Unless it’s a play on Hellhammer, Hellsaw has to be one of the most unoriginal, ‘scary’ black metal band names I think I’ve ever heard. And then to call the album Cold, well, I wasn’t expecting this be a very inspiring listen. But surprise surprise, these Austrians have delivered a really solid, enjoyable example of […]

I thought this band was called Infernal Folklore, ‘cause that’s the only readable text on the CD. No help from that logo, either. Had to do a bit of research to find out that it’s actually called Infernal Scourge – how’s that for obscure underground status? A bit more research revealed that this is the […]

San Francisco’s reputation as a hotbed for forward-thinking USBM and post-black metal continues with Saros, featuring Leila Abdul-Rauf of Amber Asylum and Blood Eagle (formerly of Weakling) on drums. Abdul-Rauf’s dual vocal duties (rasped and ethereal) can’t help but bring up citymates Ludicra, and there’s a heavy dose of Agalloch-style neofolk in here as well. […]

A 20-part, hour-plus epic concept album mixing virtuoso progressive metal, blistering melodic death and symphonic grandeur? Sold. This French band comes off like the glorious blend of Scar Symmetry, Symphony X and Nightwish, with plenty of other influences – Cynic being a big one – popping up throughout. As you’d expect from those references, the […]

If someone walked up to you on the street, threw a handful of Sunkist Fruit Gems in your face and then whacked you in the nuts with a large mackerel, it’d be about as wtf surprising as the first few minutes of this album. This is the kind of spastic, dizzying assault first perfected by […]

This solo project by Polish artist Stanislaw Wolonciej mixes metal, prog, avant-garde and ambient, with some tonal parallels to the work of off-kilter acts like Frantic Bleep, Manes or Blake-era Ulver. Don’t get excited yet though – this is not as richly textured or as immersive as those bands, mostly due to the largely arrhythmic, […]

This is the debut from these Dutch folk/Viking metallers, and it’s a lively collection of good-natured anthems. The cover notes recommends it for fans of Heidevolk, Manegarm and Eluvetie. I’m not really big into this particular sub-genre, as my Viking/folk knowledge goes about as far as Moonsorrow, but this is tightly played and seems authentic […]

Fen – the British word for swamp – suggests a band with a sludgy, crawling sound, but that’s not the case with this UK-based act. Instead, this combines dry, murky black metal with buoyant melodies and expansive moodscapes to create a dynamic and often mesmerizing experience. Essentially, Fen comes off like the British version of […]

The haters can hate all they want, but I stand by my conviction that As the Palaces Burn and Ashes of the Wake are two of the most satisfying metal albums of the past decade. Lamb of God‘s (official) debut New American Gospel was impressive just for its caustic, spastic fury, but Palaces took that […]

While you don’t have to be depressed to enjoy depressive black metal, there’s probably only so much Walknut and Ruins of Beverast-style grimness you can take. That’s why a band like Svarti Loghin is a nice find. Like Drudkh, Alcest or Agalloch, they bring a warmer, more pleasantly wistful sound to the black metal experience […]

Formerly a medieval black metal act, this Italian three-piece has followed an Ulver-like trajectory to become something much more ambient, experimental and textural. I’m usually not quite sure to expect from this sort of thing, as it could either be 45 minutes of indulgent, formless studio wankery or an actual album experience. Luckily, Vuoto Spazio […]

I’m not a big Moonspell fan. Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard they’re back in top form with their recent releases, but I still haven’t heard them. In fact, I never listened to the band back in their Wolfheart heyday, so I recently checked that one out – and was terribly bored by the whole thing. I […]

Like Satyricon and Thorns? Then you’re bound to like this Polish act, who combine their mechanized brand of black metal with a variety of spacey effects and add-ons. Maniacal, undulating saxophones, distorted vocal samples and early 80s synth effects are thrown into the black metal mix on “Axis of Diagram.” Some carnivalesque, Arcturus-style menace and […]

Apt title, Janvs. Naming your band after the two-faced Roman deity is a good way to underscore the dual nature of your identity. In this case, it’s a fresh blend of black metal’s speedy ferocity with a more contemplative, emotional side. It might be too early to call these guys the Italian black metal Opeth, […]

This is the first release by a one-man project out of Germany. 24-year old Pius Grave handles songwriting, vocals and all instruments, including a triple guitar attack. Before putting this in, I had no idea what to expect, but this was a nice surprise. Soulthreat performs a combination of progressive and classic heavy metal, with […]

Enthrone Darkness Triumphant. Seen Through the Veils of Darkness. The Somberlain. In the Nightside Eclipse. If you already own or know these albums, then there’s nothing here that’s new or fresh – or that you haven’t already heard recycled elsewhere over and over. I hate to start off a review on a negative note, but […]

Imagine a Civil War battlefield, littered with the lumpen shapes of fallen soldiers from each side. As twilight falls and cries rise up, one man – barely out of boyhood – squirms in the blood-matted grass. His lips cracked with thirst and his stomach knotted in hunger, he drags himself to the canteens and rucksacks […]

Post-punk fans will know Jarboe as one half of seminal 80s act Swans, but aside from a 2003 collaboration with Neurosis, she’s a fairly unknown voice in the metal world. With MahaKali, she crosses over again, with Phil Anselmo and Attila Csihar along for the journey. Yet this is still really not metal, despite a […]

This Russian black metal outfit plays a no-frills, back to basics version of the genre. No choirs, no classical music, no synths or keys, no acoustic interludes or Viking themes or mouth harps or crackly atmospheric ambience. Just straight up buzzy black metal in the vein of early Gorgoroth. Compositions are strong, with melodies throughout […]

I went to see Dimmu Borgir a few years ago here in AZ. Before the show, my buddy and I went across the street to get some pre-show dinner at a popular cantina – the kind of place that’s usually a meet-market on the weekends for the image-conscious Scottsdale crowd. So imagine our surprise when […]

Trinacria started as a joint collaboration between Ivar Bjornson of Enslaved and the two members of Norweigan electronic/noisecore outfit Fe-Mail. Afterwards, the project grew, pulling in Arve and Grutle from Enslaved for an experimental blend of both bands’ sound. Given Enslaved‘s absolutely stellar output over the years, anything these guys are involved in is sure […]

I knew nothing about this band before tossing it in, other than that fact that the album was recorded in Turkey. I’ve heard metal from all over the world, but Turkish metal is a new one for me. Wonder what it sounds like. “Cynical Code” opens with rumbly death metal churn, and a melodic solo […]

What was formerly Count Nosferatu Kommando is now The Cosa Nostra Klub, as The CNK have reinvented themselves from industrial/symphonic black to a more martial, pompous brand of electro and metal. Based on the 1930’s goth-military uniforms and the propaganda cover art, I’m already hooked. Perhaps this will deliver what similarly-themed offerings – like Marilyn […]

German black metal outfit Inarborat takes its name from a track off Negura Bunget’s excellent Om. While their sound isn’t quite as exotic or evocative as that band’s, it’s still a well-written, convincing example of the genre. There are actually two sounds at work here – in its more frenzied moments, Inarborat conjures the frosty […]

In “The Art of Dying,” vocalist Joe Duplantier growls, ‘Take no possessions; I would rather travel light’ – but this thunderous, harrowing meditation on death is anything but. That track, arguably the core of The Way of All Flesh, begins with shamanic chants and tribal drumming before puncturing the veil to the other side – […]