After numerous YouTube teasers and a 7 year wait since their last album “The Forsaken”, Norwegian “unblack” metal band Antestor release their fourth album “Omen”. Black metal has never been my cup of tea but over the past couple of years I have grown a soft spot for Antestor and …
Read More »Ruins – ‘Place Of No Pity’
The name of Tasmanian devils (sic) Ruins may be unfamiliar to many people outside the southern hemisphere, but that should be about to change soon, thanks to the international release of this, their fourth full length studio album. And a bloody fine slice of blackened metal it is – melodic …
Read More »Cradle Of Filth – The Manticore and Other Horrors
As bands always do in the lead up to a release of their new album, they make a lot of predictions and comments on how they think or what they think the album will sound like. In the running up to the release of The Manticore and Other Horrors, Cradle …
Read More »Dead Aeon – Interview
When ‘Apotheosis’, the debut EP from Monaghan’s Dead Aeon, found its way onto the stereo at PM’s recently established Ireland HQ, we found ourselves suitably impressed by what we referred to as their “brutally effective brand of blackened death metal”, and praised it as one of the best new death …
Read More »Wreckage Metal Night at Ivory Blacks, Glasgow. Saturday 8th December 2012
Second instalment of Glasgow’s extreme metal nights kicks off on Saturday 8th December at Ivory Blacks, 56 Oswald St. Glasgow Ceol Dorchas Productions is set on bringing the best underground bands to Glasgow! Destroyer 666 Blackened Thrash Metal Bonesaw Aberdeen Death Metal Solstheim Glasgow Black Metal Doors 7pm, 18+ Tickets …
Read More »The Everdawn – Poems – Burn The Past
There’s a lot to be said about the musical elitism that follows extreme metal around like a third wheel, but damn it if it isn’t sometimes completely justified. If not for elitism, Deicide would still be taken seriously, Cradle Of Filth would be seen as the epitome of black metal …
Read More »Decline Of The I – ‘Inhibition’
Over the past decade or so, black metal – particularly of the northern European variety – has become much more about the feel of the music rather than the subject matter, as bands have progressed from satanic shock tactics to more natural, ethereal explorations of the environments which originally inspired …
Read More »Fibber’s Monthly Massacre, Fibber Magees, Dublin, 14 September.
Fibber’s monthly massacre was the first endeavour by new Rock and Roll promotions to provide the people of Dublin with a fun metal gig. Hosted by Dan Keogh (Vile Regression) and Lar Bowler (Two Tales of Woe) it was a great night with a decent turnout to go on top …
Read More »Eternal Helcaraxe – ‘Against All Odds’
When this black metal crew issued their sophomore EP, ‘To Whatever End’, in 2009, it was hailed as one of the best examples of the genre to emerge from the island of Ireland at the time. It was praise which was well-deserved, as it was an excellent slab of Celtic-tinged …
Read More »Merrimack – ‘The Acausal Mass’
Over the past 18 years – and certainly in the decade since the release of their brutal debut album, ‘Ashes of Purification’ – Merrimack have been slowly building a reputation as one of the forerunners of the French black metal movement and have drawn comparison, not unfairly, with the likes …
Read More »Homoferus – ‘Herocly’
Fronted by Russian-born guitarist/vocalist Nil Dilian, this Bergen-based quartet have self-released an eight-track debut album that is fairly standard second wave of Norwegian black metal fare, made up of crunchy groove-laden riffs over mixture of clean and deathbeat drumming. Opener ‘Delirium’ is nothing special – the sort of thing the …
Read More »Winterburst – ‘The Mind Cave’
The first thing that strikes you about this self-released debut full-length offering from this French five piece is it’s lavish packaging – stunning artwork on a highly professionally produced gatefold sleeve, and a well-designed lyric booklet. They’ve obviously put a lot of work into it. But, that’s entirely understandable, given …
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