ALBUM REVIEW: Go Ahead And Die – Unhealthy Mechanisms


 

It’s one thing to see siblings together in music, but two generations in one band is not as typical. Go Ahead And Die features legendary Max Cavalera (ex-Sepultura, Cavalera Conspiracy, Soulfly, etc.) and his son, Igor Cavalera Jr. (Healing Magic, Lody Kong). What’s more, Johnny Valles (live drummer for Cerebral Rot, Black Braid, etc.) has picked up the drumming role on their latest album, Unhealthy Mechanisms (Nuclear Blast Records). The three-piece specializes in a groovy death metal band with some crossover punk spilled over the top.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Harm’s Way – Common Suffering


 

Normally I defend how anger is not the only emotion found in heavy music, but the new Harm’s Way album, Common Suffering (Metal Blade) is full-force rage, so strap on a helmet and get ready to fall into madness. Through the years, the Chicago-based band has really hit their stride with an even mixture of death metal and hardcore punk, bonded together by industrial blasts.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Guilt Trip – Severance


 

There’s just something about the last handful of years and releases that are classified as either crossover Thrash or Metallic Hardcore that absolutely kills it. Moreso, when an album drops that has a mix of both of these subgenres, like the UK-based Guilt Trip, it’s just everything you want out of aggressive music on a bad day. With that, unleashed onto the world is Severance (via Malevolence’s label, MLVLTD), Guilt Trip’s sophomore full-length, an album that puts you through the grinder and spits you out for thirty-four minutes.

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EP REVIEW: Worm Shepherd – The Sleeping Sun


 

While many may consider Deathcore to be a stagnant movement, the bands that espouse its styles continues to evolve as more artists come together to push boundaries. Brockton, Massachusetts natives, Worm Shepherd, have dropped their first EP (following two full lengths), The Sleeping Sun (Unique Leader Records), and the mixture of deathcore, symphonic death metal, and sprinkles of black metal themes ended up growing on you. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: UADA – Crepuscule Natura


 

Black metal, in and of itself, can be very polarizing due to the imagery, lyrical content, and if the band is “true” black metal or not (side note: what a stupid debate to have). One such polarizing band, UADA, has dropped their fourth full-length album, Crepuscule Natura (Eisenwald Records) and is some of their best work to date. Sticking to their signature melodic black metal sound with lyrics mostly about nature and the cosmos, the Portland, Oregon, four-piece put us on a spiritual journey for forty minutes.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Outergods – A Kingdom Built Upon the Wreckage of Heaven


 

Many bands over the years have incorporated H.P. Lovecraft’s work into their projects. Newcomers from Nottingham, England, Outergods, not only named themselves after the big baddies from the Cthulhu mythos, but even their overall sound instills fear and madness. A little over a half hour in length, A Kingdom Built Upon the Wreckage of Heaven (Prosthetic Records), debuts the haunting blend of black metal and grindcore this UK outfit has unleashed into the void for gods and mortals alike.

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ALBUM REVIEW: The Crawling – All Of This For Nothing – Grindscene Records


Melancholy, death, doom, gloom, sorrow, these are words that come to mind the instant I hear about a band that is categorized as death/doom metal. No mom, metal is not all about anger and expressing it in violent manners! Northern Ireland’s own, The Crawling, have released their third full-length album, All Of This For Nothing (Grindscene Records), and it is a depressing but heavy voyage. Seven tracks averaging around six minutes in length each is a surefire way to make each track just hit harder and stay with you long after the album is over.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Disimperium – Grand Insurgence Upon Despotic Altars


 

If there was ever a time I could put the label of “abrasive” on an album, it would have to be for the debut full-length from Disimperium, Grand Insurgence Upon Despotic Altars (Sentient Ruin Laboratories). Take the mystical and obscure portions of black metal, lay them upon the bones of death metal, and crank up the intensity with grindcore and this makes up the uneasy feeling in your gut as you listen to the Oakland natives. Nine tracks at around half an hour is all you need to feel like you got hit by a truck filled with speakers turned up to eleven.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Blackbraid – Blackbraid II


Flowing down from the Adirondack Mountains in New York, just as the rivers do, Blackbraid returns with the second chapter, Blackbraid II (self-released). Created by Sgah’gahsowáh, Blackbraid quickly took the black metal world by storm with his stunning self-titled just last year that mixed atmospheric black metal with indigenous American mythology and history. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: Boris and Uniform – Bright New Disease


 

Over the last few years, we have been lucky to see so many collaboration albums between two bands/artists that absolutely knock it out of the park. The latest mashup comes in the form of Boris and Uniform putting together what they call, Bright New Disease (Sacred Bones). Through nine tracks at just over thirty-two minutes, each track has its own footprint for the greater collection. Punk, industrial, thrash, doom, and noise pop up throughout the record but not one influence really ever takes the spotlight more than another.

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