In a previous review that I did for the recent Lux Ferre release (I will wait a minute, while you go read that review) I mentioned when listening to metal, for the most part, I look for that energy, the aggression, something that will get the head banging and just make me put the pedal to […]

Okay, lets see what we have here. If you are familiar with former Angelcorpse guitarist Gene Palubicki in the slightest, you know he’s a dude that does his thing and does it well, regardless of what band moniker he’s currently doing business under; and Blasphemic Cruelty is no different. What we have is about 20 minutes of […]

Not to be confused with Colorado’s tech death Execration or the many other Execrations, Norway’s Execration are an altogether different beast. Sounding very similar to country mates Obliteration, Execration play a murky, psychedelic and heavily Autopsy influenced style of death metal (also, think a nastier, dirtier version of Morbus Chron) that isn’t a quick, easy listen, but […]

Bondage babes, leather, chains, beer, sleaze and hellraising riffs are just some of the things that spring to mind when jamming the sophomore full-length from retro metal fiends, Midnight.  No Mercy for Mayhem might channel very similar territory to its much praised predecessor, Satanic Royalty, but it does so with such infectious energy and skin […]

Sweden’s Sorcery is considered one of the more obscure founding fathers of the Swedish death metal sound.  This compilation was released 2 years ago, but towards the end of 2013 Hells Headbangers Records reissued this onto a deluxe 2 cd set, with a new cover and this includes all their demo material. Disc 1 contains:  […]

One might have thought to himself at least once in his life that it would be unbelievably bitchin’ if Minor Threat sang only about anti-Christian themes and the Devil instead of all that straight edge and political mumbo jumbo. Or, if that would never happen, it would still be cool if a band came along […]

It’s fitting that the second full-length offering from this mysterious Polish entity is named after a poisonous, hallucinatory plant and the band is named after a book from Lovecraftian mythos, because each night I listened to this release at night time, on head phones, it resulted in nightmares, unsettled sleep, and according to my wife, […]

Though only active since 2008, Cerekloth is comprised of several members of the Danish metal scene including folks from The Cleansing, Usipian and Altar of Oblivion and following a couple of EP’s (Pandemonium Prayers & Halo of Syringes) the band has finally consolidated a solid line-up and released this accomplished debut album of grimy, groove-oriented […]

My only prior experience with this Aussie trio – now a four-piece – was a few tracks (in all honesty, I probably only made it through one) from their 2010 ear grater, Devil’s Poison, that I remember sounding like a drunken early Venom rehearsal. I guess that was the point, but it was lost on […]

I have to admit, I’m not a massive fan of Hells Headbangers, as their primarily dirty black/thrash spikes and Satan roster doesn’t do a whole lot for me. But when they kick out some real nasty death metal like  Deiphago  or Sanguis Imperum, they seem to hit it out of the park. And such is […]

Any decision about whether to purchase Nunslaughter’s DemoSlaughter should come down to your ability to answer one simple question. Are you a devoted fan of the long-running, rabidly anti-Christian, barbarous dealers of death? If the answer is “yes,” then you shouldn’t hesitate in picking up this comprehensive collection of songs from all six previously out […]

That ominous rumble you’re hearing in the distance is not a thunderstorm forming somewhere in the east. It’s the sound of CIANIDE’s Gods of Death moving steadily toward you. If you’re a friend, chances are you’ll survive the arrival. Foe? Forget about it; assume the position and starting kissing your ass goodbye. The long-running Chicago outfit has been leaving bruises and abrasions with every release unleashed, but the ugly death marches and rotten speed-kills of Gods of Death (Hells Headbangers) will in all likelihood be the one to inflict the most damage on unsuspecting listeners, in some cases lethally. Vocalist/bassist Mike Perum offers some pointers that will help you prepare for the impending carnage. Pay attention; your life depends on it.

Welcome to the blackened, blasphemous, and incendiary world of Hells Headbangers. Welcome to the blackened, blasphemous, and incendiary world of Flame. You’re familiar with the phrase “fits like a glove?” Welcome to Hell. You’ll make all those connections within seconds of raging inferno opener “Black Realm of Satanas” from March into Firelands, a collection of […]

Parental Warning: Explicit Language. You’ve been warned. You couldn’t possible come up with an album that is better described as “death metal punk.” Punk is the operative word, both in terms of Zach Rose’s (Nunslaugher, Crucified Mortals) snotty, fuck-it-all vocal enunciations, and the short, stripped down arrangements, which also share similarities with Nunslaugher’s primitivism. More […]

You’re a Deceased fan, aren’t you? I figured as much; I could smell it. Odds are that you fancy a bit of ye olde Slayer too. Am I right? Let us assume for the sake of argument that I am in fact correct in my calculated assumptions and throw in the gamble that horror themes […]

Excellent; just plain excellent. This is the sound of true Brazilian black/death thrashing terror. You know the lineage: Sarcofago, Vulcano, etc. On Grave Desecrator’s Insult, the list includes the likes of early Slayer and Altars of Madness era Morbid Angel as well. Well played, chaotic, and memorable, this is what one might call the cat’s […]

Generally when a beloved classic gets the reissue treatment I don’t take notice since I’ve already got an investment with the original version. Add the fact that there are no bonus tracks, so why take notice? First off the great new cover art, second the promo sleeve announcing not remastered but “mastered for the first […]

Emerging from a dank cave, reeking of rot and weed, a hideous crone hobbles toward you, a fat cauldron in her arms, bubbling over with a foul-smelling concoction. As she approaches, the smell of death on her breath wafts toward you, encircling you; your vision goes fuzzy.”Driiiiiiiink,” she rasps, “drink deeeeeeeeeply,” her gnarled and greasy […]

I remember hearing Black Witchery’s Upheaval of Satanic Might for the first time and immediately thinking “Goddamn!” It was a straight ahead, unrelenting barrage of blasphemy to an almost ridiculous extent. And yet, it worked because of that all-important, yet indefinable, thing called vibe that gets the blood boiling and a scowl imprinted on one’s […]

If you remember that old song “Mama, Don’t let your babies grow up to be Satanists,” then you’ll have an idea about the message conveyed on Nocturnal Blood’s Devastated Graves – The Morbid Celebration. Well, except for the “don’t” part. The work of a lone (like in the sense of “lone gunman”) Californian, this half-hour […]

It’s probably not a good sign when your 3-year-old digs a metal album more than you do. But there he was, strapped in his car seat and still singing “Rockin’ and a Rollin’ Tonite!” after I’d skipped past the first track of Armour with a mix of impatience and disgust. Guess I don’t need to […]

I’d never been the biggest fan of Profanatica, although that had as much to do with my limited exposure to the act as any kind of outright distaste of the sonic pungency. While it’s not like I’m a loyalist now, the last couple of years gave me a new appreciation for Paul Ledney’s (Havohej, ex-Incantation, […]

Just as black metal keeps mutating into even more virulent strains, thrash continues vomiting up fresh new abominations as well. Not exactly sure what to call Australia’s charmingly titled Vomitor – necro-thrash seems to be the best fit, as it seems a filthy antipodal cousin to Darkthrone and Mayhem, as well as newer, bestial black […]

So raw it’s bleeding, Visions of Death from Moravia, NY’s Disfigured Dead is the antithesis of Pro-Tools death metal. As such, it comes across as an album on which guitar, bass, drums, and vocals electrify and eviscerate in complete contradiction with recordings that are polished and surgically precise. Stylistically, you are a treated to a […]

If that title does not aptly sum up the career and music of Sweden’s Bestial Mockery (R.I.P.), then I’m at a complete loss as to what would. 2007’s swansong full-length, Slaying the Life, might have been the final fuck-you nail in the coffin, a demonstration of the group at its black thrashing war metal best, […]