Album Review: Whitechapel – The Valley

Whitechapel - The Valley March 29th, 2019 Deathcore Metal Blade Records Knoxville, Tennessee, USA Knoxville, Tennessee deathcore masters Whitechapel have always stood out to me in a genre that is full of copycats, chugs and breakdowns. Deathcore of course is often derided by people who consider themselves 'true' metalheads for it's boring and repetitive riffs or …

Album Review: Belzebubs – Pantheon of the Nightside Gods

Belzebubs - Pantheon of the Nightside Gods April 26th, 2019 Melodic Black Metal Century Media Records Tampere, Finland I've been following the webcomic known as Belzebubs since around 2016. It's wacky and comical approach to the black metal genre combined with an appealing art style drew my attention instantly, especially as a black metaller myself. But …

Album Review: Týr – Hel

Týr - Hel March 8th, 2019 Progressive Folk Metal Metal Blade Records Tórshavn, Faroe Islands Having been active since 1998 Týr have no doubt had a long and storied career, releasing eight studio albums in their 22 year existence. I first discovered the band through their 2009 album By the Light of the Northern Star which wowed …

Live from the Pit: High on Fire / Power Trip @ Club Soda – 11/24/2019

High on Fire have consistently received rotation in my 'favourite bands of all time' lists and for good reason. There's no other band out there quite like them. I can't think of any other bands who play a style of music I can genuinely refer to as 'stoner thrash', and most of that is due …

Album Review: Rotting Christ – The Heretics

Rotting Christ - The Heretics February 15th, 2019 Melodic Black Metal Season of Mist Athens, Greece Rotting Christ are a massively important, if occasionally overlooked, band in the grand scheme of black metal history. Emerging in 1987 the band coalesced as one of the first groups to play this style in the Mediterranean, becoming hugely influential …

Album Review: Children of Bodom – Hexed

Children of Bodom - Hexed March 8th, 2019 Melodic Death Metal Nuclear Blast Records Espoo, Finland You would be hard pressed these days to find a metalhead who hasn't heard the name Children of Bodom. You would be harder pressed to find a metalhead who finds most of their output past 2005's Are You Dead Yet? to be …

Album Review: Abigail Williams – Walk Beyond the Dark

Abigail Williams - Walk Beyond the Dark November 15th, 2019 Atmospheric Black Metal Blood Music Phoenix, Arizona, USA Abigail Williams is a band that holds a very special place in my heart for a multitude of reasons. When I was but a wee burgeoning metalhead they were one of the first black metal bands I was …

Album Review: Tool – Fear Inoculum

Tool - Fear Inoculum August 30th, 2019 Progressive Metal Tool Dissectional Los Angeles, CA, USA Can you even believe that you're reading this right now? Legendary American progressive metal outfit Tool have finally released their first record in thirteen years. Fear Inoculum is the followup to 10,000 Days which was released in 2006, and since that time the anticipation …