Metal Blade

The Red Chord – Fed Through the Teeth Machine

The Red Chord – Fed Through the Teeth Machine

The Red Chord has been one of the best respected bands that really came out of the metalcore scene a few years back. I’ve got plenty of friends who dig these guys and dig this stuff and I can definitely understand why. For fans of the breakdown and the chug, there are few bands out there who do it with the kind of proficiency and.. well, lack of boringness that The Red Chord have managed to do it with. Fed Through the Teeth Machine is another example of the fact that metalcore has produced some bands that don’t make the metal gods sad inside.

Austrian Death Machine – Double Brutal Review

Austrian Death Machine – Double Brutal Review

Austrian Death Machine is a joke. It’s even a funny joke. With Arnold being the governor of California as well as the cheesiest movie star of our times, if not all-time, as well as a huge internet sensation, it is not at ALL a surprise that someone is doing this. (Though, according to Wikipedia there is another band that has been doing this for 7 years longer than Austrian Death Machine.)

Evergreen Terrace – Almost Home Review

Evergreen Terrace – Almost Home Review

Almost Home is a record that was influenced by how much everything sucks right now, according to the band. It’s a bit of a dissertation on America in 2009, with a shitty economic situation, how hard it’s been to keep the band going in this kind of situation and so forth. Honestly, I don’t hear it. But that’s what the band says. What I hear is a highly melodic and poppy hardcore band doing the same things that bands of this type have been doing for years. It’s unfortunate, really, because they’ve got an alright sound, but things don’t stick.

The Black Dahlia Murder – Deflorate Review

The Black Dahlia Murder – Deflorate Review

The Black Dahlia Murder is becoming a veteran band among this new wave of melodic American death metal/metalcore or whatever the hell you want to call it. To get this out of the way right away: I think that The Black Dahlia Murder has been treated unfairly by a metal community sad to see the disappearance of the old school metal guy anywhere except brutal death metal. Modern American metal has come to be dominated by short-haired, tattooed hardcore lookin’ kids who often have super diverse taste in music and have never donned a leather jacket or a goatee in their lives. These hardcore lookin’ dudes put on shows that have an energy that often times metal dudes lack in their own live performances, and they’re gaining notoriety with their blending of brutal death metal and stupid core breakdowns. The Black Dahlia Murder has been lumped in with these guys because of tattoos and plugs, but they are certainly not akin to these bands. No, The Black Dahlia Murder is easily one of the best melodic death metal bands the United States has ever produced and despite them sounding a lot like At The Gates plus blast beats, I think they do it very, very well and very consistently.

Amon Amarth – The Crusher (Reissue) Review

Amon Amarth – The Crusher (Reissue) Rating: 4.0/5.0 (Record) – 3.0/5.0 (Reissue) 4.5/5.0 (Live Record) Label: Metal Blade (EU | USA) Website(s): myspace.com/amonamarth | amonamarth.com Release Date(s): USA: 09.01.2009 | EU: 28.08.2009 Amon Amarth is on top of the fucking world right now. The Thor’s Hammer is the new pentagram and every kid is hailing […]

Valkyrja – The Invocation of Demise

Valkyrja – The Invocation of Demise Rating: 2.5/5.0 – Nothing special Label: Metal Blade Websites: myspace.com/valkyrjaswe | valkyrja.swe.name Valkyrja hails from Sweden, where the ice-cold summers, and even colder winters, apparently breed tons of little metal kids. Everywhere you look here you run into a band, and many of them are good. But certainly not […]

Sweden’s Valkyrja Signs with Metalblade – Re-releases Debut

Valkyrja, the Swedish black metal act in the vein of others like Naglfar, has signed a two record deal with Metal Blade Records according to their Myspace page. They are currently in the studio recording their second album, while the first one (originally released on Northern Silence Productions) will be re-issued by Metal Blade on […]