Immolation’s been kicking the death metal coffin for longer than most of you—they formed in 1988—have been alive. Go back a few more years when the Yonkers troupe were Rigor Mortis (not to be confused with the Texas-based Hall of Famers Rigor Mortis) and before that Defcon, well, it’s fair to say the surviving members…

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…

It’s funny, the press releases that accompany doom records are unlike any of your typical puff-sheets, the purpose of which, of course, is to sell you on the record. No, the doom press release always comes with the caveats abound, stressing the oppressive track lengths, moribund subject matter, and advising helpfully that “it’s not for…

5. Loudblast – Sublime Dementia 1993 (Semetary) Appearing with three tracks on Century Media’s cool In The Eyes of Death compilation in 1991, Loudblast were virtually unknown outside the four corners of France even though they’d released two full-lengths and a string of demos prior to Sublime Dementia. Loudblast twisted Schuldiner’s brutal/melodic idiosyncrasies (from Human)…

Welcome to Tales From the Metalnomicon, a twice-monthly column delving into the surprisingly vast world of heavy metal-tinged/inspired literature and metalhead authors… Though perhaps currently better known as one of the most innovative and imaginative artists currently plying his trade in the world of heavy metal design, Joshua Andrew Belanger also happens to be an…

Attn: London’s Live Evil Festival 2013 has just announced a bunch of bands, and as you’d probably expect from the underground’s most, uhh, kvltly curated festival, with 100% of the line-up endorsed by Fenriz’s Band of the Week blog, they are all 100% poseur-free and awesome. Legendary Chilean death-thrashers Pentagram will be joined by: Arkham…

To paraphrase my favorite comic, Mitch Hedberg (R.I.P.), Semantik Punk is a Polish experimental punk outfit that people will either love or hate, or think they’re okay.  They’re hardcore enough to sound like a badly scratched Converge or Dillinger Escape Plan CD that won’t stop skipping to random spots on the disc; they’re rock enough…

If you’re a fan of Lightning Bolt’s immensely quirky, insanely loud, outsider extreme music, then the name Brian Chippendale is probably very familiar to you. He’s the dervish behind the drums, often seen wearing a sock on his head with a microphone sewn into it as he seemingly grows three extra arms so as to…

BATILLUS kicked off a month of shows in support of its latest record, the awesome Concrete Sustain, at the end of February. The trek has seen them scoot across the Midwest, over to the left coast and, most recently, Pitchfork’s Show No Mercy SXSW showcase in Austin, TX (check out the band’s remaining dates below)….

The latest inclusion in the Shredder’s Studio was inevitable. Kurt Ballou is no stranger to the Dec-faithful; he played on Hall of Fame and top album of the 00s certified masterpiece Jane Doe; laid down riffs on last year’s best record and helped close out our 100th issue party. Mr. Ballou is writing the kinds…