Metal Blade

Master Boot Record – Floppy Disk Overdrive Review

By sentynel on March 21, 2020 in 2020, Doom Metal, Electronica Metal, Italian Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Doom Metal, Electronic Metal, Synthwave, 34 comments

“Master Boot Record first came to my attention a few years ago as a novelty synth-metal nerd music act that made good coding music. After a hard disk full of releases in their first couple of years, Interrupt Request was released in 2017. At that point, I suddenly realized that MBR had privilege escalated from novelty act to serious music. Nothing had changed about the style or the presentation, but after iterative improvements, the quality of the songwriting demanded that they be taken seriously.” Disc blaster.

Angry Metal Primer – God Dethroned

By Dr. Wvrm on February 2, 2020 in 2020, Angry Metal Primer, Black Metal, Death Metal, Dutch Metal, Metal Blade, 46 comments

The primers return for 2020, now with 100% more Eye of Providence. Eye, matey.

Angry Metal Primer – Cattle Decapitation

By Dr. Wvrm on November 24, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Angry Metal Playlist, Angry Metal Primer, Grind, Metal Blade, Grind, 17 comments

“From their grisly origins in goregrind to their current set of genre-defying extreme albums, Cattle Decapitation have always been both provocative and purposeful. While crusading against the meat industry, animal testing, environmental destruction or transphobia, Travis Ryan’s stomach-turning lyrics often take to extremes of irony to turn abstract, far-away injustice into a personal danger. But the band climbed a long way to the top of their current soapbox.” Shake, cattle and roll.

Cult of Luna – A Dawn to Fear Review

By Huck N Roll on September 17, 2019 in 2019, Hardcore, Metal Blade, Post-metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Sludge, Swedish Metal, Hardcore, Post-Metal, Progressive Metal, Sludge, 61 comments

“This summer saw a couple of top-notch releases from instrumental post-metal vets Russian Circles and Pelican. Both albums were worthy entries in the genre, but we should consider them appetizers, or warm-up acts, because one of the heavy hitters just walked in, and they have something to say.” Drink this Kool-Aid.

Angry Metal Primer – Borknagar and Cult of Luna

By Dr. Wvrm on September 15, 2019 in 2019, Angry Metal Playlist, Angry Metal Primer, Black Metal, Century Media, Metal Blade, Norwegian Metal, Post-metal, Swedish Metal, Post-Metal, 74 comments

“In which we waste your time always searching for those blunder years.”

Allegaeon – Apoptosis Review

By GardensTale on April 15, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Technical Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 160 comments

“Almost three years ago, as a probationary noob, I was tasked to review the bloated, brickwalled behemoth that was Allegaeon’s Proponent for Sentience. I argued that taken as a whole, the 72-minute album was beyond overwritten and overwrought even before the utterly crushed production ruined what was left. It turned out to be my least popular opinion since I argued in high school that metal bands without growls or screams were still metal (that actually happened.)” Bruise the messenger.

Anaal Nathrakh – A New Kind of Horror Review

By Grymm on September 26, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, British Metal, Grind, Metal Blade, Reviews, Black Metal, Industrial Metal, 176 comments

“2018 marks an anniversary year of sorts. On November 11th, it will mark one hundred years since the end of World War I, a war that was supposed to end all wars, but instead introduced trench warfare and chemical weaponry, forever changing the landscape of combat to this day. To give attention to this, British duo Anaal Nathrakh, themselves celebrating twenty years as a band this year, crafted an album that gives respectful tribute to the writings, poetry, and the sheer terror that World War I brought to those who survived to tell it.” Dead in a ditch.

Primordial – Exile Amongst the Ruins Review

By Grymm on March 26, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Folk Metal, Irish Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Black Metal, Folk Metal, 108 comments

“When one thinks of passionate metal that bleeds their country’s heritage and history, Primordial usually ends up being the first, if not only, band that springs to mind. With a rich catalog rife with epic song structures, full-chord riffs, and the soaring vocals of A.A. Nemtheanga, the Irish quintet possess a discography to be envious of. Oftentimes battle-worn, other times sad-yet-defiant, Primordial never cease to craft works of metallic art that thrusts them head-and-shoulders above their contemporaries.” Heritage, history, heresy.

Hamferð – Támsins likam Review

By Angry Metal Guy on January 11, 2018 in 2018, Doom Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Death Doom, Doom Metal, Funeral Doom, 81 comments

“Hamferð plays a style of doom that is thankfully impervious to serious trendiness. Truly excellent funeral doom is pretty rare, and I have developed a bit of an aversion to the doom genre because my promo inbox is populated by a glut of stoned, raw-water-drinking hipsters trying to play Black Sabbath riffs as though they were interesting and/or novel nearly 50 years after they were first written. But when done well, doom metal can be an intense, beautiful, and crushing genre. And Hamferð does it well.” Welcome the end.

Ram – Rod Review

By Huck N Roll on November 8, 2017 in 2017, Heavy Metal, Metal Blade, NWOBHM, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, 39 comments

“Back into the depths of traditional, olde-school, cheesy metal we delve, my friends, and what do we encounter but more Swedish goodness in the form of Ram, and their latest album, Rod. The band haven’t let the fact that their logo is perennially in the running for Worst in All of Metal slow them down: Rod is their fifth album over the last fifteen years, making these guys almost as old as the music they love to play.” If the rod don’t fit, Ram it!