Ihsahn – Eremita Review
Art moves, or it dies. While never fully escaping the shadow of history, while always subject to what Harold Bloom called the withering ‘anxiety of influence’, art is an ellipsis, not a period. Art cannot …
Marduk – Serpent Sermon Review
Whether rightly or wrongly, Marduk had become something of an extreme metal punch line by the late 1990s and early 2000s. (Example: Q: How many Marduks does it take to screw in a lightbulb? A: …
Dawnbringer – Into The Lair Of The Sun God Review
Back in 2010, Dawnbringer’s fourth album Nucleus arrived on Profound Lore with a groundswell of acclaim. Given Profound Lore’s reputation for unnervingly consistent quality, and Dawnbringer mainman Chris Black’s impeccable pedigree in High Spirits, Superchrist, …
Six Feet Under – Undead Review
Listening to Six Feet Under, particularly during a year in which Cannibal Corpse has also released a new album, is a bit like making a political statement: It comes down to an intensely personal calculus, …
Royal Thunder – CVI Review
Royal Thunder’s self-titled EP, released late in 2010, was an unassumingly excellent first statement from a young band bristling with potential. The Atlanta, Georgia band’s earnest, soulful take on Southern-inflected rock with a rippling undercurrent …
Ides Of Gemini – Constantinople Review
Los Angeles trio Ides of Gemini is nothing if not evocative. For this particular listener, Constantinople conjures images of a caravan trudging into some unknowable wilderness, wrapped in the gauzy patina of memory. The music …
Reverse Polarity – Get Heavy Soul(ed)
Heavy, of course, is relative. And I suppose, in a phrase, that’s the whole point of this damn editorial series. Too many of us, for too long, have willingly (or at least unthinkingly) participated in …
Usurpress – In Permanent Twilight Review
I will absolutely admit to signing on to do this review based entirely on the fact that Usurpress is such an ear-to-ear-smilingly fantastic name for a band. And really, why shouldn’t we let our baser …