Burton C. Bell
By the time “Digimortal”, the fourth Fear Factory record and last in the classic constellation, hit the market the band was riding on a wave of increased popularity and visibility. They were a beacon of hope in a creatively bankrupt subgenre. What should have been the band’s ultimate statement
black metal
By the time “Nightwing”, the fifth Marduk album and second with vocalist Erik Hagstedt (Legion) behind the microphone, hit the market the band had become familiar with its new style. Released a year after “Heaven Shall Burn…” it is a continuation of that album’s sound with overall increased levels
Caedere
“The Lost Conveyance”, the third Caedere album since their formation in 1998, has the band maturing musically and lyrically. Adopting scathing socio-political subject matter, and further embracing its musicality along with its increasing technical skill. “The Lost Conveyance” merges old – and new genre traits and is helped by a meatier,
death metal
Years of hard work and extensive touring paid off for Vader in the early 2000s as they were offered a recording contract by Metal Blade, the label that released the early records of Slayer, one of the band’s most audible inspirations. After proving to be the most reliable underground
Ancient Rites
The fourth Ancient Rites album sees the band fully cultivating the epic power metal sound they first debuted on “Fatherland”. Being the second record of the band’s international phase, it fully embraces the influence of its guitarist duo – and builds upon the atmospheric keyboard embellishments and medieval interludes that
Alex Kurtagić
In the two year layoff in between records Norwegian outfit Dimmu Borgir switched a few people around, and kept practicing their instruments. Often dubbed the band’s finest moment “Stormblåst” is a slightly better paced, but still entirely confused folk-tinged dark metal album that is high on atmospherics but low
Dan Seagrave
The prematurely aborted “Abominations Of Desolation” session put back Florida death metal mavens Morbid Angel by a good three years. Interpersonal troubles, and an unsatisfactory studio experience in North Carolina had Azagthoth licking his wounds as he put together a new line-up for his project. “Altars Of Madness” is what
Aurora Borealis
On its second album Aurora Borealis settled into its own. Retaining the services of drummer Derek Roddy, the duo was now operating as a self-contained unit. Crafting “Northern Lights” on its own terms and in its own time, it is a refining of the sound first heard on “Praise the
black metal
After the band imploded due to the extracurricular activities from its members in the wake of the “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” release – it was surprising to see Mayhem resurfacing so unpredictably quick after what would have killed any lesser underground band, or any band whose history or its alleged legend
Burton C. Bell
“Obsolete”, the third Fear Factory record, isn’t so much the next evolutionary step in the band’s development as it is a mere refinement. It is the second in its ongoing man vs machine narrative, and the one that established Fear Factory as veritable metal force. Fully capitalizing on
Australia
The first Mortification album was a mere dress rehearsal for the absolutely gargantuan “Scrolls Of the Megilloth” that would arrive a year later. Released in 1991 - the same year as Death’s “Human”, Morbid Angel’s “Blessed Are the Sick” and Sepultura’s “Arise” – it is a thundering death/
black metal
“Opus Nocturne” is the band’s third album, and the transitional record in Marduk’s ongoing transformation from a particularly minimalistic and barbaric death metal band into a black metal one. Where the preceding two albums saw the band differentiating itself from the burdgeoning death metal scene through its usage