Everything about this band and release initially screams utter pretentiousness; the moniker, the EP title, the artwork, the song titles, the horn rimmed glasses and hipster looks and the limited vinyl only release — though a mp3 download code is included. None the less, contained withing this 16-minute little gem could be the start of […]

I love the idea that there’s such a thing as “traditional black metal”. I like the idea that tortuous tritone riffing, compulsive blast beating and hell-rasping-reports from various levels of Hell can now be wrapped in such a cuddly honorific as “traditional”. I mean, “traditional” is a word I associate with folk music, with things […]

Although the kvltest of the kvlt may gnash their teeth and tear their hair, black metal has truly spread its wings since its early days. Yet no matter the subgenre – symphonic, Viking, folk, progressive, post-black, depressive/suicidal, bestial, orthodox, blackgazer, and on and on – there are certain hallmarks of the genre that remain in […]

Medeia’s previous album, Cult, floored me with a blindside haymaker; the blend of melodic death metal and mainly Gothenburg-less metalcore really stuck out from the competition. The songwriting was tight, the riffs were tighter and the delivery was full of primal rage and enough technical finesse to make it all interesting. Three years later, the […]

Hellmouth is the music equivalent of their hometown Detroit: violent, grimy, pissed off and ugly. Their debut, Destroy Everything, Worship Nothing was a feral but ultimately forgetful  crossover assault of black metal, thrash and punk, but on their follow up, Gravestone Skylines, with the same musical influences,  the band has improved their sneering sonic violence, […]

Not to be confused with Sutter Cane (“Do you read Sutter Cane?”), Finnr’s Cane is a three-piece hailing from the frozen wastes of Canada (yeah, they have those there too), and if you’ve never heard of them yet, take note, because you’ll be uttering their name alongside other naturalistic black metal luminaries in years to […]

Adam Kalmbach has been a busy individual. Since I reviewed Old Ways,  his third CD of impressive, one man black metal back in 2009, he has released 6 more albums under the Jute Gyte moniker, including a couple of atmospheric experimental albums. There obviously isn’t a lot to do in Springfield, Missouri (I can attest […]

The debut release from LA’s Exhausted Prayer was an ambitious, promising but convoluted affair of cross genre metal that melded black, ambient and progressive metal. And now the follow up is here and it looks like the band has mostly fulfilled the promise of Looks Down In the Gathering Shadow  ― with improved song writing and more […]

The only thing here missing is the logo. Not that the dust had begun to settle on Wormwood―that will take many years―Marduk is back to keep themselves fresh in your mind. The band is cyclical. Many fans want bands to evolve, many do not. Marduk evolves by continually borrowing from their own past, birthing new […]

Highgate’s follow up to their 2008 debut is like a really interesting movie you end up feeling ambivalent about. A picture projecting sickly foreboding, a sense of dread and imminent mental and physical collapse but the plot meanders and at the end you’re left intrigued with no desire to watch it again. You’re left searching […]

3…2…1…ignition! Welcome to Teethofthedivine.com. It’s April 1st, but we’re no fools. We’re the real deal. We braved nearly a year at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in order to make today a reality, and as much as we’d like to give props to the Russian government, who lease the space gangster-style, we’re really happy to […]