france

High on Fire When I saw High on Fire recently, I was astounded by the number of females in the crowd. Only Enslaved in Berlin had more girls – go figure. Actually, I kind of get that. Europeans invented metal, so it’s in their blood. There, black metallers actually have Norwegian names, and girls go […]

Amphitryon are one of the fresher breaths of metallic air I’ve experienced in a while. This French band’s music is hard to describe – a good sign. The melodic doom of My Dying Bride comes to mind at times. Other, more death metal-esque moments suggest the Egyptian parts of Nile slowed down and stretched out. […]

France continues its domination of all things heavy with Aussitôt Mort, which is evidently French for “as soon as dead.” This quintet from Caen plays post-hardcore, post-metal, post-whatever you want to call it. Some reference points might be the melodicism of Hot Cross with the rolling 6/8 grooves of Burst and the atmospherics of fellow […]

The Red Chord I’m moving from Berlin to San Francisco at the end of this month. This, combined with excessive travel (five trans-Atlantic crossings in six weeks, with five destination airports and way too much sleeping while sitting), has severely hampered my recent productivity. The Red Chord – Tread on the Necks of KingsHalford – […]

Since sleep is the theme this week, I thought I’d revisit one of my favorite bedtime lullabies, The Near Death Experience (Candlelight, 2006). People have already written on it, but it was such a soundtrack to my subconscious last year that I’d have nightmares not mentioning it. Basically, it’s a dark ambient record with grimy, […]

Kronos After what seemed like a slow start, metal in 2007 has shifted into high gear. Great releases flood in from the underground daily. In Left Hand Path #009, we’ve reviewed over 30 discs, including must-have splits from Baroness/Unpersons and Eibon/Hangman’s Chair, Harvey Milk reissues, Marduk, Municipal Waste, Abigor, Glorior Belli, Irepress, dark ambient from […]

France’s In the Guise of Men features vocalist Heitham Al-Sayed from English rap/metal outfit Senser. Its demo is an intriguing but bumpy ride. The songs are extremely choppy, often stringing riffs together seemingly randomly. Math-y grooves a la Meshuggah butt heads with prog bits and melodic, more traditional metal. The latter is the most successful, […]

Obscurus Advocam Some new writing up – at Metal Injection, I’ve reviewed robust efforts by old-school thrashers Hirax and 420 advocates Six Feet Under, as well as black metal from The Ruins of Beverast and Obscurus Advocam. The latter has been really doing it for me lately – black metal that’s heavy for once! At […]

MiserySilent Overcome2006 20 tracks, 27 minutes, face-to-a-sander grindcore. You’ve heard these albums before (Nasum’s Grind Finale contained about ten of them), so why should you hear this one? Because it kicks, that’s why. It’s raw, it’s pissed off, and it’s efficient in a way that somehow seems environmentally conscious. I picture these Frenchmen working in […]

Hacride At Metal Injection, I’ve reviewed Hacride, whose Amoeba is the first metal album this year that drives me to evangelical fervor. It’s like Gojira…but with acoustic guitar…and one song, “Zambra,” with a Spanish flamenco group! Strange, thrilling, futuristic. Also up are my review of Facedown band Means and an interview with Dying Fetus. Hacride […]