Manilla Road – Dreams of Eschaton Released

by Daniel Maarat on July 1, 2016

MANILLA-ROAD-Dreams-of-Eschaton

Manilla Road‘s unreleased “Mark of the Beast” album, recorded between Invasion and Metal, has been pressed to CD and LP by High Roller Records as Dreams of Eschaton. This is the highest fidelity version yet, pressed from a collector’s tape that originated from Mark Shelton himself as detailed on the Nuclear War Now! forum:

(more…)

4 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

A Decade of Dio: 1983 – 1993 Box Set Announced

by Daniel Maarat on June 28, 2016

A Decade of Dio boxed set

The late Ronnie James Dio left Black Sabbath with drummer Vinny Appice to pursue a more mainstream, vocal-driven hybrid of hard rock and heavy metal that laid the groundwork for later vocal-driven, power metal. Rhino Entertainment has announced a remastered box set of Dio’s first six albums on CD and LP for everyone who wants to buy them again.

4 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Master’s Hammer – Ritual (1991)

by Daniel Maarat on June 26, 2016

Master's Hammer - Ritual

Ritual is the pinnacle of the Central European black metal style characterized by continuing the riffing tradition of traditional heavy metal and strict adherence to speed metal song structure; Hellhammer, Mercyful Fate, Slayer, and even Megadeth influences are easily heard along with Bartók’s folkishness and Chopin’s romanticism. While their compatriots Root presaged the Hellenic scene, Master’s Hammer’s operatic use of the mellotron inspired the divergent atmosphere Emperor employed on In the Nightside Eclipse.

(more…)

11 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Bulldozer Vinyl Repress

by Daniel Maarat on June 25, 2016

bulldozer the final separation

Bulldozer’s first two albums of drunken Motorhead, proto-underground metal in the style of Venom and Sodom are being repressed on vinyl from the original tapes for the first time in thirty years by F.O.A.D Records. Neither of these albums ever had good CD releases (the CDs sound like compressed needle drops) so fans of beer-fueled, 1980s first-wave black metal might want to check these  out.


5 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sadistic Metal Review: Chalice – Chalice (2014)

by Staff on June 1, 2016

chalice ep

Article by Corey M.

Chalice is a real shit show. From a purely musical perspective, the self-titled EP Chalice is transparent hard rock with some metal-ish riffing that never gets quite as aggressive as Deep Purple. Now indeed, aggression is not the only or even most crucial element that goes into making good rock or metal, but Chalice fall fa(aaaaaaaa)r short in every other facet of songwriting and performance.

(more…)

6 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Origins of Satanic Realization through Heavy Metal

by Daniel Maarat on May 21, 2016

varathron genesis of unaltered evil no logo

Sludgecore band Agoraphobic Nosebleed threw a fit for publicity over a recent batch of Death Metal Underground’s Sadistic Metal Reviews. Frontwoman Katherine Katz called us Fox News for our criticism of Agoraphobic Nosebleed’s shrieking short woman over a drum machine shtick and our psychological speculation as to why Agoraphobic Nosebleed would even bother releasing such failure other than for commercial exploitation of a musically-ignorant hipster fan base craving reaffirmation of their modern liberalism. Katz even claimed that artists should be responsible for the extreme actions of others in response to satire and that some topics should be completely off lyrics. For her, everyone who listens to “Embryonic Necropsy and Devourment” will potentially commit feticide. This is incredibly hypocritical for a band who shared a member with Anal Cunt and wrote Frozen Corpse Stuffed with Dope.

(more…)

26 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Iron Maiden – Somewhere in Time (1986)

by Staff on May 14, 2016

iron maiden somewhere in time

Article by David Rosales.

Released after Iron Maiden’s golden era, Somewhere in Time is touted by fans of heavy and power metal as a crown jewel of the band, exemplifying perfected expression and streamlined efficiency. This is not immediately convincing for metal hessians. Rightly so as the music became more sterile, hence, less credible. There is definitely a sense of “upgradedness” in both the production and the choice of stylistic voicings, allowing an inclusion of 80s pop coloration into the palette. This unclear, semi-sellout move demanded accountability, while at the same time the band boasted of accumulated experience fructifying the transformation, masterfully avoiding the typical degeneration that could be expected after the climax and summary of their original sound in 1985’s Live After Death.

(more…)

34 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Classic reviews:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z