All posts by Old Guard

The retired elite of LastRites/MetalReview.

Moonspell – Memorial Review

Originally written by Tim Pigeon Like a musical representation of Barry Bonds, Moonspell only get thicker and heavier with age, as if injected with vigor. Nearly vanished are the monotone clean vocals that may have made them

Caliban – The Undying Darkness Review

Originally written by Ben Graves. The Undying Darkness, the latest showing from German metalcore stalwarts Caliban, has quite a few redeeming qualities. The musicianship is tight, the riffage alternating between visceral and soothing, the vocals –

Sapthuran/Leviathan – Split Review

Originally written by Ian Duncan-Brown. Sapthuran: Ah, this is truly the very best kind of modern black metal. Instead of taking the droning approach employed by much of the scene, Sapthuran’s sound is built upon riffs,

Black Cobra – Bestial Review

Originally written by Chris Chellis. As pleasantly thick as Mariah Carey, Black Cobra’s first full-length, a heavy slab of doom/sludgecore, sees guitarist/vocalist Jason Landrian and drummer Rafael Martinez not only paying tribute but contributing to a

Melvins – Houdini Live 2005: A Live History Of Gluttony And Lust Review

Originally written by Chris Chellis. As a longhaired, greasy teenager I grasped the Melvin’s Houdini with feverish hands, like it was a secret passage of the Bible intended specifically for the sons of atheist parents. Kurt Cobain’s legend

Kampfar – Kvass Review

Originally written by Chris Chellis. With little knowledge or experience in black metal, I am not the most ideal candidate for reviewing a Kampfar album. None of my top 10 albums of all time would come from

Blood Freak – Live Fast, Die Young, And Leave A Flesh Eating Corpse! Review

Originally written by Chris Chellis. I will never understand how Maniac Neil of Blood Freak makes the time for food or sleep. Drinking I understand, as any simpleton can enslave another and force them to feed them

Ihsahn – The Adversary Review

Originally written by Harley Carlson. As one of Norway’s most notable talents, Ihsahn’s hell-fueled contributions to metal, or otherwise, are evidence of nothing less than his incontestable genius. From raw epic black metal of early Emperor to the