Posts Tagged ‘Frank Rini’

Dread Crew of Oddwood, The – Rust & Glory

Hailing from California The Dread Crew of Oddwood, still falls into the metal category, although they play a combination of Celtic and Folk music, all interwoven into the Heavy Metal universe, however, they do it without electric guitars/bass.  Instrumentation ranges from the stand-up bass, mandolin, tin whistle, drums, and accordion, just to name a few […]

Stygian Crown – Funeral for a King

Three years ago I reviewed the self-titled, debut album from California’s epic doom metal band Stygian Crown and really loved it.  I was happy to see my friend, Rhett Davis, drumming on it, a legendary drummer from Crimson Relic, Morgion and Gravehill, and many other bands, both past and present.  The original line-up with guitarists […]

Desolus – System Shock

Hailing from the Mid-Atlantic United States, Desolus formed prior to the beginning of the pandemic.   I’ve known bass/vocalist Vivek Rangarajan for a number of years now seeing him at a number of shows in and around the MD/DC Metro area.  I actually was able to see Desolus live last year and they tore it up […]

Grey Skies Fallen – Molded by Broken Hands

I was a fan of Grey Sky Fallen’s last album, from 2020, Cold Dead Lands.  I enjoyed their take on doom-death metal, alongside some progressive influences.  I did not realize at the time the band had four prior albums, a plethora of EPs, and had been around since the 90’s. Molded by Broken Hands is […]

Pestilence – Levels of Perception

I have reviewed quite a lot of Pestilence albums on this site, as well as reviewing their various reissues multiple times and over the years I would consider main axe grinder/vocalist, Patrick Mameli, as a friend, with our various interactions.  I respect his musical work and songwriting skills and many of the Pestilence albums I […]

Sonata Arctica – Cold Beyond

This Finnish power metal band has been around since the 90’s and I have seen their logo and ads for decades, however, I have never heard them until now, with Clear Cold Beyond which is their 14th album – holy smokes!  After listening to their back catalog in order to compare this to their prior […]

Chapel of Disease – Echoes of Light

When it looked like Germany’s Chapel of Disease was calling it a day a few years after their 2018, third album – the very wordy,   …and As We Have Seen the Storm, We Have Embraced the Eye my buddy Graham (Deepsend Records) and I commiserated that this was not fun news.  I have followed the […]

Sentry – Sentry

I am a tremendous Manilla Road fan.  Unfortunately, they are one of the few bands I never had a chance to see live, prior to the passing of founder/vocalist/guitarist Mark Shelton – a true metal genius.  RIP Metal Brother.  From the ashes, we will rise and what we have here is 50% Manilla Road and […]

Hideous Divinity – Unextinct

Hideous Divinity is back with their fifth full-length album, Unextinct.  The band opted to go the longest length of time in their career without ever releasing an album, as Simulacrum was released a year prior to COVID.  The band was patient not to release a COVID album because they knew there would be no touring […]

Exhorder – Defectum Omnium

I reviewed Exhorder’s comeback album, Mourn the Southern Skies, in 2019 on TOTD.  While I enjoyed the album, and as a comeback album it was good, but still left some meat on the bone, so to speak.  There were aggressive songs, however, I felt, much of the album was marred by sludgy slow songs, that […]

Dipygus – Dipygus

Three years ago I reviewed the second album Bushmeat from Dipygus.  The band waited until after COVID to release their third album, Dipygus, a self-titled affair.  This Californian sludgy death metal act has returned with their longest album, complete with their longest song, “Sacral Brain”, at over 11 minutes and the heaviness is just as […]

Judas Priest – Invincible Shield

Judas Priest will go down as one of the greatest Heavy Metal bands of all time – without a shadow of a doubt.  This is the first time for me reviewing a Priest album and I am excited to do so.  I will say this….sometimes I get overly excited reviewing some of my favorite bands.  […]

Vltimas – Epic

International supergroup Vltimas released a killer debut in 2019,  Something Wicked Marches In, which I reviewed and gave high praises of their stamp on blackened death metal.  One of the many things going for that debut was how damn catchy it was – I still listen to that sucker!  The same members return with Flo […]

Ministry – Hopiumforthemasses

I reviewed Ministry’s 14th album Moral Hygiene in 2021, on here and really enjoyed it….a lot and now Hopiumforthemasses, their 15th album-wow, is here and sees Al Jourgensen incorporating elements from all the various Ministry eras on here…That’s right.  There are moments going all the way back to their 1983 With Sympathy debut album, which […]

Red Vinter – We Built Our Own Death Machine (Demo)

If you fell asleep at the end of 2023 then you would have missed up-and-coming band Red Vinter’s We Built Our Own Death Machine demo, which literally dropped, right before 2024.  While it’s a demo, any release that drops at the end of a year is dead in the water, so to speak.  The band […]

Morbid Saint – Swallowed by Hell

Wisconsin’s thrash metal band Morbid Saint were around in the 80’s-early 90’s before they disbanded and then reformed in 2010.  The band’s rise in popularity was bolstered in 2016, thanks to the 2CD reissue/remaster of the band’s 1990 classic debut Spectrum of Death, and their 1992 follow-up Destruction System, which was never released until 2015. […]

Morta Skuld – Creation Undone

Wisconsin’s best death metal band returns with their seventh full-length album Creation Undone.  With mainman Axe Grinder and vocalist Dave Gregor fronting the band, they are on fire on this album.  And I do want to get something out of the way right now.  I really do not care how album covers are created – […]

Spectral Voice – Sparagmos

I reviewed the debut album, Eroded Corridors of Unbeing, from Colorado’s doom/death outfit, Spectral Voice, in 2017. Seeing the band on their tour with Undergang, prior to the album, was a really awesome experience, especially since the members of Spectral Voice are also members of Blood Incantation. After various splits etc…since the debut album, Spectral […]

Necrowretch – Swords of Dajjal

Years ago I came upon the Putrid Death Sorcery debut album from Necrowretch, a French death metal band.  I reviewed the impressive album and was able to be in touch with vocalist/guitarist Vlad and interviewed him as well.  I have followed this band closely over the years reviewing the majority of their albums and continuing […]

Lord Dying – Clandestine Transcendence

I have seen Portland Oregon’s Lord Dying’s name float around the metal scene for at least a decade now.  Never heard them in my life and they have three prior albums: Summon the Faithless in 2013, Poisoned Altars in 2015, and Mysterium Tremendum in 2019.  Suffice it to say this reviewing bastid now must go […]

Master – Saints Dispelled

Paul Speckman, (bass/vox), a long staple in the mid-west death metal scene, has been around since the 80’s with his main band Master. Some may be unaware, but some years ago, frustrated with the living costs in America and politics, packed up his shit and relocated to the Czech Republic.Buthere are still nods to their […]

Iron Front – Hooked

Our glorious editor, Erik “The Enforcer”, passed along the promo for Iron Front to me, thinking it would be up my alley to review, and he was correct Hailing from Oakland California the band has been around a few years. Their notable releases are the Demo-nic Possession demo from 2020, Flayed Alive EP in 2021, […]

Cognizance – Phantazein

I became a fan of the UK’s technical death metal band Cognizance, from their Inquisition EP, their debut release in 2013, and reviewed it back then.  I was pretty blown away by the array of technical wizardry and monstrously brutal moments.  The band reminding me of Beneath The Massacre/Obscura type of music.  After releasing a […]

Dusk- Dissolve into Ash

Mid-West death doomsters Dusk had a cool album back in 1995 …Majestic Thou in Ruin.  After breaking up in the late 90’s they reformed in 2015 and this is the band’s second full-length album Dissolve into Ash, at the end of 2023. The legitimacy of such a reformation, which happened several years back, is the […]

Osiah – Kairos

This UK deathcore band has been busy over the last few years in terms of writing and playing shows.  Osiah’s last full-length album in 2021, Loss, I felt was pretty damn monstrous and their best album.  The band somewhat falls into the category of technical deathcore and while there are those prevalent influences, I find […]