This was a bit of a rocky road initially for me. By that I mean “getting into” the music of this split release from Wooden Stake and Blizaro. Given my often mood-driven response to CDs, it is not surprising that the first time or two this one wasn’t clicking. And that’s exactly why one or […]

Consistency is the name of the game with Decrepitaph. Wayne “Elektrokutioner” Sarantopolous (drums, guitar, bass, keyboards, backing vocals) and Sinworm (vocals, guitar, bass) will never be anything but an authentically doomy death metal band that plays with a passion for the old school and takes care to write the best songs possible within those parameters, […]

The story of the Grotesque Impalement EP is an interesting one, as it was actually self-released (on the band’s own Blunt Force Records) in 1999 as a “holdover” album between Killing on Adrenaline and Destroy the Opposition. Relapse has now reissued the EP with a new package, a remastering job, liner notes from Jason Netherton, […]

It’s hard to believe this album was originally released in 1996 on Pulverizer Records. Fifteen years ago? Really? What’s so surprising is what an obvious influence Dying Fetus—and albums like Purification through Violence—has been on the brutal death end of the spectrum, particularly the sub-genre known as slam metal. Check out the first break into […]

As a long forgotten Russian philosopher once said, “Sometimes the shit just comes out.” Welcome to the world of ADHD and heavy metal, bitches! I love playlists and, well, just about any list of metal favorites strewn together by fans, critics, musicians, and pretty much anyone else with a pulse. Combine that with a three decade obsession with heavy metal and a continual need to translate to paper the miasma of absurdities filling my brain on a daily basis, thereby saving the sanity of those around me, and you’ve got “Scott’s Infrequent Playlist of the Absurd.” I’ll to make this infrequent event a frequent one, but it’s not like I can just make this stuff up at will. It’s a disease, man; a wonderful, wonderful disease.

Two Finnish black metal bands and 10 tracks of creativity, bizarreness, and harsh winter winds, brought to you by Russian label Helvete.ru. This one had me at that deceptively simple, yet wholly appropriate, album title, Because it’s Wrong. It’s just so right. Verge opens this conference of the damned with an eclectic style of black […]

Excellent; just plain excellent. This is the sound of true Brazilian black/death thrashing terror. You know the lineage: Sarcofago, Vulcano, etc. On Grave Desecrator’s Insult, the list includes the likes of early Slayer and Altars of Madness era Morbid Angel as well. Well played, chaotic, and memorable, this is what one might call the cat’s […]

Her laugh is infectious, her spirit is addictive, and her stage presence is second to none. The person to whom I refer is Veronica Freeman, a heavy metal icon and an incredibly powerful singer that deserves far wider recognition than she’s gotten, as does her band, U.S. traditional metallers Benedictum. Witnessing Benedictum bring the house down at the 2007 edition of Chicago PowerFest in support of debut album Uncreation was by far the most pleasant surprise of that weekend and I’ve been a fan ever since.

I enjoyed this one. How’s that for a bare bones, straight forward assessment devoid of all the fluff and metaphor of the typical critical review? But I’m sure I’ll still end up tossing in some metaphorical blather anyway in some desperate attempt to be clever. Singapore’s uniquely <ahem> named Pyscho brings an effective mix of […]

Macabre and Willowtip? Now that’s a pairing that took me by surprise. The Impaled signing and subsequent release of The Last Gasp seemed a tad askew too, though not in any kind of a shocking way. None of that should be taken to mean they weren’t smart signings though; only that Macabre in particular is […]

Three albums in and Shaun LaCanne’s Putrid Pile is something along the lines of a household name; death metal households anyway. Along with Shawn Whitaker (Insidious Decrepancy, Viral Load) and Peter Hasslebrack (Bloodsoaked), LaCanne took the one-man-band concept and turned it into a legitimate death metal form that rivals most trios, quartets, and quintets. Album number three, House of Dementia (Sevared Records) is the most accomplished Putrid Pile release to date. Having seen Shaun performed at the 2008 and 2010 editions of Central Illinois Metalfest, I can personally attest to his chops as a stage performer as well. As it had been several years since I interviewed Shaun for Metal Maniacs (R.I.P.), I figured it would be a good time to catch up and discuss his impressive list of accomplishments since 2003’s Collection of Butchery was released.

Are you ready for the Necro Pummel? You damn well better be because on Pissed on Resurrectine Baton Rouge’s Slime in the Current brings it cold, hard and with extreme malice. What a great debut album from a band that formed in 2006, yet whose members have been in “several noteworthy musical projects with over […]

Some of you may remember that one year ago my first interview with Vetis Monarch of Canada’s Weapon was published here. Following the release of Drakonian Paradigm (one of my favorite albums of 2009), it was intended to explore Monarch’s musical/lyrical world of the mystical, the occult, and the brilliantly black metal. Here we are again and Weapon has released another masterpiece in From the Devil’s Tomb, a longer, denser, and indisputably heavier affair that retains the exotic flourishes and black/thrash basis, whilst delivering the goods with an approach that bludgeons with death metal force. As such, a Weapon album will again be included in my year-end Top 10 list. Vetis Monarch offers an insider’s view of From the Devil’s Tomb.

OK, Forcefield Records, you’ve got my attention! Having just returned from a blissful trip through the vinyl corridors of the Cough/The Wounded Kings split LP, An Introduction to the Black Arts, I’m thrown for an even bigger loop by Inter Arma’s Sundown. At least I had some idea of the quality that awaited me with […]

God Dethroned is one of those death metal bands that define reliability, consistency, and excellence, almost to the point where I think they are sometimes taken for granted and perhaps not afforded the level of recognition they deserve. Some will point to albums like 1992’s The Christhunt, 1997’s The Grand Grimoire, or perhaps 2001’s Ravenous as the classics, in many cases due to nostalgia associated with remembering that first album that sucked you in for good.

I remember hearing Black Witchery’s Upheaval of Satanic Might for the first time and immediately thinking “Goddamn!” It was a straight ahead, unrelenting barrage of blasphemy to an almost ridiculous extent. And yet, it worked because of that all-important, yet indefinable, thing called vibe that gets the blood boiling and a scowl imprinted on one’s […]

An odd spelling for the band name, a digital-only label that offers its releases to the masses for free download, and an approach to death metal that is traditional, song-centric, and just damn heavy… In the case of Contaigeon’s Death as the Gates of Delirium on UK label Works of Ein, the combination is a winning one.

You think you know the underground? You don’t know shit! Sorry, got a little carried away there; just exaggerating for effect, no offense. But seriously, folks, Serbia’s NadimaČ is about as underground as it gets these days, at least as far as exposure outside of the Slavic region and a staunch DIY work ethic are concerned. With a slew of releases (full-lengths, splits, comps, vinyl, DVDs, etc) on labels like China’s (yeah, China) Area Death Productions, and singing in their native tongue exclusively, NadimaČ is one band that truly puts the music first and money/fame a distant…ah hell, who are we kidding? It’s not a consideration.

Good Polish death metal (seems redundant, doesn’t it?) on a good Polish metal label. I needed this, as from what I can recall it’s been a while since I’ve had a filling meal from one of Poland’s head chefs. Calm Hatchery’s Sacrilege of Humanity is modern, chunky, and memorable. Chew your food for Christ’s sake! […]

Drug Honkey; that name is just so right on so many levels. Perhaps we shouldn’t even delve into the specifics of those levels and instead focus on Death Dub, a series of brain-warping hits from the world’s acidic blotter. There is doom, there is death/doom, there is experimental/death/doom, and then there is this. Experimentally wandering […]

If you remember that old song “Mama, Don’t let your babies grow up to be Satanists,” then you’ll have an idea about the message conveyed on Nocturnal Blood’s Devastated Graves – The Morbid Celebration. Well, except for the “don’t” part. The work of a lone (like in the sense of “lone gunman”) Californian, this half-hour […]

You mean The Dead consists of three Australian musicians of the extreme whose neural pathways were warped in some internal fire of the mind, resulting in a sludgified, space truckin’ and head trippin’ terror march through death metal inhabited worm holes…or some shit like that? How absolutely shocking.

In metal more than any other genre it seems that the domain of the small/underground record label is more often than not run by those with a genuine appreciation and love of the music over anything remotely resembling profit motivation. That is certainly the case with Iordan K, owner, operator, and overload of Stormspell Records. The music offered is, in the most fundamental of terms, Heavy Metal. If it furthers your understanding of the Stormspell mission, then you may also wish to consider descriptors like “old school,” “traditional,” or “classic” heavy metal, as well as “thrash.” Iordan prides himself on offering the complete package to consumers and eschews MP3 sales. He also scours the planet in a quest to find the true gems of the genre, whether old, new, obscure, or geographically isolated. Iordan’s story is an interesting one, to say the least, and Stormspell Records is one of the coolest labels on this planet we call Earth. Read on, learn, and support metal! Labels like Stormspell and guys like Iordan deserve it.

The story behind Fleshwrought is a rather interesting one; the music on Dementia/Dyslexia less so. All this flesh has been wrought primarily at the hands of ex-Animosity drummer Navene Kopperweis (guitars, drums, bass) who began the project in 2003 with the aid of a 7-string guitar, a computer, and some recording software. Later on he […]

Keep it coming, baby! I’m talking about the gurgling, coughing, crackling, and crushing sounds of old school Swedish death metal! The good stuff; not the weak imitations. There has been a resurgence of the filth these last couple of years in terms of new bands forming, old bands reuniting (or simply coming off long hiatuses), and an increased level of recognition for the forefathers. Sweden’s Interment is one of those “old” (circa 1988) Swedish death spine snappers that saw fit to reunite years later, releasing a gnarly split with the lordly Funebrarum in 2006 and knocking one out of the park with this year’s Pulverised Records’ release Into the Crypts of Blasphemy. Here is what guitarist/vocalist Johan Jansson (ex-Centinex, Demonical) had to say about it.