jblumensheid

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7vw5Wydfi4] by Jess Blumensheid Four years after its expected release, Metal Mind has put out Black Mass Krakow 2004. The DVD highlights Gorgoroth’s performance notorious for impaled sheep heads and naked human crucifixes. However, Gorgoroth live on video is less exciting than I expected. Three quarters of the footage is mundane shots of bullet belts […]

by Jess Blumensheid XXX Maniak and Coffins make a bizarre couple, but this split rumbles with monstrous intensity. In true grind fashion, Maniak punch the gut with 30-second songs; titles like “Raped by a Retard,” “Hot Nazi Sluts Have Hot Steaming Guts,” and “Perpetually Exploding Uterus” speak for themselves. “Aroused by the Rape Trial” is […]

by Jess Blumensheid Mouth of the Architect make quite the comeback with Quietly (Translation Loss, 2008). After their recent mixed-up demise, this Dayton, Ohio getup returns with original guitarist/frontman Alex Vernon, who oiled the post-metal machine of 2004’s Time and Withering, still their heaviest album. Over time and constant lineup rearrangements, MOTA’s playful keyboards and […]

by Jess Blumensheid Harvey Milk rises from the grave. After their split-up in 2003, they return with Joe Preston now on bass and Creston Spiers still on vocals. Life…The Best Game In Town (Hydra Head, 2008) is abrasive, more explosive and corrosive than their previous Special Wishes. I sense the quartet flaunting unshaven complexions, discarded […]

by Jess Blumensheid Rarely will I pass up the chance to digest a newer album that reeks of classic doom metal vintage. Like the heartening feeling of meeting an old friend, recognizing the grooving riffs and grimy-yet-clear vocals of doom’s early days makes me feel at home. Of recent doom acts, Indiana’s The Gates of […]

Photo by Jess Blumensheid Our own Jess Blumensheid has written a feature for Venus Zine entitled “How to survive Dude Fest as a dudette”. The latest Dude Fest had an unbelievably awesome lineup, including Torche, Kylesa, Coliseum, Fight Amp, The Gates of Slumber, Pig Destroyer, Insect Warfare, Howl, and Graf Orlock, among many others. As […]

by Jess Blumensheid The day The Endless Blockade aren’t pissed, there will be no god. (Ed. note: Or there might be one.) They live up to their name by instilling extreme wrath for human trash, wasteful lifestyles, and the fear of god in every release. Such hostility allows The Endless Blockade to enclose themselves with […]

by Jess Blumensheid Nachtmystium‘s demise isn’t near, but they should embrace the time they have left. After signing with major label Century Media, intuitive bands work on the ticking clock that measures the downfall toward mediocrity. Usually, scraggly production is the first thing to go – The Haunted is a prime example. Here, Century Media […]

Short-lived, yet way ahead of their time, Burning Witch remain undefeatable. Ten years after its original release, Southern Lord has reissued Crippled Lucifer. This double-disc compilation of EP’s Towers… and Rift.Canyon.Dreams relights the Burning Witch torch, inviting newcomers and embracing old fans to trail its gloomy illumination. Formed in ’95, Burning Witch were the grandfathers […]