Arcturus, Solefald, Manes, Morgul, Frantic Bleep – all part of an avant-garde, oddly theatrical sub-genre of black metal, and all of them from Norway. Now you can add Vulture Industries to that list, and if you’re an Arcturus fan, you’ve got good reason to rejoice, because debut LP The Dystopian Journals sounds like it could […]

I’d heard of this band years ago, when they started gaining recognition during the tail-end of the ill-fated nu-metal movement. Never bothered to check them out, but seeing as If, their fourth album, is being released by The End Records (that bastion of iconoclasts and experimental goodness), and that it also debuted at #27 on […]

I hadn’t heard of Venomous Concept before I threw this in, but the atrocious album art gave me the impression it was either going to be very silly, very bad, or both. So you can imagine my surprise when the ragged, chaotic grindcore/punk of opening track “Drop Dead” raped my face with its awesomeness. It […]

I haven’t heard this Belgian black metal band’s previous release, Ultimate Crescendo of Hell, but I understand that they’ve since changed their sound to avoid the Satyricon comparisons they were getting. Odd, considering that a) that’s a good thing, b) they still sound like Satyricon and c) Deathcult Salvation is impressive in its own right. […]

Although used sparingly, a distinct, striking psychedelic influence began creeping into USBM act Nachtmystium with their past two albums, Eulogy IV and Instinct:Decay. A rippling soundscape here, a feedback-soaked, emotional solo there – they were just the first tentative tabs under the tongue. On Assassins, we get a handful of the good stuff. (So if […]

It’s ironic that a band called Dead Congregation, with gleefully offensive song titles like “Feasting Angelcunts” and “Vomitchrist,” can be so pleasurable. The metal-uninitiated may not understand what’s going on in this relentless battery, but they also don’t have the same well-furrowed neural pathways that only comes from years of learning and appreciating all the […]

I remember seeing some pretty wretched reviews for Now, Diabolical when it was released – claims that Satyricon had finally deconstructed and dumbed-down their sound to a simplified parody of their once-feral greatness. I didn’t think so – sure, it was minimalist, but not toothless – it still seethed in the right places, and rocked […]

Based on the liner notes that accompanied this disc, it sounds as if Karelia have been searching for a comfortable niche over their 8-year career. They started as power metal on Usual Tragedy, and then downshifted to a more mellow, poppy experience on Raise. And with Restless, it seems they’re trying on the eyeliner and […]

If you’re going to name your band Klone, you’d better have something original to present, whether you hide that C behind a K or not. At first, opening track “Candlelight” seems solid enough, though clearly influenced by fellow countrymen (France) Gojira. A sludgy, low-end lurch, a very similar vocal delivery, and then, the chorus glides […]

Featuring current and former members of Neurosis, Tombs, Unsane and Swans, A Storm of Light is exactly what you might guess based on the title and cover: a massive tsunami of sound and thunder, intent on submerging you beneath its crushing waters. It’s progressive hardcore/doom with a tortured, nautical theme: slow, crashing slabs of guitar, […]

Just based on the cover, which features a skinned rabbit dressed in lacy dollclothes (rather than the usual demiglace), you can already predict that this will be some sort of loopy, eccentric goth-metal. Eths certainly has a touch of the avant-garde, but musically, it’s a more familiar blend of metalcore and nu-metal. Comparisons to Slipknot […]

Anders Friden should be feeling pretty sheepish right about now. Sure, In Flames is probably selling tons of copies of A Sense of Purpose, but I think they had to cheapen and compromise their sound to do it. Scar Symmetry, on the other hand, took the initial seed planted by In Flames and Soilwork – […]

I knew nothing about this prior to putting it in, but the short track lengths clued me in that it would either be something experimental and ambient, or maybe grindcore. It’s grindcore alright, but executed with the speed and ferocity of black metal – like Anaal Nathrakh covering Slayer at double-time. Now, grind sometimes devolves […]

With its nighttime cityscape and tech-font title, I was pretty sure this side-project from current Susperia (and former Old Man’s Child) members Tjodalv and Memnock would be some form of industrial metal. Perhaps a futuristic update of the catchy, blackened thunder of those other acts, but replacing gothic pomp with synthesized deathscapes. Instigator is futuristic […]

Wow, where did this come from? David Galas‘ background is in darkwave (playing with Lycia), but The Cataclysm melds goth-rock, doom, alt-country and the blackest of post-rock to create a lush, oppressive odyssey to get utterly lost in. I haven’t heard the other band, but I hope he sticks with this sound – it’s completely […]

Seems like the whole retro punk/post-punk thing’s been around for so many years now that it’s become modern again. Band after band continues to crossbreed genres, reference points and each other to create output that maintains a core of familiarity, but still manages to sound fresh as well. New Hampshire’s Transistor Transistor sit somewhere in […]

Although the name ASRA sounds like an obscure piece of Buddhist meditation jargon, it’s simply an acronym for Alleged Satanic Ritual Abuse. (Which, for some reason, brings to mind Lou Diamond Phillips in The First Power.) And even if they’re Black Box’s newest grind signing, ASRA is looking firmly backwards towards a more classic sound. […]

Progressive metal sometimes isn’t very progressive – it’s become easy to predict that an album in that genre is going to offer dense, snaky rhythms, soaring vocals and perhaps a smattering of synthy sci-fi grandeur. What you might not expect, then, are delicate female vocals laid over contorted compositions, with random bursts of smooth jazz, […]

If Joe J. Fogarazzo were to walk into a headhunter’s office one day in search of a job, the agent would likely ask what his skills and qualifications are. And he would be able to list off his audio engineering degree, his music degree – and his three years spent studying mortuary science. And of […]

Across Tundras‘ name is a bit misleading – you might expect this to be another band of corpsepainted warriors, howling about the frozen north and the cold, cold, cold. It’s mournful and somber alright, but their inspiration is rooted much further south, in the American Southwest. Hailing from Denver, Colorado, Across Tundras plays a psychedelic […]

The metal underground is a pretty huge place, and although I’ve been aware of German black/thrash warriors Desaster for some time now, I’ve never gone out of my way to check them out. With so many bands straining against the ragged boundaries of the genre, mutating and splintering and recombining elements to create something fresh […]

This companion EP to last year’s terrific Fear of a Blank Planet has been accused of being a tack-on, due to the fact that it’s priced as a full release, but only features 4 songs. Those naysayers are even more sour than Steven Wilson’s mood – this is a fantastic release, and definitely not just […]

It’s a well-worn horror cliché that no matter how far or how fast you run, the hulking, machete-wielding murderer behind you will somehow always manage to catch up with you – even while trudging along at a much slower clip. This pretty much sums up Paganus, an extreme-doom act hailing from Finland who’ve crafted an […]

Trees seems an odd choice of name for this Portland quartet, who ooze a ponderously slow brand of psychedelic black doom. When paired with a different act, the name Trees would conjure up images of graceful boughs, sheaved in green and waving in the wind, or shaggy willows, drooping to brush their tendrils across a […]

Although it sounds like an ominous technological term, the word Synastry actually comes from astrology, and refers to the concurrence or connection between two different signs and their influence on two individuals in a relationship. I’m not sure why the band chose this name – maybe it just sounded cool – but perhaps it’s a […]