ALBUM REVIEW: Bleed From Within – Shrine


 

I think I’ve made my point regarding redundant subgenres within metal quite obvious in past reviews. If you haven’t read those, then what are you waiting for? Go arm yourselves with knowledge. I only bring this up because after a few listens of Bleed From Within’s Shrine (Nuclear Blast) I have no idea exactly where to file them in the grand metal rolodex. And that is actually a good thing. Continue reading


IN MEMORIAM: Remembering Trevor Strnad of The Black Dahlia Murder (1981-2022)


I’m not going to start this write-up and pretend like I have a solution for grief or that I’ve made peace with the fact that Trevor Strnad of The Black Dahlia Murder is no longer with us. As of this writing, it’s been nearly a week since his passing and frankly, I’m still trying to process that. Telling myself that it can’t be true since I’ve seen Strnad and his bandmates have seemingly all the fun onstage at least seven times.

In time I’ll accept what has occurred. But let’s take a look back.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Suicide Silence – Become the Hunter


Ah, the long-vaunted return to Deathcore form for Suicide Silence. Or is it? I’m sure the cynics and naysayers have already written off Become the Hunter (Nuclear Blast) as a simple effort to save face after the experimental and pseudo-Nu-metal stylings of 2017’s Suicide Silence. But let’s really get down to brass tacks here: Suicide Silence isn’t the first or last band to hit the soft reboot button on their careers. Continue reading


The Howling Void – The Darkness At The Edge Of Dawn


On his sixth full-length, The Darkness at the Edge of Dawn (Avantgarde), The Howling Void has crafted an album that makes the most effective use of its runtime and rarely featuring a note out of place. I think we can chalk that up to Howling Void being the singular doom vision of Ryan Wilson, hence the number of LPs within just a decade of existence.Continue reading


SECT – No Cure For Death


Informing me that a band features the talents of Fall Out Boy drummer Andy Hurley probably isn’t the best way to sell me on their album, but I’m glad I swallowed my ignorance. I mean, you should’ve told me that Hurley is super talented and that he’s flanked by members of Cursed, Catharsis and Earth Crisis in SECT. Combine those mega-powers with uber-producer Kurt Ballou and the fabled GodCity Studios and you’ve got a hell of a blast of Entombed-core in No Cure for Death (Southern Lord).

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Calligram – Askesis


I’m not one for subgenres. I mean, I understand why they exist and how they appear to explain why Exodus sounds differently from Sleep all while still operating under the Heavy Metal umbrella, but I think we’re too preoccupied with the minutiae of the subgenres; we’re too busy defending the merits of our style against the perceived weaknesses of the others. That’s why it very refreshing to attempt to make sense of the sounds on Calligram’s Askesis (Basick). Continue reading


Cloak – To Venomous Depths


Cloak is a good band. How’s that for the most obvious statement ever? Cloak is a very good band, especially considering that they’ve only been a unit since 2013. I know bands in the New England area that have been active for over 10 years and haven’t whiffed at a recording contract, let alone an international one. That’s why I have a bone to pick, albeit minor, with Cloak’s debut LP To Venomous Depths (Season of Mist). Continue reading


All Pigs Must Die – Hostage Animal


You must respect any band that lives up to their moniker. Imagine being an impressionable metallic youth raiding the local record store and picking up albums from acts known as Poison and Slaughter. Seems metal enough, but then you get home only to realize the swindle and that those tapes were as hard as the Pillsbury Doughboy. When you listen to Hostage Animal (Southern Lord) by All Pigs Must Die, you don’t have that problem. Continue reading