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Author Pete Woods

Quickly discovering in formative years that I was never quite going to fit in anywhere, I spent time growing up listening to punk, futurist, goth, industrial, metal and psychedelic sounds ranging from Hawkwind to The Sex Gang Children via Japan through to Crass mangled in with Psychic TV and New Model Army. Catching my first band live by accident; The Poison Girls at a G.L.C. free festival, I never looked back. Musical tastes have developed accordingly and I now spend time writing for both Terrorizer and Dominion magazine as well as co-running www.avenoctum.com and pushing the boundaries of genre definition to mould around my own eclectic tastes. Not having the patience to play any instrument myself, I see my writing, to a certain degree as putting something back into the music I love. If I didn't spend time doing this I would be an alcoholic slumped without hope on the cold streets of London. Instead I can be found pint, camera and notepad in hand covering bands both old and new and will happily accept free cider without

Malatesta’s Carnival of Blood – Christopher Speeth (Arrow)

The second ‘American Horror Project’ film I have viewed from Arrow’s box set is a real obscurity Christopher Speeth’s only horror film ‘Malatesta’s Carnival of Blood’ from 1973. This one disappeared for almost 30 years after freaking out the unsuspecting… Continue Reading →

The Witch Who Came From The Sea – Matt Cimber (Arrow)

Dredging up more shipwrecked treasure Arrow have embarked upon a great new idea introducing us to some rare and forgotten gems of yesteryear under the ‘American Horror Project’ moniker. This film has been released as part 1 in a box… Continue Reading →

Jonbar Hinge – S/T (Division Records)

Science fiction the muse for many a band and if you were wondering a Jonbar Hinge is from the realm of time travel and a historical divergence point that can alter the course of history. It is also the name… Continue Reading →

Grey Heaven Fall – Black Wisdom (Aesthetics Of Devastation)

This one came out at the tail end of last year and although this Russian based band are completely new to me they have certainly created a lasting impression. There is little in the way of light about this their second… Continue Reading →

Folteraar – Vertellingen van een donkere eeuw (Iron Bonehead)

This review is brought to you via Internet translation tools, headache tablets and a severe amount of patience. Folteraar have sat on our reviews list for a while and when this happens  choosing to download and cover it is a… Continue Reading →

Oranssi Pazuzu – Värähtelijä (Svart)

These Finnish psychonauts have been around bamboozling the senses since 2007 and this is their fourth album. I think it is fair to say they were pretty unheard of in the UK until their third disc Valonielu dropped via Svart… Continue Reading →

Deathgasm – Jason Lei Howden (Studiocanal)

A heavy metal horror film, should be right up our street. However past experiences of the limited sub-genre have proved this is not necessarily going to be the case. The problem being \\\metal/// per-se sets itself up for ridicule and… Continue Reading →

Ellipse – A Nos Traitres (Finisterian Dead End)

When I started writing about music all those years ago Metalcore was all de rigueur and discs came flying in from all angles. Although I was not a particular fan of the genre I certainly built up a tolerance for… Continue Reading →

Voivod – Post Society (Century Media)

It was early 2013 when we last got a Voivod album, the excellent Target Earth and the band have been busy tearing it up live since then. Luckily hunger has been abated catching them a few times. They hit the… Continue Reading →

Frozen Ocean – The Prowess Of Dormition (Apocalyptic Witchcraft)

No stranger to these pages Vaarwel has worked incredibly hard since the Russian first conceived Frozen Ocean back in 2005 and notched up a wealth of releases. You never know when to expect him or what he is going to… Continue Reading →

Five Dolls For An August Moon – Mario Bava (Arrow)

Another intriguing title full of mystery in itself, Five Dolls For An August Moon is not as well-known as a lot of other works from Mario Bava’s oeuvre. The 1970 feature never even got a look in on home video… Continue Reading →

Rotting Christ – Rituals (Season Of Mist)

Not far off their 30th year of creation, there are few bands of such stature who are in their prime so far down the line but that is exactly where Greek legends Rotting Christ are, both on album and live…. Continue Reading →

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