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Blackened satanic metallers Necrophobic have been hitting the headlines for some depressing reasons this year – and unfortunately all totally unrelated to their music. In March, founding band member David Parland died, apparently after committing suicide. Then last month the… Continue Reading →
I once saw a review for some terrible computer game in which the writer observed that “On the way home, I briefly considered driving my car off a cliff so I wouldn’t have to play it any more”. I only… Continue Reading →
How time flies when you’re contemplating the infinite nature of cosmic existence. It’s less than a year since I reviewed Monolithe’s last album for this very website and, in a sub-genre not generally known for rushing things, that level of… Continue Reading →
I’ve long regarded progressive metal as the frowning older brother of the power metal fan. The po-faced real ale drinker who has long since decided that the power metal formula has been well and truly flogged to death and should… Continue Reading →
Wilfully one dimensional is how I’d describe a lot of funeral doom. Yes, there is potential genius in tracks that have a tendency to repeat themselves over and over for 10 minutes at a time, but also potential for lack… Continue Reading →
For no-holds barred riffing, the go-to genre these days has got to be that metal hinterland sludge. From High on Fire to Mastodon and Baroness, and all those more progressive and regressive bands in between, the art of the melodic… Continue Reading →
There’s no denying a decent band when you hear it and Godslave are just that. Faultless in delivery, packed with energy and no doubt an entertaining proposition in a live environment. They also produce a faithful reflection of speed-thrash metal… Continue Reading →
Nhor has arrived just in time. Summer is on the wane and there are some long, dark nights ahead of us on this Sceptred Isle. There will be few better accompaniments to the bleak midwinter than this. Within The Darkness…… Continue Reading →
Fans of vast, sprawling post-doom gather yourselves. It’s time to contemplate the universe and your place in it. For me, it’s simple really. You, my friend, are merely a tiny speck of organic detritus on this blue orb which is… Continue Reading →
To a true black magician the line straddling the esoteric and ethereal is tenuous indeed. Equally blurred is the distinction between realms of imagination and fantasy. Tangential and limited by perception only is the border between the physical realm and… Continue Reading →
Station Dysthymia are a funeral doom band from Siberia, and ‘Overhead, Without Any Fuss, The Stars Were Going Out’ is their second full-length. I thought at first in my literary ignorance that the album title was the product of some… Continue Reading →
Every now and then a release arrives in my hands that is such a perfectly distilled slug of heavy metal it provokes a physical reaction. Heart beat quickening, sweaty palms, stupid grin on face… The overwhelming urge to get up,… Continue Reading →