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International Metal News

QUIET RIOT With Singer KEITH ST. JOHN: Englewood Concert Footage Available

Posted Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:17:52 GMT by feeds.feedburner.com
QUIET RIOT played its second show with ex-MONTROSE singer Keith St.

SUFFOCATION Rumored To Have Parted Ways With Drummer MIKE SMITH

Posted Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:03:22 GMT by feeds.feedburner.com
New York death metal veterans SUFFOCATION have reportedly parted ways with drummer Mike Smith.

SPINESHANK Signs With CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS

Posted Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:21:20 GMT by feeds.feedburner.com
The reactivated original lineup of SPINESHANK — featuring Jonny Santos (vocals), Tommy Decker (drums), Mike Sarkisyan (guitar) and Rob Garcia (bass) — has inked a deal with Century Media Records.

EXUMER: New Song Available For Free Download

Posted Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:52:46 GMT by feeds.feedburner.com
"Fire & Damnation", the first album in 24 years from German thrash metal veterans EXUMER, will be released in North America on April 10 via Metal Blade Records.

THY WILL BE DONE Posts Video Teaser For New EP

Posted Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:34:34 GMT by feeds.feedburner.com
American heavy metal juggernauts THY WILL BE DONE have posted a video teaser for their anticipated upcoming EP via their recently launched YouTube channel.

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Former DIVINE HERESY And MUTINY WITHIN Members Join Forces In VEXTWed, 22 Feb 2012 13:28:39 GMT

"In The End", the first song from VEXT, the new New Jersey/New York-based heavy rock band featuring singer Tommy Vext (DIVINE HERESY, SNOT), guitar virtuoso Angel Vivaldi, and the rythym section of the now-disbanded MUTINY WITHIN (Andrew Jacobs on bass and Bill Fore on drums), can be streamed below.

NASUM Announces North American TourWed, 22 Feb 2012 09:48:58 GMT

Legendary Swedish grinders NASUM have announced a limited number of farewell performances for 2012 including their first-ever tour on North American soil.

JOURNEY Drummer Ordered To Perform Community Service, Attend Anger-Management Classes Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:52:27 GMT

According to StatesmanJournal.com, JOURNEY drummer Deen Castronovo was ordered to perform 80 hours of community service and attend anger-management classes as part of a plea deal in connection with a domestic-violence incident last month.

THE CULT To Headline Auditorium Shores Stage At SXSW Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:45:28 GMT

THE CULT will make its 2012 concert debut when the band plays the South By Southwest (SXSW) music festival next month, headlining the Auditorium Shores Stage on Saturday, March 17.

FIREWIND Taps JASON SUECOF For New Album MixWed, 22 Feb 2012 08:32:13 GMT

Greek melodic metallers FIREWIND, who feature in their ranks current OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Gus G.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA Parts Ways With Keyboardist Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:18:05 GMT

Dayton, Ohio Christian metalcore band THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA has parted ways with keyboardist James Baney.

DAN BEEHLER Talks EXCITER, BËEHLER In New Audio Interview Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:03:27 GMT

The latest A.D.D.

ROBERT PLANT Article In American Way Magazine Wins Graphis Gold Award Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:32:12 GMT

American Way, the inflight magazine of American Airlines and American Eagle, was named in the 100 Best in Design 2012 by Graphis, the international journal of visual communication.

CATTLE DECAPITATION Completes Recording New Album Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:42:07 GMT

San Diego extreme metallers CATTLE DECAPITATION wrapped up recording their new album last week and have returned home for a couple weeks before heading off to their European tour with SUFFOCATION.

NIGHTMARE: New Album Artwork Unveiled Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:46:06 GMT

French power metallers NIGHTMARE have unveiled the cover artwork for their new album, "The Burden Of God" (formerly "Mercury Rain"), to be released on May 18 through AFM Records.

PARADISE LOST/AT THE GATES Drummer To Guest On EDGE OF SERENITY Single Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:06:25 GMT

Dutch female-fronted black-death metal band EDGE OF SERENITY will release a new single this spring.

WISDOM Signs With NOISEART RECORDSWed, 22 Feb 2012 04:51:12 GMT

NoiseArt Records and Rock The Nation booking have announced the signing of the Hungarian heavy metal band WISDOM.

MNEMIC: Third Studio Webisode Available Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:43:26 GMT

Danish modern metallers MNEMIC recently entered Antfarm studios in Aabyhøj, Denmark with longtime producer Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, HIMSA, SICK OF IT ALL) to begin recording their new album for a June release via Nuclear Blast Records.

MEGADETH: New Video Interview With CHRIS BRODERICK Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:55:11 GMT

Yell! Magazine recently conducted an interview with MEGADETH guitarist Chris Broderick.

DEFAMER Releases Sophomore Album Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:15:11 GMT

Australian death metallers DEFAMER have released their sophomore album, "Decrepit Rituals", via Obsidian Records.

IN FLAMES: New Video Interview With NICLAS ENGELIN Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:48:36 GMT

Nathan Katsiaficas of the WMHB 89.7 FM metal radio show called "Metal Mutilation" conducted an interview with guitarist Niclas Engelin of Swedish metallers IN FLAMES on February 17 in Worcester, Massachusetts.

EX DEO: Vocal Tracking Complete For Sophomore AlbumTue, 21 Feb 2012 16:32:16 GMT

KATAKLYSM frontman Maurizio Iacono has completed laying down vocals for "Caligvla", the sophomore album from his Ancient Roman-themed arsenal EX DEO.

LACUNA COIL: New Video Interview With ANDREA FERRO, CRISTINA SCABBIA Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:45:58 GMT

David "Gus" Griesinger of BackstageAxxess.com conducted an interview with vocalists Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbia of Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL.

FEAR FACTORY Completes Mixing New Album Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:27:37 GMT

Los Angeles cyber metallers FEAR FACTORY have finished mixing their new album, "The Industrialist", with Greg Reely (PARADISE LOST, FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY, SKINNY PUPPY) at a studio in Canada.

BORKNAGAR Enlists New Drummer Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:29:11 GMT

Norwegian avantgarde metallers BORKNAGAR have recruited Baard Kolstad (ICS VORTEX) as their new drummer.

OVERTHROW Signs With INDIE RECORDINGS Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:23:13 GMT

Norwegian metallers OVERTHROW have inked a deal with Indie Recordings.

ROB ZOMBIE And MEGADETH Announce Co-Headlining TourTue, 21 Feb 2012 08:04:51 GMT

Metal heavyweights ROB ZOMBIE and MEGADETH have just announced a co-headlining tour guaranteed to raise the temperature on the planet.

BORNHOLM Working On New Album Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:19:25 GMT

Hungarian pagan/black metal band BORNHOLM is working on its new album, "Inexorable Defiance", at Pannonia Studios with Viktor Scheer (ex-SEAR BLISS) as producer.

KORPIKLAANI Announces New Fiddler Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:51:21 GMT

Finnish folk metallers KORPIKLAANI recently entered the studio to begin recording their new album for a tentative late summer release via Nuclear Blast Records.

UNLEASHED: New Album Artwork, Track Listing UnveiledTue, 21 Feb 2012 05:48:10 GMT

Legendary Swedish viking/death masters UNLEASHED will release their new album, "Odalheim", on April 20 via Nuclear Blast Records.

LLVME To Release Second Album In March Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:46:01 GMT

Spanish pagan doom metallers LLVME will release their second album, "Yía De Nuesu", in March via My Kingdom Music.

SODOM, NIGHTRAGE Members Guest On AFTERBLOOD DebutTue, 21 Feb 2012 02:15:20 GMT

Greek female-fronted modern thrash/death metal band AFTERBLOOD has completed work on its debut album, "Of Unsound Minds", to be released later in the year.

TALETELLERS Change Name To AC ANGRY, Complete Work On New Album Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:00:22 GMT

German rockers TALETELLERS have officially changed their name to AC ANGRY.

3 INCHES OF BLOOD Guitarist Talks New Album, Lineup Changes Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:54:19 GMT

Don de Leaumont of The Great Southern Brainfart recently conducted an interview with guitarist Shane Clark of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based metallers 3 INCHES OF BLOOD.

CHILDREN OF BODOM: Video Interview With ALEXI LAIHO Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:13:07 GMT

Michael Berger of Engl TV conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho of Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM at the 2012 NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show, a massive music-products convention which took place January 19-22 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

DYNAZTY Films First-Ever Video Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:24:38 GMT

Stockholm, Sweden-based rockers DYNAZTY wil release their third album, "Sultans Of Sin", on February 29.

PRONG In Sacramento: Interview, Performance Footage AvailableMon, 20 Feb 2012 18:19:24 GMT

AmbPirate of Capital Chaos conducted an interview with PRONG mainman Tommy Victor when the band performed at Ace Of Spades in Sacramento, California on February 17 as the support act for TESTAMENT.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY: Entire New Album Available For Streaming Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:12:57 GMT

The new self-titled album from Raleigh, North Carolina legends CORROSION OF CONFORMITY can be streamed in its entirety at AOL Music.

Colombian Heavy Metal Church Rocks Out For Jesus (Video)Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:00:41 GMT

A two-minute video report from the Christian Broadcasting Network on Pantokrator — Greek for all-powerful — the Colombian heavy metal chuch which claims 50 members who gather weekly to sing along with heavy metal hymns and join in head-banging prayers can be seen below.

DOWNSPIRIT To Enter Studio In March Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:39:35 GMT

DOWNSPIRIT, the German/Swiss blues/metal-oriented band formed by SYMPHORCE/ex-FREEDOM CALL guitarist Cedric "Cede" Dupont, will enter the studios in mid-March to record its second album.

ANGEL WITCH: New Album Details RevealedMon, 20 Feb 2012 17:20:35 GMT

Legendary British metal act ANGEL WITCH will release its new album, "As Above, So Below", on March 20 via Metal Blade Records.

KYUSS LIVES! Mixing Live Album Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:51:29 GMT

KYUSS LIVES!, the project featuring three-quarters of KYUSS — the influential American stoner rock/metal band, originally from Palm Desert, California, has entered Thunder Underground Studios in Palm Springs, California with engineer Harper Hug (NEIL DIAMOND, LUTHER VANDROSS, INDIGO GIRLS) to mix its upcoming live album.

EXUMER: New Song Available For Streaming Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:48:31 GMT

"Fire & Damnation", the first album in 24 years from German thrash metal veterans EXUMER, will be released in North America on April 10 via Metal Blade Records.

ANTAGONIST ZERO To Release Debut EP Next MonthMon, 20 Feb 2012 09:27:47 GMT

Finnish metallers ANTAGONIST ZERO will release their debut digital EP, "Nighttime Harmony", on March 14 via Violent Journey Records.

HOLOCAUSTO CANIBAL Discusses New Album In Video Interview Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:51:50 GMT

Acordes de Quinta Blog conducted an interview with Portuguese masters of gore HOLOCAUSTO CANIBAL in December 2011 about their forthcoming third full-length album, "Gorefilia".

SONATA ARCTICA: New Album Details RevealedMon, 20 Feb 2012 08:33:04 GMT

Finnish melodic metallers SONATA ARCTICA will release their new album, "Stones Grow Her Name", on May 18 via Nuclear Blast Records.

WORDS OF FAREWELL Signs With AFM RECORDS Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:22:20 GMT

German progressive death metallers WORDS OF FAREWELL have inked a deal with AFM Records.

MASTODON: New Video Interview With BILL KELLIHER Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:46:56 GMT

PWRUP.de recently conducted an interview with guitarist Bill Kelliher of Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON.

NAPALM DEATH: New Audio Interview With BARNEY GREENWAY Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:28:39 GMT

On January 23, Jason Saulnier of the MusicLegends.ca web site conducted an interview with vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway of British/American grindcore pioneers NAPALM DEATH.

SLAYER Ring Now Available from THE GREAT FROG Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:14:18 GMT

The Great Frog, which has been hand-crafting rock jewelry in Carnaby, London since 1972, has announced a collaboration with California thrashers SLAYER.

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Irish Metal News

The Wretched End | ‘Inroads’

Posted Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:12:27 +0000 by www.metalireland.com
Did you happen to notice that Zyklon broke up a couple of years ago? You wouldn’t be much to blame if you didn’t. It was a quiet event that totally passed this reviewer by. The Wretched End is the vehicle that ex-Zyklon and Emperor guitarist Samoth has been using to fulfill his need to play fast, [...]

Christian Mistress | ‘Possession’

Posted Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:22:34 +0000 by www.metalireland.com
It’s an insidious little fucker, this new Christian Mistress album. Expecting to be grabbed by the throat in the way their early 7″ and ‘Agony & Opium’ had done, I was eager to get stuck into “Possession” as soon as it showed up in the review box. I was very keen to see if their move to Relapse [...]

Eths | ‘III’

Posted Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:49:36 +0000 by www.metalireland.com
It was only a matter of time before someone figured out that the best way to sell a djent album was to put some tits on the front, even if they’re ugly. So here we have Eths from France, who play a mix of modern rhythmic djent, Arch Enemy rallying call, Madder Mortem whimsy and all [...]

Saint Vitus | ‘Blessed Night’ 7″

Posted Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:45:09 +0000 by www.metalireland.com
Everyone’s favourite band of misfits are back, and for this stopgap release it’s seven inches of pure Vitus. Of course they’re a veritable Doom institution. Yet this is the band who’ve told stories of how hostile the punk audiences - who they’d played to around L.A. - were to them at the beginning. How they “…got [...]

Abigail Williams | ‘Becoming’

Posted Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:11:16 +0000 by www.metalireland.com
When a tight circle of young Black Metal bands quietly shuffled onto stage fronts a few years ago, it wouldn’t have seemed like anyone should care. What could they have to offer that anyone hadn’t heard before? And what the fuck were they wearing? It didn’t take long for many to realise that the answer was [...]

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Mourning Beloveth | InterviewSat, 11 Feb 2012 14:17:31 +0000

2012 marks the 20th anniversary of one of Ireland’s most important and resilient metal bands. While maybe not receiving the same level of recognition as peers Primordial, Mourning Beloveth have doggedly fought the corner of doom death from their bunker in the depths of Kildare, refusing to bow to trends or veer from their path. Over [...]

Black Sheep Wall | ‘No Matter Where it Ends’Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:12:29 +0000

Black Sheep Wall are named after a cheat code in the popular Starcraft computer game series. The first impressions of a band that name themselves after such a code is that they must be an incorrigible bunch of nerds. Will the music be similarly weedy? We all love to cheat at games occasionally. It’s fun, [...]

Poison Idea | ‘Darby Crash Rides Again: The Early Years’Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:59:23 +0000

A new release from Poison Idea. A sentence like that turns my black jeans white. Once described by Kevin Sharp as “scary big men playing brutally beyond their ability”, Poison Idea have been reduced to touring band status since the death of guitarist Pig Champion (lest we forget). This collection of demos, outtakes and live [...]

War Iron + Zombified + Minnows + Cutter | Live ReviewSat, 04 Feb 2012 12:17:43 +0000

War Iron + Zombified + Minnows + Cutter Giros, Belfast - 27/01/11 Every self-respecting fan of alternative music in Belfast knows about Giros. A place for misfits, a place for musicians and a place for people to see bands without having the arse ripped out of them by a bar and promoter. You could make your own t-shirts, [...]

Lamb of God | ‘Resolution’Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:59:09 +0000

The New Wave of American Heavy Metal has lost a lot of its momentum in recent years, but Lamb of God’s popularity is still ever increasing. On the downside, there seems to be a polarizing decline with the bands originality. A lot of what was utilized to stand head and shoulders above their peers back in [...]

The Kandidate | ‘Facing The Imminent Prospect Of Death’Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:42:32 +0000

It’s a pre-requisite for metal bands to have a cool modern name. So it’s heartening to see The Downward Candidate update their name to The Kandidate in kewl fashion to signify the fact they’re aware that we’re only a short dozen years into the radical 2000s. Or, after having a glance through the song titles [...]

Loincloth | ‘Iron Balls Of Steel’Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:51:11 +0000

Ah, Southern Lord. The label that started off covering doom, drone and black metal have been branching out in the past few years with some notable results (The Secret, Nails, Noothgrush). Excellent records that you find hard to categorize, although why you’d want to is beyond me. If so, you’re probably the type who gets annoyed [...]

Decaying | ‘Encirclement’Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:05:10 +0000

Will a band like Decaying ever make it? No. You can bet your house, your car and your life on it. What they can do though, if you’re not too fussy and generally like decent metal, is provide half an hour’s quality DM racket. They’re a veritable comfort blanket of timeless influences, most notably in the [...]

Steelwing + Skullfist + Vanderbuyst | Live ReviewMon, 23 Jan 2012 08:29:32 +0000

Last week saw the rather tasty line-up of Steelwing, Skullfist and Vanderbuyst hit Dublin - three new bands hungry for success, getting down to the dirty January tour schedule. The young guns tore The Pint a new one, with a small but appreciate audience getting truly rocked. Lorcan Archer put his Dutch, Canuck and Swedish to the test and reports from the frontline.

RAM | ‘Death’Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:40:22 +0000

It’s been hard work keeping up with the legions of Swedish teenagers releasing stirling heavy metal lately. RAM, who come blazing out of Gothenburg with this, their third album, are a bit longer in the tooth, but they sound just as hungry and fired-up as fellow countrymen like Portrait and Enforcer. They’ve got a reputation [...]

Saturnian Mist | ‘Gnostikoi Ha-Shaitan’Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:28:08 +0000

Talk about a statement of intent. As soon as the first chugging bars of ‘The Regicide’ boom out of the speakers it is clear that we are in for something special. With a riff that sounds like a more metallized Wolfpack, it wraps a claw around your puny throat and doesn’t let go for the [...]

Evadne | ‘The Shortest Way’Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:05:57 +0000

Sometimes it’s albums like this that remind me how far we’ve come as an extreme metal collective in the two-and-a-bit decades that the recognised term has been in existence. OK, so to all intents and purposes, yes, it’s a demo. Yet the quality and care that has gone into this record practically clatters you around [...]

Ride for Revenge | ‘Under the Eye’Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:17:55 +0000

Occasionally a band arrives on the scene that simply blows the doors clean off your preconceptions. Filthy Finnish fucks Ride for Revenge appeared on this reviewer’s radar three or four years ago and pretty much redefined what black metal was, is and could be in one fell swoop. Conventions be damned, this was some of [...]

Teitanblood | ‘Purging Tongues’Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:03:22 +0000

Right then, let’s get down to some fact straightening before we go any further : yes, this is one sided 12″ vinyl single, approximately 15 minutes long. I’m not here to discuss the format, just the music, so I’m purposely not getting in to the whole pointlessness/usefulness of such a format (I will say [...]

Root | ‘Heritage of Satan’Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:10:59 +0000

No doubt a national treasure to the metal scene in the Czech Republic, cult band Root can also boast being part of the first wave of black metal. It’s been four years since the poorly received ‘Daemon Viam Invenient’ and fans have since been hoping for a return to form. There’s been a bit of a [...]

Stormwarrior | ‘Heathen Warrior’Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:09:09 +0000

Stormwarrior love to overuse olde worlde English, which they utilise in very efficient Germanic fashion, by simply adding an E toe thee ende ofe everye worde. Howe quaintlye ye usede to spake! Alright, enoughe of that. Harrumph. Serious review tyme. Bright was the day, strong was the wind and high was my heart as I battled [...]

Windhand | ‘Windhand’Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:19:10 +0000

Suppress, if you can, any urge your inner child has to make some sort of “stinkpalm” related joke based on that name. No, I don’t know exactly what a Windhand is either but I’m guessing the mental picture this five piece want to conjure up in your mind is one of some Dunwich style village [...]

Fuil na Seanchoille | ‘Hunger’Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:26:48 +0000

Irish black metal never really happened. Sure, there have been a small handful of bands that have produced music of merit, some of which has been on a world-beating/eating level, but for the most part black metal has somehow coughed and spluttered its way past our little island with little more than a nod. The [...]

By Any Means (NI) | ‘Built On Respect’Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:32:56 +0000

I can be easily impressed. Sometimes, it’s the sound of the snare. Sometimes it’s band names (Fuck You Written in Shit). With By Any Means, it’s the cover. The Harland & Wolff cranes, an omnipresent cultural and sectarian landmark of Belfast with HxCx in place of the usual initials. It suggests humour, and a desire [...]

The Devil’s Blood | ‘The Thousandfold Epicentre’Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:34:52 +0000

If the shifting currents of metal in 2011 were to be distinguished by anything, it had to be the infiltration of occult ’70s rock into underground metal. Suddenly, at festivals and shows the world over, people were banging heads to dreamy vocals and jangley guitar sections that owed as much to Blue Oyster Cult and Jefferson [...]

She Said Destroy | ‘Bleeding Fiction’Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:40:16 +0000

Recording a full 20+ minute track can generally be risky territory for bands. That’s especially true for bands generally not known for writing tracks so long, so to release one as an EP should be a confident statement in itself. Keeping the listener interested throughout its duration is a difficult enough task. If any other ‘math [...]

Drainland | InterviewMon, 26 Dec 2011 18:26:58 +0000

Drainland have been an ugly presence skulking menacingly around the edges of the Dublin hardcore and metal scene for a number of years now. Continuing the thread of darkness and negativity that was being nurtured under the guise of Serpents, the band has really started to into its own. So much so, that Southern Lord have recently picked them up. Andy Cunningaham talks to key sonic dissenter Jamie Grimes.

Vektor | ‘Outer Isolation’Sat, 17 Dec 2011 17:12:39 +0000

Vektor’s debut, the superb ‘Black Future’, fairly teleported the Arizona band from obscurity to the very forefront of the US thrash mob. Here at last was a hungry young group who, while keen to bang their heads and shred on flying V’s, did far more than just pinch from Slayer and Exodus. Inventive, with relentless [...]

Nightsatan | ‘Midnight Laser Warrior’Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:09:56 +0000

This band is actually called Nightsatan. And they have named their album ‘Midnight Laser Warrior’. Without a SHADOW of a doubt, this is the coolest thing of 2011 and is surely a mandatory purchase. After all, it’s obvious what you’re going to get! Traditional heavy metal with a solid eighties thrash influence draped in faded denim, [...]

Whitechapel | ‘Recorrupted’Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:32:42 +0000

Maybe it’s because of the net - but bands don’t seem to bother with ‘tidbit’ or leftovers releases any more. Yet such little joys used to be the quirky faves in many a collection. Nice then to see Whitechapel put out this unkempt little EP of various loose nuggets that doesn’t really have much more [...]

Ebony Lake | ‘In Swathes Of Brooding Light’Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:36:11 +0000

Older heads may very well remember English eccentrics Ebony Lake. More than a decade ago they put out an album when Cacophonous Records was still releasing five albums a week, gaining attention for its detailed and quirky extreme metal. Even at a time when brave releases from Solefald and Arcturus were tearing up preconceptions, Ebony Lake [...]

Tsjuder | ‘Legion Helvete’Sun, 04 Dec 2011 23:27:59 +0000

So the blurb says that this new album from Tsjuder “catapults the trio straight back to the forefront of Norwegian Black Metal again”. Two important facts make that not as impressive as it sounds. The first: that it isnt hard to be at the forefront of Norse black metal any more, given that all the [...]

Skewered (ROI) | ‘Skewered’Sun, 04 Dec 2011 23:03:23 +0000

Skewered are so 1992 it’s unreal. In fact, this new album from the Dublin heavies formerly known as Necrosis is so rooted in the old school it feels like a history lesson. No bad thing: it’s as blunt, direct, uncomplicated and meaty as most other stuff from back then. At the same time though, it begs [...]

Midnight | ‘Satanic Royalty’Mon, 28 Nov 2011 23:21:20 +0000

This is one record that’s been, quite frankly, a hell of a long time coming. Midnight are a group firmly established in the metal underground, the Ohio band having unleashed many an EP, split and compilation on the listening public over the last decade. All the while they’ve avoid doing a proper album for whatever [...]

Ilenkus (ROI) | ‘Rule By Theives’Sat, 26 Nov 2011 17:27:31 +0000

There’s nothing better than hearing a band you can’t quite pigeonhole. It makes you want to listen more, figure out who their influences are, appreciate their bravery and ponder where they’re going next. Galway has always been a hive of individuality where Ireland’s underground is concerned, and Ilenkus are the latest in line. There’s just so [...]

Twisted Mass (ROI) | “Twisted Mass”Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:05:40 +0000

A strong debut from a band working in an overcrowded field is always a good thing to hear, and that’s definitely the case with the debut cdep (a strange format choice in the usually vinyl orientated hardcore/crust scene) from Twisted Mass. Indebted to the downtuned sounds that have been pouring out of northern Europe for the [...]

Antediluvian | ‘Through the Cervix of Hawwah’Sun, 20 Nov 2011 20:21:07 +0000

If you read the reviews on MI regularly, you may remember I absolutely trashed this band’s previous Invictus release “Watchers Reign” for reasons I can best summarise as being that it was an unnecessary release of some below par material by a band I felt would be capable of much better in time. I stand [...]

Gacy’s Threads | ‘The Ignorance Of Purity’Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:39:32 +0000

If you think you know about Gacy’s Threads because their name and image say modern Metalcore, be prepared to think again. Bands change, and bands get better - and this one has just found itself. They’ve successfully steered out of those youthful Metalcore influences and gone backward, in most satisfying fashion, to come up with [...]

Hammers of Misfortune | ‘17th Street’Sun, 13 Nov 2011 02:25:06 +0000

It’s not widely discussed as so, but this is something of a make-or-break album for Hammers of Misfortune. Surely here’s where these former trailblazers, who have been coasting for some time, will make their intentions clear and return to the sort of powerful music that made them a band on everyone’s lips several years ago. They [...]

Wolves In The Throne Room | InterviewWed, 09 Nov 2011 22:29:15 +0000

In a music industry that loves to categorise and pigeonhole artists, Wolves In The Throne Room are in a rather unique situation. It could be said they hold no place in any of the existing sub-genres of alternative music. They’re a band that plays black metal, but does not see itself as a black metal [...]

Benjamin & The Drones | InterviewWed, 09 Nov 2011 18:26:14 +0000

Benjamin and the Drones. It’s not really a name that drips with menace or evil. It barely even sounds like something slimy that you would expect to find dripping off the wall of a particularly manky cave. Hell, it doesn’t sound like the type of name a metal band would choose at all. Well folks, [...]

Esoteric | ‘Paragon Of Dissonance’Mon, 07 Nov 2011 23:10:36 +0000

Like some far flung galaxy, barely visible from earth, Esoteric occupy a great cold musical distance. By far and away one of the most individualistic bands in extreme metal, never mind even Doom, they seem somehow utterly detached and unknowable. Their infrequent yet captivating records have underscored each time that they kowtow to [...]

Hammer Of Doom Festival | Live ReviewMon, 07 Nov 2011 22:20:18 +0000

What do you get when a crew of Irish metalheads go to the beautiful German city of Wurzburg for one of the most convivial festivals on the Doom circuit? Well, to begin with, a mess. After that though, you get this epic report from Lorcan Archer. Doomsword, The Devils Blood, most importantly Manilla Road and beer - what more could the Doom aficionado want?

Lou Reed & Metallica | ‘Lulu’Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:19:24 +0000

We’ve all had a while to get used to it, but until recently, the idea of Lou Reed and Metallica teaming up for a double concept album based on a couple of century-old German plays would have been solely the stuff of fever dreams. Not that the two artists don’t have things in common. They’ve both [...]

Nunfuckritual | ‘In Bondage To The Serpent’Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:43:11 +0000

What is it with the yanks wanting in on Nordic Black Metal? As if it wasn’t enough of Gorgoroth to let Frank Watkins join while keeping their faces straight - a sight at once terrifying and evil, for all the wrong reasons - it looks like Danny Lilker now wants a bit of the [...]

Five Will Die (ROI) | ‘Worth And Soul’Sat, 29 Oct 2011 20:05:46 +0000

Sometimes you just have to see a band live to really get what they’re doing. Especially now, given that a fickleness has gripped all of us in the age of the digital, it’s a chance to really see what the band mean up close. So catching Five Will Die on stage a few months back [...]

Craft | ‘Void’Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:59:40 +0000

It’s been some time since we last heard from Craft. Many will not know of them at all, which is a shame. Long have the Swedes been a band that cherishes repetition, filth and snappy guitar - but they know how to construct a tune and their previous albums are full of them. Their last [...]

Acherontas | ‘Vamachara’Tue, 25 Oct 2011 08:25:13 +0000

Greek black metal, and extreme metal generally, doesn’t really get enough of a look in. Yet the underground there thrives - and the few Greek metalheads I’ve met in my time have been more passionate about it than you’d believe. They love it. Acherontas have a few releases behind them at this stage, and hark to [...]

Bastard Priest | ‘Ghouls of the Endless Night’Sat, 22 Oct 2011 15:42:28 +0000

While ‘Left Hand Path’ may be the landmark moment in Swedish death metal, it also marked a loss of innocence. The logical conclusion that was the perfected ‘Sunlight sound’ was the model for a thousand bands, but also the end of a voyage of discovery for Nihilist / Entombed and their contemporaries. Though some great [...]

Cosmic Church | InterviewWed, 19 Oct 2011 16:30:25 +0000

Take a quick peek under the shiny metal-lite veneer of the Nightwishes, Children of Bodoms and Apocalypticas of the world and Finland displays a particularly rotten and ugly underbelly, one that rarely gets exposed to the bright lights of the metal media, and possibly rightly so. So Andy Cunningham introduces Cosmic Church - one of Finland’s gnarliest but also more forward-looking practitioners of the dark arts. Their dark swirl of caustic black metal is a must for those seeking something old inside something new.

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