Once upon a time there was a little girl called Goldilocks who went for a walk in the woods to look for  black metal. After a while she stumbled upon a small cabin, and in front of the cabin was a sign that read ‘ATMF Records’. Being a curious child, she entered the cabin, hoping […]

Just because you are a French black metal act, have your songs in Latin and French, have ambient intros, outros and 8 minute songs, does not make you the next Deathspell Omega. And when your style is actually a more straightforward ‘wall of noise’ black metal in line with Marduk and Dark Funeral, the 6-8 […]

Here’s a nice sophomore album from a couple of former Order From Chaos members (Mike Miller and Chuck Keller), and while the other Order From Chaos member, Pete Helmkamp has gone for the throat with his post Order From Chaos projects (Angelcorpse and the recent Kerasphorus EP), Ares Kingdom are content to deliver metal that’s […]

So former Gorgoroth bassist King, after losing the legal battle with Infernus over the Gorgoroth name has teamed up with Dimmu Borgir’s Shagrath and (somehow) Prosthetic Records to deliver one of the most under whelming black metal records of 2010. I know such a duo should be slightly more dynamic, even more assisted by 1349, […]

So early 2010 saw the release of two post Order From Chaos Projects- the first being the longer running Ares Kingdom and their second full length album and this debut EP from Kerasphorus which is the project that features Pete Helmkamp, also of a little band called Angelcorpse. It looks like a name change and […]

I was far from impressed with Pestilence & Peril, the last release from Ryan Lipinsky’s (Thralldom/Unearthly Trance) latest black metal project. But the fact I only recently heard Unearthly Trance’s The Trident and Electrocution has given me a new appreciation for Mr. Lipinsky and Into the Cryopshere, which is a vast improvement over Pestilence & […]

More grindcore for spring, this time from Sweden’s Sayyadina (a character from Frank Hebert’s Dune) a trio featuring members of Victims, General Surgery and Nasum, and with that description, you should have a pretty solid idea of Sayyadina’s sound. The Great Northern Revisited compiles all the bands splits, 7” records and compilations dating back to […]

2009 was a pretty solid year for the ‘shreddier’ side of metalcore/deathcore with a slew of solid releases by The Eyes of a Traitor, Conducting from the Grave, Within the Ruins, Painted in Exile and the second album, Kingdom of Might from Woe of Tyrants. Well, 2010 looks to be as shredtastic already with the […]

Amidst all of this shoe gaze injected black metal and atmospheric black metal abound in the US, the fact has been lost that the Bay Area’s Ludicra have been plying their artistic and experimental take on black metal for four albums now. And while Wolves in the Throne Room, seem to get all the attention […]

First off, Id like to apologize to Black Breath and Southern Lord. I’ve Had Black Breath’s Razor to Oblivion EP now for ages, but never got around to reviewing it. It kinda slipped through the cracks, and frankly nothing about it grabbed me and I most certainly did not see an album like Heavy Breathing […]

After reading the review of Svarti Loghin’s debut, Empty World by our very own Jordan Itkowitz, I avoided this Swedish group after seeing words like “happy black metal” and “country black metal” used. However, as in my old age I come to appreciate acts like Nuen Welten, Tenhi, Alcest and Amesoeurs I decided to check […]

So it looks like Metal Blade Records is trying to ‘nasty’ up their black metal stable adding Istapp and the second album from Sweden’s Valkyrja to the likes of Goatwhore, Ravage and Razor of Occam. And while Valkyrja features two members of Ondskapt, one of the nastier black metal acts around, Valkyrja is a more […]

Spring is officially here. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, flowers are blooming and I’m drowning in grindcore: Wormrot, Jante Alu, Unholy Grave, Sayyadina, Unholy Grave, Psycho and two releases from the always reliable Willowtip; Defeatist’s Sixth Extinction and the second album from Sweden’s Infanticide. If you enjoy Scandinavian grindcore in the vein […]

So after 2009s compilation Sharp Blade Sinks Deep Into Dull Minds collected all of Defeatist’s many split and EP, here is a new album of noisy, feral grindcore chaos from the chaps responsible for Anodyne and Kalibas . While not as structured and power chord as their European label mates and counterparts like Infanticide and […]

With France’s scourge of black metal, Antaeus on hold since 2006s blistering Blood Libels, Antaeus vocalist MkM has decided to forge on with his on project, one that’s been simmering and brewing now for the better part of a decade and one relatively overlooked full length album. With the help of Bestial Satanic T (ex-Aborted) […]

Has it really been 3 years since Neige released his debut Souvenirs d’Un Autre Monde and caused quite a stir with his mellow, shoe gaze tempered take on black metal? A form of metal I termed ‘green metal’. How time passes, and with Amesoeurs being disbanded, it appears Neige is using Alcest to channel even […]

With little fanfare Indie Recordings and The End Records (for the US distribution) have released the eighth album from long running proto-folk black metal act Borknagar. Now, I don’t think I’m in the minority when I say Borknagar’s last two albums (Origin doesn’t really count) after Andreas Hedlund (Vintersorg) joining the fold, have never matched the […]

I can tolerate terrible bands and terrible albums. If your are bad, your are just bad. But if there’s one thing I can’t stand it blatant mediocrity- a borderline musical safety net and status quo that’s just ‘there’ despite talent. And Germany’s Chaos Invocation is such a band. It irks me even more so when […]

Another band out of the recent UK deathcore/death metal scene (Ingested, Annotations of an Autopsy, etc), Machiavellian’s debut 4 song EP, though on the short side offers up 23 minutes of pretty solid and at times sludge laced deathcore that shows a little promise. Though only 4 songs, one of the songs is over 6 […]

Metal is full of bands that cull from culture, history and heritage. From the obvious pagan Viking bands of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe to the Saxon throes of Wodensthrone and Forefather, the Middle Eastern themes of Nile and Orphaned Land, Greek metallers Rotting Christ and even Aztec based metal like Mictlantecuhtli. But if ever there […]

Massachusetts’ The Year of Our Lord was a victim of bad timing. Their debut and only full length self titled album was released in 2002, a time when melodic death metal was becoming stale and saturated and US bands simple weren’t supposed to be playing this style of metal. So like other US acts plying […]

As much as I like metalcore, even the commercialized watered down stuff, the fact remains that the UK’s Bury Tomorrow are so predictable, cookie cutter and utterly devoid of individuality, that I cant think of anything to awfully good to say about their debut album. But also, as a metalcore fan I cant really find […]

There’s a lot to like from the debut of Barcelona’s Pagan metal act Lux Divina. It’s a well produced black metal record full of foresty, heathen pride and regal pagan grandiosity as well as trademark melodic black metal trappings. Versed metal heads will detect the immediate influence of Borknagar and Vintersorg as well as early […]

Here’s a cool little 7 track EP from a new California act who mange to meld dark, pummeling hardcore, crust and post rock into a solid release that bodes well for the future, even in relatively crowded scene. Definitely recommended for fans on Converge due to some blistering chaos, underlined with some subtle and metallic […]

You just need to take one look at the some of this German band’s promotional shots of the band smeared in stylistic blood on front of fiery battle scene to guess the style this band play and their primary influences. Look no further than the likes of Turisas, Ensiferum, Falchion and such, though Varg is […]