Death Metal

Ignis Gehenna – Baleful Scarlet Star Review

Ignis Gehenna – Baleful Scarlet Star Review

“Here’s something to think about… If Darkthrone’s Transilvanian Hunger released today, would it make the same impression it made back in 1994? More importantly, would it get the same reception nowadays that it got in the past?” No chance.

Brutal Unrest – Trinitas Review

Brutal Unrest – Trinitas Review

“Once upon a time, this writer, still a wet-behind-the-ears thrash aficionado, met his first brother-in-metal. He was a lanky fellow who’d rattle his neighbors’ windows with sessions of Cannibal Corpse and hit the pits so hard he’d be out of class for a week. So strong was our bromance that I cut my very first class to hit my first real show with him — I even had a beer (underage!) — what a rebel I was. I owe him, specifically his deification of Glen Benton, for a good portion of my listening habits.” Beers, Benton, bromance, Battlestar Galactica.

Shaarimoth – Temple of the Adversarial Fire Review

Shaarimoth – Temple of the Adversarial Fire Review

“January isn’t known for being a break-out month for music. With Shaarimoth’s sole output being 2005’s Current 11, they return after a lengthy period of inactivity with Temple of the Adversarial Fire. Can their rituals hold up after a lengthy lay-off?” Everything has a return these days.

Balfor – Black Serpent Rising Review

Balfor – Black Serpent Rising Review

“Way back in 2011 I was pleasantly surprised by a little known Ukrainian blackened death act called Balfor. So much so that I wrote a Things You Might Have Missed for their sophomore outing Barbaric Blood. Their highly effective fusion of Immortal-riffs and In Flames guitar virtuosity really got to me and though it wasn’t very original, it left me looking forward to hearing more from them. It took over five years for them to resurface and they do so with a radically different line up with only founder Thorgeir Berserk returning, but Black Serpent Rising is finally here.” Snake bite, on my leg!

Draugsól – Volaða Land Review

Draugsól – Volaða Land Review

“It’s no secret that—following a legacy now two decades old—black metal is synonymous with Scandinavia. For most, this refers to Norway and Sweden, but, depending on who you ask, this may also include Finland and Iceland. Regardless if these countries meet the rules for the “Scandinavia” tag, they have a plethora of black metal bands, with legacies all their own. And I thank that goat-headed deity for that.” Feeling Scandinavia, looking frozen tundra.

Slamophiliac – Perihelion Review

Slamophiliac – Perihelion Review

“Much like how everyone figured out what Ewoks were called despite the name never being mentioned in film, mysterious forces of collective cultural understanding have conspired to associate slamming brutal death metal with forced puns. I have not the faintest chance of elucidating the causes for this association, but I want to go on record in support of it.” Slam-fisted stuff here, folks.

Concert Review: Ulcerate, Zhrine, Phobocosm, and Vukari at Reggie’s, Chicago, Illinois – November 27th, 2016

Concert Review: Ulcerate, Zhrine, Phobocosm, and Vukari at Reggie’s, Chicago, Illinois – November 27th, 2016

“So it was with great portent that night fell upon Reginald’s Emporium of the Fine Arts, cloaking Chicago in a sickly sodium glow. Just on the edge of Chinatown, next to a bombed-out taco joint under the Green Line, brutality was brewing, summoned in darkness from the ragged edges of the Earth. And as the sun set, than the venue was assailed by… no one at all.” The abyss is a lonely place.

Omnizide – NekroRegime Review

Omnizide – NekroRegime Review

“I’m not an expert on black metal; in fact, I’m somewhat at an initiate level. While I have dug the occasional blackened affair like Axamenta, I’ve never had quite as much love for the kind of gritty, treble-laden, snare-abusing, hysterically-snarled theater that has been hated by parents, loved by anti-establishment youths and mocked to varying degrees by just about everyone else. This makes for a difficult situation when the dumping grounds of December leave naught but black metal promos.” Black is the season.