Tag Holland
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 →
The Monolith Deathcult’s new album Tetragrammaton redefines ‘over-the-top’ combing colossal death metal song-writing with more samples than Fear Factory and Ministry’s coke-addled lovechild. With love of keyboards, The Transformers and a manifest mission to delight and divide it is not… Continue Reading →
Imagine that you are standing in total blackness. There are no people. It’s as if you are standing in a large, cylindrical hall of emptiness where the echoing sounds around you are endless. Haunting shapes whistle by quietly and ominously…. Continue Reading →
These Dutch deathsters have been going for some seven years now, give or take the odd hiatus. Featuring ex-Pestilence drummer Yuma van Eekelen and guest appearances from an ex-Cynic member, along with Prostitute Disfigurement’s Niels Adams, all signs are good…. Continue Reading →
To be philosophical for a moment (hard with that album title hanging above): The notion of ‘black n roll’ is either just the logical extension of heavy metal’s occult obsession within the rock framework, or actually pretty much the antithesis… Continue Reading →
Formed in 2009 to pay homage to the glory days of death metal, and even gigging as a virtual covers band, it seems that Icons Of Brutality’s aspirations were quite modest. Following a couple of line-up changes though, the Dutchmen… Continue Reading →
One look at that cover-art and you know there can only be one person responsible, Necrolord aka Kristian Wahlin. It has that classic cold blue look to it that reminds instantly of Dissection, Bathory, Emperor, Necrophobic and a host of… Continue Reading →
I rather fell head over heels with Stream Of Passion on very first hearing of their debut 2005 album Embrace The Storm. At the time the band were being championed by Arjen Lucassen who was also playing guitar with them… Continue Reading →
One of the primary conundrums affecting this Dutch death metal troupe as they approached their sophomore album must have been how to top their debut’s cover art. Sporting, as it did, a shot of a lady’s peach, there’s not really… Continue Reading →
Having just released his blistering debut album, Entrapment’s Michel Jonker kindly offered to talk to Ave Noctum about his band, its influences and the death metal genre in general. Based on the crazed lunatic evident on his album, ‘The Obscurity… Continue Reading →
Entrapment is a one-man death metal project led by Michel Jonkers from Groningen in the Netherlands. ‘The Obscurity Within…’ is the debut album from this entity of his, and judging by the logo and fantastically painted artwork, everything here screams… Continue Reading →
It’s rare to find a truly immersive experience in music that strikes a balance between credible musical longevity and pure entertainment. Too proggy and I struggle to make it though the indulgent twiddly bits without my hand straying towards the… Continue Reading →