All posts by Spencer Hotz

Admirer of the weird, the bizarre and the heavy, but so are you. Why else would you be here?

Triumvir Foul – Onslaught To Seraphim Review

In case you didn’t know, the Seraphim are the highest order of angels in Christianity and they appear as prominent beings in Judaism as well. So overcome with love for God, they actually burn with

Bloodletter – Malignancy Review

Fast Rites: because sometimes brevity is fundamental. “Resist my rule and meet my axe!” That line from “Skullsplitter” might as well be Bloodletter’s motto moving forward. Partying or railing against societal ills is all well

Ernia – How To Deal With Life And Fail Review

[Cover art by Xabier Sagasta] The orthodoxy of grindcore means that pushing too far away from the core will often lead to a band no longer being considered part of the genre (see: Wake). That

Maul – Seraphic Punishment Review

[Cover Art by Jason Barnett] Our dear writing friend Captain recently extolled the value and joy that comes from a successful blind buy based on cover art in his recent Diamonds & Rust article on

Knoll – Metempiric Review

Fast Rites: because sometimes brevity is fundamental. The human brain likes familiarity and therefore it’s only natural to try to draw comparisons between bands when hearing a new one for the first time. Upon a

The Bearer – Chained To A Tree Review

Understanding the assignment is a very valuable trait in a band. In the mid-‘00s, metalcore (WAIT, DON’T LEAVE) hit its nadir as a seemingly endless parade of copycat bands wrote half-assed At The Gates riffs

Heaving Earth – Darkness Of God Review

Railing against God and religion is nothing new in our precious little realm of heavy metal. Plenty of anti-god and pro-Satan rhetoric has abounded for generations both intentional and unintentional. While the cover art may