Metal playlists from the underground
ARMORED SAINT: LA RAZA After a near-decade long layoff, arguably the biggest hard-luck metal band ever Armored Saint return with LA RAZA, an infectious multi-layered metallic creation brimming over with a deep wealth of hooks while retaining the ahead of their time eclectic heaviness that made the band stand out amongst swarms of bands from […]
ORPHANED LAND: THE NEVER ENDING WAY OF ORWARRIOR Israel’s Orphaned Land dazzles the senses and gives a bang for your buck with their latest 15-track offering. This unit’s multi-faceted metallic approach contains an abundance of ingrained native musical influences with genuine instrumentation intertwined with a progressive mix of ornate death metal underpinned with elegant epic […]
BARONESS: BLUE RECORD Baroness follows up their stunning previous effort THE RED ALBUM with another colorfully titled endeavor BLUE RECORD. Despite taking discernible steps away from their comfort zone this time around, most notably by choosing burgeoning producer John Congleton known more for indie rock savvy than sludge metal salvation, this unit’s unbridled spirit and […]
NILE: THOSE WHOM THE GODS DETEST Those Whom The Gods Detest is the sixth studio endeavor from South Carolina’s technical death metal mavens Nile. Blisteringly brutal as previous works while maintaining the band’s trademarked Middle Eastern influence both lyrically and musically, Nile’s flurries of dastardly twin guitars and consistently jaw-dropping percussion work remain the envy […]
AUSTRIAN DEATH MACHINE: DOUBLE BRUTAL When will it end? Tim Lambesis returns with his brand of Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation metal with Austrian Death Machine’s double album aptly titled Double Brutal. The first disc contains 13 new metal jams served with a wink and a nod thanks to the subject matter and the rapidly getting stale […]
VOIVOD INFINI Finishing up where Katorz left off, the final round of posthumous musical output from deceased guitarist Denis “Piggy” D’Amour has arrived in the form of Infini, a 13-track collection dutifully piecing together the remainder of the compositional odds and sods D’Amour left behind on his laptop before succumbing to cancer in 2005. The […]
Several months ago, one of my 9th grade history students, knowing that I spend far too much time playing games from the Guitar Hero franchise (even though I am a pretty sick real guitarist) asked me if I was going to buy Guitar Hero Smash Hits this summer. I shook my head and replied, “Nah, […]
Fortified with a well-rounded extreme metal assault, the sophomore release by Philadelphia, PA’s Rumpelstiltskin Grinder merges classic metal aspects with a blistering delivery on the 10-track LIVING FOR DEATH DESTROYING THE REST. Meshing galloping black metal, thrash metal guitar runs, beatdown breakdowns, death metal rhythmic devastation and a hardcore punk attitude (“Revolution of Underground Legions”), […]
Emanating from the likes of Kill Your Idols, Madball, and Deathcycle, Black Anvil undergoes a complete makeover into the realm of blackened death ‘n roll on TIME INSULTS THE MIND. This NYC trio’s nine-track debut captures early thrash and doom’s glacial overtones pretty well, although the D-beat does come into play here, providing the occasional […]
16 years on the job and still going strong chugging out memorable heavy tuneage, Pro-Pain follows up their recent string of solid offerings with NO END IN SIGHT. This 11-track endeavor finds Gary Meskil and crew pumping the usual meat and potatoes hardcore metal might with the blue collar work ethic that warrants this band’s […]