Chicago’s Gigan has been around for close to 20 years.  I’m trying to wrap my head around this!!   I’ve known the main man and axe grinder Eric Hersemann for like 30 years.  On their last tour for their fourth album Undulating Waves of Rainbiotic Iridescence, I got onstage with them and did opening growls with […]

I am new to the sounds of Sweden’s Carnosus.  They remind me of Denmark’s Crocell, before Crocell went black metal.  This is pretty high-quality melodic death metal, which has a good chunk of brutality to it. Wormtales is their third album, and I picked up their previous releases after receiving this promo.  I mean just […]

I am new to the Vale of Pnath fan club.  I’ve seen the logo over a number of years, however, I never heard them up until now.  This Colorado technical death metal act has been around since 2006 with 2 prior ep’s and 2 prior full lengths to boot. After hearing Between the Worlds of […]

I became a fan of the UK’s technical death metal band Cognizance, from their Inquisition EP, their debut release in 2013, and reviewed it back then.  I was pretty blown away by the array of technical wizardry and monstrously brutal moments.  The band reminding me of Beneath The Massacre/Obscura type of music.  After releasing a […]

Long Island, New York’s Afterbirth return with their third album In but Not Of, and the band has shifted from Unique Leader Records to Willowtip, another reputable, but smaller record label.  The album cover, once again done by guitarist mastermind, Cody Drasser, is eye-catching, and ties in with their previous ones.  I am not a […]

New York’s Contrarian has been an active contributor to the progressive death metal scene for quite some time now. Having released five full-length records through Willowtip Records Contrarian has decided to release an album of older material. What makes this release interesting is that all the tracks are instrumental. Founding members Jim Tasikas and Ed […]

Russia’s Experimental/Technical Brutal Death Metal band 7 H.Target return after a 9 year hiatus, since their killer third album in 2014 0.00 Apocalypse.  Yantra Creating was supposed to come out at multiple different times prior to now, but due to a multitude of issues is just surfacing now.  Since the last album, they have filled […]

I have been looking forward to this one. First off, the cover artwork is fantastic.  I am going to want to mail order this and get a shirt as well.  “Demonic Totem I Am” gets the album going.  The opening riff hook has a Deeds of Flesh Vibe to it and even more so when […]

I have probably said it before but when it comes to this time of the year I am always thankful that here, at the ol’ Teeth of the Divine, we don’t worry about publishing a best of the year list as soon as possible. No folks, we actually let the year play out as to […]

I think we can all agree that Willowtip has been one of the most consistently reliable US-based extreme metal labels around since they kicked out the Creation is Crucifixion/Fate of Icarus split back in 1998. From legendary bands like Rune, Watchmaker, Defeated Sanity, and Impaled, to recent bands like Hath, Cathexis, Contrarian and Ominous Ruin, […]

Pros of the band Hath: Pretty much everything. Cons: They make me think of Hoth, which makes me think of Star Wars… and unlike many of my peers, I do not care for Star Wars. There. I said it. With all of that out of the way, here’s Hath’s heavily anticipated All That Was Promised. […]

In a year chalked full of incredible technical death metal Minnesota’s Sunless present their second full length album Ylem.   If you are not familiar with Sunless, they are a three piece that features former members of the group Australis and The Body Beneath.  What make Sunless unique are their arrangements.  I cannot think of too […]

Denver’s Noctambulist return with their second album, The Barren Form.   I was not familiar with this group and wanted to check out their material.  It is quite pummeling and reminds me a bit of Hate Eternal and Virtriol at times.  I do wish at times that the guitars had a bit more clarity as at […]

Austin Texas’s Cathexis return with their second full length effort Untethered Abyss.  I have been spinning this album for the last few months and my first impressions of them were a black death band with influences like Immolation and Ulcerate.  They are a bit more varied in terms of groove and riff variety.  The Title […]

Jeeeezus!  San Francisco California’s Ominous Ruin debut album is here and it’s a hell of a first effort. If it is conceivable to think of a heavier Spawn of Possession or Archspire these guys might very well be in that mix. “Ritual” kicks off this forty-six-minute clinic in riff fury and intensity. Guitarist Alex Bacey […]

If you didn’t enjoy 2019’s Of Rot and Ruin by Hath, I don’t know what to tell you. Despite the fact that I don’t much care for “Star Wars” and I thought the band was called “Hoth” in an homage, I still gave it a listen. When I realized my mistake, I was glad to […]

Germany’s Defeated Sanity return with their sixth album and the full album is in their brutal death metal style. Their 2016 album was split into 2 sections. One part brutal Defeated Sanity and the other half progressive, jazz infused technical death metal. It was an original concept and continued to show Defeated Sanity evolving into […]

Italy’s brutal bastards, Devangelic return with their third album, Ersetu and their first for Willowtip records after departing from Comatose, who released their prior 2 brutal albums.  Devangelic play no frills brutal death metal.  By now you know what you’re getting into with a Devangelic album. 9 songs in an abrupt 31 minutes, but when death metal is played this brutal, this is […]

Without a doubt one of the most anticipated death metal albums of the year for me, Kansas’s Unmerciful have been an upper echelon brutal technical death metal band.  From the band’s inceptio,n having world class drumming has been a necessary component to the band.  With Unmercifully beaten you had James King. With Ravenous Impulse you […]

I really got to hand it to Jason Tipton at Willowtip Records.  He has a unique ability to find some of the most intricately brutal death metal bands (Defeated Sanity, Putridity, Abysmal Torment, etc).  Ukraine’s Schizogen are no exception with their 2020 2nd full length Spawn of Almighty Essence. Musically these guys waste zero time […]

England’s Unfathomable Ruination return with their third full length Enraged and Unbound.  I must admit I am not too familiar with this group. Unfathomable Ruination play a style of brutal technical death metal similar to: Cryptopsy, Origin and Internal Suffering.  Needless to say these gents waste zero time getting things moving and shaking. “An Obsidian […]

Willowtip Records have to be one of the most diverse underground metal labels out there.  With over a half dozen new releases on deck for 2019 Jason Tipton has built quite the label lineup of diverse talent (Ceremony of Silence, Vale of Pnath,).  New Jersey’s Hath are no exception.  Debuting way back in 2015 these […]

Guitarist Jim Tasikas is back with Contrarian’s third album and  again, joining is George Kollias (Nile) on drums and vocals ( though Cody McConnell has joined as a live session vocalist), Sulaco’s Brians Mason (guitars) and Ed Paulsen on bass, and the skilled outfit continues their spot on latter era Death homage to precise levels […]

Hang on to your seats people. This one is a doozy. Malta’s Abysmal Torment have returned with the fourth full length effort The Misanthrope.  Let’s get right into this okay, the title track “The Misanthrope” hits like a ball peen hammer right away. Max Vassallo is one of the sickest drummers I have heard in […]

Maybe it’s a bit premature, considering I am writing this review in what is still the first quarter of 2018, but for the time being, I am putting money on the U.K.’s Slugdge‘s new album, Esoteric Malacology, to be the album of the year for many a metalhead; or a contender for the title at […]