CORROSION OF CONFORMITYCorrosion Of Conformity Candlelight (2012)Rating: 7/10 Raleigh, North Carolina’s Corrosion Of Conformity seem to have been around forever, and yet since beginning life over 30 years ago, have only managed to release eight records. Mind you, a clutch of these could be regarded as metal classics – the monolithic Blind (1991), which got […]

CHRISTIAN MISTRESSPossession Relapse (2012)Rating: 8.5/10 I’m guessing it’s a good thing sometimes when you don’t know a thing about a band; it enables one to have a non-biased opinion. In the case of the wonderfully named Christian Mistress I know that they are a US five-piece with a strong, retro New Wave Of British Heavy […]

NAPALM DEATHUtilitarian Century Media (2012)Rating: 8.5/10 You’d be forgiven for thinking that Birmingham’s other finest have totally changed direction upon hearing ‘Circumspect’, the instrumental opener on Utilitarian, the 14th studio album of Napalm Death’s 31-year-career. However, its crusty leanings give way to ‘Errors In The Signals’, which bolts from the traps in typical Napalm fashion. […]

DONNIE VIEWrapped Around My Middle Finger Livewire / Cargo (2012)Rating: 9/10 Every once in a blue moon, a songwriter comes along – in whatever genre – that just blows you away and yet, leaves you scratching your head in bemusement at the fact they’ve not garnered more attention. Donnie Vie is one such talent; the […]

ASPHYXDeathhammer Century Media (2012)Rating: 8/10 Eight albums in and Asphyx are still suffocating our souls with their bleak blend of death and doom, and with Martin van Drunen steering the ship, I can’t see this beast ceasing in its destructive ways. As soon as that opening trudge hits the ears, you know it’s Asphyx; Paul […]

KRYPTOSThe Coils Of Apollyon AFM (2012)Rating: 8/10 For a few years now, the metal scene in India has been threatening to be taken seriously in the Western world with the likes of Bayanak Maut and Chronic Xorn proving there is more to the country than sitars. The Coils Of Apollyon is the third album from […]

ORANGE GOBLINA Eulogy For The Damned Candlelight (2012)Rating: 9/10 Once in a while a band comes along that, although they have been around for years, has escaped my notice. On first listen I find myself blown away, and wondering how it’s possible that I’ve never been exposed to such an amazing listen before. The most […]

PILGRIM – Adventurers Anthony Morgan February 2012 Pilgrim (l-r): Nick Nosach, Jon Rossi and Eric Dittrich Provisionally titled Big Cheese during a grunge phase, Rhode Island-based doom metal trio Pilgrim formed in 2009-2010 and consist of guitarist / vocalist Jon Rossi, bassist Eric Dittrich, and drummer Nick Nosach. The Wizard, Count Elric The Soothsayer, and […]

GOATWHORE – Blood For The Masters Anthony Morgan February 2012 Goatwhore (l-r): James Harvey, Ben Falgoust, Zack Simmons and Sammy Duet New Orleans, Louisiana-based death metallers Goatwhore were present at local recording studio The Riff Room with Stephen Berrigan on September 5th-6th 2011 to record a cover interpretation of Motörhead’s ‘(Don’t Need) Religion’, the original […]

NEPHELIUM – Merciless Annihilation Anthony Morgan February 2012 Alan Madhavan (bottom row), Florian Ravet, Devlin Anderson, Alex Zubair (bottom row) and James Sawyer In the fall of 2001, drummer Alan Madhaven of power metal group Syonide paired together with guitarist Alex Zubair to form what was then known as Cimmerian. Keyboardist Sameer was briefly present, […]