“Actions speak as loud as words!” is the roared hook in ‘Leech’, a combustible, fist-swinging mid-album anthem, as Incite know that, five albums in, there is no resting on their laurels. One of a host of bands caught in a mosh, struggling and jostling for position to tip them from the mid-tier; definitely proficient but without that mainstream or commercial weight to establish them as true heavyweights in their field.Continue reading
With a name inspired by – no, not the Def Leppard power ballad or the hickey Accept were screaming for – Halestorm’s ‘Love Bites (So Do I)’ is the all-female Japanese Metal band Lovebites. If you like your Metal relentless, big, bombastic and with one foot in the eighties then you have come to the right place, Clockwork Immortality (JPU Records) is their second album in their short three-year life and it is not for the timid.Continue reading
2019 may only be two weeks old, but as shown by our Underground Albums Roundup, the great and the not-so-good of our world are determined to start the year with a bang. Or at the very least, to bury us in a deluge of albums. Seeing as the mean and the nasty had been given a platform, we thought it only fair to shine the light on some of January’s releases beholden of a more melodic or traditional Metal bent to their finery…
You know that old idiom about never judging a book by its cover? Well, as with most things, there are always exceptions to the rule, and (swapping books for record sleeves) the new album by Arizona thrashers Flotsam and Jetsam is definitely one of those exceptions. With the band reintroducing their classic logo a few years ago, it was only a matter of time until they also resurrected their legendary mascot “Flotzilla”, and his return to the artwork for The End Of Chaos (AFM Records) instantly tells you everything you need to know about Flotsam and Jetsam in 2018.Continue reading
When The World Becomes Undone (Long Branch Records) is the type of album that at the initial scan I really wanted to love. I’ve discussed my fondness of all things early to mid-nineties Roadrunner Records ad nauseum on other reviews so I’ll spare you the love letter here, but with so much connection between A Pale Horse Named Death and Type O Negative you can likely understand where I’m coming from.Continue reading
Whilst the initial blaze of the Djent movement may have extinguished, it is clear today that the embers are still burning. The likes of TesseracT, Skyharbor and Uneven Structure may have distanced themselves somewhat from that original sound but are still strong and creative forces, whilst the likes of Monuments are still embracing that core style and firmly delivering.Continue reading
It is pretty commonplace for the draw of music, especially heavy or extreme music, to be an integral part of the relationship that we have with hardship and the difficulties of life and of mental health. We more than likely have been through or know someone who has been through utter lows of mental health and perhaps have even considered or attempted suicide.Continue reading
The winter shut down that affects most of the music scene doesn’t extend it’s reach to our underground… indeed, tis the season not only to be jolly, but for dark, harsh and extreme music. Ghost Cult shines a light through the murk of early nights, and frost-bitten mornings on some of 2019’s primal releases…Continue reading
Sometimes Black Metal is just a mess of clichés – unreadable spiky fonts, unhinged teens in corpsepaint, blizzards… Yet Belgians Saqra’s Cult treads a different path. As their new EP, The 9th King (Amor Fati Productions), demonstrates, you can still breathe life into the old werewolf. In this case, the band draws deep from the Incan pagan heritage of their guitarist, and some strong yet original Black Metal results.Continue reading
Despite a heavy music scene that is abundant in talent, not many of India’s Metal bands have appeared on the radar outside of their native country. Aside from the likes of Demonic Resurrection especially, Bhayanak Maut and (although more an international band) Skyharbor, India’s Metal scene is still a hidden entity to many on the outside. With a formidable live presence and with an exciting debut full length in Miasma (self-released), if there is any justice, Mathcore mentalists Orchid should be poised to be the scene’s next breakout.Continue reading