Foetal Juice: Gluttony (2020) Mancunians Foetal Juice once again buck the trend on their second LP ‘Gluttony’; demonstrating how death metal built on good old-fashioned horror and gore themes doesn’t need to sacrifice any class in the process. By modern death metal standards, this is about as on-the-nose as they come, essentially working together all... Continue Reading →

The explosion of music that came out of heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 80s - centred around (but not exclusive to) the UK - became something of an outcast genre amongst modern metal fans. Despite defining the sound most civilians would conjure up in their minds when the word ‘metal’ is mentioned (outside of... Continue Reading →

Deathmace: Coffin’ Maggots (26th June 2020) Yorkshire death metallers Deathmace have a new single out come the end of June. Following on from their album ‘Bleeding Frenzy’ in 2018, ‘Coffin’ Maggots’ walks a similar path in that it transcends old school emulation, and reaches the heady realms of surpassing many of their forebears. Deathmace are... Continue Reading →

AthanaTheos: Prophetic Era (or how Yahveh Became the One) (out 29th June 2020) French death metallers AthanaTheos’ second LP ‘Prophetic Era (or how Yahveh Became the One)’ pertains to be a heady concept album exploring the rise and rise of the Judeo-Christian deity known as Yahweh, God's true name; which Christians don’t typically say out... Continue Reading →

There are many crimes we enjoy levelling at Opeth; dumbing down and blandifying one of the most exhilarating and life affirming forms of underground music, incomprehensible track structures, bargain basement prog rock, the list goes on. But they were really just a symptom of a wider trend in extreme metal by the early 2000s. And... Continue Reading →

Sanctifying Ritual: Sanctifying Ritual (2020) Germany’s Sanctifying Ritual released their self-titled debut this year, and it's been a while in the making. We’re treading that familiar path into the old school, this time wearing our death metal hats, albeit with a more atmospheric, ‘evil’ aesthetic that was once refreshing in a post tech-death world. This... Continue Reading →

Flagg: Nothing but Death (2020) Finnish black metal newcomers Flagg released their debut LP this year. ‘Nothing but Death’ sees them try to revitalise the much maligned DSBM school with lightning bolts of energy borrowed from blackened grind and old school thrash. The end result is a shaky and unoriginal debut that yields nuggets of... Continue Reading →

The 1990s were still a time when regional influences had a meaningfully role in the perpetuation of musical ideas. There was a marked difference between styles from different areas and one could point out why, tracing – maybe a little clunkily at times – the genesis and procreation of signature sounds. One obvious example of... Continue Reading →

OND: Brutal Skeleton Fistfight (2020) One has to admire the audacity of OND’s new EP ‘Brutal Skeleton Fistfight’. It’s just an incredibly hard working release. It somehow manages to combine classic thrash and heavy metal licks with an undeniably progressive bent, an ethos rooted firmly in punk, and lyrics marked by a quirky sense of... Continue Reading →

One thing I don’t often remark on is the catalogue of failures that characterised Norwegian black metal artists after the release of their classic canon. It’s tiresome to mourn, after such a burst of intense creativity a decline in standards was inevitable. But looking at the big four of Norway today is like observing a... Continue Reading →