Armchair rhetoric on extreme metal
As someone who doesnโt shy away from the occasional negative writeup, Iโm accustomed to seeing disgruntled messages in my inbox demanding I take down a review or adjust a % rating on Metal Archives. Recently, this escalated to a threat of legal action in response to one of my reviews from an individual who will... Continue Reading →
Weโve spent the last two weeks listening to nothing but Chilean extreme metal in an effort to understand its gestalt. Here we present our findings, along with some random thoughts on what it says about the state of extreme metal from the genreโs traditional heartlands in Europe and North America. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBxjSRt4uhg&t=110s Music featured at the... Continue Reading →
Vspolokh: ะัััะฒะพะทะตะผัOut 25th December on Purity Through Fire Coats the stoic austerity of Slavic black metal with a dusting of populist melodic metal sugar, resulting in an exhilarating and rewarding experience on a visceral level, but one that nevertheless leaves one feeling cheated. Architecturally, there is a clear articulation of identity, intent, and purpose. A... Continue Reading →
The unlikely story of dungeon synth By Jordan Whiteman Iโm a longtime fan of black metal. In that capacity I was familiar with the music we now call dungeon synth long before its so called revival in the 2010s. Iโve maintained a mild curiosity about it ever since. Given all that, I would have thought... Continue Reading →
Words by Belisario of El Negro Metal Some months ago, as I received the visit of some family friends who were walking the Way of Saint James, I found myself in the situation of having to attend a mass at my adopted hometown's cathedral, something which, by quirks of fate, I had still never done... Continue Reading →
Megalit al PutrefacศieiOut 20th January on Memento Mori Not far into this competent but generic rendition of slow, primal, backward looking death metal, I was struck by a particular guitar lead that sounded awfully familiar. I immediately looked Putred up and found that they were from Romania. Another Romanian outfit (just) made my top picks... Continue Reading →
It's episode one! Shelley, Jospeh, and Tyler are joined by Belisario of El Negro metal for a good chinwag on Swedish death metal, keeping things casual to kick things off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieKm3SM3dxQ&list=PLZbgsAZ7MUZUzcha6e2zS2dufEj2pEsct
At the Altar of the Horned God: ElementsOut 13th December on I, Voidhanger Records Having already signalled their love of various goth formulas through their manipulation of ritualistic melodrama and black metal furniture to create a kind of hybrid style that was appealing in concept even if it fell short in execution, itโs unsurprising to... Continue Reading →
What can the profressionalisation of death metal in the early 90s tell us about the concept of the undergound in an era of hyper visibility? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N93wT6dkY_Y
A Touch of EternityOut 16th December on Loud Rage Music (originally released in 1997) Given the reserved, no thrills demeanour of my native North of England, itโs always puzzled me that a variant of overtly emotive, randy, flamboyant death metal bubbled up here in the early 1990s. The drab poise of the Peaceville bands certainly... Continue Reading →
Hate Meditations 