Usurper

Usurper – Lords of the Permafrost Review

Usurper – Lords of the Permafrost Review

“In my lifelong quest to listen to every blackened thrash band on the planet I came across Usurper, a Chicago quartet who possessed a particularly heavy and ghoulish take on the style. Formed in 1993, the band sounded like if Celtic Frost had continued writing albums like To Mega Therion well into the 90s. Following several albums in this vein the band adopted a catchier approach with 2005’s Cryptobeast that made them even more fun to listen to. Sadly the group disbanded in 2007 before they could explore this direction further. But does any split really last forever these days?” No longer than a death in a comic book.

Bones – Sons of Sleaze Review

Bones – Sons of Sleaze Review

“Do you like it raw? If you don’t, you should. As noted last week, extreme metal is constantly (and inadvertently) aspiring to castrate itself. The best metal wares are rooted in rebellion and danger, and the more we compress and homogenize the art form, those elements become diluted. The human element is erodes. Bones are a band comprised of humans. Dirty humans. Angry humans. And they sound like it.” Raw, dirty, angry music? Seems like a “can’t miss” kind of proposition. Jordan Campbell rolls the bones and tells you if that’s true.