black metal
“Battles In the North” was the breakout album for Norwegian duo Immortal. It crystallized their sound into its most savage, unrelenting and pummeling format while retaining the band’s underdeveloped and underplayed atmospheric folk edge. Having always produced promotional videos for each of their albums, with “Masters Of Nebulah Frost”
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.
Belgium
“The Apocalypse Manifesto”, the third Enthroned album and their one but last for British label imprint Blackend Records, who were more famous for their compilations than for the artists they contracted. It is the long anticipated recording where the band finally comes into its own, and at long last mastered
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
groove metal
Somewhere in the four years in between “Seasons In the Abyss” and “Divine Intervention” something was lost within Slayer. For the first time the band had spent actual time on pre-production. Where Slayer once sounded irrevocably evil here they sound… mundane and ordinary. It is an unexpected and jarring change
black metal
On its third album Norwegian black metal duo Immortal come into their own, and deliver their most conceptually complete recording. This third album takes the sound from “Pure Holocaust” and adds additional levels of speed, texture and density to it, without abandoning the atmospheric leanings of the band’s debut.
David Vincent Lombardo
On “Seasons In the Abyss” Bay Area thrashers Slayer settled into its midpaced sound, and wrote its most epic album to date. Almost the entire album (with exception of one track) deals with topical real-life events, the horrors of war and serial killers. “Seasons In the Abyss” was Slayer’s
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
David Vincent Lombardo
With “South Of Heaven” Slayer made its foray into more melodic and midpaced territory. After the clusterbomb that was “Reign In Blood” it was wise of the band to slow down and once again pen more elaborate material. Having pushed the speed/thrash metal genre in terms of speed and
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
David Vincent Lombardo
On “Reign In Blood” Slayer finally came into its own in terms of identity and lyrical themes. Whereas the band’s first two records dealt mostly with horror, and goofy (if not downright comical) depictions of Satanism, here the lyrics are more grounded in reality, as they deal with real-life