I have one question for the Suicide Silence lads. Why is it that they are perfectly content to settle on terrible studio production and mix? Yes, I get that The Cleansing and No Time to Bleed were popular and well-regarded in the Deathcore circle, but in all honesty, they were never going to be considered amongst the best metal recordings ever.Continue reading
Four years after regaling us with stories of Carthaginian General Hannibal on The Immortal Wars (Napalm Records) Canadian/Italian death metal act Ex Deo return with more tales of ancient Rome on fourth full length release The Thirteen Years of Nero (also Napalm). As its title suggests, the central theme this time is the reign of Imperator Nero Cladius Divi Claudius filius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (or plain old Emperor Nero to his friends) and the matricide, uxoricide, blood, fire and death which followed him.
Ah, the long-vaunted return to Deathcore form for Suicide Silence. Or is it? I’m sure the cynics and naysayers have already written off Become the Hunter (Nuclear Blast) as a simple effort to save face after the experimental and pseudo-Nu-metal stylings of 2017’s Suicide Silence. But let’s really get down to brass tacks here: Suicide Silence isn’t the first or last band to hit the soft reboot button on their careers. Continue reading
Brutal Assault has added a plethora of new bands for 2020! Among the new bands playing the festival include Cattle Decapitation, Fever333, Katatonia, Life of Agony, Shadow of Intent, Fueled By Fire, Katatonia, Psykup, Mysticum, and Imperial Triumphant. The twenty-fifth edition of Brutal Assault Festival takes place August 5 – 8th at historic Fortress Josefov, in Czech Republic and will feature 130+ bands on five stages over four days. Watch a new trailer for the fest right now!Continue reading
So here I am tasked to review the new Despised Icon album, Purgatory (Nuclear Blast). The easy route for most skeptical heavy music reviewers is to just proclaim it as another Despised Icon release, give it a quick write-up and denounce Deathcore as the scourge of metal. Sure, I could trudge down that path, call it a day and down some more adult beverages, but that’s not quite it. Truth be told, I was looking forward to Purgatory. Continue reading
Brutal Assault has added twenty more bands for their 25th anniversary in 2020. Now joining the bill (in alphabetical order) are 1914, Arcturus, Author & Punisher, Beyond Creation, Cradle Of Filth, Draconis Infernum, Frontierer, Havok, Kvelertak, Mass Infection, Me And That Man, Necrophobic, Ottone Pesante, Pensées Nocturnes, Ring Of Saturn, Sigh, Static–X, Toxic Holocaust, Vader, and While She Sleeps. Brutal Assault 25 takes place August 5-8, 2020at the legendary Fortress Josefov and boasts 140+ bands on four days over five stages. Tickets and full band list below. Continue reading
While much of the press materials that came along with ColdClaw‘s Anti-Martyr: Decades to Suffer (Ritual Sound Records) drive the point home about this California act dealing in Black Metal and Crust, I found that description a bit lacking. Yes, there’s gnarly black metal guitar licks all over the album but I’m detecting trace bits of Melodic Death Metal, Hardcore and perhaps some Thrash as well.Continue reading
Technical Death Metal originators Despised Icon have booked an extensive North American tour for next fall. Direct support to come from Kublai Khan, Shadow of Intent and rotating regional openers. Tickets and VIP/MVP packages go on sale this Friday, June 7th at 10 AM local time at the link below. Continue reading
