It’s not often you’ll stumble across a band whose biggest influences are listed as “Norland–era Bathory, Tolkein and Thin Lizzy.” But that’s exactly what Chaos Records says is served up by American one-man black metal project, Rökkr… or as I’ve been calling it, because I’m a child, Al Rökkr. “That’s what’s going on around the […]

This is, if you haven’t figured it out by now, a site dedicated primarily to reviewing heavy metal music in all its various forms. Death, Black, Thrash, Grind, Power, blah blah blah blah, pretty much all are welcome here with open ears and arms. It’s safe to say that, personal stylistic preferences aside, all of […]

OK, hands raised, who here predicted that the 2021 metal album of the year would come from a speed/power metal band called Ültra Raptör? Anyone? *crickets* Anyone?… No one?… Well I’ve got just one thing to say to all you doubters out there! THIS… is not the 2021 metal album of the year. You’re right. […]

At the risk of discrediting the review right from the get-go, I’m just gonna come right out and say this: I’m a Black Soul Horde fan. I fucking love these guys. To my ears, last year’s Land of Demise was a sleeper pick for Traditional Metal album of the year, going toe-to-toe and blow-for-blow with […]

This is, apparently, album number 3 for these dudes – but it’s my first ride at the Mentor rodeo. I will say this: when I saw the excellent album cover of Wolves, Wraiths and Witches, I had a few preconceptions about what I’d find inside – that being some heavy, stonery-y doom metal project dripping […]

This is hardly any kind of hot take, but I’m a friggin’ sucker for heavy metal with big, booming, powerful voices. The kind of voices that can slam you to the floor, take your lunch money and probably smear some dog poop or something in your face. A real dick move, but that voice owns […]

One of the things I love most about music, and this especially applies to the wide-ranging world of metal, is that there are all kinds of ways a band can grab you by the throat and force you to give them your attention. It’s not a one-size-fits-all, one-formula-for-all situation. You can dazzle with an all-out […]

Where do legends go when they die? Well, in the case of Greece’s seminal Black Metal act Necromantia, the answer is… uh… probably Hell, right? I bet they’d be pretty surprised and disappointed to find themselves crossing the pearly gates instead… Necromantia, along with legendary acts Rotting Christ and Varathron, is widely regarded as being […]

OH HELL YEAH BOYS AND GHOULS! Spooky season is in full swing. I’ve been spending most nights catching up in Halloween Horror classics, tracking down new ones, just generally indulging in all things creepy and crawly during my favorite time of year. My music choices are certainly affected as well – subsiding on all the […]

War and Metal – It’s like peanut butter and jelly. Peanuts and beer. Peanuts and Chocolate. Peanuts and… uh… more peanuts? (I like peanuts. A lot). And generally speaking, while I’d prefer a world without war, I tend find myself gravitating towards metal bands leaning into wartime themes. Of course, some bands do the theme […]

Classic Buzzsaw Swedish Death Metal + legendary vocalist + group of accomplished metal musicians + some current or former dude from Katatonia = Bloodbath… right? Right. Except… not? I’ll tell ya, writing a supergroup review can always be an arduous task. We’re talking a collection of big names, dealing with unreasonable expectations, weighing it against […]

France may well be known by most as being the land of wine, cheese and romance. But those of us in the world of all things metal also know it’s home to some of the finest, most forward-thinking and respected metal acts in the world. Gojira, Deathspell Omega, Alcest, Blut Aus Nord – the list […]

This past year has been a tough one for… well, so goddamn many reasons. But in particular, the last year has seen the Metal community lose a heartbreaking amount of legendary and highly influential artists. LG Petrov (Entombed, Firespawn), Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom, Bodom After Midnight), Sven Gross (Fleshcrawl), Mike Howe (Metal Church, Heretic), […]

That album cover… I mean, BRA-FUCKING-VO. The mighty-as-hell Manowar-esque dudes holding various severed heads, the barely-clothed dusky maidens gazing upon our heroes here in awe and wonder. I mean, it’s just a thing of goddamn beauty. A modern classic in the realm of retro metal. I’ve been an absolute glutton for all these newer bands […]

OK so yeah, it’s only the end of July as I write this, but it’s never too early to start thinking of Halloween, right? It’s long been a dream of mine to host a big, haunted house for the neighborhood, but I want to get it right. My wife and I have owned a home […]

Expectations can be such a damn bummer sometimes. You go ahead and put your full effort into something because of trivial things like “passion” and “integrity” or whatever, and next thing you know you’ve got people like your boss, your spouse, your kids coming at you like “hey that last thing was great, you should […]

For a little while now, we’ve found ourselves in a new golden era of Thrash, and being that it was pretty much my gateway drug into the world of metal, I couldn’t be more thrilled that thrash itself has expanded and become home to such a wide-reaching spectrum of bands and sounds. From the dizzying, […]

I’m just gonna go ahead and start a personal series called “Dumbass Steve Discovers a Band That’s Been Around a Long Time but He’s Just Now Finding Out About.” I’ve officially made it a habit. In my defense, Pennsylvania/New Jersey’s Duskmourn (active since 2012) don’t appear to have any kind of super active social media […]

I’m gonna go out on a real limb here and guess that you, dear reader, are probably no stranger to Horror films. You might even call yourself a fan of horror. Heck, I’m gonna double down here, and bet you might even have an affinity for shitty, low-budget horror flicks with the aesthetic appeal of […]

Vultures are, far and away, the gnarliest friggin’ birds you’re ever gonna come across. I’m not talking about those oddly and simultaneously ugly and pretty King Vultures, or those powerful evil-wizard-looking bearded vultures, OR those badass mythical motherfucker Griffon Vultures. No, I’m talking your everyday, nightmare-inducing, boiled-skull-looking turkey vulture. LOOK AT THAT FUCKING THING. Terrifying. […]

As I write this review, it’s the second week of June – and so far in these two weeks, we’ve had a rainy, miserable weekend with a HIGH of 38 degrees, we’ve had a 3 day stretch of hot, sticky, humid 90s, and just about everything in-between. I’M OVER IT! Just give me normal summer […]

Sometimes, if you get the opportunity, there’s nothing sweeter than doing something just because you friggin’ want to. For example (and I understand this is sorta an extreme one) – no one buys a vintage sports car because it’s practical, safe, or smart. No, you do it because you want a friggin’ vintage sports car! […]

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Philadelphia’s Blazon Rite, it’s this: Absolutely NO ONE is gonna have more fun than these dudes. Certainly, the world of Heavy Metal is no stranger full blown, tongue-in-cheek fuckery, which is just as well. If you’re going to take yourself too seriously while writing songs about medieval, fantastical […]

In May of last year, I review’s Skam’s Sounds of Disease – an album that perfectly encapsulated the times we were living in. A blistering, manic foray into a world of mental anguish and instability that just seemed more and more an appropriate soundtrack as the year went on. Nearly a year later, things on […]

Bees are totally fuckin wild, man. Yes, I’m one of those “SAVE THE BEES!” guys. They’re really fucking important! Yeah, they’ve got the stingy bits and everyone in my generation was scarred by the end of “My Girl” and blah blah yadda yadda WHATEVER. Sure, some folks have potentially deadly reactions to be stings. That […]