American black metal is like Japanese pasta—a non-indigenous dish that actually does justice to the original (and perhaps even surpasses!) from time to time. Hence, I’d expect nothing less from the eclectic Abigail Williams, who have really gone off the edge of the cliff this time round and switched to playing an ambient form of […]

Although the kvltest of the kvlt may gnash their teeth and tear their hair, black metal has truly spread its wings since its early days. Yet no matter the subgenre – symphonic, Viking, folk, progressive, post-black, depressive/suicidal, bestial, orthodox, blackgazer, and on and on – there are certain hallmarks of the genre that remain in […]

Oh. My. Fucking. God. Imagine, metaphorically speaking, that two high speed trains are careening towards each other on a unavoidable collision course. One train is Origin‘s ultra technical, brutal, but intelligent form of death metal. The other train is Sigh and their over the top orchestral symphonics and theatrics. BAM!!!! They collide, each train melting […]

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 […]

I’ve developed a theory that you can’t stay angry or be in a bad mood while listening to Alestorm. In recent months, that theory has been sorely tested, but every time, the goofy Scottish pirates have managed to conquer my frustrations after a few songs. So, along comes their third record, Back Through Time, just […]