So here is a reunion I’m not sure anyone was really clamoring for. Fall of Serenity came up with fellow Germans Heaven Shall Burn, releasing their first material on a split with HSB in 1999. They released four albums between 2001-2007 that all delivered the same sort of metalcore/hardcore/melo death sound (although their debut was […]

Is this the Death/Doom album of the year? That’s for you to decide, bitch. However, Death/Doom is absolutely my wheelhouse and I have been underwhelmed by a lot of the output so far this year. At this time last year, I felt the same, and then Mother of Graves punched me in the gut. So, […]

I know that a lot of you out there are ready for the oncoming warmer weather – and to be fair, there’s certain aspects of the summer that I do certainly look forward to. The fishing, the hiking, the outdoor cooking – you’ll get no argument from me that these are just some of the […]

One of the best perks of writing for Teeth of the Divine for a couple years now is that bands I’ve previously reviewed, such as Mountaineer, are releasing new material. Their last effort, Bloodletting, scored high marks from me, but their brand of post metal overall has not done much for me since then. On […]

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 […]

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 […]

Heavy metal sub genres are often pretentious, yet commonly essential. To an outsider, it may seem unnecessary and even ridiculous. Then again, it can seem that way to an insider, too. I’m sorry to offend the local post progressive blackened Swedish grindcore expert. I even had an appearance on a short-lived podcast in college where […]

I, like I’m sure many of you reading this, LOVE beer. I brew my own beer. I love visiting new breweries and talking with brewers about their craft. I’m all for brewers trying new techniques and experimenting with different ingredients. That being said, it’s also very easy for brewers to just go too fucking far. […]

If you’re like me, then the Fall and Winter seasons sees an influx in your doomy/gothic/rocking death metal listening schedule. Whether it be the colder temperatures, the dying/dead fauna, the colorless and cloudy skies, or the realization that we as individuals and as a whole are yet another year closer to our own demise, this […]

When a promo manages to name drop Insomnium, Turisas, Monnsorrow and Omnium Gatherum it its one sheet press release, you get my attention, if just to see how bloated the claims are. But this Finnish act has somehow managed to cull from all of their fellow Finns and drop a solid third album full of […]

Aching and expressive, hard-hitting and restrained, overwhelming and minimal, the sounds heard on the sophomore album Passages from Oakland, California’s Mountaineer are a sprawling range of opposites that form a sonic conglomerate aimed for a total takeover.  Post-rock/post-doom or whatever you want to call it is the band’s decided monolithic calling card but their layer […]

With UK metal and death metal in particular being in a full and impressive resurgence, one only need to look to Scotland’s Man Must Die for arguably the catalyst for the current swath of killer death metal coming from the fair isle. With 2004’s …Start Killing and then two subsequent releases on Relapse Records (2007’s […]

Right out the gate, I expected to be floored by this new release of Omium Gatherum‘s, and I’ll suppose the hype was at *least* partly right on the money. I can’t say I absorbed everything on the whole ordeal without cringing a single time, or that I drank it up like it’s the finest lager […]

Germany’s Deadlock Makes it back on the scene with their 5th studio release “Bizarro World” which yet again doesn’t seem to quite cut it as far as getting them too much recognition in the metal community.  From what I’ve heard from their last albums and read online they don’t change things up too much.  Straying […]

A new Omnium Gatherum album is always something I highly anticipate. Each of their four albums leading up to New World Shadows, their fifth, has been an excellent slice of melodic death metal with that unmistakable Finnish slant. Each has had it’s own unique feel, a noticeable progression from the last, and New World Shadows […]

Swedish progressive hardcore act Burst released two of my favorite albums of the decade, 2006’s Origo and 2008’s Lazarus Bird – both a mesmerizing smash-up of jagged, breathless hardcore and dreamy, ethereal post-rock. However, they broke up last summer, which I only recently found out. Huge bummer. Lucky me then, that Italy’s At the Soundawn […]

Give it up to German-based act Dioramic for breaking the trend of naming their post-hardcore/mathcore band with a three-or-four word phrase. Although I’m not entirely sure how the arty name they’ve chosen fits their sound ― perhaps a reference to the shifting perspective and composition you get from viewing a diorama from multiple angles? In […]

Anyone who wrote off Nightrage after their last album, A New Disease is Born, would do good to give them another shot. Wearing a Martyr’s Crown sees them once again in top form on par with Descent Into Chaos or even Sweet Vengeance. For starters, the Tomas Lindberg replacement vocalist Jimmie Strimmel is gone, and […]

Credit where credit’s due, not only have WFAHM continued to pursue the jagged, distorted path laid down from their prior releases but have more importantly, remained active. It’s particularly admirable given the current climate and the fact that people are becoming more and more fickle about how they burn their disposable income each month (providing […]

Ok, there is something to be said for band’s who play this sort of Melodic Screamo music. The musicians can play, the vocalist (when he’s not enducing his own anyerism) can carry a tune and the musical arrangements take chops. So, I don’t want to sound like I can’t at least appreciate what they’re trying […]

Christian Älvestam from Swedish Death Metal monsters MISERATION checking in: We are set to enter the Panic-Room studios late June, once again with producer Tomas “Plec” Johansson at the helm, to record the follow-up to our debut album “Your Demons – Their Angels“. The new album, entitled “The Mirroring Shadow“, will most likely include eight […]

I am about to rant and demean this puppy inside and out. So beware. CD’s like this just aggravate me to no end. This will stand as one of the year’s worst records in my list. Deadlock where fairly new to the scene a few years ago and showed some potential in the female/male fronted […]

I’ve come to the conclusion that melodic death metal is not dead – far from it. Yes, it is extremely over-saturated, what with everyone and their brother doing some sort of Gothenburg inspired band, then you have to take into consideration all the American metalcore (and worldwide copycats) bands aping and raping the style, but […]

I like sweets – occasionally. Usually I find some new candy that’s relentlessly addictive, and I binge on it for awhile, until I tire of it. The same can be said of a band like Raunchy. They have a sound that is ridiculously catchy and formulated for mass appeal – the kind of stuff that […]

Lifeforce Records is proud to announce the addition of Charlotte, NC’s SENECA to their roster!Formed in 2002, SENECA have been hard at work creating a name for themselves over the past six years. Since the release of their first Self-Titled, full-length in 2004, SENECA has indeed seen the true colors of their musical identity brought […]