Draugurinn – Ísavetur Review

Draugurinn – Ísavetur Review

“Sweden’s Draugurinn is the dark ambient personification of one-woman-band, Dísa Á. Even though she didn’t make a blip on my metal detector until recently, that hasn’t been for a lack of effort on her part. With both Draugurinn and her black metal persona, Turdus Merula, she’s been releasing quite the number of full-lengths since 2010.” Well, this is certainly dark and unhappy!

Fuck the Facts – Desire Will Rot Review

Fuck the Facts – Desire Will Rot Review

“It’s not to often that punk-derived genres get to fly the ‘progressive’ banner, but if forced to name a modern prog-grindcore act, Fuck the Facts would be the first words from my mouth. The Ottowan group’s devil-may-care attitude towards stylistic unity is something of a treasure in the grind world and their constant shuffling between deathy prog-grind and grindy prog-death, all whilst collecting the refuse of a half-dozen other genres, is a joy to witness.” Prog and grind go together like nuts and gum.

Pentagram – Curious Volume Review

Pentagram – Curious Volume Review

“Apart from Black Sabbath, no doom band can claim the same progenitor status Pentagram can. Coming into existence in 1971, they were the first American doom band and along with their slightly older British brothers in arms, they wrote the book on the entire genre. They also penned another book over the years on how to become the ultimate obscure, underground and kvlt act and stay that way for four fucking decades without ever getting proper recognition.” Last days are not here!

Soilwork – The Ride Majestic Review

Soilwork – The Ride Majestic Review

““You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” – Conventional wisdom or Will Rogers, no clear date. “We play melodic death metal with metalcore elements and tons of hooky choruses!” – Soilwork via Stabbing the Drama, 2005. Combining these two quotes explains the position from which I’ll tackle Soilwork’s tenth full-length The Ride Majestic.” When we start quoting Will Rogers, the poo usually hits the oscillation device.

Mike Tramp – Nomad Review

Mike Tramp – Nomad Review

“Not that the plethora of throwback retro-thrash bands wasn’t evidence enough, but the 80’s happened. Fashion was horrendous and hairstyles were worse. Nintendo had kids blowing into their cartridges the world over. And on MTV, for every Iron Maiden and Metallica video that was played, there was a gaggle of hair bands saturating the airwaves to the point of ozone layer depletion from all that Aqua Net used. White Lion was one of those bands, enjoying success after success until Kurt Cobain came along and ruined everything for them.” Let’s see hands from all the little fighters in the hall!

Bonehunter – Evil Triumphs Again Review

Bonehunter – Evil Triumphs Again Review

“Admittedly, when I think of punk-infused thrash, I think of how Toxic Holocaust’s Hell on Earth release a decade ago planted its seed of bad demeanor in my ear. From there this seed took root and blossomed as a love for (most) of Toxic Holocaust’s succeeding releases.” Can Bonehunter steal the Doctor’s love like a thief in the night?

Tomb of Finland – Below the Green Review

Tomb of Finland – Below the Green Review

“Okay, admission time: as you can probably guess, I don’t always rely on the Grymm Grab Bag™ to decide who or what I get to review. If it’s a band I love or have a history with, I’ll give a fair looksee and go from there. In some cases, the name alone will grab me and say, “dude, review this, please.” Hence, Finland’s Tomb of Finland. That’s a pretty benign name to most people, right?” Wait for it….