Contributions
Amon Amarth review
My review of Amon Amarth’s new album With Oden on Our Side is now up at Stylus.
Swarm of the Lotus - When White Becomes Black
If any band didn’t deserve its fate, it was Swarm of the Lotus. This Baltimore band recently called it quits after eight years of bad luck. Frequent lineup changes, touring problems, and shady promoters dogged the band, who left the world two full-lengths and a 7″ picture disc. (Ed. note: As of May 2009, the […]
Agalloch review
My review of the new Agalloch album Ashes Against the Grain is up at Stylus. An excerpt: Agalloch has been tagged “gray metal” or “post-black metal,” awkward terms that connote black metal as a point of departure. While its riffs are muscular, with vocals occasionally dropping into a black metal rasp, most of this album […]
Death Breath - Stinking Up the Night
This post owes its existence to Albert Mudrian, editor-in-chief of Decibel, in two ways. First, Nicke Andersson, who used to drum for Entombed and now sings for The Hellacopters, was inspired to return to death metal and form this band after reading Mudrian’s book Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore. Second, […]
Year of No Light review
My review of Year of No Light’s Nord is up at Stylus. An excerpt: The proliferation of Isis-alikes has reached epidemic proportions. Every time you turn around, there’s another band with atmospheric riffs, eight-minute songs, understated artwork, and a beard (or two). It’s easy to see why this sound has caught on: Black Sabbath, Godflesh, […]
Negative Plane - Et In Saecula Saeculorum
After two demos, this Florida duo drops its debut full-length, Et In Saecula Saeculorum (on The Ajna Offensive). It’s amazingly mature in every way. Not only are the songs intricate and fully realized, they also come from older sources. Venom and Celtic Frost come to mind, though not in imitation but inspiration. As Buddy Holly […]
Left Hand Path #003
Stylus has a (roughly) monthly metal column called “Left Hand Path.” Issue #003 is up now, and it’s a monster – 32 reviews and a label profile of Aurora Borealis. Among the albums we’ve covered are the new Archgoat, Drifting Collision, Enthrallment, Eyes of Ligieia, Giant Squid, Passion, SunnO))) & Boris, Throne of Katarsis, Totimoshi, […]
Piraña (Chl) - Manifestando el Absurdo
This is a demo, but it aspires to more, with eight tracks and fairly involved artwork. I must note that this Chilean band emailed me this demo as MP3’s and jpeg’s, citing the high cost of postage. That’s fair enough. However, most labels don’t accept MP3 submissions, and if the band wants to get anywhere, […]
RIP Pound SF
Sunday the 22nd was the last show at The Pound in San Francisco. Evidently, the club was evicted for reasons beyond its control by the city’s Port Authority. The Pound was the place to see metal and hardcore punk in San Francisco for the past five years. Occasionally there would be a fight or accusation […]