You will be able to read our inside take on how Venom Inc. came together in the forthcoming May issue. In the meantime, we thought it was a perfect occasion to rank the songs on one of the most revered metal albums ever: Black Metal. 

Värähtelijä
Trance With the Devil
dB Rating: 9/10

Every so often, we take a little time on Mondays to pay tribute to the Muthas! That is, reprinting the adorable metal/maternal Q&As that run in the magazine. Today, enjoy Justin Norton’s chat with Janet McGachy, mother of Matt McGachy (Cryptopsy).

Illness mainman Gulnar, of Poland, has advanced his dark agenda several more steps with AHP, and we got caught in the line of fire.  Classically deranged raw black metal speed meets eerie ambient speculation for one hell (you can say that again) of a journey.

Formulated to serve as a brutal antithesis to what the band views as the pervasive conformity and repressive theology of its Mormon-majority home state, the upcoming debut full-length from Salt Lake City atheistic agitators Making Fuck A Harrowing End brings on the dark via an unusually expansive, roiling maelstrom of doom and sludge metal accented and emboldened by guest spots courtesy SubRosa violinist Kim Pack. 

Absolutely atrocious, abnormally fabulous death metal

It’s a beautiful thing when a curse is finally broken. Um, most of the time.

Up the (digital) decibels for free!

With three rock-solid releases preceding it (one of which is an undeniable first-ballot classic) and two, shall we say, polarizing releases following it, Arise is the sound of Sepultura finding their sweet spot. Ranking the songs from “worst to best” is borderline insane as they all completely rip, but we did it anyway.

Mastodon/Baroness-esque prog-metallers Moon Tooth just dropped dizzying full-length Chromaparagon, and axeman extraordinaire Nick Lee (also of ’80s metallers Riot) breaks down 10 riffs that tempt him to do just what the headline promises. Take it away, Nick!