Hammerheart Records

Brutal Unrest – Trinitas Review

By Dr. Wvrm on January 13, 2017 in 2017, Death Metal, German Metal, Hammerheart Records, Reviews, Death Metal, 15 comments

“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.

SIG:AR:TYR – Northen Review

By Steel Druhm on April 9, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, Canadian Metal, Folk Metal, Hammerheart Records, Reviews, Viking Metal, Black Metal, Folk Metal, Viking Metal, 53 comments

“SIG:AR:TYR are one of the most criminally overlooked acts in the Viking/folk/black metal arena and even after three high quality albums they still seem woefully under-appreciated. Taking the best elements of Bathory’s Viking era and fusing them with influences ranging from Immortal, Falkenbach and Primordial, founder and sole member Daemonskald crafted some amazingly epical moments on unsung classics like Beyond the North Winds and 2010’s Godsaga.” Prepare to feel the Hammer o’ the North.

Collision – Satanic Surgery Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on February 15, 2016 in 2016, Dutch Metal, Grind, Hammerheart Records, Hardcore, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Hardcore, 24 comments

“Sometimes I feel like a wine critic. Not because I spit booze into a bucket like a drunken ibex and pretend it’s a real job when I write about it, but because I’m describing what I hear and then telling you good folks about how my “palate” reacts to it. Although it would be substantially easier to just sniff, taste or write “a bold 90s flavour, Good/5.0” and call it a day, this metal gig actually lets me reference hamburgers, beer, and philosophy at a frankly ludicrous frequency so I can confidently say I made the right choice. With that in mind I’ve taken many sips from the boxed Merlot of Dutch thrashcore merchants Collision’s fifth full-length Satanic Surgery, and much like a baffled wine critic (Diabolus in Vino?) I had one Hell of a time figuring out why it tasted funny.” Time for speed tasting!

Cirith Gorgor – Visions of Exalted Lucifer Review

By Grymm on February 7, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, Dutch Metal, Hammerheart Records, Reviews, Black Metal, 17 comments

“There’s something to be said for toiling away at your craft for a long period of time, sacrificing ~~goats and virgins~~ your time, energy, and the relationships in your life in order to hit that Holy Grail of recognition and notoriety. Regardless of the degree of success, you can’t deny that a bit of respect is to be had for those who refuse to quit.” Then again, a little self-insight never hurt anybody…

Kjeld – Skym Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on March 4, 2015 in 2015, Black Metal, Dutch Metal, Hammerheart Records, Reviews, Black Metal, 20 comments

“When further listening to Skym and reading everything the good folks at Hammerheart sent our way about Kjeld, I was surprised. Not in the “huh, neat” way, but in Keanu Reeves’ infamous “whoa” way.” We didn’t see this one coming.

Wormed – Exodromos Review

By Alex Franquelli on March 21, 2013 in 2013, 4.0, Death Metal, Hammerheart Records, Reviews, Willowtip, Technical Death Metal, 3 comments

“It is brutal, rather technical and it has its roots in death metal. But is Exodromos a pure brutal technical death metal album? A lazy, complacent answer would be: yes. A more elaborate response – and one you would expect to read on these respected pages – is: not quite.” Alex Franquelli reviews the new Wormed record, in all its brutal, technical glory and asks “What next?”

Illogicist – The Unconsciousness of Living Review

By Dr. Fisting on January 11, 2012 in 2.5, 2012, Avante Garde, Death Metal, Hammerheart Records, Italian Metal, Reviews, Willowtip, Death Metal, 3 comments

I first became acquainted with Illogicist back in 2007, at the height of the tech-death explosion, via a record called The Insight Eye. What intrigued me about these Italian virtuosos at the time was that, unlike most of the scene they were lumped in with, they leaned less towards “tech” and way more towards “death.” The band was clearly influenced by early 90s progressive death metal like Atheist and late-era Death, a.k.a. shit that I really like. And yet, despite all the potential, the album seemed to be missing something.

Macabre – Grim Scary Tales Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 3, 2011 in 2011, 4.0, American Metal, Death Metal, Hammerheart Records, Reviews, Willowtip, Death Metal, Grind, 2 comments

Macabre probably shouldn’t need any introduction to the majority of readers on this blog, but it’s possible they might. So let’s put it like this… Macabre is pretty much the one of the most underrated and idiosyncratic death metal bands of all time. Or grind. Or, whatever the hell you call them. These guys have been around forever (25 years, apparently) and while they haven’t produced that many full lengths in their existence, they have produced some of the most memorable albums I own. My first introduction to the band came around the time when they released Dahmer, which is their infamous concept album about Jeffrey Dahmer. Yessiree, bob. If you haven’t heard that record you are missing out. But Dahmer isn’t it, 1993’s Sinister Slaughter is another classic which is loaded with amazing tracks, as is 2003’s Murder Metal. But since it’s been about 8 years since the release of Murder Metal, I’d kind of even forgotten that these guys were still around. So what a fantastic surprise when Grim Scary Tales landed in my box. Oh, happy day!