From the label  who in 2012 alone was responsible for the likes of Resurgency, Ectovoid, Flagellated Seraph, Malfeitor and Decaying comes yet more very tasty old school death metal by way of two EPs from Turkey’s Engulfed and Greece’s War Possession. Formed by two members of the now defunct Burial Invocation, who themselves released a […]

Hailing from Sweden and with a name like Fetus Stench, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the debut full length album from this death metal act was of the old school, Stockholm-y kind. However, rather than dust off some old Entombed riffs and go for the obvious sound, Fetus Stench go for a different influence […]

Those of you who enjoyed releases from Canada’s Cephalectomy including their sophomore effort Eclipsing the Dawn and their final release- the free download- An  Epitaph for Tranquility take note. Barra Xul is basically the same band and sound by two of Cephalectomy‘s main guys, founder/guitarist/vocalist  Cory Andrews (also of Select and Dismember) and bassist Scott […]

As is the norm around this time of year, myself and others in the field are still filtering through the slew of late 2012 releases and as is often the case, unearthing late year gems that simply could not get reviewed in time for the end of 2012. And such is the case with the […]

Remember when Mastodon were a good underground metal band rather than the commercialized, major label  juggernaut they have become? Remember Remission and Leviathan? Philadelphia’s Swarm of Arrows remember, and with The Great Seekers of Lesser Life they have delivered a slightly burlier, gruffer take on Mastodon-ish rumbling, tumbling metal. First off, all four members deliver […]

Darkest Origins is a Split release between two primitive, raw black metal bands- California’s one man act Hæresiarchs of Dis, who has three full length albums under their belt, the last two being on Moribund Records, and the international (US, Croatia and the Netherlands) act Ophidian Forest who have 2 self released albums to their […]

Based in Southampton in the UK, Hummune is a trio that play a form of groovy, down tuned metal that culls from the likes of Helmet, The Deftones and such but with just a dash of more heavier tones of groove era Gorefest (Soul Survivor/ Chapter 13) , Machine Head and it very heavily recalled […]

Wow. This is REALLY good. A self released EP from  Wisconsin based symphonic black metal band, usually would not set my expectations very high, but on their debut effort Warseid has blown me away with this downright epic 4 song EP. Though only 4 songs, the release is still 30 minutes long with songs ranging […]

Here’s a unique and challenging album from the usually predictable Unique Leader Records. Hailing from Australia but residing in Los Angeles, Devolved have 3 previous full length albums under their belts, none of which I’ve heard, so I had nothing to compare this blind purchase to. My last blind purchase was also a Unique Leader […]

While bands like Entombed, The Generals, Calmsite, Six Feet Under and others are sometimes classified as “death ‘n’ roll”, the truth is it’s just death metal with a little groove and some catchy hooks. However, Finland’s Rocking Corpses are here to truly deliver death ‘n’ roll, and a weird but strangely enjoyable sound it is. […]

I had initially filed this under “did we really need this reunion?” category when I got it for review. I mean, while I realize that the band’s sole release, 1998’s Prophecies Foretold  was a solid entry into the New Yawk style of death metal and the band got them briefly mentioned in the same breath […]

I’ve long championed Facedown Records and their oft maligned Christian metal, but of late other than  Your Memorial, Hands and A Home for Home, the label seems to have really fallen into a rut- with the likes of For Today, Gideon, Altars, War of Ages, Leaders and Onwards to Olympas, they seem to basically be […]

Despite my general disdain for instrumental music, 2009s Immeasurable , the debut by this  Wisconsin instrumental act , really caught my ear. Featuring a former metal journalist and member of post rockers Northless and death metal act Ara, Jerry Hauppa and cello player James Becker, the follow up, V is a 5 song concept piece  […]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; I never really got Incantation or Immolation in the early 9os. I was obsessed with Swedish death metal and Cradle of Filth  and both bands murky, muddy styles never really sat well with me. Heck, the only Incantation album I own and have really heard is […]

It’s been a while since I heard some good skronky discordant, math metal, maybe going back to Brazen Bull‘s early 2012 release, The Traveling Parasite, which I’m still trying to get my head around for review. Well, here is French noise mongers Dacast, and their 2 track 35 minute assault on the ears, Dédale. Early […]

Trust me, there is nothing Stagnant about the debut from  this avant garde black metal French-Norwegian collaboration. On a label run by a guy with ties to the likes of  Mayhem, Darkthrone, Ulver, Ved Buens Ende, Virus, Fleurety, Ihsahn, Arcturus, Manes and Solefald and featuring Svein Egil Hatlevik of Fleurety and Dødheimsgard fame, you might […]

Compelled to check this release out by an excellent review by my good friends over at metalreview.com, I was greeted by a very intriguing but also polarizing release. Touted as experimental black metal, I was expecting something, well black metal-y from this anonymous, robe and mask clad UK act (for some reason, I want to […]

Haiduk is the Canadian, one man project of one Luca Milojica. And while the trend for most one man metal is of the blackened or depressive kind with a few exceptions, Haiduk (apparently a term for Balkan freedom fighters)  is actually rather good thrash/death metal  and you wouldn’t really know it was a one man […]

If you are sending Teeth of the Divine (that’s us) self-released demos and/or other releases, a couple of things will get you noticed and probably reviewed. First, it helps if you are good. A recent example of this being the six track demo from Poland’s Hyperial. Or, number two, you have some sort of intriguing […]

There is ‘hype’ and then there is the ridiculous levels of hype that has followed former Ensiferum frontman Jari Mäenpää and his post-Ensiferum project Wintersun around since their self-titled debut, 8 years ago. Numerous delays, supposed deletion of material and a few teasers later, we are finally given the follow-up to one of epic metal’s […]

Germany’s Finsterforst have lurked in the Black Forest for a few years now. After 2007’s under the radar debut Weltenkraft the band unleashed …Zum Tode Hin to the world. And after sticking to a pretty rigid, bouncy Finnish folk formula, Finsterforst changed up their sound morphing into a sprawling, Bathory inspired sound with lengthy, rangy anthemic songs build around their black metal base. Armed with a new deal with Folk/Viking powerhouse Napalm Records, the band is ready to reveal their epic sound to a wider audience with Rastloss, a vast, epic album that cull Hammerheart and classic Moonsorrow. Guitarist Simon Schillinger was kind enough to answer a few questions about the band’s imminent explosion onto the Viking/folk metal scene.

Somewhere between their debut, Weltenkraft and their second effort Zum Tode Hin, Germany’s Finsterforst made a subtle change from a pure Equilibrium-worship band playing a more bouncy and uptemo form of blacked viking/folk metal, to a more somber and slower paced band more akin to Bathory with only hints of folky Equlibrium-isms. Well, on their Napalm Records […]

Lurking somewhere between the doom stylings of It Will Come and the sludgy hues of Mares of Thrace, Swiss all female act shEver released their second full-length album, Rituals, earlier this year and it instantly gives a shot in the arm to all female bands, breaking away from the current trend of smoky voiced ‘vest metal’.  […]

I’m typically one that’s all for experimentation and avant-garde elements in music, I respect most musicians that push envelopes and boundaries with their music. However, sometimes it gets a little too much for me and that’s the case with Botanist — a one man plant-themed project delivered from the point of view of a man […]

So while a majority of the retro death metal resurgence has focused on the Stockholm sounds, reviving the classic tones of Entombed, Dismember, Grave and such (and there’s nothing wrong with that), what if you had a hankering for a nostalgic death metal sound that wasn’t from Sweden? What if you were craving a band […]