There are crazy bands and then there are bands that throw logic out the window with the fucking baby. They twist sounds out of their instruments that sound like screaming robots one minute and then erupt into mindgasms that show the limits of electronics shattered one note at a time. Enough hysterical talk aside, Furze […]

I love surprises, mainly good ones. And ones involving symphonic black metal bands I’ve never heard of before, who turn out to fucking brilliant, are even better. Opus Irae hails from Germany, and Into The Endless Night is their debut album. It was mixed and mastered by Dan Swano, who needs no introduction, and the artwork is […]

  Rotpit are a filthy death metal band featuring members residing in Sweden and Germany.  Ralf Hauber on vox (Revel in Flesh, Heads For the Dead), Jonny Petterson on guitars/bass (Heads For the Dead, Wombbath) and Erik Barthold on drums (Darklands) return with their second full-length album and have managed to make this a tad […]

I have an unequivocal love for themed Death Metal bands. VHS, Fulci, Fluids, Satanic Tea Company and Surfin Bird Death Metallers Kólga. I mean, yeah there’s Alestorm but they’re sort of becoming a ‘party, party, drink, drink’ band like Steel fucking Panther and less fun than when they were keelhauling motherfuckers instead of getting plowed […]

Back in 2020, along with fellow revered 90s Black Metal acts Naglfar and ..And Oceans, Sweden’s Mörk Gryning returned after a long hiatus to deliver Hinsides vrede, and it was, like their peers, a killer return to the fray. delivering a perfect 90s throwback to…. themselves? and of course, the other two bands mentioned above. […]

I’ve followed Yoth Iria for several years now, and reviewed their debut ep Under His Sway, in 2020.  Since then this Greek black metal band released a killer debut album in 2021 As the Flame Withers.  Last year they put out an interesting two-song ep Flame of the Whirling Swords that was more ethereal and […]

Man, back in the late 90s and early 00s Germany’s Folk/Celtic-themed melo-death act Suidakra was one my absolute favorite bands. Early albums Auld Lang Syne and Lays From Afar were my jam. And even with some ups (Caledonia, Book of Dowth, The Arcanum) and downs (Command to Charge, Realms of Odoric, Cimbric Yarns), some of […]

The last time I ran across German black metal act Chaos Invocation, I wasn’t particularly kind to them. I reviewed their 2009 Debut, In Bloodline with the Snake, and hailed it ‘predictable, generic’ and with an utterly forgettable first half. Oof. What a dick. So why did I grab the promo for the band’s 5th […]

My bud Alex, the owner of Dolorem Records, has sent me another promo for one of his bands and this time it’s for Ad Vitam Infernal, a death metal band hailing from France.  The album cover is quite striking and with all of his releases this is the best one yet.   with the Devil and […]

Switzerland’s Aara return with their sixth full-length album and marks the end of their Triade trio of releases.  I reviewed the last one in the series, Triade III: Nyx, in 2023 and Eiger, continues forth with the same stable lineup, as their prior albums. Boasting a very cold and depressing album cover ( “Eiger” is […]

2024 has been the year of the EP. I think I might have covered more EPs this year than in previous and that’s not a bad thing. They’re bite sized albums, five maybe six tracks; half an hour tops. Yet within those handfuls of tracks, magic (albeit a dark, blood soaked and decapitated rabbit) can […]

Sweden’s Wretched Fate has released 2 fine albums of Swedish-styled death metal, with their debut Fleshletting, back in 2019, and their 2023 follow-up, Carnal Heresy. Both put them near the top of the conversation as one of the bright newcomers in the genre. To remind us they are still a major player in the genre, […]

Italy’s Kaivs released the Horrend ep last year and all those songs have been re-recorded for their debut album – After the Flesh.  The Dan Seagrave type of striking artwork drew me into this album.  The color hues of yellow, purple, blue and red really is eye-catching.  It’s all fun and games with cool album […]

Witnesses man Greg Schwan told me before the release of Joy that it is his best album. That’s bold considering I hold his releases in high regard, but especially Doom II. It’s certainly because it’s the first album I heard. I like bold statements though because confidence makes me pay attention. To begin the album, […]

Mythbegotten is a folk metal band with epic metal qualities that combine brutality with black metal-ish musical moments.  The band hails from the New England/Upper areas of New York.  Over the last several years I have increased my knowledge of this genre and there are many various acts I enjoy with folk moments such as: […]

What the fuck is up with Deathcore vocalists? CJ McCreery (ex-Lorna Shore), Lucca Schmerler (ex-Mental Cruelty), CJ McMahon (ex-Thy Art is Murder), Jay Evans (ex-Ingested), and Worm Shepherd‘s Devin Duarte. All ousted/left due to some controversy or general shittiness. Well, Like Lorna Shore back in 2020 with Immortal, Worm Shepherd‘s third album was already mostly recorded before the […]

A traditional American dinner consists of meat and potatoes, usually with a vegetable of some sort. It’s one of my favorite foods because it fills me up and that’s how I often view American Death Metal; comparisons could be made but I’m not really going to go down a rabbit hole here so think a […]

Entheos, coming in hot! After what seems like a short amount of time, Entheos is back with an EP to follow up what was my album of the year, Time Will Take Us All. When I saw the band last time, I mentioned this to the frontwoman and overall badass, Chaney Crabb, and she asked […]

So Canada’s Trollwar is a new act to me, but they recently got on my radar, when I discovered that Matt Sippola from fellow epic Canadians, Atavistia provided some orchestration/choirs and clean vocals for Trollwar’s latest EP. Based on the band’s discography (2 full lengths and an array of EPs/Singles, which I immediately purchased after […]

Chicago’s Gigan has been around for close to 20 years.  I’m trying to wrap my head around this!!   I’ve known the main man and axe grinder Eric Hersemann for like 30 years.  On their last tour for their fourth album Undulating Waves of Rainbiotic Iridescence, I got onstage with them and did opening growls with […]

Today was a perfect Gothic day. The air was filled with the smell of burning limbs from my wood pile and there was a feeling of foreboding, impending doom on my mind. It was a perfect way to be introduced to the debut from Whispering Void, a collective of some of Norway’s most talented musicians; […]

We all know Jonny Pettersson (or Rogga Johanssen 2.0, as I like to call him) from his current and former work in multiple bands, including the now-defunct Henry Kane, Wombbath, Rotpit, Heads for the Dead, Gods Forsaken, Massacre, and others. While he is more known for Swedish-styled death metal projects, he has branched out (as heard on the […]

After a pretty extensive stay with Willowtip Records Defeated Sanity was snatched up by Season of Mist and Chronicles of Lunacy is their first release for their new label.  This is their seventh full-length album and Defeated Sanity knows how to pack a solid uppercut with streamlined songs.  It fits them best since they’re pretty […]

Nowadays, deathcore for me is like porn; what used to turn me on doesn’t work anymore. Whereas good old-fashioned, man-on-woman and a BJ or belly finish scene did the trick, now, I need a 40-person gang bang, a goat, goggles, Disney cosplay, and a hairdryer to even get remotely hard. And as for deathcore, a […]

I’ve reviewed my fair share of Sentient Horror releases and have seen this New Jawsey HM-2 Swedish-inspired death metal band live after their outstanding Ungodly Forms debut album.  I still feel their debut is by far their best release and their other releases have been good and well-received by the fans. Their last album, their […]