The island state of Tasmania, located just across the southern Bass Strait from mainland Australia, is tiny. And being, you know, an island, it’s pretty isolated as well, despite it’s proximity to Australia. So it comes as no surprise that the output of quality metal bands from there might be a bit limited. That said, […]

Paul Speckman, (bass/vox), a long staple in the mid-west death metal scene, has been around since the 80’s with his main band Master. Some may be unaware, but some years ago, frustrated with the living costs in America and politics, packed up his shit and relocated to the Czech Republic.Buthere are still nods to their […]

There’s very little I enjoy more than grinding my Escuela. I became an instant fan hearing their debut full-length, Memory Theater. However, where they truly shine is on stage. I’ve seen them in multiple venues and will again in February. They’re a “can’t miss” for me. I struggle to find a band with more energy, […]

There must be something in the water up Portland way. Maybe it’s toxic fluids hidden in the vast forests, Wendigo got involved… whatever it might be there’s been a slimey thing growing in the Portland area for a few years now since 2019 to be exact, it’s name is Dripping Decay and since their first […]

Our glorious editor, Erik “The Enforcer”, passed along the promo for Iron Front to me, thinking it would be up my alley to review, and he was correct Hailing from Oakland California the band has been around a few years. Their notable releases are the Demo-nic Possession demo from 2020, Flayed Alive EP in 2021, […]

2024 is coming in hot. I picked up this promo and a couple more biding my time and waiting for a new release to which I am also looking forward. It’s unnecessary to mention which, but it dropped mere days after I grabbed the debut full-length from Resin Tomb. Those circumstances almost caused me to […]

Though 2023 is in our rearview mirror, there’s still a slew of quality late 2023  releases lingering that deserve your attention. One such release is the third album from Belgium’s Carnation, who burst onto the scene with the impressive debut Chapel of Abhorrence back in 2018 and followed it up with the equally impressive Where […]

Heavy metal is in dire need of appropriate album covers to get tattooed directly above one’s butt crack. Well, Plaguemace is here to provide that reptile you’ve always wanted above your b-hole. They provide some gnarly ass death metal to put up there, too. You’re going to get your typical new wave of old-school death […]

Anytime I think of Warcrab, I can’t help but be reminded of the meme/photo of the crab holding a knife. I sometimes identify with that crab. Crabs in general. Something about a hard shell and tasty insides. Legs spread and eaten. Hold on now before we all get hot and bothered. This isn’t that kind […]

Necrosanct was a short-lived death metal band from England, who had a little smattering of success.  In their brief 5 year period they were writing maniacs and released three full-length albums which I will touch on in this review.  In 2019 the compilation Legacy was released which included some demos/rehearsals.  We get UK’s Back on […]

Switzerland’s Hellhammer lasted only a few years in the early 80’s, before the band became the mighty Celtic Frost.  Hellhammer was influential to many death/thrash/black metal bands across the world for decades since their early reformation with the new name. Tom Gabriel Warrior had a vision years ago with Celtic Frost finally laid to rest […]

Let’s get something out of the way first: Fuck cassettes. I recall a conversation I had with a few metalheads slightly older than myself at a festival when one of the bands “only” had CDs and vinyl available as physical formats. Two young whippersnappers asked them if they had any cassettes, to which they replied; […]

This fall/early winter, a group of excellent Swedish-styled/HM-2 death metal releases will be vying for your attention and hard-earned cash. Belgium’s Carnation,  Prosthetic Records’ 2023 foray into the genre, Xorsist, Australia’s The Plague, reliable German vets Endseeker, and the best of the bunch, the long overdue second album from Sweden’s Gravestone. The 2018 debut, Sickening, […]

Guitarist/Vocalist Tim Rowland’s Alchemy of Flesh album returns with By Will Alone.   A big change in terms of sound on this record is that he strictly uses six-string guitars tuned to D Standard.   The last album was a bit of a tribute to Morbid Angel, and it was noted that Rowland was trying to use […]

It’s been a difficult few years for Fuming Mouth since they released their debut, The Grand Descent. You can likely get that entire backstory from any other review of this album, so I won’t dive into it here. However, suffice it to say this band came out swinging with their follow-up, Last Day of Sun. […]

So here it finally is…. the new Suffocation album, and notably the first release without original vocalist Frank Mullen, since the band formed in 1990. While other members (other than the other lone original member, guitarist Terrance Hobbs), have come and gone, Frank and Terrance have been there since day one, so this album is […]

So this fall sees a couple of Matt Schott (Valdur, Sxuperion) projects drop new albums. There’s a disgusting new Cabinet EP and this project he has with his former cohort in Weverin, named Oreamnos. I covered the prior Oreamnos release, Into the Night, and it was as I was expected considering Schott’s (who does drums […]

All the underground maniacs, me included rejoiced in moribund when Autopsy put the pieces back together and reformed in 2008/2009.  The band always a cult favorite was happy to see how their name, over the years, had grown to more than just cult status.  What was originally supposed to be a short-lived reunion became full-blown […]

Canada’s Tomb Mold have a pretty good underground death metal following in their short 8-year existence and their output has been excellent, honing their craft and releasing better albums each and every time.  Their third album in 2019, Planetary Clairvoyance, was their finest hour.  The band increased their touring output as well increased their exposure […]

After 3 years, countless singles, EPs, and compilations former Amon Amarth and Blood Mortized guitarist Anders Biazzi and his cohorts are finally back with a full-length album (number 5) to follow up 2020s An Army at Dawn, one of the better Bolt Thrower worshiping albums of the last few years. But there are a few […]

Spain’s Decapitated Christ has been knocking around for a while now releasing albums with titles like Antikristian Extreme Dekapitation, The Vanishment and Extermination of the Deities, and their last effort in 2014, Arcane Impurity Ceremonies. Well after 9 years they are at it again with album number 5, and while it’s probably not a reunion […]

Germany’s Sulphur Aeon has been dark for a few years now after churning (literally) out three superb albums of murky, majestic, Lovecraftian death metal since 2013, that had them being uttered in the same breath as the likes of Portal, Ulcerate, and such. But after a 5-year silence since 2018’s The Scythe of Cosmic Chaos, […]

With a name like Satanic Tea Co, it must be good, right? Well, I’m here to tell you that without a doubt, A Celestial Beating is a massive EP wrapped in an adorably evil box. It’s a small box, to be sure, 13.63 minutes of Brutal Death Metal that feels like a much bigger album […]

I don’t know how many Volbeat fans there are dwelling in our dungeon, but if there are any, it may please them to know this is frontman Michael Poulsen’s return to death metal. “Return,” your dumb ass questions incredulously? Yes, return. If you’re unfamiliar with his band Dominus’s early material, I’d recommend familiarizing yourself, as […]

Dripping Decay is the best kind of decay. Wet, sopping, moist decay. A sexy band name for a sexy collection of songs. Maybe it will make you drip by the end, too. If you couldn’t tell by that first paragraph, I have problems. Metal is the only thing on this planet that makes me happy. […]