Two years ago, Ghost Brigade painted the wall behind me red with a shotgun blast that was Isolation Songs; it blew my mind. Just like having the back of your head wide open, the album, with its perfect combination of dread and melody, shimmered light into the genre that had long been somewhat stagnant. It […]

England’s Blueneck continue the ‘tradition’ set by fellow country mates Anathema and Mick Moss’ Antimatter. The band’s newest album, Repetitions, doesn’t stray too far from 2009’s The Fallen Host; although I’d probably call this a tad more melancholic and minimalistic as the band’s post-rock roots are a bit more hidden. Instead of rambling on for […]

There’s a very peculiar sound to Finnish bands that mingle between death and thrash metal. One can’t just throw in a few clear comparisons and call it a day (read: review.) Ravage Machinery, on their latest four song EP The Dystopian Tide, follow that path as they too have a sound that’s ‘universal’ but at […]

This year Tuska Open Air was relocated from the middle of Helsinki to a new location. Just a five minute ride away to former energy hub, Suvilahti. The scenery had shifted from a dusty city park to pure industrial concrete jungle. With scorching heat and some 30,000 metalheads crammed together, Tuska Open Air’s three-day metallic meal, headlined by Morbid Angel, Devin Townsend and Amon Amarth, could’ve been the onset of the apocalypse. Was it?

Have you ever heard an album that doesn’t suck nor does it rock the shit out of everything in its path… an album that’s just, uh oh, decent? Switchtense self-titled second full-length is that album. For its duration, it’s all entertainment and cupcakes, but after it ceases spinning, that’s it. It doesn’t leave a mark. […]

Medeia’s previous album, Cult, floored me with a blindside haymaker; the blend of melodic death metal and mainly Gothenburg-less metalcore really stuck out from the competition. The songwriting was tight, the riffs were tighter and the delivery was full of primal rage and enough technical finesse to make it all interesting. Three years later, the […]

Looking at the SAUNA OPEN AIR line-up is like taking a DeLorean for a spin; it’s a rad time machine back to the ‘80s. Or what else would you call a festival that gathers acts like Accept, Ozzy, Saxon, Doro, Helloween and Judas Priest together? Whatever it is, SAUNA OPEN AIR’s metalgrounds were filled with prowling headbangers―old and relatively young―craving for pure Heavy Metal.

Kauan’s Aava Tuulen Maa received (and will continue to do so) so many spins in my player that it’s borderline ridiculous. The album simply drilled a straight phone line—through my thick bashed skull—into my psyche. With that in mind, and it always is, it was hard to angle myself when I put the group’s latest […]

With 2005’s The Gathering Wilderness, Primordial turned the tide and rose from minor obscurity into everyone’s playlists. Two years later, To the Nameless Dead refined the band’s sound even more. Some bands become content and start to follow a formula, but with Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand, Primordial once again thrusts their sound forward, much […]

Fourteen Twentysix are not metal. Nor do they claim to be. Nor do I. Yet, for some reason, they fit Teeth of the Divine’s bill just fine. Last year I reviewed the band’s latest effort, Lighttown Closure, and while I thought it showed a lot of promise, it just didn’t quite reach the premise. This was one of the reasons why I got into a discussion with the band’s primus motor, Chris van der Linden. The other reason was, that on their upcoming new album, Antimatter’s Mick Moss will be making an appearance. Bang! Newsflash! Chris wasn’t the only one to take part in the party though, as Jelle Goossens and Tom van Nuenen from the band popped in and answered a few questions as well. Some even, related to metal.

When I first read about Kauan, there was something strange about it. A young fellow from Chelyabinsk, Russia doing neo-folk/ambient/post-rock in Finnish. He was no doubt inspired by Tenhi. My prejudice was proved wrong as the band’s latest output, ‘Aava Tuulen Maa’, became THE album of 2009 for me. After spinning it more times than I or iTunes could count in 2010, I decided to check up on Anton Belov ― the primus motor behind the music ― to see if I could become any wiser about what lies behind Kauan and Belov. Aside from the fact that Kauan’s upcoming album ‘Kuu’ is coming out soon on Italy’s Avantgarde Music.

As the year 2011 draws near, there isn’t anything new about post-rock being combined with metal aesthetics (or vice versa) yet Denmark’s AEDRA showcase themselves in a positive—if not solely unique—light by blending the emotionality of post-rock with slower and much meatier doom elements. But isn’t that what various post-metal/sludge bands have been doing throughout […]

The hype-machine surrounding France’s Holding Sand seems to be in full-swing and it appears as if the band is at the verge of breaking through—at least in France. Having played through their 17-minute EP On Sleepless Night, I can see why. Pure metalheads need not apply, since there’s isn’t much for you here, even if […]

There’s very little justice in the world of music. Even in Finland—a country of mere five million inhabitants that’s often regarded as a heavy metal mecca—bands destined for great things fall into obscurity after releasing one or two excellent albums. Take for example Sancnity, who could have contributed immensely to the progressive metal revolution in […]

Festivities ahoy! The 13th Tuska Open Air festival was to be held, for the last time, right in the middle of Finland’s capital Helsinki. Three days of metal with a strong line-up meant that the metal gathering held in Kaisaniemi park was going to be sold out: The 33,000 (and then some) visitors made sure the area was crowded. Cramped like sardines in a can. Compared to Sauna Open Air in June, the weather too was also different – pretty much the complete opposite as the temperature was lingering between 77 and 84 Fahrenheit. So, what happened?

Uh-huh! Israel’s Winterhorde’s new concept album Underwatermoon delivered, what some might call, a curveball straight to the balls. Without concerning myself with details, as the first few songs had passed, I was going to pinpoint the band’s take on melodic—if not lightly symphonic—blackened death metal somewhere between Western and Northern Europe; Germany, Italy, Scandinavia… but […]

Melodic Death Metal is still alive and kicking it seems. Hell, even Soilwork released a surprisingly good record just the other day. Yet, the stagnation and overcrowding of the genre doesn’t keep newcomers away, as Germany’s Cypecore want their piece of the cake with Innocent. Apparently released two years ago as a demo, now reissued […]

Running a heavy metal site isn’t hard. Running a good heavy metal site is. Being a Finn, I’ve got a hard time admitting the facts, but Teeth of the Divine is, in my opinion, a pretty good heavy metal site. But I’m not content. It could be better.

I’ve already contemplated about the state of French metal in a few other reviews this year, so I won’t dwell on subject too much. In fact, I’m getting rather tired of being surprised by the quality acts that stem from France; it would be refreshing to receive something that could be labeled as garbage. But, […]

Portugal’s Crushing Sun opens their newest album Tao with a Nevermore-ish riff, pummeling the listener right off the bat. While that’s pretty much where all the connections to the Seattle-band end, Tao is heavy – and by heavy, I mean crushingly so. On all of the promo sheets, the music’s being labeled as ‘progressive death […]

Fourteen Twentysix is a musical extension of Chris van der Linden – a solo efforts of sorts. Aside from a bit of help here and there, Lighttwon Closure sees the Dutchman doing pretty much everything and anything. I’m always a bit wary of such projects, as they tend to set their goals far higher than […]

Sauna Open Air―held just a few minute walk away from the central of Tampere-city, Finland―had the pleasure to start off my music summer this year, even though the weather was anything but summer-y. The line-up has often relied on heavy metal and hard rock, with a strong sense of 80s in the mix. It’s like Sweden Rock Festival, but quarter of the size. There’s also a huge local component to the festival, with small, medium and big Finnish bands getting a ton of airtime. As a cherry on top, the festival also seems to cater to a theme; offering something different and/or something ‘new’. This year the ingredient was metalcore. Without further a due, let’s reminisce!

It occurred to me a while back that a lot of the stuff that I converse with the most is one way or another—if only barely—connected to black metal. This was a revelation of sorts to me, as I’ve never considered myself a fan or particularly open to the genre. I have no interest for […]

When I started writing for the now-defunct Digital Metal (around 2002), France seemed like an insular metal nation. There weren’t too many Tricolore-bands that I could mention by name. The bands that did get some airtime, were marginal and quite frankly, seemed to require an exquisite taste simply because they were very—lack of a better […]

Had it not been for Britney Spears, the world wouldn’t have been introduced to bad boy gone good Kevin Federline and his monumental release Playing with Fire. What a random statement to pop in my head. In completely unrelated news, I was stunned to find out Finland’s pixie rock outfit Indica had secured a deal […]