The year of the EP was 2024. Without a doubt I think I covered more Eps last year than any other in recent memories; granted that my brain is Swiss fucking cheese but whatever. Eps ruled! Abschwörzunge has unleashed hell with its incredibly bleak outlook on humanity in sonic form with Whorl. It’s a dirty, […]

Something is going on in Tennessee. There’s stench in the air, it’s foul and nauseating and is permeating the Death Metal community with some fresh blood. Enter Ritual Fog from Memphis and their chest bursting debut But Merely Flesh. Following a split EP and the release of the single Visions of Blasphemy; both in 2022, […]

I’ve always loved soundtracks and instrumental albums in general. This has been a great year for instrumental Death Metal and Dark Wave and these Italian maniacs have crafted a second amaze-balls album aptly named Gothron Vs Fartark. Apparently, there’s a story going on between these alien forces… It’s mind blowing, indeed. From the press release: […]

I received a Mother of Graves shirt through the Metalhead Box a while back and whenever I get a shirt from them I’ll check out the band (most of the time it’s bands I’ve never heard of).  Which brings me to the new album from these Indianapolis purveyors of monumental Death/Doom. The Periapt of Absence […]

I’m thankful for Death Metal. The crushing heaviness of daily life is magically mutilated with each blast beat and sick as fuck riff. Moss Upon the Skull has been the soundtrack to my life for the past week. They’ve been in the game since 2010 and released their “Imperial Summoning” single back in 2014 followed […]

Back in 1987 I was still discovering what Thrash Metal was. I was familiar with Metallica and Megadeth and when the opportunity came, I found myself buying Helloween’s Keeper of the Seven Keys part 1 at the local mall in Shreveport, Louisiana. Holy shit, not only were these guys fast as a fucking shark; they […]

There are crazy bands and then there are bands that throw logic out the window with the fucking baby. They twist sounds out of their instruments that sound like screaming robots one minute and then erupt into mindgasms that show the limits of electronics shattered one note at a time. Enough hysterical talk aside, Furze […]

I have an unequivocal love for themed Death Metal bands. VHS, Fulci, Fluids, Satanic Tea Company and Surfin Bird Death Metallers Kólga. I mean, yeah there’s Alestorm but they’re sort of becoming a ‘party, party, drink, drink’ band like Steel fucking Panther and less fun than when they were keelhauling motherfuckers instead of getting plowed […]

2024 has been the year of the EP. I think I might have covered more EPs this year than in previous and that’s not a bad thing. They’re bite sized albums, five maybe six tracks; half an hour tops. Yet within those handfuls of tracks, magic (albeit a dark, blood soaked and decapitated rabbit) can […]

A traditional American dinner consists of meat and potatoes, usually with a vegetable of some sort. It’s one of my favorite foods because it fills me up and that’s how I often view American Death Metal; comparisons could be made but I’m not really going to go down a rabbit hole here so think a […]

Today was a perfect Gothic day. The air was filled with the smell of burning limbs from my wood pile and there was a feeling of foreboding, impending doom on my mind. It was a perfect way to be introduced to the debut from Whispering Void, a collective of some of Norway’s most talented musicians; […]

Vivé le France part deux? See I just finished a review for fellow countrymen Mercyless,  and their recent Those Who Reign Below album,  and who could probably arm wrestle Loudblast for the notoriety of the first French Death Metal band. However according to Metal Archives, Loudblast is the first, so I don’t fucking know and […]

Canada produces, on average, some of the finest, most killer Black Metal and Death Metal. It’s the home to Black Metal titans Blasphemy, Death Metal tricksters VHS, and hordes of other, equally deadly bands capable of crushing the listener into mulch. Enter Sedimentum. Suppuration morphogénésiaque was at the top of my year-end list that year, […]

Vivè la France! After hosting the most controversial and Metal as fuck Olympics that saw countrymen Gojira performing next to a headless Marie Antoinette and a feast of mythological proportions; all in the opening ceremony. Mercyless are also from France, and although they play a significantly different style of Death Metal than Gojira, they bring […]

Back in 1986, I was just a fledgling Metalhead. I had cut my teeth on Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and KISS, but in 1986 three albums came out that changed my life: Reign in Blood, Master of Puppets and Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying? All of a sudden I wanted the fastest music I could […]

Back in the early 2000s as I was still learning about Eastern European extreme metal I discovered a number of bands that may or may not have sketchy politics. Dub Buk, Nokturnal Mortum (their early days), Graveland and this Arkona from Poland. I was already familiar with the Russian folk band Arkona and wanted to […]

“Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And unto this, Conan, destined to wear the jeweled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow. It is I, his chronicler, who alone can tell thee of his saga. Let me tell you […]

It’s finally Fall. The best of the seasons in my humble opinion, especially here in the Southwest where temperatures have been in the triple fucking digits. Granted there have been albums that lowered my mental temperature, but none have done what Mork has done with Seventh album Syv. From the press release: Syv was performed, […]

I’m never sure what I’m going to get when I go into a Ghaal album, whether it’s his Wyrd project or God Seed or even Gorgoroth. I mean, he’s really known for Gorgoroth and his last album with them, Ad Majorem Sathanas Glorium remains one of my favorite releases, it was a bit experimental and […]

One day I’ll visit Finland. This crazy arctic land produces some of the finest Black and Death Metal that the Metal community feeds on daily. Impaled Nazarene, Behexen, Sargeist, and Satanic Warmaster are four of my favorite bands from there, but my top favorite is undoubtedly Horna; this strange, evolving demon that has existed since […]

1349 is the year that the Black Death swept through Norway. It’s only fitting that a Black Metal band would eventually take such a brutal portion of time and name their band after it. 1349 came out of the ashes of Alvheim in 1997 with Ravn (vocals, drums), Tjalve (guitars), Seidemann (bass), and Balfori (guitars). […]

Flotsam and Jetsam https://www.flotstildeath.com/ I’ve waxed nostalgic about the 80s many times. I enjoy being able to watch or listen to something from the decade and say “I remember when that happened” like that time when Flotsam and Jetsam‘s original bassist Jason Newstead joined Metallica. I remember when that happened… Anyway, if you know that […]

“Before the tragedy, no one ever thought this band was going to exist without Trevor.” When Trevor Strnad passed away the world of Metal was shaken to the core. That above quote from TBDM co-founder Brian Eschbach is taken from the press release and it’s a heartbreaking statement. Trevor had such a huge presence, both […]

Black Metal is a finicky genre. It goes through shifts and changes that keep it moving forward and there’s enough bands both established and brand new that it’s creative integrity and spiritual voice of the 90s continues to infect the new blood. El Jefe forwarded the new Hammerfilosofi EP SOLUS (Igne Natura Renovator Integra) to […]

When was the last time an album hit you with such emotion that you felt like it was casually going to rip your heart out and leave you with a gaping hole where your emotions used to live? I have a list of bands that have created music like that, and those are the ones […]