Metalheads are suckers for nostalgia. The very root of its subculture is framed as defenders of a faith that upholds a purity of metal. This did not begin with neckbeards arguing in the comment sections or message boards about what metal is true or false, it came from the earliest days when bands were hosting “anti-disco” shows into the eighties when Thrash bands set themselves against the glam rockers of the Sunset strip that spilled over into parking lot fisticuffs. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Morbid Angel
ALBUM REVIEW: The Body and Dis Fig – Orchards Of A Futile Heaven
The Body, who are comprised of Rhode Island duo Lee Buford (drums/programming) and Chip King (guitars/vocals), are a Metal band, but not as we know it (to paraphrase Star Trek). Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Engulf – The Dying Planet Weeps
The Dying Planet Weeps (Everlasting Spew Records) – Engulf‘s first full-length – is the solo project of Hal Microutsicos (Blasphemous.) The opening track benefits from a dissonant throb, rather than following the course most death metal takes in pummeling you with a head-first assault.
Vltimas (ex-Morbid Angel, ex-Mayhem, Cryptopsy) Shares a New Single and Video for “Miserere” – New Album Incoming
Death Metal supergroup Vltimas is back with new music and a new album Epic, coming from Season of Mist in 2024. The band features ex-Morbid Angel frontman David Vincent, ex-Mayhem and Aura Noir guitarist Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen, and legendary Cryptopsy drummer Flo Mounier and they have shared a new single and video as the first taste from the new album. Watch the video for “Miserere,” stream and pre-order the album below. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: The Mosaic Window – Plight of Acceptance
Listening to The Mosaic Window’s Plight of Acceptance (Willowtip Records) I can’t help but think of a particular scene from The Crow. Yeah, the one film that depends on how you feel about Dark City may be Alex Proyas’ sole seminal work. Our antagonist Top Dollar laments that the thrill of Devil’s Night is gone and proclaims, “The problem is, it’s all been done before…” and why that’s the best reason to quit.
ALBUM REVIEW: Horrendous – Ontological Mysterium
2023 continues to prove itself as a year of strong death metal as Horrendous drops their fifth album Ontological Mysterium (Season of Mist) and the Philly headbangers might have the year’s best death metal album on their hands, perhaps a bold statement given the fine releases the year has seen from the likes of Obituary, Frozen Soul, Creeping Death, Cattle Decapitation and Outer Heaven.
ALBUM REVIEW: Incantation – Unholy Deification
Incantation is one of the most influential death metal bands of all time. This legacy rests on the shoulders of guitarist John McEntee, who is the sole original member. To his credit, McEntee has been playing with the rest of the band long enough to build the kind of chemistry to make this feel like Incantation even in the absence of Craig Pillard, who went on to form Disma.
ALBUM REVIEW: Fleshvessel – Yearning: Promethean Fates Sealed
Anyone can make a concept album (which is not to say that it’s easy, but that it doesn’t depend on a particular musical style). That said, when it comes to the rock-opera-style concept album, the tendencies towards elaborate instrumental explorations and grand, dramatic spectacle often found in progressive rock and metal, provide particularly fertile ground. Pink Floyd, Queensryche, The Who, and many others have followed this path (coloured by their own particular musical approaches).
EP REVIEW: Beltfed Weapon – Darkened Demise
Beltfed Weapon has often felt like a fun but sort of long-running vanity (but nonetheless valid) project for Seattle’s talented Frank Hetzel, many years between quite short releases featuring a who’s who of underground metal players guesting in support of a slightly odd discography. It is strange to me that there aren’t a series of full-lengths after so much time spent between releases, but every shorter thing Frank has released still has moments to enjoy for the casual thrash, death, and (at times) power metal fan.
ALBUM REVIEW: VoidCeremony – Threads of Unknowing
If you like your death metal brutal, progressive, and quite possibly from another dimension then look no further than genre-bending quartet VoidCeremony. Formed in 2013, the Californian act’s second full-length studio album Threads of Unknowing (20 Buck Spin) delivers more of what was promised on their 2020 debut but with even more intensity and technical virtuosity.