No need to fuck around too much here: Triptykon’s Melana Chasmata is an absolute beast of an album — a churning cauldron of clever invention and legit representation that expands the boundaries of a genre in pretty desperate need of boundary expansion. It is that rare release to which — whether one eventually loves or…

Happy Godsmack Day to all you Boston readers. You must be so darn proud. Anyway, on with the show: Alestorm, Sunset on the Golden Age (Napalm): What grades did the pirate get in school? HIGH SEAS!!! Belphegor, Conjuring the Dead (Nuclear Blast): A merciless return to simple, blasphemous black metal, the Austrian veterans keep it quick…

Although Freak Kitchen don’t have much of a presence in the US yet, apparently they’re popular enough to be able to raise $140,000 on Kickstarter for an animated video, not to mention consistently selling out guitar clinics. SOMEONE must like them. That someone might even be you. If you’re into progressive metal with a really…

Hot on the shambling undead heels of the uber-sick 2013 full-length The Barrens, Denver’s masters of smart, dark n’ dirty death metal Crypticus are set to return with Chains for Devils, the second in the band’s Horror Grind Mixtape series — i.e. “an original Death Metal mini-anthology designed to confound, horrify, & delight.” This morning,…

A six-year gap separates underground gem Animosity from its unlikely successor, Blind. True, the Technocracy EP—with Simon Bob on vocals—acts as a bridge, but few, not even Corrosion of Conformity themselves, could’ve predicted Blind.

Sometimes, the unhipness of a sound is a pretty good measure of a band’s dedication to their craft.  While some bands chase trends and recording perfection as if precise alignment will translate directly into merch sales and Facebook likes, other artists burrow their own tunnels, regardless of what they think will be hot this afternoon….

Squawk it, I’m not into an intro today. Let’s just get into it, shall we? Now, this will be a difficult one for me to review. It’s a little hard to separate people from the music they create at times, but I’m going to give this one a fair peck… or attempt to anyhow. NACHTMYSTIUM’s swansong, The…

Because every day another band records another song.  Because 83% of those songs are unlistenable and you can’t be bothered to sift through the dreck.  Because metal is about not giving a shit and waking your own personal storm.  Because music is universal, expression is boundless, and even indie labels (whatever that means these days)…

Krieg’s new album, Transient, is killer. It’s a logical step after The Isolationist with a few surprises. No, Krieg braintrust Imperial (aka “record store” guy, Neill Jameson, aka Imperial) hasn’t injected his USBM crown with EDM beats (or light show) or Juggalo culture aesthetics. He’s simply taken Krieg and its music to the next logical…

New York-based experimental psychedelic stoner spacerockers White Hills has only been a band since ’round about 2005, yet they’ve already amassed the following discography: They’ve Got Blood Like We’ve Got Blood (Fuck Off And Di/Head Heritage, 2005) Koko (White Hills, 2006) Glitter Glamour Atrocity (White Hills, 2007) Abstractions and Mutations (White Hills, 2007/Thrill Jockey, 2009/Immune,…