Galloping guitars galore! If you’re a fan of Mors Principium Est (and alliteration), get those sweet buns in here and check out their new album. It’s exactly what you expect, but in some cases, like with pizza, that’s not a bad thing. If you didn’t know, Mors Principium Est deal in death. Melodic death, to […]

I pose, that instead of purchasing carnations for your love on Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or whatever dumb bullshit humanoids in love celebrate, instead perhaps purchase Carnation. Give your love the gift that keeps on giving. The gift of blistering death metal. We last heard Belgian death metallers Carnation when they released a banger of Florida-style […]

If one had asked me last year; “Hey, you stupid, fat piece of shit, who is your favorite death doom band,” I would have said “Insomnium…?” With a question mark at the end, asking almost incredulously. The reason behind that is I had very little experience. If you’ve followed my reviews, you’ll know death doom […]

Atrae Bilis is promoted as technical death metal. Canadian technical death metal, to be specific. I didn’t know this, or at least had never thought about it before, but with that genre tag, they’re in great company. Gorguts, Cryptopsy, and more recently, Archspire fit that bill. As just mentioned, great company, even if I don’t […]

When I decided to pick up the new album (his second overall) from The Devil’s Trade, I was looking for a bit of a change of pace. You know, the old “listening to nothing but heavy music” into which we metal reviewers sometimes find ourselves. It’s often a good idea to take a step back […]

Ohhhhhhhh, yessssss! The new Paul Bearer record. Wait, that’s not right. Pallbearer. There it is. There’s no Undertaker here. Although, this album may make you sit up like him when you hear it for the first time. So, this is another mainstream metal release that probably has received glowing reviews in Pitchfork as well as […]

 I’m not sure how many bands are called Undead, but what I do know is that you’ll receive 46 entries if you search for it on Metal Archives. To be fair, only 14 of those are just called Undead. The others just include the phrase in their name. Those are just the ones listed, though. […]

The introduction for an album by a band called Rancid Taint Discharge writes itself, but I’m an incredibly serious reviewer. I don’t have time for such childish musings (pushes up glasses). What you’re going to get here is the well-read, researched point of a view of a wise, learned man. So, let’s get right into […]

 The Ocean and I share a lot in common; It’s vast, salty, and sailors consistently die in it (what?). As for the band, the same rings true; They’re progressive, comprised entirely of Germans, and good for a release every couple of years (again, what). Since we share so much in common, it only seems fair […]

In the before times, earlier this year, I made it out to two shows. One of those was the Shadow of Intent tour which featured Signs of the Swarm, Brand of Sacrifice, and today’s review subject, Inferi. It was the first date of that tour at a really bad ass venue to which I had […]

“Hey, Farva! What’s the name of that restaurant you like with all the goofy shit on the walls and the mozzarella sticks?” “You mean ‘Shenanigans?!’ You guys are talking about ‘Shenanigans,’ right?” “Shenanigans?” “Tomfoolery?” “Fuckery?” All of these could apply in some circumstances to Dethlehem’s latest slab of fantasy, D&D inspired metal, which is called […]

Their new album, Nija, is my introduction to Orbit Culture. Before this, if I had been asked about them, I would have assumed they were a cult-like society dedicated to American astronaut John Glenn. They’re Swedish, so while that’s unlikely, I haven’t personally asked them. Not only am I (probably) incorrect regarding their origin story, […]

In my introduction to Coexistence, I figured I would talk about my introduction to Coexistence. Get it? I first found out about this band when their video for the track “Collateral Dimension,” also the title track of their debut album, randomly played on YouTube. I kind of knew what to expect when I saw the […]

According to the press release, this is full length number 17 for Smokey McPots (Chris Barnes). Apparently, there are 4 Graveyard Classics albums. Why? Anyway, I have 14 of those albums according to my iTunes library. I hold their debut Haunted in very high esteem, but the first real death metal record I ever heard […]

Ancst, which is German for “angst (you probably knew that, smarty pants),” describe themselves as “blackened death metal,” “metallic hardcore fusion,” as well as “blackened hardcore.” Honestly, all of these descriptions absolutely nail it. I have a little experience with these dudes (well, dude now), listening to and enjoy one of their previous albums Ghosts […]

To say I am a fan of Black Crown Initiate would probably be an understatement. They were originally scheduled to play a small craft beer festival I attended but had to back out. They were replaced by the mighty Byzantine, so no big deal. Regardless, I am a big fan of their previous full lengths […]

At this point, Enslaved can do pretty much whatever they want and need no introduction. If you don’t subscribe to that theory, I will fight you. Naked (I do all of my fighting in the nude exclusively). They’re no longer what one would necessarily consider black metal, although they have those influences creep up. At […]

Fires in the Distance just a few short years ago could have been a metaphor for the United States. Everything was going to burn, but it not yet. I doubt that was the inspiration behind the band’s moniker, but if it was and they decided to change it today, might I recommend the more appropriate […]

Ars Magna Umbrae’s previous album, Lunar Ascension, was a good, but not great representation of post black metal. One standout is that the cover looked like a duck-billed platypus. If you take one piece of information from this review, let that be it. You can’t unsee it. Once you’ve stopped laughing, you need to wipe […]

What would you get if you placed Hypocrisy, Soilwork, and Children of Bodom in a blender? Well, two things: Several murder charges and a smoothie of which Jeffrey Dahmer would be envious. If you just wanted to mix their musical styles instead of all the people, you may have something similar to Buried Realm. For […]

If you didn’t enjoy 2019’s Of Rot and Ruin by Hath, I don’t know what to tell you. Despite the fact that I don’t much care for “Star Wars” and I thought the band was called “Hoth” in an homage, I still gave it a listen. When I realized my mistake, I was glad to […]

Power metal. I don’t think there’s a single metalhead I have met who doesn’t have a soft spot for it. When speaking with other metalheads, there are many favorites who come to mind; Helloween, Blind Guardian, Sabaton, Manowar, Iced Earth, and, hell, even Judas Priest. One’s favorite or favorites sometimes has to do with when […]

One of my best and oldest friends is a former metal and rock producer as well as FOH for a prominent metal band. He once told me: “With how cheap and easy it is to make a clear recording now, why would anyone settle for less?” That’s verbatim, of course. He’s not a fan of […]

Before starting this review, I was listening to/reviewing the reissue of Winter’s 1990 masterpiece Into Darkness. Whether directly or not, I can tell they had an impact on Lantern and their new album Dimensions. I bought into the hype of Lantern’s previously release, but it overall left me with a cold feeling. Not that cold, […]

When it comes to Inexorum, I purchased Lore of the Lakes without hearing a single note, simply based off the description and the high praise of critics. While I did enjoy the album, I was kept from thoroughly enjoying it for one reason: electronic drums. In a lot of instances, they’re fine, barely noticeable, and […]