After a critically acclaimed debut (2008’s …Of Frost and War), Dutch supergroup (members of Gorefest, Asphyx, Thanatos and Houwitser) left fans wanting after a strange digital only EP last year, but have now fully satiated fans with a full-length follow-up that continues the quality of the debut. Though still a war themed album, On Divine […]

If you are only recently getting into Amorphis and their somewhat resurgent last three albums, (Eclipse, Silent Waters and Skyforger), you must grab this 20th anniversary retrospective album, to see just how really fucking good Amorphis were on their first three albums. Coinciding with the recently released Forging the Land of a 1000 Lakes DVD/CD, […]

Austria’s Heathen Foray are a new act to me. Being relative newcomers to the Viking metal scene, but already they have released two quality albums: 2009’s Passage and their stellar new effort, Armored Bards. Like easy comparison Amon Amarth, Heathen Foray use the backbone of crunchy, melodic death metal and deeper vocals to deliver their Teutonic […]

As the intro “I” and a song called “Wounds, Bloodstains and Richochets” scrolled across my iPod and well produced, synth driven metalcore/melodic death metal thundered into my ears, I wondered to myself, “Wow, Bleeding Through have another album out already? Didn’t they release their self tilted album earlier this year?” Then I began to notice […]

As I expressed here, Woe’s debut album, A Spell for the Death of Man was one of the best USBM releases of the last few years. So I was curious how Chris Grigg (no longer known as Xos) would deliver a follow up now residing on a legendary black metal label and having a full […]

You want to know how to get you self-released demo EP reviewed quickly? Send out a professional promotional package/folder that includes a retail CD, band contact information/bio, a poster, some glossy photos, a lyric sheet and some stickers. Even if your band is terrible, I’ll review your latest shite quicker than a few mp3s dumped […]

For the most part, most metal bands keep their style and sound. They know their niche, stick with it and possibly beat it to death, which is all well and good. With bands like Dismember, Bolt Thrower, Dimmu Borgir, Iron Maiden, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel and such, fans know what they are getting and are OK with that. Heck even a few minor tangents and subtle flirtation with experimentation have risen on some of Metal’s most revered acts: Napalm Death, Amorphis, Death, Hypocrisy, Convulse, Paradise Lost, Anaal Nathrakh, Immortal, In Flames, Gorefest and the most obvious one, Metallica have changed, but all were recognizable. What about the rest?

The second album (despite being around since 1997) from Australia’s Stargazer fills two needs: First, it makes up for the disappointing Blood Revolt, redeeming Profound Lore records once again. Second, it satiates me until Atheist’s Jupiter drops. OK, I recently got Jupiter, but this tied me over. You’d think an Australian band comprised of two […]

There must be some legal wrangling going on between Rikard Martinsson and his former band mates from Mithotyn, because the debut (Fi’mbulvintr) from Sweden’s King of Asgard―which features ex-Mithotyn/Falconer members Karl Beckmann and Karsten Larsson (with Stefan Weinerhall providing some lyrics)―is basically a Mithotyn album without the band name. Or Rikard for that matter. Not […]

And so as 2010 winds down there’s still a few late arrivals from 2009 in my mailbox, but only a few are worth mentioning. At the top of the list is Sickening Horror’s follow-up to one of 2007’s very best death metal CDs: When Landscapes Bled Backwards. While these Greeks have a tall order to […]

After seven years off (not counting 2005’s Zero Comfort Margin EP), one of Willowtip’s first bands returns to the fray with an absolutely sick release that shows that brutal death metal/grindcore can be way more than power chords, pig squeals and comical cover art rife with porn and zombies. The aptly named Psalm of the […]

Miss Uphill Battle? Enjoy blackened hardcore or crust tinged blackened punk? Then check out the debut from this hungry San Francisco act who with their brief but feral Misanthropy and Godlessness, have delivered a half hour of urgent, enjoyable metal with vast crossover appeal. Featuring an incredibly punchy Zach Ohren production, the album’s feedback littered […]

British Heraldic Templar Metal? Monty Python metal? Hey Nonny Nonny core? Whatever you call it, the brain child of The Meads of Asphodel founder James Fogarty is certainly one thing: Fun! Imagine if you will the “Knights of the Round Table/Camelot” song from Monty Python’s The Holy Grail -movie done to metal (it’s a silly […]

There was a time up until about 2005’s Anomalies that Cephalic Carnage were a no questions, blind buy for every release. Challenging, heavy, creative, humorous and of course driven by weed, the band seemed to be on the very cusp of exploding out of their pot fueled basement and into mega stardom. But with Anomalies […]

I can’t really explain why it’s taken me so long to review one of 2010’s most impressive and disturbing black metal albums. I listen to it regularly, mentally gushing over it, and writing the review in my head each time I listen. I actually wonder if some dark occult force is preventing me from putting […]

Residing on the same label that has or had the likes of xRepresentx, OnexChoice, xTyrantx on its roster, there’s no surprise in what Seattle’s Parasitic Skies―despite the lack of an x in their logo―play; tough as nails, straightedge metallic hardcore. No frills, no melodies, no trendiness. Just a beefy (no pun intended) vegan beat down […]

Bear with me here. Despite being a sworn in US citizen, adapting almost all American traditions (good and bad), there’s a few American-isms I just can’t get into. Chewing tobacco and Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The weird thing is that I love peanut butter and I love Jelly―it’s called Jam fer’ crying out loud―when […]

It seems that Profound Lore and Colin Marston (Krallice, Dysrhythmia, Behold…. The Arctopus) have become two of the more respected and wanted elements of artistic, challenging black metal nowadays with anything either of them touch being of the highest quality. In the light of Marston getting producing credits for the likes of Krallice, Altar of […]

Upon initial glances, Colorado’s Allegaeon appear to be one of Metal Blade’s token second tier signings (Epicurean, The Crimson Armada, Malefice, Aeternam) that won’t really register amid the label’s heavyweights and big sellers (Job For A Cowboy, As I Lay Dying, Cannibal Corpse, Hate Eternal, Whitechapel, Unearth, etc). However, with repeated listens, these talented newcomers […]

Who would have thought that in a year that has seen releases by the likes of Equilibrium, Heidevolk, King of Asgard, Eluvietie, Kivimetsän Druidi, Skyforger and Negura Bunget, that one of the very best―if not the best―folk metal album of 2010 would be the debut from a band hailing from the Basque Country in Northern […]

Amid 2010’s big name death metal releases, some smaller and more obscure but no less competent, enjoyable releases more than likely crept under your radar. Releases by the likes of Tormenticon, Fleshrot, Entrails, Scrambled Defuncts, Aosoth, Grind Inc, Domination Through Impurity, Burial Invocation and Syn:drom, which might not get the praise and attention as say […]

Considering the last CD I heard from Wisconsin’s Nokternal Hemizphear Records was a symphonic Christian black metal from Columbia―which ended up being pretty good―I was eager to hear how the label’s next offering, the debut from the UK’s Wintersoul would hold up… and it’s not too bad either! Not overtly or blatantly Christian (as far […]

Iron Maiden. It’s been ten years since ‘Brave New World’ came out and now there’s a new album on the block. Is there really a need to review it at all? Everyone’s got an opinion of it already, and so do we. Well, at least one of us does. Read Erik Thomas’ views on ‘The Final Frontier’ and voice yours in the comments.

While certainly getting inundated with digital promos for the latest and greatest and most anticipated releases from large bands and labels is a perk of this ‘job’, one of the more pleasurable elements is getting set stuff from honest to goodness, hardworking bands that actually want a review. Bands that send you emails, thanks and […]

If a band contacts me or the site and politely asks for a review of their self-released record, and sends me a copy of their record from Portugal, you know what? Even if it’s from 2009, when it’s this solid, I’ll review the damn thing and give the Teeth of the Divine readership some exposure […]