Al Kikuras

Necrophagia – WhiteWorm Cathedral Review

Necrophagia – WhiteWorm Cathedral Review

“If you’re a death metal fan and haven’t at least heard the name Necrophagia, you either aren’t much of a fan or you’re deaf, in which case you have a really good excuse and aren’t listening to death metal anyway. Or nu-metal. Or polka.” These fiends have been lurking at the periphery of extreme metal since the 80s and just wont die. Die, monster, die!

Abazagorath – The Satanic Verses Review

Abazagorath – The Satanic Verses Review

“There was a time before the Internet when musicians were scary. Glen Benton was an animal killing, Satan-worshipping maniac instead of an angry divorcee. Slayer were about to slit open a woman’s throat, all in spikes and leather instead of looking like they are on line at Chuck E. Cheese’s in a Spongebob t-shirt. The only scary person left in extreme music now that GG Allin is dead is Gaahl from Gorgoroth/God Seed and I’ve been too out touch to not know if he’s considered frightening these days.” Out of touch and scared of Sponge Bob is no way to go through life, Al.

Cannibal Corpse – A Skeletal Domain Review

Cannibal Corpse – A Skeletal Domain Review

“There’s another tidbit that escaped me as I drifted from the pulse of the underground: among a large faction of metalheads, Cannibal Corpse has passed out of vogue. I’m fully aware of the phenomena of a band achieving a level of commercial success and no longer being considered the REAL DEAL. That everyone here wasn’t scrambling to review the new Cannibal Corpse album came as a surprise to me. I remember reading about them in the pages of old metal rags when Eaten Back to Life first came out and they were being slagged left and right. People just didn’t get death metal yet.” Al Kikuras is old and out of touch and Cannibal Corpse is possibly out of vogue. What is this world coming to?

The Haunted – Exit Wounds Review

The Haunted – Exit Wounds Review

“I’m a crabby old thrash metal fanatic. No bones about it. I’ve never really been into the new wave of thrash metal like As I Lay Dying and Suicide Silence, or the retro thrash metal bands like Municipal Waste and Bonded By Blood, who prance about in their tight jeans and high top sneakers, probably because I was there in the trenches during the first wave (though I never got into the skinny jeans). When Sweden’s The Haunted first rose from the ashes of At The Gates with their self-tiled debut in ’98, I wasn’t all that big of a fan. Compared to the originators of the genre and the legacy of At The Gates, The Haunted, frankly, was a letdown.” We’ve said some mighty unflattering things about The Haunted over the years, but we might have to stop the abuse…for now.

Midnight – No Mercy for Mayhem Review

Midnight – No Mercy for Mayhem Review

“Punk and black/death metal are closer brethren than one might think. Obviously, punk’s influence on metal is undeniable, but when a band like Cleveland’s Midnight comes along and seamlessly mashes both styles together, it becomes even more evident how the different genres are all branches of the same tree. There are also some strong elements of NWOBHM, thrash, crust… I can go on and on, but what Midnight really hammers home is that when you throw them into a big pile, light it on fire, and piss on it, besides that horrible acrid cloud of pissmist, you get what can best be described as rock and roll.” This album has charisma AND pissmist. You can’t beat that for a dollar!

Tankard – R.I.B. Review

Tankard – R.I.B. Review

“Can you imagine having a hangover every day for 30 years straight? If Tankard live up to their brew-soaked legacy at all, they probably aren’t imagining it. They’re living it. Now, German thrash is a revered branch of the metal tree so you know the names. If there was a “Big Four” of Teutonic thrash, they’d be Kreator, Sodom and Destruction. No, my math isn’t off and no, I’m not a dozen beers in and forgot how to count. The fourth position would be up for grabs for a bevy of second and third tier bands like Darkness, Exumer, Deathrow, Iron Angel, Paradox… the list goes on. Good ‘ol Tankard is on that list. ” Here’s some old style thrash reviewed by our new (but kinda old) writer. Welcome the Amish Outlaw himself, Al Kikuras to AMG’s dysfunctional family.