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Summoning – Old Mornings Dawn Review

By Noctus on May 26, 2013 in 2013, 4.5, Austrian Metal, Black Metal, Napalm Records, Reviews, Uncategorized, Black Metal, 27 comments

“It was seven years ago that I purchased my very first CD as a teenager who knew nothing about music other than the fact I absolutely loved it and wanted to find something completely different and obscure. I opened up a metal magazine and was instantly pulled in by the mysterious description and album cover to Summoning’s Oath Bound. The nature-influenced album cover, the Austrian black metal description, all of it seemed incredibly alluring so I bought it blindly — my first ever musical purchase. Needless to say, Oath Bound arrived and floored me.” Noctus has a heartfelt history with this group of Tolkien-obsessed black metal maven, but does their new album live up to his lofty (and insanely fanboyish) expectations?

Svartsyn – Black Testament Review

By Alex Franquelli on May 23, 2013 in 2.5, 2013, Agonia Records, Black Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Uncategorized, Black Metal, 0 comments

“Black metal. No, wait, not that one; but the other, unpolished predecessor of whatever came next. And when I say ‘next’ I mean that black metal. With its intriguing plots, assassinations, Satanists that become pagans, that go to prison and discover the absolute, compelling modernity of nationalism. Usually right before they realize that, you know what, milking Norwegian cows can indeed be a form of protest against Christianity and Judaism if one looks at it from the right perspective.” Join Alex as he speedily runs us through 27 years in black metal!

Surgeon – Chemical Reign Review

By Dr. Fisting on May 16, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, Releases, Reviews, Uncategorized, Unsigned Bands, 0 comments

“The awesomely-named Surgeon is a trio from Philadelphia, and according to them, they play progressive metal with a touch of doom. Their second album is out this week and goes by the very metal name of Chemical Reign. I was unable to find any trace of their first album on the Interwebs, and as it turns out, “Surgeon” is not the most Google-friendly of band names (although I now know where to get a gastric bypass done).” So how does a doom-prog band from the City of Brotherly Love sound? Is there some malpractice going on in the songwriting department? Mr. Fisting will explain all after his procedure.

FKÜ – 4 – Rise of the Mosh Mongers Review

By Dr. Fisting on April 16, 2013 in 2.0, 2013, Napalm Records, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Uncategorized, 1 comment

“FKÜ might be the oldest old-school thrash band you’ve never heard of. As the story goes, the original lineup of Freddy Krueger’s Ünderwear (amazing name, BTW) formed in Sweden way back in 1987, influenced heavily by S.O.D. With no recorded output, they went on hiatus for over a decade before finally re-forming, shortening their name, and releasing their debut Metal Moshing Mad in 1999. As the title implies, 4 – Rise of the Mosh Mongers is their 4th album.” Mr. Fisting has imposed some draconian and inflexible rules for how he rates re-thrash albums. Can FKÜ escape the swirling vortex created by his maddening and confounding need to demand originality from a genre that’s very existent depends on non-originality? Tune in and find out!

Moss – Horrible Night Review

By Noctus on April 11, 2013 in 2.0, 2013, Doom Metal, English Metal, Reviews, Rise Above Records, Sludge, Uncategorized, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, 6 comments

“Even attempting to articulate just how great a band Moss are at what they do is a fool’s errand. Not only is their sound crushing and brooding beyond any band I’ve ever experienced but every new recording they release seems like a blue-moon event that simply cannot be missed. Horrible Night, Moss’ latest album, was met with an equal amount of excitement to die-hard fans, me among them — anxiously waiting for the follow-up to 2009’s absolutely monolithic Sub Templum, which is one of doom/drone metal’s best releases bar none.” Noctus tells you whether or not it was worth not sleeping or eating for months to get his hands on the very first copy of Horrible Night.

Deathchain – Ritual Death Metal Review

By Dr. Fisting on April 10, 2013 in 3.5, Death Metal, Dynamic Arts Records, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Uncategorized, 6 comments

“I first heard Finnish death metallers Deathchain nearly a decade ago, when a friend introduced me to what he described as “just crazy fast-ass death metal” (I’m paraphrasing here). His statement was accurate — at the time, the band’s style was straightforward and riff-driven, played at lightning speed with a heavy dose of thrash influence. Despite liking it a lot, I failed to keep up with the band’s progress over the years. Turns out this is a huge error on my part, since Deathchain has apparently evolved into a dark, weird death metal beast while I wasn’t paying attention.” A Finnish death metal band goes from “evil” to “more evil,” and Mr. Fisting rejoices. Grab a beer and begin the Fisting Dance!

Exarsis – The Brutal State Review

By Dr. Fisting on March 25, 2013 in 2.0, 2013, Greek Metal, MDD Records, Reviews, Uncategorized, 9 comments

“One of the stranger parts of American culture is the phenomena of the Civil War reenactment. For those of you unfamiliar with this, it is exactly what it sounds like: History buffs and other geeks dress in 1860’s-era clothing, meet at a public place, and painstakingly recreate some of our nation’s most infamous battles. As fun as this might be to watch, the reenactments are somewhat predictable, because every single time (with one exception) the outcome is exactly the same. If you can imagine the futility of witnessing the same battle over and over again, fully knowing how it will end, then you are beginning to understand how difficult it is to review retro thrash albums.” And that brings us to the dulcet tones of Greek thrashers Exarsis. Mr. Fisting thinks these guys just made one of the better Bay Area thrash records of 1989, except that they’re from Greece and it’s 2013. That poses a problem.

Total Negation – Zur späten Stunde | Zeiträume Review

By Noctus on March 14, 2013 in 2.5, 2013, Black Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Temple of Tortorous Records, Uncategorized, Black Metal, 3 comments

“With a project name like Total Negation, it’s very difficult to be mistaken when it comes to what you’re in for. More or less taking the feeling of being pessimistic and forming it into a sound would be a start, as far as descriptors go. Total Negation is a German black metal project that takes every feeling of despair and discontent and forms it into a distant, almost apathetic sound. What Total Negation do is very differently from other similar bands taking black metal in a more depressive route – think Xasthur or perhaps even Spektr for example.” Join Noctus as he dives into the evil white cube that is Total Negation.

Rotting Christ – Κατά τον Δαίμονον Εαυτού Review

By Madam X on February 27, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, Black Metal, Greek Metal, Rating, Releases, Reviews, Season of Mist, Uncategorized, Black Metal, 21 comments

“I’m always enchanted by a band or album that pushes me to think outside the box, compelling me at 2 am to seek out the translation of an old Romanian curse, making me read up on Voodoo and at the same time the i’m knee deep in the teachings of Aleister Crowley – now that’s what metal’s about [Mister Crowley, won’t you write for my blog? – Steel Druhm]! Aleister Crowley wrote ‘Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law’ and I’m pleased Greek icons Rotting Christ decided to use this credo as the basis for their 11^th full-length release Κατά τον Δαίμονον Εαυτού (meaning ‘Do what thou wilt’).” Mister Crowley and Madam X are like two peas in a devil pod, so join her as she discusses the new opus from Greek black/death act Rotting Christ and all things sacrilicious.

Voivod – Target Earth Review

By Dr. Fisting on January 16, 2013 in 2013, 4.5, Canadian Metal, Century Media, Progressive Metal, Releases, Reviews, Uncategorized, Progressive Metal, 15 comments

The prospect of a new Voivod record is something I approached with a fair amount of dread, mostly due to the minor detail that guitarist/bandleader Denis “Piggy” D’Amour passed away back in 2005. A lot of ’80s/’90s bands have buried their dead and moved on, occasionally with decent results (see: Alice In Chains). But Piggy seemed irreplaceable. He was the band’s main songwriter by most accounts, and more importantly, he possessed one of the weirdest, most eccentric guitar styles in all of metal. It seemed that no one could possibly take his place.