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No, not a mashup. But if only! Recently I listened to Blood Red Throne‘s new album, Souls of Damnation (Earache, 2009). Most of it was unsurprising. Death metal, death metal, death metal. Good, good, good. But five minutes and 15 seconds into “Ten Steps of Purgatory,” I did a double take. “Every cake you bake, […]

Tombs of the Blind DruggedGatefold LP artwork Olly Pearson is a man of few words. He spares his breath for harsh vocals in a band that never intended to rise this far. Moss‘ art is far from accessible. For Pearson and friends, the band is a private avenue of expression. Although Pearson admits Moss’ lack […]

Moss make every strike count. Usually they do this with variation that comes only every few minutes. With conservative speed limits, Moss eliminate hopes for standard song structure. This 40-minute EP smells and sticks like weed and mold. But drone not-from-concentrate didn’t travel this far on previous releases. This sound is more fluid. Dominic Finbow […]

Bolt Thrower Listening to Bolt Thrower‘s Those Once Loyal in preparation for seeing them at Maryland Deathfest, three things come to mind: I severely underestimated it when I reviewed it three years ago. (I also wrote one hell of a crappy review.) Martin Kearns’ sense of groove is completely underrated. 3:11 in “Anti-Tank (Dead Armour)”: […]

Click to enlarge This is a graph of Napalm Death’s average song length by album. (Click it to enlarge it.) Only full-lengths of studio originals count, as well as proper songs – no bonus tracks or ambient intros. Originally I made this chart to test a theory that the shorter the Napalm Death song, the […]

Incredibly, Napalm Death still have something to offer after 28 years. With no original members left, the band is hardly the storied crew that made Scum. But despite changes in lineup and sound, the Napalm Death platform remains strong. It has two main planks: socially conscious grindcore, and, ironically, diversity beyond grindcore. Though Napalm Death […]

I’ve had Burzum’s “Tomhet” stuck in my head after I saw Severed Ways (reviewed here), in which the song figured prominently. Astral and peaceful, it’s an odd bird in Burzum’s ambient works, which tend to be brooding (early period) or martial (late period). The first time I heard “Tomhet”, I thought, “Atmospheric drum ‘n’ bass”. […]

Talk about being productive! In 1979, Motörhead put out Bomber and Overkill, which turns 30 today. Bomber had better artwork, but Overkill had better songs. It was the first major statement by Motörhead’s classic lineup: Lemmy, “Fast” Eddie Clarke, Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor. Their eponymous 1977 record was a punky rush job. Bouncy and bluesy, […]

Someday someone will clear massive legal hurdles and issue a box set of Justin Broadrick’s remixes. (You can see a list of them here.) Until then, one will have to collect them individually. Has anyone heard the Godflesh remix from 1994 of the Lemonheads??? (Here is an interview from then that asks Broadrick, among other […]

by Cosmo Lee Of Justin Broadrick’s many identities – metal, ambient, industrial, hip-hop, to name a few – drum ‘n’ bass is particularly dear to me, since I was a dnb DJ for six years. (Godflesh was the only metal I listened to during that time.) Love and Hate in Dub and Broadrick’s Krackhead project […]