Arkhamin Kirjasto – Undead Priest Holy Trinity Of Death
Finnish duo, Arkhamin Kirjasto, initially recorded these three songs at the same time as their debut Torches Ablaze, which makes it glaringly obvious that these are the tracks that didn’t quite make...
View ArticleCult Of Luna – Vertikal II
Earlier this year the highly regarded Cult Of Luna released Vertikal. A concept album based on the proto-sci-fi movie Metropolis by Fritz Lang, it was met with widespread acclaim. Certainly for long...
View ArticleBlues Pills – Devil Man
Started in 2011 and playing Roadburn last April 2013, Blues Pills are now signed with Nuclear Blast and quickly becoming quite the rising star. With the incredibly powerful, husky vocals by Elin...
View ArticleFallujah – Nomadic EP
Most know Fallujah as a modern tech-death band. Some people like them. Some people don't. I am decidedly ambivalent. 'But Sean,' you ask, peering at me from across a diner table while a waiter hands me...
View ArticleGiant Squid – Monster In The Creek
So often it's said that live music shows different and more complete pictures of bands, and the bonus live recordings from this reissue of Giant Squid's first ever EP, Monster In The Creek (Translation...
View ArticleJunius – Days Of The Fallen Sun
Since bursting onto the scene with their bold and beautiful 2009 release The Martyrdom Of A Catastrophist, Bostonites Junius have carved a niche of bleak romanticism, which has deservedly attracted...
View ArticleImmortal Bird – Akrasia (EP)
Distinctly disturbing and beautifully harsh are words that best describe Chicago's blackened death metal upstarts Immortal Bird. Although their debut release Akrasia (Closed Casket Recordings) has a...
View ArticleSunn O))) & Ulver – Terrestrials (EP)
Few albums in the past few years could have generated the hype that has surrounded Terrestrials (Southern Lord). When a pairing with such pedigree as drone lords Sunn O))) and Norwegian experimental...
View ArticleImperial Triumphant – Goliath (EP)
Making New York an evil[ler] and dark[er] place since 2005, Imperial Triumphant play a style of dark, swirling black metal that calls to mind the similarly twisted Dodecahedron, which already is a good...
View ArticleMonumentomb – Ritual Exhumation EP
The tolling of the bell calls out to the disciples of metal to join this unholy sonic experience as once more we make a sacrifice of the living to join the realm of the dead. Known as the garden of...
View ArticleGhoul – Hang Ten EP
A popular name amongst the musical community, there are several Ghouls in the band world. There are the legendary punk rockers from Japan, the cult black metal outfit from the UK and the gothic German...
View ArticleAncient Altar – Ancient Altar
It's time for a new album from Scott Carlson, folks! But before all you Death-heads start foaming, this is the Iron Mtn. founder member, and for some of us that's even more exciting. The LA quartet...
View ArticleTriggerman- Origins, Lost Travellers & Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven EP
When it comes to the Northern Ireland metal scene one of the most respected bands are Londonderry four-piece, Triggerman, who have had some A&R men seriously tempted in the past to sign them......
View ArticleThe King Is Blind – The Deficiencies Of Man
As Extreme Metal enters its middle-age as gracefully as you’d expect, an odd phenomenon can be observed. Bands and musicians who had previously “grown up” and abandoned extreme or brutal musical...
View ArticlePillbuster – Brothel
The glory of stoner metal, when it is executed well, is that some truly earth-shattering riffs will be shot through with more groove than a houseful of vinyl. One of the genre's evident failings,...
View ArticleThe Sun Never Set – The Sun Never Set
It is always rewarding when a new act comes along which offers both something a little different and with a heap of potential to go a lot further. Londoners The Sun Never Set only came into existence...
View ArticleEndast – Thrive
For me, Montreal Canada’s Endast came out of nowhere. With their third release Thrive, it's clear they know what they're doing. With the assistance of Bjorn Strid of Soilwork and Jon Howard of Threat...
View ArticleNiskala – Panak
True invention often comes from the least likely of sources. Augmenting the obtuse tendencies of math rock with Gamelan percussion you would expect from some radical new act from the Far East. Yet...
View ArticleBloodsoaked – Religious Apocalypse
Hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina, Bloodsoaked is the vision of one Peter Hasselbrack, a scene veteran who handles all the instruments and songwriting himself, and as can be expected by his chosen...
View ArticleMeshuggah – I (Remastered EP)
Meshuggah. I can just end the review at the end of that first sentence, right? The name speaks for itself as easily the most revered and analyzed band of the decade and a half of extreme metal. They...
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