Summer is over, a sense of finality is setting in, can we make an end to this decade with anything other than a morbid question mark?* Sometime the Wolf.: From Here and Earth The UK goth scene has certainly been eating its greens lately, especially in the north. The scene is now going from strength... Continue Reading →

Black metal, the music of colder climbs, soundtrack to clandestine rituals, the reverence for nature in sonic form. But if we look past the much-debated aesthetics, the core of black metal is a certain approach to metal that lends itself to otherworldly themes. This goes beyond a mere reverence for snowy mountains and old trees.... Continue Reading →

A brief roundup of some more doings in British extreme metal in the late 2010s. As ever, unapologetically Northern-centric. Necronautical: Apotheosis Is it just me, is black metal less preoccupied with the whole ‘elitism vs. sellouts’ thing? Aside from swivelled internet dwellers and the tired memes that prey upon them, I’m seeing more of a... Continue Reading →

Compared with current crop of much modern extreme, the blissful early 1990s look like a careffree wonder-world of colour and good cheer. Yes, I am talking about death metal. For all its violence, darkness, and heavy themes, those heady early days look unashamedly cheerful through the lens of history. The dirty little secret about death... Continue Reading →

The early 1990s were an odd time for subcultures. Particularly those whose existence was predicated on critiquing the societies they existed alongside. Since its inception metal artists have commented on the hubris of the powers that be. In relistening to ‘Paranoid’ recently I was reminded of just how much that album was a product of... Continue Reading →

Well let’s face it, ‘New releases: first impressions’ wasn’t the most inspired title for this feature. As summer raps up it may be premature to start shortlisting for those ‘best of 2019’ features. But this is no normal year. We have the complete works of the 2010s to rifle through and assess. And more importantly,... Continue Reading →

The other week I drove past an elderly hippie. She was wandering down the middle of a busy round, carrying a bunch of flowers, wearing robes and a vacant gaze, completely oblivious to the passing cars. I thought to myself ‘yes…there’s one who has exited the arena of reality’. I found myself wondering where she... Continue Reading →

Both the albums we’ll be looking at this week have much to recommend them, both for quite difference reasons. One is an elegantly crafted, graceful take on traditional thrashy death metal. The other is a dirty, muddy variation on percussive DM of the north American variety. They have been selected not by virtue of being... Continue Reading →

Setting aside the line-up for the moment, Jaroměř's Brutal Assault Festival has much to recommend it. This was my third visit to this renowned Czech metal gathering, now in its 24th year. Situated in the 18th Century fortress of Josefov, the setting offers many hidden corners and caverns to hide away from the sun. The... Continue Reading →