Fast-rising modern metallers RITUALS continue their rise with the release of their stunning new single and video, Oceans Subside, out now – https://youtu.be/rbzQLMR2_WI . The song is taken from the band’s greatly anticipated new EP, Show Me The Signs, out everywhere on Friday 2nd September. Taking from a slew of …
Read More »Neptune Rain – Interview
Following recent airplay from BBC Radio 1 Rock Show, irresistible crossover crew NEPTUNE RAIN charge ahead with their current single and video, Final Round – https://youtu.be/NEymn7hLWdY . To find out more, we asked the guys a cluster of get-to-know questions: What is the full band line-up, who sings and who …
Read More »Same Planet, Different World: Extreme Metal in Sub-Saharan Africa
It is said that for British pop music to be successful, it has to be imported back into the USA. The same is said for American pop music: it must be exported back to the UK to find success. The cross cultural exchange, a hybrid vigor or novelty factor of …
Read More »Manegarm – Manegarm
Folky acoustic guitar and fiddle introduce listeners to the eponymous 2015 release by Sweden’s metallic and mighty Manegarm. A definite change of pace from 2013’s Legions of the North, featuring many more quiet, acoustic, moody moments, the new disc brings a welcome dynamic back into metal. As with Manegarm’s previous …
Read More »Cemetery Lust – Screams Of The Violated
Portland, Oregon’s Cemetery Lust are very sincere flatterers of the early extreme thrash metal invasion’s pillars: Slayer, Kreator, and a few others. On Screams Of The Violated, the revivalists’s eight song re-release, it pays homage to these forerunner bands in spades. To state this more plainly, these guys sound like …
Read More »Monastery – Ripping Terror 91
A relic from extreme metal’s distant past, Monastery‘s Ripping Terror 91 demo seems to be part historical documentation and part nostalgia release. This trio of acclaimed musicians (Sinister‘s Aad Kloosterwaard and Ron van de Polder, plus Entombed‘s Lars Rosenberg) were still fresh faces in the death metal scene in 1991, …
Read More »One – New Life [single]
“New Life”, by Warsaw native One (name: Adam Malicki), is a random find from a boredom-trawl on Twitter that asks for your attention. Freshly released, this single is a guitar-heavy instrumental track that opens with a waltzing, cracked funhouse flair. Rapidly shifting gears to synth-laden blues rock, and then to …
Read More »Vallenfyre – Splinters
UK death-mongers Vallenfyre have returned with 2014’s Splinters. Have you yearned for old-school death metal done right? This 11-song disc, released on Century Media Records, is a full-length album of pummeling buzzsaw riffy goodness. It has been tailor-made just for you. Try convincing someone that this didn’t come out of …
Read More »Osian – Rhizome
Osian is an alternative metal band from southern Italy, formed during the birth of the genre in the mid 90s. The band’s latest offering, Rhizome, is a six song disc that pays obvious homage to popular alternative music of that era: bands like Depeche Mode, Type O Negative, Ministry, The …
Read More »Scream Maker – Livin’ In The Past
Appropriately titled, Livin’ In The Past by Poland’s Scream Maker is the band’s war cry and answer to the genre of power metal. With the help of star producer Alessandro Del Vecchio, they’ve nailed it: versatile, nicely ranged, fairly operatic, and genre-appropriate vocals matched to staccato archetypal guitar riffs, supported …
Read More »Avelion – Liquid Breathing
Industrial music influenced Italian metallers Avelion released a three-song EP, titled Liquid Breathing, in November 2013. Highly focused on electronic or digital sounding instrumentation, the band incorporates a lot of different keyboard sounds, mixed with digital “djenty” guitar. Avelion, who revamped their lineup in 2013, describes themselves as melodic progressive …
Read More »Aventus – Valley Of The Kings
Another contender in the overcrowded, glutted digital music revolution, Scotland’s Aventus put their spin on rock and roll with their latest disc, called Valley of the Kings. The recording has a warm, analog feel to it, and is nicely balanced and enjoyable. The band mix doomy, sludgy riffs with more …
Read More »Colma Wolves – Orphaned
Edinburgh’s Colma Wolves have released a three-song EP, Orphaned. Songs begin slowly with distorted bass guitar, almost drone-like. The quality of Orphaned is best described as “basement practice room on an old four-track”, demo or hardcore-collector quality “only”. The recording is fairly muddy, and lacks the depth that would benefit …
Read More »Babylon A.D. – The Lost Sessions, Fresno CA 93
Formed in 1988, Babylon A.D. hail from San Francisco, California. Former Arista recording artists, they dredged up at EP’s worth of previously-unreleased material. Titled The Lost Sessions, Fresno CA 93, and released on Perris Records, this EP serves as the band’s ‘appearance at the final UK Firefest’ teaser. The material …
Read More »Moloch – Verwüstung
With Moloch, a true and grim underground black metal band has emerged, with most of their releases available as strictly limited editions! Hailing from dark, frozen Ukraine, Nocebo Records released an eight-song picture disc of Moloch’s material, titled Verwüstung. All lyrics are in Ukranian, but the song titles are in …
Read More »Four Nights Gone – Resilience
Staten Island, New York’s Four Nights Gone recently released Resilience, a 5-song EP. This is the band’s second studio effort, professionally recorded at Vudu Studios with producer Mike Watts. Nicely mixed, clear and crisp, Resilience seems to be fairly straightforward, vanilla modern melodic rock: like fellow bands you’d hear on …
Read More »Vampire – Vampire
Gothenburg, Sweden’s Vampire have presented listeners with an eponymous, ten track tour-de-force of intense, dark metal. Combining elements of traditional heavy metal with more extreme subgenres like death and black metal, this foursome has found a time-tested, battle-ready, winning formula. Vampire seems to take some of the best elements from …
Read More »