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Sjuklig Intention (on Eerie Art) is a split from Swedish black metal bands Dimhymn and Hypothermia. Dimhymn does three tracks, while Hypothermia turns in two for a total of almost 41 minutes. Despite differing approaches, the overall vibe is gloriously dark and depressing. Dimhymn is a duo that includes Ondskapt’s Nattal on vocals, guitars, and […]

If YouTube is any indication, Sepultura’s “Refuse/Resist” holds a strange fascination for children. Exhibit A is a video showing two brothers playing the song. I’d guess that the drummer is about eight years old, and the singer/guitarist is about six. The latter is playing a guitar that’s practically taller than himself. He’s also wearing a […]

The Mindless and Complete Stain (on Good Enough for the Escape) is the debut EP from Portuguese band The Ladder. It’s rough around the edges, as most debuts are, but it’s quite creative and exploratory. I’d be surprised if the band doesn’t find more widespread recognition soon. The Ladder’s sound is a little hard to […]

My dual review of Fuck the Facts’ Stigmata High-Five and Landmine Marathon’s Wounded is up at Stylus. You can read it here.

“Oakland is a hard clique, if you don’t know someone there you’re a mark waiting to get got.” So begin the liner notes by Scott Kelly (Neurosis) to Eldopa’s The Complete Recordings (on Tee Pee). Despite being perhaps the most down-to-earth, racially diverse city in the Bay Area, Oakland has unimaginable poverty that gentrification hasn’t […]

In terms of melody-to-brutality ratio, Dutch death metallers God Dethroned always struck me as kind of like Arch Enemy without the charisma. Their back catalogue was well-played and enjoyable enough, but nothing ever really grabbed me. However, The Toxic Touch (on Metal Blade) does. From the first note, the band is in complete control and […]

My review of Amon Amarth’s new album With Oden on Our Side is now up at Stylus.

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]