Category: Reviews – Audio

Glorious metal in all its earthly forms, compressed onto shiny plastic discs or into digital files. Which ones will become the soundtrack to your life?

  • FAITH NO MORE – We Care a Lot [reissued and revisited]

    FAITH NO MORE – We Care a Lot [reissued and revisited]

    Their earliest days were way back in 1979 when they formed as Sharp Young Men, later adopting Faith No Man as their moniker along the way. But it was in 1985 when this dynamic ensemble released their initial full-length, We Care a Lot, which was reissued last year with additional demo tracks, live recordings and…

  • Deathcrawl – Acceptable Level of Misery

    Deathcrawl – Acceptable Level of Misery

    How much misery is too much? Cleveland sludge dealers Deathcrawl seem to have found a level that does not exceed the maximum on their third studio album, with eight tracks checking in just shy of 49 minutes. The album opens with a couple shorter songs, with “False Oracle” wasting little time getting into the downtuned…

  • Denizen – Songs from the Kraken EP

    Denizen – Songs from the Kraken EP

    I’ve been a big fan of this French outfit since their Whispering Wild Stories album, which was practically the perfect blend between Fu Manchu and Eyehategod. Denizen have put out a couple more albums since then, before this three-song EP, which I presume to be a stop-gap of sorts before their next full-length. “The Fall”…

  • Clouds Taste Satanic – The Glitter of Infinite Hell

    Clouds Taste Satanic – The Glitter of Infinite Hell

    Hey, at least they don’t have Witch or Wizard in their name. This New York instro doom quartet has played a couple of the underground doomfests in the U.S. while self-releasing four albums over the past four years—these guys are pretty prolific! And not having any vocals allows Clouds Taste Satanic to spread their wings…

  • Buzzard Dust – Buzzard Dust

    Buzzard Dust – Buzzard Dust

    Buzzard Dust, a genre blending band from Virginia, have crafted a solid debut record. (Full disclosure: the singer gave me a link to the record and I’ve known him for a number of years.) Buzzard Dust comprises various members of different bands, including Unsacred, Vorator, Psyopus and countless more. The record is a mix of speed,…

  • Ne Obliviscaris – Urn

    Ne Obliviscaris – Urn

    The music on this album is massive. But is it good? Do I like it? I have listened to this album on repeat for a few weeks now, and I am still asking myself this. On paper, I should love this. Ne Obliviscaris is an extreme prog metal band with a unique sound and some…

  • Elder – Reflections of a Floating World

    Elder – Reflections of a Floating World

    Elder’s last album, Lore, finished pretty high on a lotta year-end lists a couple years back, and I suspect this one will as well. Although it was released back in June, I did not have the chance to get my hands on Reflections until I saw ‘em in concert last weekend—but if their live set…

  • The Obsessed – self titled (reissue)

    The Obsessed – self titled (reissue)

    When Wino brought back The Obsessed with a RINO (reunion in name only) album earlier this year, it was very well received. Even if the other musicians who played on Sacred weren’t previously part of the band’s lineup, it was good to hear the man slinging some killer riffs like back in the day. But…

  • Pale Mare – self-titled EP

    Pale Mare – self-titled EP

    This local sludge/noise trio has already opened for the likes of Weedeater and Windhand—and they don’t even have an album out. Apparently, they’re working on their first full-length effort, but in the meantime, this three-song EP from Pale Mare will have to tide us over. “Carthage” kicks things off with a rumble, picking up the…

  • Cannibal Corpse – Red Before Black

    Cannibal Corpse – Red Before Black

    When it comes to household Death Metal names, Cannibal Corpse has to be near the top. Despite lineup changes over the years the band has stayed relevant and continues to produce solid material. And if you’re one of “those” guys who say “Cannibal died when Chris Barnes left the band”, you need to get over…