have a monstrous voice.  He has a variety of tones going from the brutal deep lows (my favorite) and higher pitched monster screams.  He not only loves classic death metal but has a very good understanding of classic metal, in general-which I surely appreciate.  Once you read this interview, please pick up all their releases and like their FB page and spread the word.  Also, buy some merch from them and any US promoters please get Revel in Flesh to the States to play some damn shows.  They are one of the best death metal acts around. 

Back in the early and mid 00s, female fronted metal absolutely blew up, especially in the melodic death metal, metalcore and screamo genres. Spearheaded by matriarchs Karyn Crisis and Angela Gossow, bands like Walls of Jericho, Landmine Marathon, In This Moment, The Agonist, Ikilledabearaonce, Hiretsukan, Undying, Eyes Set to Kill, Circle Takes the Square, Made Out of […]

Living Altar, (cool name by the way)  hail from Lithuania,  and are here to stake a claim in the metal pantheon, and with this EP they have a pretty good first effort to make their case. ( by the way, I’m not counting their demo & split ) First off, I’m really taken with the […]

I was drawn to the 4th album from Switzerland’s Stortregn (Swedish for ‘downpour’) by the as always killer Dan Seagrave artwork alone as I had never heard of this band or any of their albums. But as what happens a few times on blindly checking out a promo, I ended up really liking this band and […]

Raleigh, North Carolina sludgy blues/doom overlords Horseskull immediately jumped on my radar for containing ¾ of the classic Soulpreacher line-up (Anthony Staton on guitar/vocals, Mike Avery on guitar/FX and Robb Hewlett on bass).  The Preacher’s mean, swingin’ riff gospel, tightly locked rhythm grooves and Anthony Staton’s scalding scream was a depraved pleasure on their Man’s […]

2018 has already seen a pretty good slate of old School Swedish death metal from the likes of Gravestone, Angerot, Ripped to Shreds, Demonical and Rogga Johansson’s 176 bands, and here is Metal Blade adding a newish act featuring a few familiar faces to the fray. Lik  (‘Corpse’) features Niklas Sandin (Katatonia), on guitars, Christofer […]

I dug the 2014 debut, Nightmare Vortex, from these German, Autopsy lovin’ ( Slaughterday is a song from the bands Mental Funeral album ) fiends, but for some reason completely missed the 2016 follow up, Laws of the  Occult, which has been rectified since getting this EP for review, and its a little barnstormer of an EP The […]

The Human Race is Filth is a misery-inducing proposition from York, PA that put out a whole helluva racket on their second release, Liberate.  Barely even sticking around for 20 minutes this guitar/drums/vocals duo take the murderous grind of Phobia, Catheter and Disrupt, fatten it up with the oppressive punk thickness of Doom and His […]

If you wish to be whisked away to the golden age of melodic, symphonic black metal, (i. e 1994-2001) and revisit classics like The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts, Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, In the Nightside Eclipse, Aspera Hiems Symfonia,  Supreme Art of War, Nexus Polaris, New Obscurantis Order,  Born of the Flickering and Devs Iratvs, look no further than the […]

So apparently when LL from Desolate Shrine fame touches something it turns to gold. His new creation is Convocation and along with Marko Neuman on vox this Scars Across debut album is a punishing mix of doom death. 4 songs clocking in at 50 minutes this is some pained and anguished brutal and depressive stuff. […]

Boy I got to start off this with review by giving a shout out to Tito Vespasiani owner of Everlasting Spew Records.  2018 has already been off to a solid start for his label with releases from Convocation, Galvanizer, and Quantum Hierarchy.  With releases like Valgrind and Construct of Lethe coming later this year Everlasting […]

I’m going to forgo the history lesson and assume if you are reading this, you are familiar with At The Gates and their place in the annals of melodic death metal and are simply wanting to find out how To Drink From the Night Itself stands as a follow up the 19 years in waiting comeback […]

Back in 1999 Sweden’s, The Crown carved a much loved niche in my heart with their debut, Hell is Here (yes, I know that the band had two previous full-lengths under the Crown of Thorns moniker). Extreme metal was in a little bit of a weird state, with lots of genre transitioning seemingly taking place […]

Nashville Tennessee’s Inferi have become quite the force in U.S underground Melodic Death Metal.  I was turned on to this group back in 2014 when I was recommended their album, The Path of Apotheosis.  At the time I felt like Inferi were quite far ahead of other similar melodic death groups in terms of technique […]