Sometimes I sit around and wonder, “Man I wish there were more bands that sound like Despised Icon“, and lo and behold here comes Slovak Metal Army with the new EP from the Czech Republic’s Anime Torment, a veteran band with 2 full-lengths under their belt, but a new band to me. 20 Minutes of […]

Yo, bro, do you like deathcore? Well, bro, do you, bro? I don’t know why I decided to start this review in such a way, but I figured I would just let you, dear reader and disciple, know what you’re getting into immediately. So, if you want to back out, I get it… but not […]

Fuck, I really overlooked this, the fourth album from Australia’s Aversion’s Crown. So, sorry for the belated review. I’ve enjoyed the last 2 efforts (2017s Xenocide and 2014s Tyrant), but can’t say I’ve revisited them much since their release. But holy shit am I glad I revisited this on a whim after hearing the closing […]

I own the Ingested albums, and I kinda liked 2018s Level Above Human, 2015s The Architect of Extinction, and 2009s Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering. But I have never really loved the Brits output, preferring countrymates Infant Annihilator  or Dyscarnate when it comes to British slams and breakdowns and always reaching for the likes […]

I always like to support the local scene, which is more important than ever until somehow the world decides to unfuck itself. For me, there is a “local” scene just a few minutes away, but I really mean Pittsburgh, which is obviously larger and within an hour. Supporting this local scene is why I attended […]

I decided to check out the promo from Texas’s I Am Destruction, as it was a Unique Leader release, and that’s usually a fire hit. Also, this band and features guitarist Paul Dundas, who used to play is fellow Texans  I Am, who I recently discovered and really liked, hoping for a similar styled and […]

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 […]

I’ve been listening to New Jersey’s Lorna Shore since 2013/14’s EP, Maleficium,  and 2015 debut full length Psalms . And while I enjoyed the band’s synth tinged take on deathcore, I never expected them to blow up into the full on symphonic blackened deathcore act that delivered Flesh Coffin in 2017. Well, after some delays […]

As one of the godfathers, if not THE godfather, of the deathcore genre, Despised Icon have enjoyed a special place at the top for fans of the style.  Though the band themselves have rejected the label, they have no doubt played a huge part in spearheading a genre that is oft-hated, but no doubt has […]

New Jersey’s Fit For An Autopsy got on my radar back when they started in 2008, as they initially featured one of my favorite vocalists of the era, vocalist Nate Johnson from very short lived deathcore act Deadwater Drowning as well as noise-mongers Premonitions of War. Even after Johnson left, Ive purchased all the albums, listened to […]

I’m not very familiar with the UKs Infant Annihilator, other than the ridiculous prices their first 2 albums are being sold for, and that some of the members are in down tempo act Black Tongue. But The Battle Of Yaldabaoth is my first time actually hearing them, and if it’s any indication, those prices are […]

I’m on a bit of a symphonic metal kick of late, especially deathcore,jamming the likes of Carnifex, Ov Lustra and When Plagues Collide on a regular basis. So here is Connecticut’s Shadow of Intent, who are one of the online deathcore community’s darlings with 2 albums under their belt (Primordial and Reclaimer). They have made […]

Most will roll their eyes at blackened deathcore with symphonic elements , but Arizonians Ov Lustra (“Of Glory? Of Shining?”Of Mirrors?) has absolutely knocked it out of the park with this ‘debut’ EP, utilizing some of the most effective orchestration I’ve heard in any metal genre with perfect results. Formerly known as Sun Speaker and […]

After Whitechapel’s The Valley, you could argue that Thy Art is Murder’s’ Human Target, and Carnifex’s 7th album are 2019s other ‘big name’, veteran deathcore releases. And while I have yet to hear Human Target, The Valley was phenomenal, so where does World War X stand? Well, I had some reservations when I saw/heard first […]

Hailing from North Vancouver, Canada Angelmaker return with their third official release and this is their second full-length album-follow-up to their powerful 2015 Dissentient album. Once again independently released by the band this self-titled album sees the 6-piece deathcore act steamroll their deathcore competition.  14 songs in 49 minutes the band brings the quality and […]

Believe it or not, deathcore is having a pretty good year in 2019: Enterprise Earth, When Plagues Collide, Ingested, Angelmaker, Organectomy (though arguably more slam) have dropped solid releases and once genre kings Whitechapel, delivered a return to form with powerfully introspective The Valley, with Carnifex, Shadow of Intent and Thy Art is Murder still to […]

Down tempo (or lazy eyed deathcore as I lovingly call it), is one of my guilty pleasures. It takes the best part of deathcore, the breakdowns, and beats them to death repeatedly for an entire album with little or no deviation. If bands like Black Tongue, Calmed By the Tides of Rain, Traitors, Falsifier and […]

For a while, Whitechapel were the true darlings of deathcore’s peak, with 2008s This Is Exile being the genre’s arguable apex along  with All Shall Perish‘s The Price of Existence. However, since then, the band hasn’t quite been on the same level; a ‘dumbing down’ of the lyrics, a simplification of the music into a […]

It’s been a fair while since a ‘real’ ( I use that term due to the crossover between death metal and deathcore in bands like Ingested, Fit For For an Autopsy, Lorna Shore and Organectomy and such) deathcore record tickle my fancy, probably something in 2017 or early 2018 (maybe Lorna Shore‘s Flesh Coffin?). But here is the late […]

Though still maligned as a genre, Deathcore had a a pretty solid year in 2017 with Aversion’s Crown, Thy Art is Murder, Oceano, Through the Eyes of the Dead, Fit For An Autopsy, Slaughter to Prevail, Conjonctive, Shadow of Intent, Boris the Blade and Reaping Asmodiea releasing solid efforts, and as the year closed out, […]

Evolution in metal is an interesting beast, and one that has three distinct paths for bands who decide to travel down its twisty road. Evolve too far and you risk alienating your fan base, and in extreme cases become a virtual laughingstock (Morbid Angel, Machine Head,  Cryptopsy – you all should know exactly which albums […]

Here’s one that will get most so called ‘real’, old school metal heads’ panties in a bunch. Dub-Slam? Slam-Step? Techno-slam-core? Dropcore? Disfiguring the Goddess is the brainchild of Dubstep/DJ/electronica musician ‘Big Chocolate’ aka  vocalist Cam Argon formerly of Burning the Masses, Misericordiam and Abominable Putridity and numerous other brutal acts guest appearances and remixes. Being […]

As You Drown‘s first album, Reflection was one of my top 25 albums of 2009, so I was pretty psyched to hear these Swede’s follow up. I’ve sort of mentally linked As You Drown to Australia’s The Red Shore,who released their 2nd album ( I know its their third but here in the US, albums […]

So I reviewed the demo compilation by this New York tech metal act a couple of years ago and was rather impressed, especially by the shredding abilities of guitarists Nick Llerandi and Billy Anderson who added some very nice sweeps and solos to the semi deathcore/tech death metal/metal core stylings. However, my only real gripe […]

For four albums now I’ve viewed California’s Carnifex as a solid second tier deathcore act. Not quite up there with Whitechapel, Oceano, I Declare War or All Shall Perish (my opinion of course) but mired in the vast, faceless but quality  rabble with the likes of Chelsea Grin, Molotov Solution, Betray the Martyrs, Rose Funeral, […]