One thing the Sons of Azrael cannot be faulted for is their sense of urgency. From the initial double bass blast and retro metal riffing, it’s obvious that The Conjuration of Vengeance, will be a pulverizing, unrelenting, and brisk lesson nestled comfortably in the school of death metal and grindcore. This it is and with […]
The Motor City kings of speedy death-metal, The Black Dahlia Murder are back with their follow up to their critically acclaimed 2003 release, Unhallowed. Entitled Miasma, we find their visceral and dark brand of death metal is as polished and evil as ever.
Within the first minute of Daysend’s Metal Blade release Severance I was interested. Not blown away mind you, but a bit intrigued because of their production finesse that resulted in a crisp, crystal clear sound. The music follows the current trend of blending melodic modern metal with hardcore while using classic metal guitar leads and […]
From the bland, by-the-book metalcore riffage, to the worn song titles “Killing Tool,” “Skies Grow Black,” “Fuel,” and “Reborn from Fire,” these Swiss students of American hardcore need to find their own identity. There’s no variety in Federico Carminitana’s vocal delivery for the duration of this 40- minute disc. Sure, he’s brutal and convincing, it’s […]
The swan song to a 14-year musical journey, Crowned Unholy is a fitting exclamation point to the collective career of the most rock-n-roll of the death metal elite, Sweden’s The Crown. The album is a re-worked and re-mastered version of the band’s 2002 release, Crowned in Terror, with newly recorded vocals and bass parts and […]
The calm before the storm. The opening instrumental, “Scatology Domine (intro),” sounds like it came out of an upright piano in some mental health rec room. The title track, “Humanure,” barrels out of the speakers like some PCP-addled psycho from a 1970s after-school special. The tight start/stop barrage of drummer Michael Laughlin and bassist Troy […]
Head for the basement or the doorjambs as Massachusetts’s metal-core merchants Unearth unleash The Oncoming Storm. The band’s fourth release, first for Metal Blade, is a thunderous, dark, and well-rounded effort. Adam Dutkiewicz’s (Killswitch Engage) bottom-heavy production shines on cuts like the rapid fire, militaristic “Bloodlust of the Human Condition” and “Predetermined Sky,” which features […]
From the opening crush of “Fleshengine Breakdown,” the triple guitar charge of Massachusett’s Beyond the Embrace takes off like a bat out of hell and doesn’t let up for the next 44 minutes. Ok, three guitars—I know you’re thinking the Outlaws or Lynyrd Skynyrd, but no, think (new) Iron Maiden, and you’re on the right […]
