Review

Hexvessel – Iron Marsh Review

By Steel Druhm on April 27, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, Finnish Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Stoner Rock, Svart Records, Progressive Metal, Stoner Metal, 8 comments

“Things seem to come on threes, be they good, bad or some combination thereof. As proof of this cosmic law, this week has graced me with three examples of stoner/doom/retro music: Ghost, Spiritual Beggars and now Hexvessel. I hadn’t heard of this oddball, psychedelic group of Finns until their No Holier Temple album last year, and I found myself quite taken with their folksy, trippy and hypnotic take on 60s and 70s rock.” And now they’re back with an EP that tells the rest of the story! Are you ready for more Finnish forest folk? You better be!

Spiritual Beggars – Earth Blues Review

By Steel Druhm on April 26, 2013 in 2013, 4.0, InsideOut, Reviews, Stoner Rock, Swedish Metal, Heavy Metal, Stoner Rock, 6 comments

“One of our readers recently commented that we convinced him the only independent bands were stoner/doom bands. That sentiment is surely understandable given the enormous volume of the stuff cropping up these days. It’s not limited to independent bands either, as Spiritual Beggars clearly demonstrates again on album number eight, Earth Blues. Since Michael Amott’s (Arch Enemy, Carcass) long-lived stoner/retro-rock project clearly isn’t going away, you might as well put on the obnoxiously colorful tie-dye shirt (the theme this time appears to be radioactive orange) and enjoy the homage to all things late 60s/early 70s.” Set the lava lamps to “wake and bake” and get settled into your bean bag chairs, the Spiritual Beggars are back to shake your VW van! Steel Druhm shook off his contact high to tell you if this is worth your free love.

Sodom – Epitome of Torture Review

By Steel Druhm on April 24, 2013 in 2.0, 2013, German Metal, Reviews, SPV, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 6 comments

“As a fan of Sodom since my early teens, I’ve developed a certain comfort level with their steadfast refusal to evolve or progress beyond the basic template of 80s Germanic thrash they helped establish along with Kreatorand Destruction. There were always plenty of other bands I could count on to surprise me or throw me for a loop musically, I certainly didn’t need Sodom changing their caveman ways. Of course, when a band releases album after album of essentially the same old school thrash mixed with punk, you can expect some degree of tedium and recycling and I’m never going to bang on these cats for a lack of originality. However, when one of their typically Sodom-esque albums is bad, it’s bad. Epitome of Torture is such an album…” Sodom just keeps rolling on in their skull tank of Germanic design, but even the greats stall out sometimes. Join Steel Druhm as he checks under the hood for problems.

Ghost – Infestissumam Review

By Steel Druhm on April 24, 2013 in 2.0, 2013, Heavy Metal, Loma Vista Recordings, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Heavy Metal, 54 comments

“Like many others in the metalverse, Steel Druhm got caught up in the hype surrounding the strangely addictive pope-isms of mysterious cult rockers Ghost and their stellar debut Opus Eponymous. They had a wicked sound, a cool, throwback charm and the tunes were as catchy as athlete’s foot. While there was a nagging worry they might be a one-off novelty act and would fold up shop like a fly-by-night carnival, I was anxious to get my hands on the not so long-awaited followup, Infestissumam. After some time with the album and after giving this serious thought, I’ve come to the conclusion that Opus Eponymous was their version of The Warning, and Infestissumam is their attempt at a Rage for Order. While Queensryche was able to make the jump from a straight-forward metal album to a more cerebral, progressive sound due to elbow grease, spit (courtesy of Mr. Tate) and sheer talent, Ghost is not quite so lucky.” Ghost blew away the metal world with their debut, but Steel Druhm thinks they may be haunted by their own early success. Join him as he goes Ghostbusting.

Centuries – Broken Hymns Review

By Natalie Zed on April 22, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, American Metal, Reviews, Southern Lord, Hardcore, 1 comment

“Recently signed to Southern Lord, Florida-based hardcore act Centuries combine the frenzy of hardcore with emotive metalcore, hardcore punk ferocity and even some d-beat heaviness. After participating in SXSW, the band are currently holed up in Greensboro, North Carolina to record their next record (and full-length debut) for the venerable American label, Southern Lord. In advance of that all new release, indie label Halo of Flies is releasing Broken Hymns, a collection of all of their available work to date. The record includes material from their Creation/Extinction 7”, a split EP with Patsy O’Hara (from which the titular track of this record comes) and another split with Homestretch, as well as four original songs.” Natalie Zed is here to tell us about some hardcore punk, which we don’t normally deal with. Be diverse and read it!

Pessimist – Death from Above Review

By Happy Metal Guy on April 21, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, German Metal, MDD Records, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 5 comments

“The artwork is so typical and the title, silly and banal as hell. Even a cursory glance at the pointy band logo should immediately hint at which metal sub-genre this band belongs to, but hang on for a second and hold back that derisive snort…” Oh no!? What’s Happy Metal Guy going to say? The suspense has got to be killing you…

The Ocean – Pelagial Review

By Noctus on April 18, 2013 in 2013, 4.0, Doom Metal, German Metal, Metal Blade, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Doom Metal, Progressive Metal, 15 comments

“No one can fault The Ocean’s ambition. Ever since their 2007 opus, the double album Precambrian, they’ve been setting their eyes on bigger and bigger projects. In the past few years they’ve released two albums arguably designed to be thought of as a double album — Heliocentric and Anthropocentric. These dealt with the origin of man and the redundancy of God in a two-hour, post-metal journey constantly switching between the conventional and unconventional that made for a disorienting yet satisfying experience. However, I can’t help but feel Anthropocentric, the second album, was somewhat of a blunder.” Noctus has had some issues with The Ocean and not because he’s afraid of water. That’s fortunate, because their new opus is aqua-themed. Will Noctus take the dive or stay high, dry and judgmental?

Cathedral – The Last Spire Review

By Steel Druhm on April 17, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, Doom Metal, English Metal, Reviews, Rise Above Records, Doom Metal, 1 comment

“So this is the end of the road for Lee Dorrian’s long-running psychedelic doom experiment. Looking back on Cathedral’s career, they’ve certainly delivered some entertaining, diverse albums while helping make doom cool and interesting again. While I always favored their earlier, less trippy stuff like Forest of Equilibrium and The Ethereal Mirror, their subsequent releases always had something worth investigating. So how does the ringmaster choose to lower the final curtain on his Carnival Bizarre? By returning to the beginning and re-introducing us to the raw, crushing doom that put them on the map in the first place.” Please remove your hats and bow our heads as we mourn the passing of modern doom giants, Cathedral. Steel Druhm will provide the eulogy and you’re all welcome to join us afterward in the graveyard for refreshments.

Just Before Dawn – Precis Innan Gryningen Review

By Steel Druhm on April 17, 2013 in 2013, 4.0, Chaos Records, Death Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Death Metal, 4 comments

“Another project from Rogga Johansson? When does the man sleep and find time for the finer things in life, like beer and Mexican wrestling? These questions plague me as I peruse the list of bands, side-projects and side-side projects which Rogga has his paws on (The 11th Hour, Paganizer, Demiurg, Megascavenger, Ribspreader, etc. etc.). Now you can add Just Before Dawn, which is his collaboration with Anders Biazzi (Blood Mortized, ex-Amon Amarth) and a gaggle of friends from bands like Puteraeon, Zombification, Revel in Flesh and Godhate. Together they’ve churned out a crusty, thick and vicious ode to all things Bolt Thrower and Asphyx, which is similar to Rogga’s recent work with Megascavenger, but better and more consistent.” Do you like Bolt Thrower? Do you think metal and war go hand in hand? Are you okay with retro Swedish death? If the answer to all these questions is yes, join Sgt. Steel Druhm on the front lines as he examines Just Before Dawn.

FKÜ – 4 – Rise of the Mosh Mongers Review

By Dr. Fisting on April 16, 2013 in 2.0, 2013, Napalm Records, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Uncategorized, 1 comment

“FKÜ might be the oldest old-school thrash band you’ve never heard of. As the story goes, the original lineup of Freddy Krueger’s Ünderwear (amazing name, BTW) formed in Sweden way back in 1987, influenced heavily by S.O.D. With no recorded output, they went on hiatus for over a decade before finally re-forming, shortening their name, and releasing their debut Metal Moshing Mad in 1999. As the title implies, 4 – Rise of the Mosh Mongers is their 4th album.” Mr. Fisting has imposed some draconian and inflexible rules for how he rates re-thrash albums. Can FKÜ escape the swirling vortex created by his maddening and confounding need to demand originality from a genre that’s very existent depends on non-originality? Tune in and find out!