Charleston, West Virginia’s metal veterans Byzantine return with their long-anticipated new album, Harbingers (Metal Blade Records), set for release on June 13th, 2025.Continue reading
Tag Archives: power groove
ALBUM REVIEW: Trail of Lies – Only The Strong
Syracuse, New York will be familiar to fans of Straight-Edge Hardcore thanks to Earth Crisis and Trail of Lies can thus be seen as a continuation of this lineage.
ALBUM REVIEW: Kittie – Fire
2024 may very well be remembered as the year of comebacks in Modern Metal! So many bands have returned from retirement or hiatus, and few bring the fire, with the proverbial smoke of hype. One eagerly-awaited return band is Kittie, which started its comet-like return at fests such as Sick New World (interview here) and Blue Ridge Rock Fest (RIP)! The band returns with Fire – their first new album in thirteen years and first for Sumerian Records, who scored a coup signing the veteran band. Continue reading
PODCAST: Glacially Musical #171 – Slayer: “Seasons In The Abyss” or Crucial Album Number 5
Time for episode 666 of our @Slayer series! Nik and Keefy of @GhostCultMag wax ans wane about “Seasons In The Abyss” – a stone-cold classic!Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Exhorder – Defectum Omnium
After returning from hiatus with the rather good comeback album Mourn The Southern Skies in 2019, New Orleans Thrash Metal legends Exhorder are at it again with new album Defectum Omnium (Nuclear Blast Records) – thankfully not making us wait another twenty-seven years. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Evile – The Unknown
Perhaps the noticeable increase in crossover thrash coming out this year is intended to fill the void left by bands like Power Trip and Slayer. Rather than jump on this bandwagon, British thrashers Evile are slowing things down on The Unknown (Napalm Records) to focus on songwriting.
ALBUM REVIEW: Incite – Wake Up Dead
Formed in 2004 by Richie Cavalera, the stepson of former Sepultura frontman, Max Cavalera, Arizona groove thrashers Incite have undergone several changes in personnel during their eighteen-year existence but their edge has not been dulled even slightly. Wake Up Dead (Atomic Fire Records), the band’s sixth full-length studio album, is another seething mass of riffs and rage that sees the return of bassist Christopher “EL” Elsten and drummer Lennon Lopez while also welcoming guitarist Eli Santana to the fold.
ALBUM REVIEW: Alien Weaponry – Tangaroa
Back in 2018, armed with debut album Tū (Napalm Records) and a reputation for blistering live performances, teenagers Alien Weaponry arrived on the scene with a bang. Fusing groove metal with influences derived from their own Māori culture, the band possess a highly individual sound, but one that in some quarters has also appeared to earn them the disappointingly reductive nickname of “The New Zealand Sepultura”.
ALBUM REVIEW: Body Count – Carnivore
You gotta face the facts, you will never be as cool as Ice-T. Never. He came from the streets of Los Angeles to become an iconic figure of Hip-Hop, movies and television, and Metal music. For some people, it seems like there is no mountain they can’t climb, and Ice is one of those guys. Sure, he could chill and sit back on the Law and Order: SVU Special Victims Unit money, and all those royalties. In actuality, he has been working harder than ever on music the last decade-plus, specifically for his groundbreaking band Body Count. All the evidence you need is on their new album, Carnivore. (Century Media). Continue reading
Metallica’s “And Justice For All” Turns 30!
Today marks the thirtieth anniversary of Metallica’s And Justice For All (August 25th for some lucky folks in Europe). It was technically amazing, featured great songwriting, and immediately divided the fans. Sure every Metallica album has been an intentional departure from the last (see also David Bowie, Madonna, Deftones), but this album definitely jarred the fanbase when it first dropped. Sure we’ve heard over and over about the lack of bass or the inaudible bass, the “let’s see you play this!” long songs of over the top technicality, and the rushed solos Kirk Hammett recorded. Still, it’s an incredible, mostly heavy document of the band in one sense at a peak they have yet to return to creatively. Let’s take a quick look back at And Justice For All…Continue reading