Belgian Metal

Marginal – Total Destruction Review

Marginal – Total Destruction Review

“Just in time to ruin your holiday cheer, Belgian quintet Marginal come storming into the party like your drunk Uncle Randy after one too many glasses of rum and eggnog. Formed in 2013 by veterans of other Belgian acts Aguardente, Bark, and Aborted, this unkempt troupe seeks to combine grindcore and crust whilst paying homage to the early days of Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror, and Discharge.” Crust in the wind.

Diablo Blvd – Zero Hour Review

Diablo Blvd – Zero Hour Review

“For years, I thought something was wrong with me when I got in the mood for some simple, catchy rock/groove. I mean, there is something wrong with me when I get the urge to listen to Volbeat over Mercyful Fate. But, sometimes, one needs a palette cleansing. And that’s exactly why I feel no guilt when listening to bands like Darkhaus, Ghoultown, A Life Divided, and Diablo Blvd. Week after week of listening to constant doom, black, heavy, thrash (and everything between) can make your brain mush. Not to mention, trying to find the words for the couple selected for review while meeting writing deadlines for a textbook, teaching classes, etc. So, detoxing is necessary.” Cleanse my wounded palette.

FireForce – Annihilate the Evil Review

FireForce – Annihilate the Evil Review

“Like Sabaton, Belgium’s FireForce focuses all their energy around battles come-and-gone, the bravery of the few, and the historical instances that led to war. With two albums under their belt, this five-piece is back with another history lesson. This time on Greece’s Oxi Day, the Danevirke, the infamous Iron Brigade, and much more. So, come along, dweebs. School’s in session. Grab your Thermos and knapsack, it’s time to get learneded.” The professor is a doctor.

Leng Tch’e – Razorgrind Review

Leng Tch’e – Razorgrind Review

“A revolving door of members and seven-year break since dropping 2010’s Hypomaniac hasn’t dulled the band’s commitment to keep on grinding, returning with their sixth full-length opus, fittingly titled Razorgrind. But do they still have what it takes to match it with the new breed of talented grinders? Or are Leng Tch’e destined to die a musical death by a thousand cuts?” Shave and a haircut, grind it!

Blind Seer – Apocalypse 2.0 Review

Blind Seer – Apocalypse 2.0 Review

“Just like some albums are growers, you occasionally encounter one that takes time to reveal itself as garbage. It may seem like a potentially good time, but repeat listens magnify all the flaws to the point you can no longer fathom what attracted you in the first place. Not so with Apocalypse 2.0, an ostensibly progressive metal album by Blind Seer. I knew for a fact this was garbage after exactly nine seconds.” Seer the ear.

Bear – /// Review

Bear – /// Review

“While I’m quite comfortable in the realm of technical death metal, the whole European tech-metal/djent boom around 2010 never really made sense to me. Where did all of these bands come from, and why did so many sound like even shittier versions of Periphery? Regardless of the source, I can intuit from the number of stupidly named festivals that the continental metalheads keep holding that tech metal — without the death — is pretty popular somewhere.” The claws are out.

Possession – Exorkizein Review

Possession – Exorkizein Review

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I really don’t need originality in my music. Take last month’s Necroblood album. Though it hardly did anything groundbreaking, that record gave me all the Satan, blastbeats, and atom-bomb riffing I could ask for.” Can Possession provide maximum Satan?

Saille – Gnosis Review

Saille – Gnosis Review

“Have you ever been away from someone for a while, whether a friend, family member, or former love interest, and when you reunite, that person has changed dramatically? Was it because they cleaned up, got their shit together, lost or gained weight in a healthy matter, or otherwise became an outrageously successful person without you? Or did you see them with a beer belly, receding hairline, on their third divorce, and you try to find a nice way to cheer them up while thinking in your head, ‘What the hell happened to you?'” Absence makes the heart grow fatter.