At The Gates – At War With Reality
In the eyes of many, At the Gates did it all perfectly. They rose out of a fruitful, creative scene in the very early 90s, gradually honing their cold, malevolent form of melodic death metal …
Mare Cognitum – Phobos Monolith Review
Mare Cognitum is the sole project of Santa Ana’s Jacob Buczarski, and while one-man bands are not exactly an oddity within the blackened realms, rarely are things so meticulously composed, arranged, and performed as on Phobos …
Blut Aus Nord – Memoria Vetusta III – Saturnian Poetry Review
Throughout their groundbreaking career, Blut Aus Nord has shown an ever-increasing tendency to reveal different musical faces through sets of album series or groupings. Most notably, the 777 trilogy amplified the band’s blackened Godflesh traits, …
Stench – Venture Review
Sweden’s Stench offer a bit of a conundrum with Venture, their second full length and fourth release overall. It is that rare album that is instantly likable and appealing, yet falls outside of easy categorization …
Dark Fortress – Venereal Dawn Review
There’s a fine line between being a tourist and an accomplished jack-of-all-trades. Take the latest from Germany’s long-running blackened act Dark Fortress, Venereal Dawn. (That title, by the way, refers to the goddess Venus, not …
Sons Of Crom – Riddle Of Steel Review
It’s funny how directly imitating a unique, legendary band can lead to wide variety of reactions among both critics and fans. There aren’t a lot of Meshuggah clones out there that have gotten more than …
Entombed A.D. – Back To The Front Review
Because bands can’t think of a better way to deal with a naming conflict than just adding “A.D.” or “B.C.” to the end, we now have Entombed A.D., which is essentially just the most recent …
The Haunted – Exit Wounds Review
Despite The Haunted maintaining full time activity over recent years, many will likely view Exit Wounds, the band’s eighth full length, as a return or comeback of sorts. The reason for this is twofold. First, …