For a band called Frozen in Shadows, you’d be forgiven for the expectation they might takes things somewhat slowly, no chance. Officially announcing they exist a mere two weeks ago, they’ve wasted no time in self-releasing their five-track debut, and announcing themselves for Badgerfest in October. Somewhat of a Manchester (UK) underground ‘supergroup’ they were formed by members/ex-members of local stalwarts Footprints in the Custard, Impavidus, Prognosis, Godhand and Vice.Continue reading
Formed in 1996, the life of Finnish act Omnium Gatherum hasn’t been the most settled. Enduring many various line-up changes over the years, it’s only guitarist Markus Vanhala (Insomnium) who remains from the band’s original 1997 demo, and debut album Spirits and August Light (Rage of Achilles) in 2003.Continue reading
Damn, if it feels good to be a Death Metal fan. Last year’s extreme harvest gave us albums from Obituary, Artificial Brain, Suffocation, Morbid Angel, Immolation, Decapitated, and Tomb Mold just to name a few. And so far, this year is shaping up to be another fruitful one with efforts from At The Gates, The Crown, Pestilence, Rivers of Nihil and Tomb Mold. Wait, what? In the span of one year, this Torontonian act has written and recorded another LP in Manor of Infinite Forms (20 Buck Spin).Continue reading
Take three unashamed Deff Metulz heads from that most renowned city of Stockholm, give them an HM-2 pedal, a huge guitar stack, a heritage that includes Dismember, At The Gates and Entombed and, courtesy of Lawrence Mackrory, a stunning sonic assault that takes all the best aspects of Sunlight Studios merged with today’s production values of volume and clarity, and stand back and wait… for your face to be pinned to the wall behind you as the hurricane of Swedish Death Metallage assaults you with unrestrained glee. Continue reading
It’s always a musical cause for concern whenever an Extreme Metal band feels the need to sensationalize their genre (or subgenre for that matter). The Grotesquery referring to their sound as “Occult Death Metal” gave me plenty of uncertain pause heading into The Lupine Anathema (Xtreem Music). Continue reading
The Black Dahlia Murder have been the picture of consistency when it comes to modern extreme metal. Ever since planting their flag firmly on Death Metal in an era when so many contemporaries cashed in on the Metalcore and Deathcore frenzies, Dahlia can always be expected to provide strong content. So, after years of successful albums and touring, it’s natural to expect this Michigan outfit to take it easy, but boy is that wrong. New album Nightbringers (Metal Blade) is the type of work you get from angry young men with something to prove.Continue reading
Featuring former Scar The Martyr frontman Henry Derek Bonner on vocals, Shadows Fall guitarist Matt Bachand on bass, plus former Megadeth members Shawn Drover (drums) and Chris Broderick (guitar), Los Angeles based super-group Act of Defiance return with the follow-up to their 2015 debut, Birth and the Burial (Metal Blade).Continue reading
Much like with my last review, I’m walking in cold to Malevolence’s Self Supremacy (BDHW). I didn’t even know they were British. That said, reading tracks like ‘Trial by Fire’ and ‘Spineless’ I thought I might have to find myself playing the role of lyric police… and there are lyrical improvements to be made, as we learn on ‘Severed Ties’ that “you have to cut the grass to find the fucking snakes.” Not the most enlightening sentence ever, but the superb musicianship will certainly capture listener attention. Continue reading
Just days after a lumbering weekend hosting Desertfest, the Camden Underworld in London switches up the pace to host US melodeath act Darkest Hour for a lightning quick night of brutality from a band in peak form.Continue reading
