Erik Rutan

Dim Mak – The Emergence of Reptilian Altars Review

Dim Mak – The Emergence of Reptilian Altars Review

Dim Mak arose from cult heroes Ripping Corpse in 1996 (after Erik Rutan ran off to join Morbid Angel) and they decided to do something entirely different. And yes, I believe that Dim Mak definitely qualifies as that. A thrashy, techy death metal band with martial arts themes almost exclusively (yes, their first record was called Enter the Fist), The Emergence of Reptilian Altars is the band’s fourth full length and first since 2006. Five years (well, six if you’re looking at the Euro release date) is a long time to wait between albums, so you’d like to think that they were preparing something super special (like the Touch of Death!) for their return. But during that five years down, original vocalist (and Ripping Corpse member) Scott Ruth left the band and was replaced by newcomer Joe Capizzi, whose style is markedly different than his predecessor.

Aeon – Path of Fire Review

Aeon – Path of Fire Review

Swedish death metal, I mean real Swedish death metal with the legacy of brutality that everyone can identify in the form of (insert your favorite Swedish death metal bands here) lives on in Aeon, a band that hails from Östersund a city in Jämtland (which is basically in the mountains and towards the Norwegian border). Astersund, while not known for its thriving metal scene, has indeed birthed one of Sweden’s current and most brutal death metal bands who were signed to Metal Blade and released an album a couple of years ago entitled Rise to Dominate which really excited fans of the tech and (more-or-less) brutal styles of death metal. I believe when I was introduced to them the words “fucking ridiculous” were definitely involved somewhere in that conversation.