Jeff Treppel

STREAMING: Phuture Doom’s “Phuture Doom”

November 5, 2013

It was basically inevitable, wasn’t it? With the accelerated crossbreeding of black metal with every possible genre and subgenre (blackgrass metal!), it was only a matter of time before someone figured out that blast beats and hardstyle beats weren’t really that far off from each other. Obviously there have been a lot of black metal/industrial…

STREAMING: Germ’s “Grief”

October 29, 2013

The solo project of the incredibly prolific Tim Yatras (Austere, Grey Waters, ex-Nazxul, ex-Woods of Desolation, etc), Germ is, in a lot of ways, a band in disguise – which is appropriate, considering it’s almost Halloween. Instead of being a sexy pirate or sexy pizza, though, this is a killer post-punk/new wave band dressed as…

TRACK PREMIERE: Czar’s “Lurvy”

October 22, 2013

That stark, black and white photo of a line of men dangling from nooses on the cover of No One Is Alone If No One Is Alive doesn’t exactly paint Czar as a cheery band. They aren’t, really – but they also don’t sound as lifeless as one might expect.  they basically play noise rock, but…

VIDEO PREMIERE: Seeker’s “When Hope Fails”

October 18, 2013

Okay kids, I’ve seen a LOT of horror movies. It’s hard to freak me out. But this video FREAKS ME THE HELL OUT. That’s a real woman and that’s real steel through her flesh and that’s her real skin stretching like that and urgh. It’s way too early in the morning for Hellraiser shit. That…

VIDEO PREMIERE: Meek Is Murder’s “In the Ground”

October 8, 2013

Leah Sottile already made the obvious Smiths joke in her post on these guys back in 2011, which totally ruins my planned lazy intro. So fine. Meek Is Murder are super into Botch and other music that makes your ears hurt, which is always a good thing. Of course, that’s only appropriate, considering that, in…

For Those About to Squeak: October 2013

October 1, 2013

I have a pet hamster. His name is Ozzy. He is adorable but terrified of everything. However, over the course of his cohabitation with me, he’s become acclimated to the sounds of heavy metal, probably due to the fact that I play it for 16 hours a day. I’ve discovered that he actually has quite…

Seeking Wisdom from Seeker

September 24, 2013

Seeker are heavy, technical, and here to eat all your stuff. Lock up your women, children, and refrigerators, and when you’ve done that, kneel at the feet of vocalist Bryce Lucien and prepare to receive some serious wisdom.   Here we are, on tour as we have been for the better part of the last…

TRACK PREMIERE: Domovoyd’s “Lamia”

September 17, 2013

I have no idea what a “Domovoyd” is (presumably something in Finnish or maybe a type of mushroom), but a lamia is a creepy snake person thing, and there are some definite serpentine tendencies to their music. It coils around your cerebral cortex, then sinks its fangs right into the pleasure center and injects 200…

VIDEO: Carvin’s Shreds of Insanity

September 12, 2013

I assume there are some fans of guitar shred reading this, because this is a metal website on the Internet. Well, today’s your lucky day! Century Media gathered four pretty killer shredders with long, flowing locks at the Carvin store in Hollywood on August 26 to allow them to show off their skills, jam together,…

TRACK PREMIERE: Bloody Hammers’ “At the Well of Nazareth”

September 5, 2013

Bloody Hammers obviously have an awesome name, but that Master of Reality-style logo they have (along with the pentagram and naked chick on the cover) may make you think that they’re yet another of the 70s throwback bands that Rise Above keep putting out. Nope! These guys definitely have some pretty black Sabbath running through…

EXCLUSIVE: Archive interview with Jeff Hanneman

August 27, 2013

Sometimes a little cleaning can unearth big finds. During my latest attempt at restoring some order to the house of CDs I live in, I came across a stack of old CDR’s that contained the archives of my old radio show, Hellraiser’s Ball, at USC’s student run radio station, KSCR (1560 AM!). One of those…

Wake up and Smell the Falseness: An Interview with Wake

August 20, 2013

Wake are from Canada. They play grindcore. They seem generally unhappy about things. Here’s a description of the film that Handshake Inc. owner David Hall is making based on the album that sums up the general vibe better than I ever could (a NSFW segment of which can be found below). “False” is a film…

STREAMING: No Sir’s “The Future Is Bright”

August 13, 2013

Hey, a hardcore band with an ironic album title. A quick click on the “play” button below will tell you exactly what No Sir think about you manage the’s future prospects. And if that’s too subtle for you, they list Albert Camus and David Lynch among their lyrical influences. Sonically, these West Coast punks sound…

Secret of the Ooze: An Interview with Oozing Wound’s Zack Weil

August 6, 2013

Thrill Jockey are known mostly for their weird post-rock and experimental psych acts like Trans Am, Barn Owl, Eternal Tapestry, and Tortoise. And that stuff is great, and we cover it, but it’s always a slightly uncomfortable match with the magazine. Recently, though, they’ve expanded into full-blown metal madness with Liturgy, the Body, and now…

STREAMING: Hyrrokkin’s “Anacoluthon”

July 30, 2013

Kind of funny that the captcha when I downloaded Hyrrokkin’s Pristine Origin was “guitar player.” This power trio definitely has one of those, and he makes all sorts of crazy noises with his instrument. As does everyone else. A saxophone even shows up at one point. A little bit of Dysrhythmia, a little bit of…

STREAMING: Infanticide’s “Misconception of Hope”

July 23, 2013

Very rarely do I get to make dead baby jokes and have them be actually relevant to the subject at hand, so there’s no way I’m going to pass up the opportunity. Prepare to be offended! How do you know when a baby is a dead baby? The dog plays with it more. What do…

TRACK PREMIERE: Phantom Glue’s “Biocult”

July 16, 2013

I’m not 100% sure how Phantom Glue would even really work as an adhesive. I guess sometimes you just need to keep some damn ghosts in place. Apparently it requires some really heavy duty stuff, but even if they can’t hold the wraiths in place, this goop should be able to slow them down pretty…

STREAMING: Beyond’s “Fatal Power of Death”

July 9, 2013

Those who have been following my writings in the pages of the magazine , on here, or on Twitter (@JeffTreppel) will probably have figured out that I’m not the biggest death metal guy. So, for a death metal band to catch my attention, they really have to be something special. Beyond (Germany) fit that criteria….

Road Rituals: Blood Ceremony Tour Diary, Part 4

July 3, 2013

Window display at Sonic Boom in Toronto: trying to pelt the glare into submission with invisible oranges. ***As chronicled by Alia O’Brien, singer/flutist/organist for Canada’s finest occult rockers, from their recently completed tour with Kylesa, White Hills, and Lazer/Wulf. Order their phenomenal new LP, The Eldritch Dark, here As we drove away from Calgary, missing…

STREAMING: Pyres’ “Year of Sleep”

July 2, 2013

Yesterday was Canada Day! In order to celebrate that entirely meaningless (to us US-based folk) event, we are pleased to bring you an exclusive full album stream of Toronto-based swamp metal soldiers Pyres’ debut Year of Sleep, courtesy of Granite House Records. Proof positive that you don’t have to be from warm climes to ooze…

Road Rituals: Blood Ceremony Tour Diary, Part 3

June 11, 2013

Ramblin’ gamblin’ men. ***As chronicled by Alia O’Brien, singer/flutist/organist for Canada’s finest occult rockers, from their current tour with Kylesa, White Hills, and Lazer/Wulf. Remaining tour dates listed below; preorder their phenomenal new LP, The Eldritch Dark, here Although our highway blowout incident threatened the Albuquerque show, we made the gig and then set course…

STREAMING: Scale the Summit’s “The Migration”

June 10, 2013

Scale the Summit are pretty much the epitome of the hoary old cliché “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” After all, who would’ve thought that playing instrumental prog rock in the 21st century would be a remotely sane move, much less a valid career path? it seems to be working pretty well for them  – although it…

STREAMING: Wrekmeister Harmonies’ “You’ve Always Meant so Much to Me”

June 3, 2013

Do not adjust your volume. Despite a roster of luminaries from the Chicago metal and avant-garde scene, including Jef Whitehead (Leviathan), Sanford Parker (Minsk, Twilight), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), Drew Markuszewski (ex-Nachtmystium, Avichi), and jazz cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, this project from visual artist JR Robinson starts off squarely on the noise/drone end of the extreme spectrum….

Road Rituals: Blood Ceremony Tour Diary, Part 2

May 29, 2013

Pre-show vampification ***As chronicled by Alia O’Brien, singer/flutist/organist for Canada’s finest occult rockers, from their current tour with Kylesa, White Hills, and Lazer/Wulf. Remaining tour dates listed below; preorder their phenomenal new LP, The Eldritch Dark, here Many people that we met in New Orleans insisted that the city is alive, and a short stay…

Studio Report: The Body

May 28, 2013

The Body’s Lee Buford is a man of few words, but he makes up for it with his band’s sheer amount of recorded output. They’ve hunkered down in Machines with Magnets in Providence, Rhode Island, and they are using their time in the studio to its fullest. “We’re recording three records right now at the…

Road Rituals: Blood Ceremony Tour Diary, Part 1

May 21, 2013

***As chronicled by Alia O’Brien, singer/flutist/organist for Canada’s finest occult rockers, from their current tour with Kylesa, White Hills, and Lazer/Wulf. Remaining tour dates listed below; preorder their phenomenal new LP, The Eldritch Dark, here Two days and ten degrees (Celsius!) stood between our homes in Toronto, Canada and our first date supporting Kylesa on…

Caught in a Moshpit Tragedy

May 14, 2013

You like free stuff? Of course you like free stuff. Free stuff is pretty punk rock (not that I would know; I look like I should be listening to Coldplay or The National). Moshpit Tragedy have a whole slew of awesome crust, punk, hardcore, and grind, all available for “name your price” on Bandcamp or…

TRACK PREMIERE: Set and Setting’s “Spiraling Uncertainties”

May 7, 2013

It’s been shitty and raining in Los Angeles the past few days. Obviously you don’t care, since we have beautiful weather 99% of the time, but these are perfect conditions for Set and Setting. Not because Set and Setting are shitty; they aren’t. If you’re going to listen to heavy post-rock like this, it’s best…

Life to False Metal 2: Live Falser

April 30, 2013

It’s been a few months, I’ve posted about appropriately metal things – I’ve earned myself a break from the death metal mines. Luckily for you, the three people that don’t close the page when they see my byline, some of the stuff I listen to when I’m giving my ears a break is just close…

Aesthetic Mess: Crappy Legacy Metal Act Cover Art in the 21st Century

April 23, 2013

Guys in metal bands grow old. We know that. It’s natural and can’t be helped. Sometimes they continue to put out good music, sometimes they lose the fire that drove them back in the day. That’s fine. We aren’t here to talk about the music. We are here to take a look at some of…