Hatebreed

Twitching Tongues – Gaining Purpose Through Passionate Hatred Review

Twitching Tongues – Gaining Purpose Through Passionate Hatred Review

“Like many of you, I was shaken to my very core by AMG Himself‘s recent diatribe about subgenres. Fittingly enough, the very next album I’m handed to review is by a band that has blurred the lines of ‘metal’ and ‘hardcore’ for several years, confounding fans on both sides of the fence. As some of our longtime readers may have noticed, I really enjoy when bands do things that upset or confuse people, especially if it happens to result in interesting music. Enter Twitching Tongues and their fantastically-titled Gaining Purpose Through Passionate Hatred.” When the pigeon can’t find the hole.

Interview with Sven de Caluwé of Aborted

Interview with Sven de Caluwé of Aborted

“During the four days of maritime metal mayhem that was 70,000 Tons of Metal earlier this month, I was lucky enough to snag an interview with Sven de Caluwé, vocalist and founding member of famed Belgian death metal band Aborted. As the mastermind behind songs about serial killers, medical deviance, and (strangely enough) even poop, Sven has led his minions through albums like 2003’s iconic Goremageddon and, most recently, 2016’s warmly received Retrogore. Jittery with fanboyism (and more than a few Fosters) Sven was kind enough to overlook my obvious amateurism to talk about the band’s past, their upcoming Devastation on the Nation tour, and even some juicy details on the new album. Strap on that cadaver apron and read on!” We said strap it on!

Body Count – Bloodlust Review

Body Count – Bloodlust Review

“As longtime readers may know, I have a special place in my heart for L.A. street metal combo Body Count. Their debut album is an indisputable cult classic, and follow-ups Born Dead and Violent Demise were equally essential to the soundtrack of my misanthropic youth. 2014’s Manslaughter seems to have been the comeback the band needed, and now Ice-T and co. are making a case for modern metal legitimacy with Bloodlust.” There goes the neighborhood…again.

Despised Icon – Beast Review

Despised Icon – Beast Review

“The state of deathcore in 2016 isn’t an enviable one. It’s not quite old enough yet to spur on needlessly salty debates about the best MySpace pages, and it’s not fashionable or ubiquitous enough anymore to act as a gateway to further extremity as it once did for so many. Suicide Silence was never that good to begin with, but their records have noticeably declined in quality since their debut. Job for a Cowboy has been a boring modern death metal band since Genesis. All Shall Perish hasn’t released an album since 2011, let alone a good one since 2008; the list goes on. Enter the best-known Canadian deathcore band that’s not Cryptopsy in 2008: Despised Icon.” Deathcore in da house!

The Hell – Brutopia Review

The Hell – Brutopia Review

“Hardcore largely exists as a reaction to things in the world that invoke the ire of an angry singer. This can range from society as a whole (Pro-Pain), the government (Sick of It All), or some unnamed person who wronged the narrator so often and so consistently that it literally must be their job to anger the guy (Terror).” More music for Leg Day at the local gymnasium.

Queensrÿche – Condition Hüman Review

Queensrÿche – Condition Hüman Review

“Against seemingly impossible odds, Queensrÿche roared back from the adult-contemporary abyss two years ago with their self-titled album. The band had parted ways acrimoniously with vocalist Geoff Tate, replacing him with newcomer Todd LaTörre (Crimson Glory) and reconnecting to their prog and metal roots. The resulting album was shockingly good, proving that the band could indeed survive without their former frontman. Now that that’s been settled, the band’s 2nd act continues with Condition Hüman. How many Bitcoins would Gëoff Tate pay for this bad boy?

Jungle Rot – Order Shall Prevail Review

Jungle Rot – Order Shall Prevail Review

“Looking at my calendar whilst putting my finishing touches on this review, it’s one day after the official release date of Jungle Rot’s latest record Order Shall Prevail and the digital presses have ceased for the day. Some slight lateness matters little; the album’s been up for streaming, and those interested have doubtlessly heard it already and those uninterested have continued not to care one iota about its existence. Jungle Rot produces a specific type of music that caters solely to their established audience, and Order Shall Prevail doesn’t mess with the formula.” The lords of Neanderthal death are back, if you care.

Fulgora – Stratagem Review

Fulgora – Stratagem Review

“When sitting down to write this review, I managed to confuse where Fulgora gets their namesake from before looking it up. For reasons that may or may not include an increasingly counterproductive sleep schedule, writer’s block, and somehow still being regularly keelhauled for the Alestorm incidents of 2014 (no, I don’t regret it, and yes, I’m still right) I thought these Missouri misery dealers were named after Killer Instinct’s personification of cyborg murder Fulgore instead of the female Ancient Greek personification of lightning, Fulgora.” The Alestorm shaming will never stop.

Salvation – Resurrect the Tradition Review

Salvation – Resurrect the Tradition Review

“Having recently gone through some much-needed “downsizing” in my personal life, hitting the gym has become a more common activity for me, so I selfishly jumped at the chance to review Salvation’s début album, Resurrect the Tradition. Salvation is a hardcore band featuring alumni of various other hardcore bands (including bassist Gary Meskil of Pro-Pain and Crumbsuckers), and this music is tailor-made to be a real life Game Genie for workouts.” Need some heavy hardcore for your heavy lifting? This might be your Salvation.

Things You Might Have Missed 2014: Body Count – Manslaughter

Things You Might Have Missed 2014: Body Count – Manslaughter

“June 10th, 2014: I looked out of my window and saw pigs flying, and shortly thereafter received a text from Satan asking why Hell just froze over. Suddenly I remembered that Ice-T’s rap metal outfit Body Count had just released Manslaughter, so I grabbed hold of one of the aforementioned pigs and flew to my local record store to pick up a copy. Upon hearing Manslaughter in its entirety, I texted Satan the answer to his question: “because a great rap metal album was released in 2014.”” There goes the neighborhood, again!