Cianide – Unhumanized Review
Sometimes evolution is just unnecessary. Chicago’s gods of caveman death metal Cianide return with their first release in nine years, and only their third in the past twenty. (And even then, Unhumanized is only half …
Best Of 2019 – Andrew Edmunds: One Bird Cannot Make A Bad Pun, But Toucan
And so another year passes, the inexorable march of time… In the grand scheme of things, 2019 was a pretty good year for me, and I hope the same for you. I drank many good …
Oath Of Cruelty – Summary Execution At Dawn Review
Formed in 2010, it’s taken nine years for Houston’s Oath Of Cruelty to muster up their first full-length — it’s been a full five years since their last and only non-demo release, the two-song Hellish …
The Seal Of Quality – A Riot Primer, Part 2
The 80s were tough on Riot, even as the band was creating classic metal albums. There were endless line-up changes, contentious dealings with labels, managers, and producers, and mostly, there was a massive disparity between …
The Seal Of Quality – A Riot Primer, Part 1
For those of us who don’t believe in predestination, the past is an endless series of could-have-beens. Every adventure left unchosen branches out in infinite directions, all the possible pasts and futures winding around one …
Exhumed – Horror Review
Innovation is great and all, but what about dependability? Familiarity? Pushing boundaries is a necessary part of artistry, but excellence remains excellent, be it in some newfound territory or well within the confines of the …
Diamonds & Rust: Coroner – No More Color
“Generally speaking, dazzling displays of technical prowess don’t impress me much,” says the intrepid Blog-Warrior, his fingers tap-tapping across the keys as he immediately contradicts himself in his rush to lavish heaps of praise upon …
Cloud Rat – Pollinator Review
Once more, with feeling… And what is music about then, if not feeling? Michigan’s grindcore-slash-hardcore trio Cloud Rat harnesses their emotion with deadly precision, even emotions beyond the signature rage and aggression of their chosen …