Way back in 2005, I reviewed the third album from Poland’s Trauma, Imperfect Like a God. It was a killer Polish death metal album culling from all the usual Polish death metal peers. In my opinion, it was as good as many of Poland’s larger, better known bands, but at the time like Country mates […]

Oh shit. So I’ve been on a bit of a blackened death metal kick lately, but also still riding last years symphonic black metal wave that had me impressed and littered my year end list. Well outta nowhere come Australia’s Oath of Damnation with a sophomore album with a violent double penetration of both styles. […]

Maybe it’s the Relapse Records lineage, but I always seem to forget just how heavy Tombs are. That’s not to say there aren’t heavy bands on the Relapse roster because there most certainly are. However, I am always expecting something sludgy, along the lines of Baroness or Mastodon. Then, I press play and have a […]

I live in a VERY northern part of the US. So far north that if I threw a rock from my front porch, I’m at risk of inciting international hostilities with our French-speaking neighbors to the north. It certainly has some perks! Poutine and smoked meat are both readily available, and I have easy access […]

In the forever immortalized words of the WWE’s Stone Cold Steve Austin, “Can I get a Hellyeah?!!!” Those were pretty much my sentiments when checking out the debut full-length offering, Summary Execution At Dawn, from San Antonio, Texas’, Oath of Cruelty. Do you like your metal raw, a bit blackened, and dripping with the influential […]

Before Khold, there was Tulus, who released 3 albums in the late 90s. When Khold, one of the 00s most consistent (some would say annoyingly so) Norwegian black metal bands went on hold in 2006, Tulus was reformed with 2 of the original Khold/Tulus member Sarke (drums) and Bludstrup (vocals- also known as Khold’s distinctive […]

Malaysia’s Humiliation return with their 10th long player and singer, Bear Bee recently informed me what a special recording this was for them.  Being around a decade now and releasing an album each year they wanted to make Parallel Chains of Command extra special.  Humiliation has never had a title track for any of their […]

At this point in My Dying Bride‘s 25 year career do you really need a review of album number 13? Let’s be honest, you are simply checking this review out to see if, 1. Aaron Stainthorpe is still growling, and if the 2 released singles  (“Your Broken Shore” and “Tired of Tears”) are the best […]

I said it before and I’ll say it again, if you or your PR folks go through the time and effort to send me a physical CD, there is a pretty good chance I’ll review it. If I don’t its normally due to the old adage about saying something nice. Even if the CD is […]

I am and will continue to be a massive fan of Deathwhite’s 2018 debut album For A Black Tomorrow. It was an album I didn’t know I needed at the time. Add into this the fact they are listed as from Pittsburgh, PA, which is my local scene, and I became an even bigger fan. All of the […]

Ohio’s Embalmer continues to be one of my top bands in all of death metal and with them recording their new album, for a 2020 release, I felt it befitting to review their 2016 release,  Emanations from the Crypt which recently was spit-shined, polished and vomited out with not only a remastering of the sound […]

I really got to hand it to Jason Tipton at Willowtip Records.  He has a unique ability to find some of the most intricately brutal death metal bands (Defeated Sanity, Putridity, Abysmal Torment, etc).  Ukraine’s Schizogen are no exception with their 2020 2nd full length Spawn of Almighty Essence. Musically these guys waste zero time […]

Sometimes it’s the dumbest things that cause you the most stress. When I was younger, dumber, and usually a whole lot drunker, choosing a playlist at a house party was so much easier. For one thing, college kids are usually more open to experiences and surroundings that they might not be all that familiar with, […]

I must admit that I am quite sold on everything that The Artisan Era has been putting out recently.  See last year’s unbelievable release by Singularity as an example.  Montreal’s Sutrah have my continuing to pick my jaw off the floor with their 2020 EP Aletheia.  In the bio description they are compared to  Lykathea […]

At the end of last year, Oni released their new EP, Alone. While I was aware of it being released, I didn’t get the chance to listen until after the new year. This nearly 25-minute EP is a digital only release, which may have contributed to it not showing up on my radar. I remember listening to and enjoying […]

Do you like burgers? Of course you like burgers. Burgers are so great that vegans and vegetarians have been toiling away forever to create a viable meat substitute, just so they can still have burgers. That’s one of the best parts about burgers – the spectrum of possibilities for what a burger can be is […]

Viogression started in the midwest, Wisconsin, in the late 80’s, with a bunch of demos before their great 1991 debut album, Expound and Exhort.  The band has a very early death/thrash sound, which is to be expected given the time when the band started.  Enter Mike Juliano, owner of HPGD Productions, an excellent label, to […]

Well here is a unique release.  French death metal band Ad Vitam Infernal debuts with their first full length record Infernal Comedy.  This group consists of Jerome Mahe on guitars and bass and Samuel Girard on vocals.  Both of these guys program the drums.  This is kind of surprising to discover writing this review as […]

I’m not overly familiar with Dutch black metal duo Fluisteraars, (“dreamers”)  as Bloem is my first real exposure to the band, even though it’s their 3rd album. Their 2014 debut, Dromers was reviewed in these pages, and that’s where I started my research and decided to give album number three a go. I’ve since promptly […]

Popularity and/or notoriety are definitely elusive attributes when it comes to extreme metal trying to branch out to a larger audience. Trying to build a band legacy while making an actual financial living from it is indeed the epitome of extreme metal being a ruthless and fickle bitch. What is it that gains one artist […]

I had high hopes for the second effort from Pete Helmkamp’s latest post Angelcorpse endeavor, especially after the nasty little slab of black/death filth that was the debut, Larvae Offal Swine. But alas, Proselyte Parasite Plague is a disappointing, flat (literally) follow up. The main reason for the album’s failure is the guitar tone and production. […]

Ok folks so this year of 2020 you will see some new and expansive reviews from yours truly.  I do not claim to be a Black Metal expert by any stretch of the imagination, however that’s not to say I do not like Black Metal.  My origins with Black Metal are rooted in more of […]

You know the whole “Glow Up” thing? Basically, people on social media post a side-by-side photo comparison of themselves when they were younger, more awkward, and not quite fully developed – next to a recent photo of their more grown up, mature, and (assumedly) more attractive selves. A modern-world representation of The Ugly Duckling, if […]

For a while there, in the mid /late 00s, at deathcore’s peak, Suicide Silence were mentioned in the same breath as genre darlings the likes of Whitechapel, Oceano, All Shall Perish, Despised Icon and such. Even after the tragic death of vocalist Mitch Lucker in 2012, the band were joined by Eddie Hermida (ex-All Shall […]

So Jeff Waters is still slinging the crap out of his guitar?  I had no idea.  Canada’s speed metal veterans return with their 17th, yes you read that correctly, 17th full length album, Ballistic, Sadistic.  Of course you had the classic Alice in Hell album in 1989 and really after that I kind of lost […]