Brian Malone
Sometime after the release and touring campaign for “Vengeance Ascending” a schism occurred within the ranks of Diabolic. On one hand there was co-founder/lead guitarist Brian Malone, and the other the remaining three members (Coates, Ouellette, Mortellaro). Both camps carried on with each their own version of the band.
death metal
Tampa, Florida combo Hate Eternal burst onto the international death metal scene in 1997. Led by former Ripping Corpse and Morbid Angel guitarist Erik Rutan, it was one of the earlier American death metal acts to follow Krisiun’s and Suffocation’s lead in terms of speed, density and heaviness.
Aad Kloosterwaard
And so the time had come for Sinister to adapt itself to a rapidly changing scene that had no real need for it anymore. This record came to us in 1998 by which time Krisiun had appeared on the scene, Behemoth had released “Pandemonic Incantations” and Suffocation released its swansong
Brian Slagel
‘In the dark of the night I search for the mindless wretches of society’ Barnes imparts solemnly in the ominous opening of “Maximum Violence”, ‘to drink of their blood and feast upon their flesh.’ Maybe third time is the charm for these Tampa, Florida knuckle-draggers? Maybe, just maybe they lifted
Dallas Toler-Wade
No matter where you choose to look to get an opinion, this band is spoken about in hyperbole, in absolutes and there’s a complete lack of perspective from most folks you’ll end up talking to. To get the most obvious rake out of the way: Nile isn’t
Alf Børjesson
On its third record for Nuclear Blast, Dimmu Borgir was at a critical juncture in its career. The personel changes had left the band in shambles in more ways than one, the creative juices weren’t flowing as strong as they once were and a band already short on ideas
Belgium
By the time their second album rolled out of the studio much had changed for the Belgians of Enthroned. After the ousting of Vincent Gerard (Tsebaoth) two new, more technically proficient guitarists were enlisted in Régis Lant (Nornagest) and Dimitri Gillard (Nebiros). Originally, drummer Dan Vandenplas (Cernunnos) was supposed to
black metal
The second Devian album isn’t so much of an improvement over the first as it is a mere continuation. Granted, at least the songs are structured better and more fluid on this album. The reality of the situation is that Devian never was a special, or good band to
Aantar Lee Coates
On its third album Diabolic was seemingly on autopilot. Unable to retain the productional gloss of the preceding record “Vengeance Ascending” is a callback to the debut “Supreme Evil” in a number of ways, while losing much of the songwriting lustre of the previous record. Hampered by a subpar Diet
Chief Spires
It is a difficult task to talk about a major band like Nile, and detail their shortcomings without rubbing long-time (or obedient? sycophantic?) fans the wrong way. These people tend to think in binaries and absolutes only, and every bit of criticism is met with hostility and anger. “Black Seeds
death metal
In a lot of ways “Chainsaw Dismemberment” is the ultimate Mortician album. It is the culmination of the “Hacked Up For Barbecue” sound. For the duration of one sole album Mortician embraced its (however few) strengths and excised its weaknesses. With all subtleties now safely abandoned in favor of being
Belgium
Enthroned was never a real black metal band in the traditional sense. Yes, they all wear corpse paint, spikes and the typical leather outfits – but superficialities aside, the band was only black metal as far as imagery and lyrical content was concerned. Musically, they tap various genre wells outside of