It’s been 8 years since I reviewed Crimfall’s  debut As The Path Unfolds, a solid entry into the Finnish folk/pagan/epic/melodic/Viking genre along sides stalwarts Ensiferum, Brymir and Turisas. They released a second album, The Writ of Sword back in 2011, but I never heard it so I can’t tell how they have developed since then. What I […]

Under the alias of ‘Zornheym’, bassist/guitarist Tomas Nilsson, played in Dark Funeral from 2011-to 2014, and now he and some of his Swedish metal pals (notably Diabolical drummer Angst and Facebreaker’s Richard Bendler on vocals) has formed his own band under that moniker but those expecting anything like Dark Funeral will be sorely disappointed, as Zornheym play a […]

You know home in some sports and other contests there is a USA vs the World? Well, if we did that for deathcore, despite a valiant effort from the likes of Enterprise Earth, Rings of Saturn, Shadow of Intent, Fit For and Autopsy and Oceano (and negative points from Suicide Silence) , the rest of the world […]

After completely gutting and then revamping the line up, Dani Filth seemed invigorated for the surprisingly good Hammer of the Witches back in 2015, and that renewed energy has carried over into the follow up, the darkly seductive, 12th album, Cryptoriana – The Seductiveness of Decay. A tale of Victorian debauchery, magick, death, the afterlife and Gothic, supernatural […]

On paper, I should be super pumped about Ursinne, (Swedish for ‘fury’) a project featuring Dave Ingram (Benediction, Downlord, Down Among the Dead Men, Echelon) and Jonny Pettersson (Ashcloud, Henry Kane, Gods Forsaken, Wombbath, Just Before Dawn, etc) rounded out by bassist Sonia Nusselder. Even more so when I heard Kam Lee (Massacre) makes an […]

UK power trio Dyscarnate got on my radar with the 2014 reissue of their 2012 sophomore album, And So it Came to Pass, an impressive display of groove and heft that many compared to Dying Fetus- and rightfully so as the band has a bit of hardcore buried in their death metal salvos. And they […]

It’s been  3 years since Anders Biazzi (ex –Amon Amarth, Gods Forsaken, Blood Mortized) released a Just Before Dawn album, the war themed Swedish death metal project with a veritable host of guest vocalists and musicians. There has been a couple of EPs and a single, and now right before the band’s next full length release, […]

Contrarian caused a few waves back in 2015 with their highly regarded debut, Polemic. A supergroup of sorts founded by Jim Tasikas with Brian Mason (Sulaco), Leon Macy (Mithras) on guitars with George Lollias (Nile) on drums. It was a Death homage, with  a heavier lean on the band’s latter, more progressive tones, adding some […]

One of the coolest and lesser known (at least in the US) power metal acts I have discovered recently is Germany’s Orden Ogan. A long running band with 5 albums under their belt since 2004 (with 2015s Ravenhead and 2012s To the End being the ones that got me hooked), these guys add a little oomph to power […]

Khazaddums‘ 2015, Dwarven/Tolkien themed EP, In Dwarven Halls was a solid, promising little 3 song demo/release, but I was not expecting quite this big of a leap in quality a mere 2 years later with the band’s full length debut. Driving the massive improvement to the band’s brutal, Nile-ish death metal is the addition of full […]

The Barren Throne, the third album from Iceland’s Beneath, was a solid tech/brutal death  metal affair, befitting the label it was released on (Unique Leader), but it was hardly a memorable, game changing album. That looks to have changed with the band’s wholly improved and utterly  impressive third album, Ephemeris. The more cosmic/celestial theme of […]

So, amid my recent power/heavy metal reawakening, it dawned on me that all of the bands I have become enamored with have been European. Sure, I dabbled with the new Iced Earth, Demons and Wizards, Kamelot and a few others, but none really hit the spot. Then I received a promo from Pennsylvania’s Lör . An […]

Though some might argue they belonged with Dark Tranquillity and In Flames in the pantheons of Swedish metal, I’d put Desultory’s first three albums right there in the second tier of Swedish styled death metal along side the likes of Seance, Cemetery, Comecon and such. Their more melodic take on the Stockholm sound was a […]

After one of the more successful comebacks of the last few years with 2012s Vanquish in Vengeance, death metal legends Incantation had a quick turn around with 2014s Dirges of Elysium, a solid album, but a bit of a step back with a cleaner, more sterile production and a bit of a rushed sense of […]

Listen, I’m not much of a ‘crossover’ guy. I appreciated the heydey of DRI, Prong, Crumbsuckers, Ludichrist and recently, Detroit Hellmouth are decent , but for the most part i like my thrash and my puck/hardcore somewhat separate. But, like a professional, I occasionally try to get out of my comfort zone. Sometimes it works […]

California’s Rings of Saturn and their (jokingly) self described ‘aliencore’ are one of the more divisive bands in metal, even more some since allegations the band recorded their materiel at half speed and used Guitar pro. Whether you consider them technical death metal or deathcore, the band’s first 3 albums Dingir and Lugal Ki En got […]

“A priest who had an affair with a 12 or 15 year old girl brought to one of their encounters, a consecrated host, and he touched her vagina and he said ‘this is how God loves you” and then he raped her”. And so that creepy quote begins the debut EP from Milwaukee’s Prezir (Serb-Croatian for […]

Hailing from Massachusetts, The Summoned play a form of noisy, techy/grindy spazzy tech/death metal that recalls a lot of the Black Market Activities/ Ironclad Recordings bands of the early and mid 00s. Much like the recent release from super group Johm Frum, there’s a lot of Dillenger-y, The Red Chord, Animosity, early Between the Buried and […]

The Portuguese metal scene has really caught my eye of late with the likes of The Ominous Circle, Goldenpyre, Primal Attack, Switchtense, and such. But it’s been missing something a little more brutal, and that’s where Grog come in. Though they have been around since 1991/92, and have released a fair amount of demos, this […]

Has there been a more hyped yet un-prolific and bloated project as Wintersun, Jari Mäenpää’s much ballyhooed, post Ensiferum project? After 2004s Lauded self titled debut there were deleted files and then an 8 year wait for Time I, which ultimately was a huge let down after the wait and the hype. So now we have […]

Former Amon Amarth guitarist Anders Biazzi is becoming a Rogga Johansson/Johnny Petterson type, being involved with numerous projects and players, including the two dudes I just mentioned. After a few fine albums with Blood Mortized and then the war metal super group of sorts, Just Before Dawn, he has a new project, Gods Forsaken along […]

So, quick back story, I recently underwent a musical awakening of sorts. Other than Manowar and Rhapsody, I’ve never been a Power Metal guy. The last power metal album I truly enjoyed was Thy Majestie‘s 1066 back in 2003. However I recent discovered Sabaton’s “Winged Hussars” and Blind Guardian‘s “Grand Parade”, and now I’m hooked. So, I […]

Back in 2015, this Finnish act released their second album, Sunless. It was an ambitious affair that tried to mix traditional Finnish doom/death and post rock-y/ Neurosis-y like atmospherics and builds with mixed results. The follow up album, Earthen, consisting of 2, twenty + minute songs tries almost the same recipe, maybe with more post rock […]

So the second album from Sweden’s Twilight Force was released in August of last year, but its getting some sort of re-release via Germany’s Metalville/Nuclear Blast Archive Records, and I’m glad, because it gives me a chance to unleash my inner nerd and delve into my recent power metal awakening. Hailing from the same town […]

What’s that you say? An epic, fantasy themed melodic death/black metal band featuring Ayloss  of Spectral Lore and drummer Hannes Grossman (ex Necrophagist)? Sign me the fuck up. Despite being a huge Spectral Lore fan, I had never heard of this project or  their 2010 self released, self titled debut, but this was an immediate listen […]