One of Canada’s pioneer acts of the fusion of 80s screaming Hard Rock and 90s blazing Heavy Metal, inks a record deal with the growing label, RFL Records & Entertainment. The band comments: “We are excited about being a part of the RFL family and are looking forward to delivering…
Jazz Sabbath – Jazz Sabbath
Reviewed: [April 2020] Released [2020 Blacklake] Rating [3.5/5] Reviewer: Peter Atkinson For such an elaborate gag, how the folks behind Jazz Sabbath missed the obvious opportunity to issue this album on April Fool’s Day boggles the mind. Yes, I know April 1 is a Wednesday, and album release day is…
Tulus – Old Old Death
April 2020 March 6th, 2020 / Soulseller Records Rating: 4.0 / 5.0 Reviewer: John Haseltine Norwegian black metal with a twist! Tulus is one of those highly praised and respected bands of the Norwegian underground scene. The group initially formed in 1993, releasing three demos before unleashing a string of…
Groghan, Brad-Soundtrack Of Our Youth (Book Review)
Review Date: April 2020 Released: 2018/print on demand Label: Independent Rating: 4/5 Review: JP While we are all fans of music to one degree or another there are those individuals who truly super-fans. These people want to contribute something back and share their love of a certain band or genre.…
Dimmu Borgir-The Invaluable Darkness (DVD Review)
Reviewed: April 2020 Released: 2008, Nuclear Blast Rating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: JP I reviewed Dimmu Borgir’s first DVD WORLD MISANTHROPY back in 2016 and in hindsight I might have been a little too critical about it. It was a superb package, the three disc, upside-down cross digipak looks amazing! The packaging…
TerrifianT – Terrifiant
April 2020 February 21st, 20202 / Gates Of Hell Records Rating: 4.0 / 5.0 Reviewer: John Haseltine After meeting up in a festival parking lot, ZZ Slop and Lord TerrifianT concluded that they needed to band together to form a group of heavy metal deviants to show a nod to…
Beneath The Massacre – Fearmonger
Reviewed: [April 2020] Released [2020 Century Media Records] Rating [4/5] Reviewer: Peter Atkinson After nearly eight years of relative silence, Canada’s Beneath The Massacre have returned with a fucking vengeance. Fearmonger, the band’s fourth full-length, is an absolutely ridiculous collection of blast beat-powered, jaw-dropping tech death topped by Elliot Desgagnés’…
Testament – Titans of Creation
Reviewed: April 2020 Released: 2020, Nuclear Blast Rating: 5/5 Reviewer: Jack Merry Bay Area thrash metal stalwarts Testament unleash their 13th full length studio album “Titans of Creation,” the follow-up to 2016’s excellent “Brotherhood of the Snake.” There’s a hunger, excitement and energy present across “Titans of Creation” that proves beyond…
Lord Vigo – Danse De Noir
April 2020 April 10th, 2020 / High Roller Records Rating: 5.0 / 5.0 Reviewer: John Haseltine When it comes to my expertise in the doom-metal genre, I will be the first to admit; the ‘expert’ part should be stricken from the record. I suppose that could translate into others as…
Perdition Temple – Sacraments of Descension
Perdition Temple – Sacraments of Descension Reviewed: April 2020 Released: 2020, Hells Headbangers Records Rating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz SACREMENTS OF DESCENSION reminds me of how I felt listening to those first couple of Morbid Angel records for the first time. Absolutely batshit crazy riffs, guitar solos so frenzied and…
Wombbath – Choirs Of The Fallen
April 2020 March 6th, 2020 / Soulseller Records Rating: 4.0 / 5.0 Reviewer: John Haseltine Wombbath has been belting out relentless death metal for what seems like decades now. Well, they did initially band together in 1990. That is what we can call phase one as the band was only…
Unmerciful – Wrath Encompassed
Reviewed: [April 2020] Released [2020 Willowtip Records] Rating [3.5/5] Reviewer: Peter Atkinson Sometimes you can judge a book, or in this case an album, by its cover. Wrath Encompassed, the third full-length from Topeka, Kansas-based brutes Unmerciful delivers everything its name, title and the demonic presence on its ominous cover…
Dopelord – Sign of the Devil
Dopelord – Sign of the Devil Reviewed: April 2020 Released: 2020, Green Plague Records Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz There’s something about the manic depressive nature of SIGN OF THE DEVIL that manages to compliment my own wild mood swings during these times of RONAMADNESS. As I’m walking my dog…
Abhomine – Proselyte Parasite Plague
Abhomine – Proselyte Parasite Plague Reviewed: April 2020 Released: 2020, Osmose Productions Rating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz Most anything involving Pete Helmkamp is blackened death metal gold (sulfur?), and his sophomore release up under the Abhomine moniker is no exception. While the LARVAE OFFAL SWINE debut was essentially a solo…
Torpedo – Mechanic Tyrants
April 2020 February 21st, 2020 / Gates Of Hell Records Rating: 4.0 / 5.0 Reviewer: John Haseltine In 2018, the German band Torpedo formed out of the ashes of an old-school metal covers band. Using the name Torpedo from a group Alex Starbreaker had established years prior, the collective here…