Known more for its repetitive club beats and nauseatingly upbeat dance music, Spain does actually have an ever-increasing underground metal scene, and the symphonic/melodic death metal of Galician act Dark Embrace is about as far removed from glow sticks and foam parties as you can possibly get.
Bloodlust. Carnivore. Manslaughter. and now Merciless (Century Media/Sony Music). The latest in a string of one-word, no-messing-about album titles since the return from their hiatus in 2014, Body Count deliver their eighth full-length studio release and it’s every bit as acerbic and confrontational as you could imagine.Continue reading
Halloween might have come and gone for another year but for everyone at KK’s Steel Mill tonight for Wednesday 13, Spooky Season is still in full swing. Gothic outfits, jet black hair (for those who still have any) and corpse make-up is the order of the evening and the coffins that sit on either side of the stage for the opening act South of Salem add the finishing touch before the band even make their entrance.Continue reading
Somerset Stoner Doom act Sergeant Thunderhoof stick close to home territory for fifth full-length studio release, The Ghost of Badon Hill (A Pale Wizard Records). Hailing from Bath, Somerset, the quintet delve into the rich history of the area, the titular hill the likeliest setting for one of King Arthur’s final battles. Only most likely because, like with most Arthurian legend, scholars and academics have spent as much time arguing over locations as well as actual events. Continue reading
In any genre, there’s always at least one act who feel they need to take things further than the rest. The fastest Speed Metal, the slowest Doom Metal, the shortest Grindcore. Add an inexplicable desire for self-imposed rules such as no keyboards, no clean singing etc. – voluntary limitations that usually end up getting sidestepped at some point anyway – and you either have a recipe for disaster or one for success.Continue reading
Formed in 2012, Swedish true metal warriors Brothers of Metal return with all the riffs on third full-length studio release Fimbulvinter (AFM Records). Consisting of eight members, four of whom share two surnames without actually being related, does seem to confuse some people for some reason. Although to be fair, eight-piece bands aren’t exactly common in metal, and one with three vocalists and three guitarists even less so.Continue reading
Everyone likes a challenge. Devin Townsend more than most. Each new record is about setting goals and attempting to achieve them. Whether it’s an introspective deep dive or an explosion of absurdist non-conformity, the progressive polymath’s albums always tend to reflect his state of mind, even if it happens to be completely barking at that particular time.Continue reading
For reasons best known to themselves, some bands deliberately go out of their way to disguise their influences and inspirations. Feral are not some bands. One listen to To Usurp the Thrones (Transcending Obscurity Records) and everything is perfectly clear.Continue reading
It was only ever a matter of time until Swedish death metal legends The Crown titled an album after their previous name. Known as Crown of Thorns from their inception in 1990 until their brief demise in 2004, the band reformed five years later and has continued to produce some of the country’s finest and crunchiest Death Metal riffs.
Check out our review of the new album from The Black Dahlia Murder – “Servitude” coming soon from Metal Blade Records.Continue reading