ORDO INFERUSInvictus Et Aeturnus Doomentia (2014)Rating: 6/10 Mixing Swedish and American death metal influences seems only natural for this relatively new Swedish extreme metal act, which formed just two years previous in 2012. The line-up on this debut consists of Tony Freed (Godhate) on vocals, Janne Björkenfjäll (Birch Mountain, Excruciate, Malfeitor, ex-Morpheus) bashing skins, and […]
BLACK MOTHCondemned To Hope New Heavy Sounds (2014)Rating: 8.5/10 British doom / stoner merchants Black Moth may be just another occult-influenced, female-fronted bunch of plod rockers to the sceptics, but for me, the latest slab of granite to emerge from this Leeds-based quintet is one worth hearing – especially if you’re into the very trendy […]
STRIKERCity Of Gold Napalm (2014)Rating: 8/10 Canadian rockers Striker are very much part of the classic metal revival trip, first making waves in 2010 with their debut Eyes In The Night, followed by 2012’s Armed To The Teeth. Prolific as ever, the quintet are now back with a new slab of molten metal. For this […]
SCAR FOR LIFEWorlds Entwined Escape Music (2014)Rating: 8/10 Scar For Life is the brainchild of Portuguese guitarist Alexandre Santos, who began this venture back in 2008 and recorded the self-titled debut platter that very same year. Two years later the It All Fades Away follow-up emerged, although original vocalist Marco Resende would soon flee the […]
CHURCH OF THE DEADVol 4: Meet Me In The Tomb EP Stay Heavy (2014)Rating: 7.5/10 Finnish extreme metal seems to be making giant waves at the moment, and I see a bright future for death metal combo Church Of The Dead. As the title suggests, this four-track EP is the fourth instalment from this quartet […]
SÓLSTAFIR Release Fifth Studio Album ‘Ótta’ August 29th, 2014 Reykjavik, Iceland-based metal group Sólstafir issued fifth full-length studio album Ótta on August 29th, 2014 in Europe through Season Of Mist. The label scheduled North American release for September 2nd. Ótta was recorded at Sundlaugin Studio in Mosfellsbær, Iceland during December 2013 and January 2014, and […]
GATEKRASHÖRGatekrashör Hard And Heavy (2014)Rating: 7/10 Canada’s Gatekrashör is one of those bands that before you slap it on the turntable, you know what you’re gonna get. This ferocious quartet is the sort of band that spends all of its time standing around a rusty old cauldron and throwing in several key ingredients – alcohol, […]
PHOBIATICFragments Of Flagrancy Unundeux (2014)Rating: 6/10 Contemporary technical death metal just doesn’t seem to be my bag of late. The latest bunch of metallers with a fetish for the complex side of extreme metal is Germany’s Phobiatic with their sophomore album Fragments Of Flagrancy. I wasn’t that impressed by 2012 debut An Act Of Atrocity […]
DISPLAY OF DECAYOutbreak Of Infection EP Self-released (2014)Rating: 6.5/10 Display Of Decay are an Edmonton, Alberta, Canada-based death metal act which formed in 2007. Outbreak Of Infection comes complete with rather amateurish splatter artwork and a sound that is at once gross, engrossing but still inconsistent. This latest EP comes two years after 2012’s debut […]
MORDRED / KAINE 02 Academy 2, Islington, London, England August 25th, 2014 Rage Sadler and Dan Mailer (Kaine) Pic: Neil Arnold It was around 20 years ago that as a forlorn teenager I was told by Noise Records that San Francisco Bay Area experimental thrashers Mordred were no more. With Scott Holderby leaving the band, […]
