Charred Walls Of The Damned – Charred Walls Of The Damned Review
Atrocious artwork and overlong inside-joke band-name aside, this eponymous debut from metallic super-group Charred Walls Of The Damned is pretty much exactly the record I’d expected when I first heard that it was coming. Largely the …
Urgehal – Ikonoklast Review
Those who know me know that it’s a rare black metal record that I enjoy these days, but there was a time when icy blackness didn’t leave me cold. Like most everyone else with ears …
Squash Bowels – Grindvirus Review
Squash Bowels‘ previous full-length—2005’s Love Songs—was my introduction to these Polish grinders, despite that they’d been around in one form or another for a decade prior. That disc was the band’s first release for their …
Freedom Hawk – Freedom Hawk Review
“Hey, man, is that Freedom Hawk?” “Yeah, man!” “Well, TURN IT UP, MAN!” That decades-old commercial featuring two burnouts discussing the merits of a classic rock compilation is not only fitting because of the pun …
Beyond Dawn – Bygones Review
Norwegian avant-garde metal-turned-self-proclaimed-“traumatic electronic” band Beyond Dawn gets some love from certain segments of the underground, seemingly perpetually cited for “defying convention,” but in listening to this compilation of their earliest works, it would likely be difficult …
Destruction – The Curse Of The Antichrist – Live In Agony Review
To quote the source, “Destruction strikes back… A devastating thrash attack…” As a partner in the holy trinity of German thrash alongside Kreator and Sodom, Destruction‘s career arc has followed that of their brothers. Like both …
Hellbastard – The Need To Kill Review
British punk/thrash unit Hellbastard’s 1986 demo Ripper Crust is credited with putting the “crust” in crust punk. Back then, Hellbastard were an Amebix-like metallic punk band, ragged and raw, as heavily influenced by anarchist collectives …
Paradise Lost – Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us Review
Expanding upon In Requiem’s return to Draconian form, Faith Divides Us finds Paradise Lost stronger than they’ve been since releasing Draconian Times some fifteen years ago. For those not in the know, after that final installment …