Tyrannus: UnslayableOut 2nd April, self-released Following on from the promising ‘It Taketh’ EP released last year, Scotland’s Tyrannus expand their quest to marry riffcraft with atmosphere on their debut full length ‘Unslayable’. This is essentially one elongated piece of high concept, Lovecraftian inspired extreme metal. Riffs bounce seamlessly from technical death metal to oppressively fluid... Continue Reading →

Desecresy: Unveil in the AbyssOut 19th April on Xtreem Music Desecresy’s discography is a joy to look at on Metal Archives. Seven albums and zero EPs, splits, demos, compilations, live recordings, or other gumph. Not to slag off the 99.99% of artists out there who by choice or circumstance have not restricted themselves to the... Continue Reading →

Written by DB Weiss with the help of Tom Morello, ‘Metal Lords’ is Hollywood's latest attempt to make sense of the minefield of shibboleths and obscure symbology that is metaldom. After the bang up job Weiss did on the finale to ‘Game of Thrones’ I remember thinking “man, I hope this guy applies his talent... Continue Reading →

#46 - Classical Music (Anton Bruckner): This episode mainly focuses on the profound music of Anton Bruckner. Guests include professor, conductor, and timpanist John Godoy (Lux Musicae), and composer and organist Sébastien Letocart who is one of the few to have “completed” the finale to Bruckner’s 9th symphony. I highly recommend for you to check... Continue Reading →

Mosaic: HeimatspukOut 22nd April on Eisenwald From the heart of Germany (Thuringia to be precise) comes the latest album from Mosaic, entitled ‘Heimatspuk’, an impressively original work of eerie black metal, steeped in regional folklore and the weighty legacy of Goethe. The lyrics may be laden with high concept baggage – referencing Thuringian poetry and... Continue Reading →

Tome of the Unreplenished: EarthboundOut 8th April on Avant Garde Music and Xenoglossy Productions Hailing from Cyprus, and featuring members from the epic Greek metal juggernaut Macabre Omen, comes the second LP from Tome of the Unreplenished, entitled ‘Earthbound’. Broadly speaking, we are very much on the same epic, cinematic, and richly melodic black metal... Continue Reading →

I’m not above writing one or two (or three) inflammatory articles aimed at this bizarre subgenre. Bizarre because it even exists, but also because it has the audacity to cultivate and maintain a reputation in the peripheral vision of many music fans well beyond its borders. Yet I keep returning to it. Like a Christian... Continue Reading →

The further listening series There are very few artists that could claim to have truly transcended genre. Even fewer that can boast the vast, eclectic appeal of an artist like Dead Can Dance. It’s not an exaggeration to say that their fanbase is its own distinct subculture, counting members from the worlds of goth, metal,... Continue Reading →

#45 – On Death and its Influence on Metal: We chat about the cessation of mortal existence and its influence on metal for an hour. Shelley from http://www.hatemeditations.com and Metalegion Magazine returns with guests John Smith (Beithioch) and Joseph Aprill (metal writer and podcaster). Many aspects of death and its relationship to metal are discussed,... Continue Reading →

Abbath: Dread ReaverOut 25th March on Season of Mist Many treasures were lost upon Demonaz’s untimely tendonitis induced departure from Immortal. Gone were the intricate layers of high speed guitar work found on ‘Pure Holocaust’, out was the reckless abrasion of ‘Battles in the North’. All spoke of music too heady and self-involved for a... Continue Reading →