If the 1990s had a theme, plurality fit the role, whether in parallel or layers, and this influenced song composition. Bands like Enya and My Bloody Valentine tried to follow Kate Bush and William Orbit in using layers of soft, fading and surging sound on the edge of noise to create a dream state, and Havohej picks up this idea.
8 CommentsTags: Ambient, Black Metal, havohej
Somewhere in that realm between heavy metal and the underground metal to come, where Venom and Necromonicon dwelled, some bands planted a foot and stayed despite the evolution of the form. This allowed metal to branch, and it should probably be argued that this is a different genre, much as Possessed is “not quite” death metal.
2 CommentsTags: baxaxaxa, Black Metal, Heavy Metal
The mid-to-late 1990s wasn’t a particularly interesting period in US death metal history. Old bands were busy coping with their past triumphs and the newer arrivals on the scene did what they could to recapture the magic of preceding classics, but by doing so stalled the potentials of exploration presented to them. However, there did exist a few notable exceptions, many of whom chose to peek at their European counterparts for galvanization. Among them were the Indiana-based Adversary – a much overlooked act then and now who came up with distinctive and unique approach to death metal.
2 CommentsTags: adversary, death metal, forsaken, we must be in hell
Despite hosting a substantial early-1990s underground scene, Polish death metal never managed to break through on a wider scale. Beyond high-profile acts like Vader, Behemoth and Decapitated, most Polish acts continue to dwell in obscurity. However, the renewed interest in old school death metal have caused record labels to probe back catalogues in search of potential lost gems, or at least releases that can be marketed as such. One example of recent years is Thor, the 1994 debut full-length album by Polish death metal band Hazael.
2 Comments
While this year may be generous in terms of good music, it has given also given us music of such bad quality that it should be made to produce such music without compensating the listeners!
23 CommentsTags: bloody sadism, car bomb, fear innoculum, funeralmortem, sabaton, sadistic metal reviews, tool, village people
One of the few great bands from the NWOBHM movement in a genre known for a few gems in a sea of stadium and bar rock bands. While never receiving the deserved praise and success of their peers, Satan nonetheless were one of the best bands coming from the scene and used Speed metal elements in creating their magnum opus Court in the Act. On “Trial by Fire”, Satan show the large number of tools at their disposition after the opening blast of notes.
11 CommentsTags: bief analysis, Court in the Act, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, Satan, trial by fire
The band revealed on Facebook that guitarist of legendary speed metal band Artillery, Morten Stützer, died at the young age of 57.
2 CommentsTags: artillery, By Inheritance, Morten Stützer, Speed Metal
Furious melodic war metal band Sammath published its stream of its sixth album, Across the Rhine is only death, late last night. This new album shows the band integrating the streams of its influences from death metal, black metal, hardcore punk, ritual music, and war metal into a single voice.
This will delight those who think that metal lost its guts and balls, but also who are tired of melodyless and repetitively-structured three-chord “NWN/FMP” styled bands which hold zero musical interest for minds above the yeast level. You can acquire your copy via preorder. Blast it loud and make your neighbors, friends, family, and coworkers weep in terror!
15 CommentsTags: Black Metal, melodic war metal, sammath
Abyssum creator Rex Ebvleb disperses his current thinking through a series of side projects under the name El Nigromante (the Necromancer), and the latest of these has popped up (better than “dropped,” I think) as a project named Desolation with a new demo, “Demo 5: Ultimo Viaje.”
No CommentsTags: Abyssum, Black Metal, el nigromante, Rex Ebvleb, ritual ambient
Chilean speed metal revivalists Ripper tear into their fusion of Destruction and older Sepultura that makes for an energy-infused listen full of the high-contrast riff changes that defined the speed metal genre. While this continues the past influences, it shows the band developing more of their own voice while remembering to cue in enough genre conventions to address the nostalgia crowd.
No CommentsTags: ripper, Speed Metal
