This year could end up being remembered by many things, but if there’s any justice in the world, one of those things will be big, groovy, stanky riffs. From the cosmic dealings of Teeth and Blood Incantation to the earth-shattering antics of Fit For an Autopsy, 2019 was filled with…
The sultry flora of Brazilian rainforests may not immediately come to mind as a focal point for incensed black metal, but Caio Lemos’ one-man project Kaatayra is well on the way to changing that. This project is enraged, but doesn’t seek to watch the world burn. In fact, it’s basically…
Classical elements have always been inextricably linked with black metal. There’s the obvious example of symphonic black metal, but beyond that, the genre has shared classical music’s vision for massive sonic displays on the scale of an orchestral delivery. Ulver went so far as to drop black metal entirely and…
Over the past few years (and specifically in 2018), I’ve been taken aback by the critical affinity with metalcore. It’s not just because of the music itself, though I’ll admit that I’m not particularly fond of recent critically acclaimed albums from bands like Code Orange and Vein. No, what really…
A year or so ago, I wrote about Thornhill and their then-fresh EP, Butterfly. As I said back then, the band showed promise, navigating the shoals of progressive metalcore with impressive agility. I even uttered the dreaded word “djent”, conjuring up the spectre of that oft-abused sub-genre in the positive.…
A couple years back, bay area doom trio Brume caught some ears with their fantastic debut LP, Rooster. The Billy Anderson-produced effort put them on doomsters’ radars with an enjoyably dark, psychedelia-tinged brand of slow and low. Since then, few records have seemed to zero in on the unique concoction…
We all know where post-black metal is coming from, black metal of course, but where is it going to? As the sub-genre draws close to double digit age, what is the purpose of post-black? The initial infatuation with the permutations it offered black metal is fading; we need something more…
Sometimes, as a lover and critic of music, one has to admit that they’re wrong. Egregiously so, even. Thus is the case with my relationship with, and belief in, the music of Ken Sorceron’s Abigail Williams. I first heard their debut record almost a decade ago, and was in all…
Fresh off a short UK tour with rising formidable heavy weights Conjurer and LLNN, Earth Moves are back with a gripping and powerful sophomore release of emotive post-metal, Human Intricacy. Their debut The Truth In Our Bodies caught my attention in 2016, ranking among my top albums of that year.…
Deathcore. The metal subgenre everyone loves to hate. Often decried as the lizard brain of extreme metal, deathcore has garnered a reputation for relentless chugs, mindless breakdowns, and lyrical inanity that is only rivaled by the current scene snob consensus on metalcore and nü metal. It’s not necessarily an incorrect…
