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Retrospective : Artillery – By Inheritance

by Nicholas Vahdias on February 9, 2019

Artillery are a Danish Speed metal band that have continued to sully their legacy with endless mediocrity that was so boring that even Metal Blade had to drop them in recent years. Despite all their recent shortcomings, Artillery were once an underground Speed metal that released two excellent albums before abandoning the underground in the pursuit of their magnum opus. Inspired in part by their journey to Tashkent in the former USSR which is now the capital of Uzbekistan, the band incorporated oriental sounds, a multitude of different riffs, haunting arpeggios and fist raising Heavy metal to create one of the finest releases in a genre which had already died at this stage.

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16 Comments

Tags: artillery, By Inheritance, flemming rasmussen, mercyful fate, metallica, Speed Metal, suffocation, Terror Squad

Scalpel – Methods To Delusion

by Ioannis Metaxas on February 6, 2019

Another rare breed of artists who use modern technique of slamming grind-death within old-school death metal structures. For all their shortcomings, this approach is aligned with their vision of telling a good horror/slasher story and the result does not disappoint.

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1 Comment

Tags: deeds of flesh, Methods to Delusion, scalpel

Kawir – Exilasmos (2017)

by Ioannis Metaxas on February 4, 2019

Exilasmos (meaning ‘propitiation’) is the 7th album by Hellenic black metal band Kawir. This album signifies a dynamic return for the group with a very energetic blend of classic heavy metal and black metal, revealing glimpses of their way forward among the overused tropes of both genres.

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5 Comments

Tags: exilasmos, Kawir

Malevolent Creation – The 13th Beast

by Nicholas Vahdias on February 2, 2019

Malevolent Creation return with an Immolation like attempt to gain new fans by playing simplified versions of their most famous works while simplifying their ideas as much as possible in order to attract as many newcomers as possible. Legendary vocalist Brett Hoffmann recently died after a long battle with colon cancer and though he had left more than 2 years ago, this is the band’s first record with new singer Lee Wollenschlaeger. Mediocrity is combined with constant blasting to make a purely forgettable record.

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5 Comments

Tags: 13th beast, Brett Hoffmann, Malevolent Creation, mediocrity

Hecate Enthroned – Embrace of the Godless Aeon

by Nicholas Vahdias on January 31, 2019

Hecate Enthroned are known for being second fiddle to Cradle of Filth within the UK black metal scene and have followed their footsteps into third rate Black metal generally in the ridiculously named «Symphonic Black metal» style which is a complete lack of riffcraft being overcompensated by simple keyboard melodies. For those who are unfamiliar with this band, their 1997 release The Slaughter of Innocence, a Requiem for the Mighty was decent if at times inconsistant Black metal and is their summit. Their latest release sees an uninspired band attempt to reconcile cookie-cutter Blackened Death metal with the newer post rock elements that have invaded Black metal to create one of the worst excuses of Black metal to have ever existed.

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2 Comments

Tags: Bal(sagoth, cradle of filth, deafheaven, Embrace the godless aeon, hecate enthroned, hipster, symphonic black metal, terrible, The Slaughter of Innocence, worst album

Communism, Terrorism Celebrated at Brooklyn Festival

by Robert de Sandford on January 30, 2019

A pro-communist festival took place in Brooklyn this past weekend as part of what appears to be a radical effort to indoctrinate heavy metal fans into an extremist political agenda.
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22 Comments

Tags: black flag over brooklyn, communism, Kim Kelly, terroism

Riff Analysis: Master – “What Kind of God”

by Nicholas Vahdias on January 26, 2019

Master on their seminal record On the Seventh Day God Created… Master operated on the principle of taking one idea and pounding it into the listener’s brain as much as possible without droning on and maintaining some form of forward movement. Paul Speckmann’s riffs are simple and straightforward but there was always something there that pushed them above the hordes of bands making minimalistic Hardcore influenced Death metal. The first actual riff of the first song “What Kind of God” is a perfect example of what made Master deceptively unique at the riff level.

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3 Comments

Tags: analysis, classic, death metal, master, on the seventh day god created master, paul speckmann, what kind of god

Vocal Analysis: David Vincent VS Steve Tucker

by Guest Contributor on January 23, 2019

article by Svennerick

An often underrated trademark of Death Metal music is the use of vocals as an instrument for their often inhumane force and sound which enhances the message behind the dark lyrics and the right way to provide them. Outsiders often consider them to be indistinguishable, although everyone who has spent some time exploring the genre will realize that many vocalists have certain characteristics or techniques.

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11 Comments

Tags: Altars of Madness, blessed are the sick, Covenant, david vincent, Formulas fatal to the flesh, gateways to annihilation, Genitorturers, heretic, Illud, morbid angel, Steve Tucker

A Guide To Electronic Music

by Tyrell Dahlstrom on January 22, 2019

One genre which often attracts the admiration of Metal musicians is Electronica. When musicians from Germany, France and elsewhere began experimenting in the third quarter of the 20th century with various newfound technologies in order to create monumental landscapes of synthetic psychedelia with cosmic scope, the uncanny wave of influence unexpectedly resulted in the arising of everything from the modern club scene to many of your favourite Black Metal bands.

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39 Comments

Tags: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Ambient, ash ra tempel, ashra, brian eno, canada, cinema, classical music, conrad schnitzler, Cosmic, drugs, edgar froese, electronic, electronic music, electronica, film, film score, france, futuristic, germany, greece, jean-michel jarre, keyboards, Klaus Schulze, kraftwerk, krautrock, manuel gottsching, michael hoeing, michael stearns, progressive rock, Romanticism, science fiction, sinoia caves, Soundtracks, space, steve roach, surrealism, synth, synthesizers, synthpop, tangerine dream, terry riley, UK, USA

Cult of the Horns – Chapter I – Domination

by Nicholas Vahdias on January 21, 2019

Cult of the Horns are a French one man band from Bordeaux with one full length released to this day. The band’s aesthetic is that of the typical NWN “goat-something” band but beyond the corpse paint and cheesy titles lies an honest combination of Death and Black metal which unique band member Mephisto makes an honest attempting at fusing both genres and though this record fails at times, there are a lot of interesting particularities, making this an above average listen.

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1 Comment

Tags: Belphegor, Black Metal, Chapter I - Domination, Cult of the Horns, death metal, Death/Black, Deicide, morbid angel, Norwegian Black Metal

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