Live improvisation, Crypt of St John on the WallOut 7th June, self-released The name Dead Space Chamber Music is a concise summation of the intent and meaning behind this band. Whilst the term "dead space" immediately invokes a feeling of remoteness, it could just as easily refer to areas and structures just off the beaten... Continue Reading →

The good ship Pestilence has once again been making the rounds on the local ragebait circuit. Older acts that seemingly exist solely to spite their legacy (usually at the behest of one remaining member living on reputational fumes) are hardly unique in metal, but Pestilence attract a uniquely visceral ire from long time fans. What... Continue Reading →

Rotting Christ: Pro XristouOut 24th May on Season of Mist Mapping the career of artists that have been consistently active for as long as Rotting Christ presents us with an interesting demonstration of how historical progress ground to halt by the mid-2000s. Their career dates back to the very beginnings of black metal as it... Continue Reading →

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTqPGTfkRT4 Essay version: For a hyper engaged fanbase like metal, the age of smart technology presents a problem. It has turned listening to metal into a chore. The attitude we now take to our hobby is so often expressed through the language of exhaustion, of work. “I need to catch up on new releases”, “there’s... Continue Reading →

The lads chat Emperor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9RTrqlO4L4

Moral PutrefactionOut 24th May, self-released Albums like this only add fuel to my hypothesis that it takes a non-Western perspective to salvage the legacy of extreme metal forged in Europe and North America. This Indian outfit are nominally of the old school camp, but such is the identity and life bubbling through the many contours... Continue Reading →

AO: kAOSOut 13th May on Nomad Snakepit Productions Turns the nihilism of a certain strain of chaotic black meal in on itself. The driving violence of war metal is elevated by a rare melodic competence that sees sparse soundscapes of blasting tremolo riffing populated by minimal but creative lead refrains. Satire lurks in the periphery... Continue Reading →

Taste and authenticity in late modern capitalism By Alessandro Gerosa Nostalgia is the cultural default of the 21st Century. Any pockets of activity not explicitly retro-oriented are small experimental alcoves tweaking at the borders of preexisting genres, forms, and modes. Music, once used to mark the passage of time, now exists outside of the temporal... Continue Reading →

‘Голос сталі’ (‘The Voice of Steel’) is one of the best metal albums released this side of 2000. One facet of its genius lies in its ability to work with and combine styles of metal I generally regard as vulgar, populist, or otherwise unserious into profoundly epic statements, sonic panoramas rarely seen in contemporary metal... Continue Reading →

Before the Creation of TimeOut 29th March on Darkness Shall Rise Productions Unleashed sceptics are wont to approach this compilation of early material wondering what exactly they are supposed to glean from it. It’s fascinating to discover the genesis of genuinely unique artists within metal to plot the development of genre and individual style. Morbid... Continue Reading →