self-released

Arboreal Eternity is a split featuring Florida’s Rainfall on two cuts of black metal and Australia’s Umbra on four tracks of dark ambience. Despite their frequent juxtaposition, the two styles don’t fit together well here, though they share a lyrical affinity for nature themes. Rainfall – MoonlightUmbra – Drawn to Rotting Caverns Rainfall’s black metal […]

Minot, ND (pop. ~36,000) is hardly a metal metropolis, so when I recently visited there, I was surprised to see two metal bands in the “local” section of the record store. Turns out that the extreme metal scene in Minot consists of three bands, who share the same core personnel. Void of DisbeliefEternal Decimation Oblivious […]

Wolfhunter is William “Wyl” Anderson, who is also bandmates with Ryan Bussiere in Oblivious Enslavement and Viscera, the two other extreme metal acts in Minot, ND. Anderson has had quite an itinerant life, having bounced around among Louisiana, Texas, California, and Pennsylvania, where he recorded the Frostbitten Hymns demo, before ending up in Minot. OskoreiBlood […]

English shoegazing meets NeurIsis heaviness – the typical result would be buried vocals, but Brendan McDermott’s soaring singing is this band’s trump card. The songwriting is a little undisciplined (either give me the perfect three-minute song or go the whole 10-minute distance), but the tension is interesting. Song or sound? Why not both, see Swervedriver. […]

The band’s name is literal – not only does it draw heavily from later Death, it’s also recorded four Death covers in its career. Like other Death-obsessed groups, this one walks the line between theft and homage. Ultimately, though, this Belarusian band shows enough creativity to avoid clone status. This is especially true on the […]

Man, I haven’t heard crossover like this in a long time! An exact midpoint between thrash and hardcore, Straight Outta the Gutter is 11 minutes of pure middle finger. Sometimes one wants a musical boot to the face, and this demo more than delivers. Simple riffs, simple beats, lyrics that approach nursery rhymes in complexity […]

Causal ReasonsReversal Self-Released2001 “Sounds like ____” is tricky business. Really, it’s best (though perhaps not for commercial purposes) to sound unique. But since that’s basically impossible, given today’s cultural forces (perhaps someone in some media-deprived locale could hit upon playing heavy metal, but I highly, highly doubt it), most musicians hope to remind listeners of […]

The Conquer Self-Released2006 Brazil’s Stormental gives “ProgPower” new meaning by splitting the difference between the genres. Its sound is surprisingly stripped down, as the band only has four members, with one guitarist and no keyboards. Thus, the instrumentalists have more room to flex their considerable skills, with particularly fine work by the bassist. I never […]

Twisted Broadcast Self-Released2004 This demo CD has two original songs, but it also includes a video, photos, and two “pre-production” MP3’s. The band also sent a paper bio with full-color photos along with another CD containing two MP3’s, a cover of Anthrax’s “Indians” and another “pre-production” track. I don’t know why the band calls these […]

Fire from the Sky Self-Released2006 Skeletonwitch is yet another retro thrash upstart. The references tossed around in this Cleveland band’s publicity puzzle me, as it doesn’t give me much of a thrash vibe. I do hear thrash moments, but the blackened vocals and tremolo picking keep getting in the way of the old-school worship I’m […]