The Artisan Era is really starting to come into its own as a label, and is starting to hone in on a pretty specific sound. With bands like Inferi, Equipoise, Warforged, The Odious Construct, Arkaik, Aethereus, Oubliette, Flub, Enfold Darkness, Mordant Rapture and The Zenith Passage, the label certainly has some of the better technical […]

The debut from this musty, old school Swedish death metal act, What Lies Beyond, was a solid record, but none one I’ve really revisited since I purchased it. And the same can be said true of the follow up: a solid old school Swedish death metal record, but one that’s likely to get lost in […]

Coming with the dreaded ‘groove/thrash metal’ tag, and some 80s B grade cover artwork (intentional I’m sure), I didn’t have very high expectations for the debut from this Netherlands act, but the old  adage  ‘never judge a book by its cover’, was pretty appropriate here, as I actually ended up rather enjoying this thrashy little […]

I’m not going to lie, I’ve been waiting for ICS Vortex to be the full time singer again in Borknagar for a while now. No disrespect to Andreas Hedlund (Vintersorg) and his contributions on the last few albums, or even Garm’s superb early efforts, but I think most would agree the ICS Vortex albums (Quintessence, […]

I’m not sure what is more surprising- that this is Pathology’s 10th album since 2006, or that its released on Pavement Music/Entertainment, once a prolific extreme metal label, now home to the likes of Dishwalla, Puddle of Mud, Flaw and Tantric. Either way, album number 10 sticks to the tenets of the last few albums, […]

While most are out there blowing their loads over the Tool album, I’ve been sitting here patiently awaiting the arrival of another long awaited progressive metal album, Disillusion’s reunion effort after 13 years!. Yep- it’s been 13 years since the divisive Gloria, which while a solid album, had the herculean task of following up a […]

Well,  at least I know that Germany’s Unholy Conspiracy Deathwork label knows how to package an album. As with label mate’s Der Rote Milan‘s Moritat, the fourth album from home land act Stellar Master Elite comes in some intriguing packaging, a black embossed  2mm black carton premium digipack, with 3 black foil prints on all sides […]

Here’s the 6th album from Brazilian Black/Thrash veterans Power From Hell, whom I’m not familiar with due to my general lack of knowledge or affinity for Black/Thrash metal. And due to those reasons, probably won’t check out again, but fans of the genre should check them out if they haven’t already. Culling from  the first […]

I’m unfamiliar with female fronted Minnesotan black metal act False, but seeing as their second effort was released on the usually reliable Gilead Media, who recently dropped the magnificent third Falls of Rauros album, I though Id give this a go. And what I was greeted with was some fantastic 90s styled , Scandinavian semi […]

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 […]

I had high hopes for this.  It was either because it was named after an Entombed song from Clandestine, or that drummer Eric Krebs is the drummer here, and he is in another German death metal band called Golem, who released one of the early 00s most underrated death metal albums, Dreamweaver. Unfortunately, I was […]

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 […]

Sweden’s Turbocharged have been around for a while now, with 4 albums and various other releases to their name. However, this is my first time hearing them, which is odd as I typically seek out anything with a HM 2 Swedish death metal guitar tone, but I missed these guys somehow. But this isn’t your […]

In my review of Falls of Rauros‘ last record, Vigilance Perennial, I stated: 1) I was listening to something special, and 2) how can that top that album (which was my number 3 album of 2017)?. Well, despite switching from perfectly suited label in Bindrune to lesser known but also solid Gilead Media, they have […]

With a name like Necromutilator, an album title like Black Blood Aggression, and songs titled “Blessed in Hellvomit”, “Putrefaction Rites”and “Black Mayhemic Torment” , you kinda know what you are getting when you hit play on the second effort from these Satan lovin’, leather clad Italians; No frills, raspy, sneering, semi bestial, blackened thrash metal, […]

2019 is turning out to be a banner year for Power Metal- all the heavy hitters like Sabaton, Gloryhammer, Battle Beast, Beast in Black and two Rhapsody related projects have all dropped excellent albums, and next week, genre grand fathers Hammerfall release a new album, and  then later this year Dwarven warriors Wind Rose drop […]

I don’t listen to much traditional or classic doom metal, but two pure-ish doom records have crossed my desk lately, Church of Bones From Poland’s Monasterium, and this the second effort from Miami’s Nixa, and this by far is the better release and a solid mix of sludge and doom to boot. Horn of the […]

The sophomore effort from Australia’s Disentomb, Misery was a very late discovery and addition to my 2014 year end list, but that won’t be an issue with the band’s stellar third effort, as I’ve had this beast for a while now, and it’s easily one of the year’s best death metal records, even as we […]

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 […]

I’m not familiar with Germany’s long running, female fronted black metal act Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult, so despite being apparently respected in the German scene and having been around for about 20 years, Mardom , their sixth release, is the first album or release I have heard from them. But it won’t be the last. What […]

Sxuperion is the side (main?) project of Valdur’s Lord Sxuperion , (aka Matthew Schott), and has a pretty large back catalog of releases under this moniker, including 4 albums, with this one being the fourth, but my first exposure to the project. Whereas some side projects (again, I’m not sure which is main vs side […]

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 […]

When word of the this supergroup/side project surfaced earlier this year I immediately pre ordered the album after just hearing one song. And I’m by no means a fanboy Job For A Cowboy or The Black Dahlia Murder, but when vocalist Jon Davy and fellow JFAC guitar cohorts Alan Glassman and Tony Sannicandro team up […]

I’m new to the UKs Sathamel, but based on this, the band’s impressive debut full length album, after a few demos and a live release, they look to be a killer new black death metal act rising from the UK metal scene, despite some scandal. Apparently, the band was caught stealing material from US act […]