poland

Antigama are grindcore’s most underrated band. The genre is filled with bands even enthusiasts couldn’t tell apart in a blind taste test, but Antigama are instantly recognizable. Their chords are skewed, their drummer sounds like the soundtrack to Scooby Doo, and they drop jazz interludes for the hell of it. All this fits within the […]

[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 […]

Up at Decibel, I have reviews of Blotted Science (new project of Ron Jarzombek), Devian (new project of Legion, ex-Marduk), and Rigor Sardonicous (slower-than-slow dooooom), as well as a feature on Portuguese black metallers Corpus Christii, whose recent record Rising is sick-sick-sick. The print version (#41, At the Gates cover) also has my live review […]

Grave in the Sky Left Hand Path #011 is up. This installment of Stylus’ metal column is massive, featuring 38 album reviews and an interview with Chris Bruni of Profound Lore Records, easily the metal label of the year with top-notch releases by Alcest, Caina, Cobalt, Portal, Pulsefear, The Angelic Process, The Howling Wind, WOLD, […]

Nergal seems like a tightly wound guy. The songs he writes for Behemoth are as efficient as they are epic, like a raging fire that he desperately tries to contain. The result is singular; with their Phrygian riffs and martial syncopations, Behemoth songs are instantly recognizable. Inner SanctumChristgrinding Avenue Thus, while the band’s latter-day death […]

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 – […]

Neurosis, upstairs @ GAMH, SFPhoto by Brendan Tobin It’s been a while since my last reviews update. There’s so much good stuff now, it’s almost overwhelming! At Stylus, I’ve reviewed Cephalic Carnage, Neurosis, Pelican, and Pig Destroyer. At Metal Injection, I’ve reviewed Akercocke, Toxic Bonkers, N.I.L., Deadlock, Merciless Death, Thought Chamber, and Watain. Neurosis – […]

Antigama A bunch of new writing up – at Metal Injection, I’ve got reviews of Polish grinders Antigama, Norwegian black metal band Throne of Katarsis, and Los Angeles prog metallers Redemption, as well as interviews with Spanish band NahemaH and shredder Laura Christine from San Diego death metallers Warface. Antigama – Neutral BalanceNaglfar – The […]

This recent quote from Frank Urbancic, coordinator of counterterrorism for the US State Department, got me thinking. “This is not the kind of war where you can measure success with conventional numbers. We cannot aspire to a single decisive battle that will break the enemy’s back, nor can we hope for a signed peace accord […]

Eternalization Pagan2006 Symphonic black metal is one of my least favorite kinds of metal, with possibly only symphonic power metal faring worse. However, Poland’s Hermh mostly avoids the “O Fortuna” pro wrestler fanfare that most of the genre seems like to me. Big keyboards lard up the mix, of course, but the guitars cut through […]