Features

Vermin – Falling Deathwards (live)Grimland – Melena (demo) Alpha Prime2006 Speaking of Dutch metal, here’s a compilation with an interesting focus – bands from around the city of Breda. The title is Gratis naar de Tering, which translates to “Down the drain for nothing” or “Fucked up for free,” depending on whom you ask. The […]

My reviews of I’s Between Two Worlds and Her Candane’s No Battle! are up at Stylus and Metal Injection, respectively.

Eternal LightAnubi’s Call Adrenaline/Steelheart2005 Why haven’t I heard of Derdian until now? Granted, symphonic Italian power metal ain’t exactly my bag. But on their first album, these guys do the style so flawlessly, I wonder why their name isn’t up there with certain others in the recent resurgence of power metal. Maybe it’s due to […]

Belphegor – Hell’s AmbassadorSanctus Perversum Nuclear Blast2006 Belphegor’s blackened death metal hasn’t changed much over time. This Austrian band flirted with black metal imagery and frosty sounds on its earlier albums, but the ingredients have largely remained constant – blastbeats, tremolo picking, growls with the occasional rasp, double bass as if paid by the bpm. […]

Reefer Stashed PlaceI Cum Bud Forcefield2006 Why didn’t anyone think of this earlier??? Maybe people did – the idea just never got past the half-baked stage. Cannabis Corpse is Philip Hall (“Landphil”) from Municipal Waste on guitar and bass, his brother Josh (“Hallhammer”) on drums, and Andy Horn (“Weedgrinder”) on vocals. As the name states, […]

My review of Borknagar’s Origin is now up at Stylus.

A town can be measured by its record stores. By that standard, Minot, ND, has gone to the dogs. I’m back in my hometown for the holidays, and I discovered that the one record store in the one mall here recently closed. Tellingly, a Christian bookstore also replaced the only toy store. Now, the only […]

One of my highlights of 2006 was interviewing Cannibal Corpse drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz for Hails & Horns, the metal offshoot of AMP magazine. For being in the world’s biggest death metal band, Paul was amazingly gracious and down-to-earth. He candidly answered burning questions I had – was the band being funny with its artwork and […]

IVV Hydra Head2006 Any musical New Year’s resolutions? Diversify your tastes? Get more into ___ genre? Finally listen to that Joy Division box set all the way through? Me, I resolve, except for Shadows Fall, not to cover any more metalcore bands with Swedish riffs and good cop/bad cop vocals. That’s going to be tough. […]

I’m not one for year-end “Top XX” lists. Who actually reads them? Music critics compile them so they can feel important. And, really, they’re meaningless post-1986. Master of Puppets, Reign in Blood, Peace Sells…, and Somewhere in Time all came out that year, not to mention Pleasure to Kill and The Age of Quarrel. Fuck! […]