self-released

No ReprieveA Way Out of Madness Self-Released2006 I ain’t gonna lie: these guys sound like Nevermore. Then again, so does Eidolon, and that band doesn’t seem to catch flak for it. Sounding like another band can be both bad and good – bad in that it’s unoriginal, but good in that it can sound like […]

GriefLeave This Place Self-Released2005 Maitreya is the Buddha of the future, a savior figure who will return to Earth to do good things, unite people, and so on. Quite a lofty name for a band. Whether this Swedish outfit will save metal remains to be seen, but its debut certainly shows promise. Opeth comes to […]

The Bells Toll My Name Self-Released2007 My first impression of the cover of Tapetum Lucidum was “Gravediggaz” (with “Paul Wall” and “Goldie” close behind). Turns out I wasn’t far off – Gloomy Grim plays self-styled “horror movie metal,” with haunted house synths over melodic black metal. The result is rather campy, like if Rob Zombie […]

Chaotic metalcore is getting very, very crowded nowadays. I generally like the style, but it takes increasingly more for such a band to impress me. Thus, I’m pleased to present Digression Assassins, who hail from Stockholm, Sweden. They fill me with unadulterated pleasure, and not just because their name contracts to “dig ass.” Bully the […]

The Awakening Self-Released2006 What is Gwynbleidd doing in Brooklyn??? From the sound of its debut, Amaranthine, it should be in Europe, playing metal festivals and the occasional medieval faire. Its rolling tempos recall Agalloch, its death growls suggest Opeth, its acoustic guitars and sonorous singing bring to mind Borknagar. Thus, folk, death, black, and prog […]

Death Has Prevailed Fat Lenny2007 Run for Cover is one of those splits where bands cover each other; it also includes two originals by each. Fentanyl formed in 2003, but it nails the old school thrash sound, down to the raw production and lead guitar tone. The Dutch band’s MySpace says it’s “putting the speed […]

Sun Rise then Explode (excerpt) Self-Released2007 Light of Shipwreck is Ben Fleury-Steiner, who also runs the Gears of Sand label. From the Idle Cylinders layers processed electric guitars and vocals over programmed percussion, with occasional bass and acoustic guitar. For lack of a better word, the result could be called “ambient.” It’s a testament to […]

Open Wound SalvationWhat Is Worst?Driven by Hatred Self-Released2007 “Swedish” and “death metal” go together like “Swiss” and “chocolate.” That’s true for Ethereal, which sounds neither like its name nor the signature style of its Gothenburg area home. Instead, this band does straight-up death metal that balances simplicity and technicality. What jumps out immediately is the […]

City Self-Released2006 Virginia’s King Giant accurately cites Black Sabbath, Clutch, Down, and Eyehategod as influences. The desperate, clawing spirit of the latter looms large here. The band’s bio states it was “born from personal tragedy and drug addiction.” Even though this six-song demo doesn’t have printed lyrics, I’d believe it just from the sound. King […]

Black SwanMystical Elysian Love Self-Released2006 Not the Anthrax singer nor the adult film star, Belladonna is an Italian band that falls somewhere between hard and goth rock. But these terms are really too crude to describe this band. The former implies a certain simplicity, and the latter a certain aesthetic, neither of which apply here. […]