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Shadow Woods Metal Fest 2017. A preview, from A to Z
By Kaptain Carbon. This will be my third Shadow Woods attendance and perhaps my third preview article for the event. I have always loved this event not just for its diversity but also the support for...
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Marek - Sorrow Lands
By Hera Vidal. I don’t listen to many EPs; I prefer albums because they are longer and tend to explore a set theme or idea until the end of the album. However, because one of my most played albums this...
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Der Weg einer Freiheit - Finisterre
By Justin C. I got on board with Der Weg einer Freiheit two albums ago, with Unstill. I wouldn't say there have been any quantum leaps in sound between that album and their newest, Finisterre, but...
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Guttural Secrete - Nourishing the Spoil
By Bryan Camphire. I saw Guttural Secrete perform Friday July 28th, 2017. They traveled from Las Vegas, Nevada to play the fourth annual Chicago Domination Fest. They came out of retirement more or...
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Cavernlight - As We Cup Our Hands and Drink from the Stream of Our Ache
By Justin C. I remember a discussion with a friend, probably over 20 years ago now, as to whether anyone had ever truly captured the experience of mental illness in a piece of writing. The answer was a...
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Youngblood Supercult - The Great American Death Rattle
By Karen A. Mann. Listening to The Great American Death Rattle, the third release from Topeka, Kansas, quartet Youngblood Supercult is like stumbling across an old T shirt from a long ago rock festival...
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Pestilence - Malleus Maleficarum
An Autothrall Classic. I often liken the world of metal music to the Greek pantheon. In it, there are gods, titans, heroes, priests and worshipers. Worshipers do their best to imitate the various gods...
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Dvne - Asheran
By Calen Henry. Asheran is Dvne's first full-length album. Their earlier output is a mix of Beastwars and The Sword, heavily influenced by Frank Herbert’s Dune universe. The strength of this mix had...
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Grift - Arvet
By Hera Vidal. When I think of black metal, I think of harsh terrain and a chill that reaches the bone. It’s quite rare that a record would be considered “ethereal”, but when that record makes use of...
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Usnea - Portals into Futility
By Justin C. I've been digging Usnea since they're self-titled debut, but when prepping to write the review for their newest, Portals into Futility, I started to notice how often they've gotten tagged...
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Slugdge - The Cosmic Cornucopia
By Calen Henry. I discovered Slugdge through a Bandcamp tag dive. I clicked on their second album, Gastronomicon, which features painted album art of a slug, expecting a laugh. I did not expect a band...
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Hell - Hell (2017)
By Matt Hinch. Think of all those bands you know that are “the definition of heavy”. Conan, Electric Wizard, Crowbar, Hymn, Monolord, etc. If Salem, Oregon’s Hell isn’t on that list, you need a new...
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Helpless - Debt
By Justin C. I've probably mentioned before, but I'm far from a grind aficionado. It's a subgenre that I can appreciate far more often than I can enjoy, and the bands I do favor, like Fuck the Facts,...
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Acephalix - Decreation
By Atanamar Sunyata. The killing instinct is strong in Acephalix. Decreation is a juggernaut, an instrument of inexorable devastation, a beautiful murder machine. Acephalix have upped the intricacy of...
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Upcdownc - I, Awake
By Calen Henry. Upcdownc's I, Awake blends a weirdly anachronistic mix of mid 00's art metal into a cohesive modern sounding whole. Mixing massive riffs, samples, and synths they present as Stranger...
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Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun
By Justin C. If you've read anything about Chelsea Wolfe's new album, Hiss Spun (and you probably have), you've probably heard that this is one of her heaviest records. That was my first impression,...
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Monolord - Rust
By Calen Henry. In fine Swedish tradition Monolord's sound starts with a Boss guitar pedal. The Boss Hyperfuzz is the backbone of their world crushing sound. Its extremely aggressive fuzz paired with...
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Pantheon of Blood - Tetrasomia
By Natalie Zina Walschots. Finnish underground black metallers Pantheon of Blood have chosen to explore the conceptual potential of the four alchemical elements in their latest EP, the blistering...
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Spirit Adrift - Curse of Conception
By Calen Henry. There's a bit of a doom renaissance going on. Bands like Crypt Sermon are carrying the traditional doom torch alongside the likes of Monolord and Elder; deep down the rabbit holes of...
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Altarage - Endinghent
By Bryan Camphire. The more I listen to this record the more I want to turn it up. Bilbao's Altarage have delivered another scorcher of a release, and repeated listens can feel like witnessing the...
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