ALBUM REVIEW: Exhumed – To The Dead – Relapse Records


Besides writing reviews and attending shows, I have both full time and part time jobs, a family and too many cats. It’s safe to say that I like to stay busy but I have nothing on Exhumed founder and frontman, Matt Harvey. In this year alone he toured with both Gruesome and Death tribute band Left To Die (performing Leprosy in its entirety!) If that’s not enough, he somehow conjured up more hours in a day to write and record Exhumed’s latest batch of gore soaked madness, To The Dead (Relapse Records).

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ALBUM REVIEW: Kill Division – Peace Through Tyranny


I’ve been a huge Transformers fan since the original 1980s cartoon and toy line (yes, I’m old). So when I was sent Kill Division’s debut album, Peace Through Tyranny (Redefining Darkness Records), Megatron’s quote line from the original action figure, I was instantly intrigued. Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Pounder – Breaking The World


When listening to Pounder’s second album, Breaking The World, one immediately notices an improvement in lead singer/guitarist Matt Harvey’s (Exhumed/Gruesome) vocal performance. His voice still has the husky, untrained timbre that was an unfortunate liability on 2019’s Uncivilized, but also has more conviction and grit behind it this time around. It may still be a dealbreaker for some listeners, but at least they didn’t attempt to put a power ballad on here…

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Gruesome Drummer Gus Rios Hospitalized with Coronavirus


 

As first reported by Sick Drummer on social media, Gruesome drummer Gus Rios has been admitted to a Florida hospital after testing positive for coronavirus. Gus updated fans over social media and seems upbeat and positive he will beat this virus that as of today has killed 220,000+ Americans. We are big fans of Gus, the masterful Death metal drummer of many past bands, producer, and writer, who has two releases this year. He played on the Exhumed/Gruesome split and also wrote, produced, and performed on the excellent, but underrated Liquid Death album, Greatest Hates earlier in the year! Get well soon Gus!

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NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: June 5th New Music Releases


Purchase And Stream All The New Music Released Today!

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FESTIVAL REVIEW: Decibel’s Metal & Beer Fest 2019


Decibel Magazine’s Decibel Metal & Beer Fest was, to put it simply, stacked. Fourteen bands across all variants of Death, Grindcore, Prog, and Doom, descended onto Orange County for a weekend of heart-pounding jubilation. The two-day event was held this year at The Observatory, a large yet paradoxically intimate standing-room-only venue, intelligently designed to put the audience at three different heights across the entire space, offering uninhibited views of the stage beyond the perils of the pit.Continue reading


FESTIVAL PREVIEW: Decibel Metal and Beer Fest Los Angeles II


Events Center, Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV 8/17/19

Tonight is the night! Decibel Metal and Beer Festival Los Angeles’s second edition starts tonight! Ghost Cult’s crew will be on hand as the best metal bands in the world match with the greatest Beers in the USA thanks to the greatest metal magazine ever, our pals at Decibel Magazine! Among the weekend’s top bands will be Possessed, Carcass, Vio-Lence, Nails, Gruesome, Schammasch who are making their US debut, Intronaut Spirit Adrift, Visigoth, Evoken Gatecreeper and more! Taking place this weekend, Friday and Saturday, December 13-14, 2019. Weekend passes are sold out but you can still get single-day tickets for the fest at The Observatory in Santa Ana, California. Here is the lineup! Continue reading


Extremity – Coffin Birth


Can someone precisely point out to me when the decision was made to return to the vintage death metal sound? First off, I am by no means complaining. If this wave of neo-Morrisound bands keeps pounding out albums like Extremity’s Coffin Birth (20 Buck Spin) you can park a tractor-trailer worth of those motherfuckers on my driveway. In just the span of a few years, we’ve gotten remarkable work from bands like Tomb Mold, Mortuous, Gruesome, Necrot, Gatecreeper and Horrendous by playing death metal like its 1991.Continue reading


Mortuous – Through Wilderness


Remember when Roadrunner Records had the hardest hitting metal roster and a slew of death metal classics to back it up? Mortuous remembers. Mortuous remembers it so vividly that they’ve recorded their debut album Through Wilderness (Tankcrimes) and crammed it full of some of those seminal Death Metal sounds. Not unlike Gruesome, Mortuous pays homage and respects its elders, but it never comes across as re-warmed leftovers. Continue reading


Gruesome – Twisted Prayers


Born out of a ferocious love and respect for Death’s early and face-ripping work, Gruesome, the brainchild of Exhumed’s Matt Harvey and Death To All’s Gus Rios are ready to unleash a new full-length onto the world in Twisted Prayers (Relapse). Some may wonder how they’ve stretched out so much from Death’s songbook to cover two LP and a couple of EPs, and the answer is by writing ferocious and infectious Death Metal…

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