** When I cornered Lantlôs braintrust Markus Siegenhort (aka Herbst), I didn’t expect him to be so un-German. Whatever that means. Like the meaning behind the word “lantlôs” Siegenhort is more like a global guy, his music unmoored from the traps of what has been and will continue to be German black metal. Not that…

Natten Med De Levande Finntroll, Finntroll’s new album, translates to “Night With The Living Finntroll”. It spans a massive 19 tracks across the group’s discography. Captured in 2008 at Amsterdam’s Melkweg Concert Hall, the Natten Med De Levande Finntroll show went down as one of the group’s best. It’s fitting then that Finntroll’s original three–Trollhorn,…

Because every day another band records another song.  Because 83% of those songs are unlistenable and you can’t be bothered to sift through the dreck.  Because metal is about not giving a shit and waking your own personal storm.  Because music is universal, expression is boundless, and even indie labels (whatever that means these days)…

So, this band from Vancouver called Expain (formerly known as The Almighty Excruciating Pain), who are as indebted to thrash as they are to quick-change jazz, Weired Al Yankovic’s discography and dusty recordings of the old Doctor Demento radio show, has a new album coming out. It’s self-released (well, sort of, as it was aided…

The Atlas Moth‘s new record is one of my favorites so far this year. But, as you’ve probably heard by now, the artwork and packaging–two things that some bands still care about–is something to admire in and of itself. So vocalist/guitarist Stavros Giannopoulos was kind enough to tell us about some other albums whose covers…

The summer doldrums are setting in. Fear not: the longest day of the year is coming soon (June 21) and we can quickly begin the reset to short days and plenty of darkness. And, we have a fuzzy, riff packed full album stream for your listening below. Wo Fat’s The Conjuring will be released on…

Review enough metal albums, and the process can be pretty simple, especially when it comes to those bands that stick to the specific characteristics of one particular subgenre. Each style has its own specific requirements and criteria, and as a critic, you’re basically asking yourself a) if it captures the essence of what this subgenre…

Jonesing for some blackout-dark, dynamic-as-fuck, gloriously oppressive, progressive-yet-unabashedly-brutal hardcore reminiscent of Blacklisted and early American Nightmare? What a coincidence! We’ve got an exclusive track off the straight-up awesome upcoming full-length debut from soon-to-be scene levelers My Fictions streaming below. “Stranger Songs is an LP we’ve been working on for over two years,” guitarist/vocalist Ryan Boone…

I blame every sobering statistic regarding global literacy on the fact that until now the world didn’t have Heavy Metal Movies, the twisted tome cataloging Mike “McBeardo” McPadden’s infatuation with extremely extreme music and film. With 666+ reviews of headbang-friendly films, McBeardo is your personal Virgil leading you into the underworld of metallic cinema treasures….

Sometimes, it’s not enough to have your recommended daily dose of righteous anger delivered by just one band. Sometimes, you need to split the rage. Xibalba and Suburban Scum are happy (angry?) to oblige. On their side of things, Xibalba bring the sludge. On the flipside, Suburban Scum deliver some thrashing hardcore. We have both…