Eg Er FramandOut 22nd March on Season of Mist Despite valiant attempts to the contrary, the imaginarium of metal remains stubbornly historical. The raw materials arranged into dense, rigid, highly formal structures may be philosophically agnostic, but they are more often than not painted with an explicitly (c)onservative, conservationist, traditionalist colour scheme. The failures of... Continue Reading →

Relistening to Immortal’s brief tryptic of eccentricity from ‘Pure Holocaust’ to ‘Blizzard Beasts’ reawakens one of the great what-ifs? of black metal. Namely, what if Demonaz had never developed tendinitis? These albums are striking for a number of reasons. One forgets how eclectic Nordic black metal was in the mid-90s, and for Immortal in particular,... Continue Reading →

Order of Nosferat: The Absence of GraceOut 21st March on Purity Through Fire Order of Nosferat typify what many modern critics of black metal mean when they refer to a homogenous, over saturated blob of demos, dog whistles, and very little imagination. If you ever read an interview with some wizened veteran lamenting the scene’s... Continue Reading →

EpicOut 15th March on Season of Mist If we measured albums purely in terms of communicating artistic intent, ‘Epic’ would be considered a triumph. It simultaneously showcases the abilities – such as they are in their present state – of its renowned clientele whilst satisfying the expectations of metal’s increasingly casualised fandom, who understand artistry... Continue Reading →

Kam Lee joins to discuss the early days of death metal, his time with Death and Massacre, the early Florida death metal scene, what it was like being a Pacific Islander kid in Florida, Lovecraft themes in his music, what's next for Massacre, seeing Jason naked, and more! https://youtu.be/2tw0uF-DKNA?si=0yasCJpq3r_GuaDP

Seid: Svartr SolOut 19th January on ATMF – De Tenebrarum Principio Seid seem chiefly preoccupied with marrying the ponderous trance pacing of Ukrainian black metal with elements of Viking opera. Through this unity, they reveal the melancholia of Swedish melodicism hidden beneath the death metal topography of bands like Vinterland or Dawn. Tension arises once... Continue Reading →

Chytridiomycosis RelinquishedOut 8th March on 20 Buck Spin ‘Chytridiomycosis Relinquished’ is what happens when overly active talents apply themselves to musical forms that tend to benefit from the sloppier touch, such as death/doom. Steered by the combined abilities of guitarist Xander Bradley, Bassist John Ridley, and drummer Ryan Sheperson of progressive death metal outfit Cryptic... Continue Reading →

Deathlike Dawn: Among the Graves of the ArchetypesOut 27th February on Putrid Cult Bucks the trend for riff based black metal by treating jagged dissonance as a starting point and not an end in itself. Disorientating chromatic runs, articulated through staccato chord punches and flourishes of dissonance are resolved into fluidity and consonance, defined by... Continue Reading →

Metal is notorious for the sheer volume of subgenres that seem to spring up every year. In this episode, we analyse how many of them are real, or whether they are simply different descriptors for the same phenomenon. https://youtu.be/UPC3rtQJm1I?si=mL3YMoBShkPBZTFQ

The debates on AI and streaming have very familiar contours for anyone that remembers file sharing. Tech drives a change in consumer behaviour and mechanisms of distribution. Governments are slow to legislate (if at all). Debates rage about the nature of theft, artistic ownership, freedom of access, and fan/artist relationships. The jury's out on whether... Continue Reading →