Metal playlists from the underground
It has been almost two and a half years since the release of United Abominations, a brutal allegory of destructive world events equipped with plenty of finger pointing to rattle your mama’s nerves. Needless to say, Dave Mustaine and company are back with an even thrashier and, once again, unapologetic lyrical effort on Endgame. The […]
When one thinks of the acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, the mind often conjures images of Guitar World ads and YouTube performances of Metallica covers. On the latest disc 11:11 the classically trained shred masters bust through any preconceived mold as they pay tribute to some of their all-time favorite guitarists. Each of the 11 […]
Chevelle is one of the few modern hard rock bands that have never annoyed me. They are not whiny poser wannabes nor the greatest hard rock act either, they comfortably fall somewhere in the middle which forces me to submit my undying respect. Sci-Fi Crimes is the band’s latest disc since 2007’s Vena Sera. You […]
Neversoft’s Guitar Hero 5, the fourth and latest Guitar Hero game for the Nintendo Wii in the last year, contains several improvements over prior releases which unfortunately cancel out when compared to its glitches and frustrations imposed on the player. What are the strengths of Guitar Hero 5? First of all, this installment loads up […]
NAPALM DEATH TIME WAITS FOR NO SLAVE Pioneering grindcore unit Napalm Death continue their trademark trail of wreckage, willfully destroying everything in their way with lethal rounds of speed and a rabid sense of aggression on Time Waits For No Slave, the British troupe’s 14th studio endeavor. Exhibiting the ravenous thirst for domination they’ve built […]
NECROPHOBIC DEATH TO ALL With song titles like “For Those Who Stayed Satanic” and “Celebration of the Goat,” it’s pretty evident what to expect from Necrophobic’s no-frills eight-track audio sacrifice to Satan Death To All. Blistering black metal a la Dissection exalting Beelzebub is precisely what’s on tap from this veteran Swedish squad, complete with […]
By Peter O’Brien It’s been three years since the crack addicted, necrophiliac, space-mutant maniac quintet (GWAR) went “Beyond Hell.” They return now to share their most recent intergalactic exploits through song with their eleventh studio album, Lust In Space. The album marks not only the bands return to the Metal Blade label, but also the […]
1. Black Sabbath – Volume 4 (1972) – With Halloween a little more than two months away, this record makes it’s way back into lineup. The single power chord riff that opens “Wheels of Confusion” is frightening in its structure and eerie simplicity. “Snowblind” bears an irresistible groove while “Supernaut” sports a percussive orgy in […]
TIM RIPPER OWENS PLAY MY GAME After providing vocals for the most notable metal bands in the world for well over the past decade, Tim “Ripper” Owens finally steps out as a solo artist on his 12-track debut PLAY MY GAME. Bringing a mind-blowing cross-section of the metal friends he’s made along the way to […]
Warmongering German black metal squad Endstille attack once again with VERFUHRER, a scathing and abrasive nine-track affair. Incessantly blasting your skull with pounding percussion and decaying your ears with blood-curdling vocal rasps, this maliciously militant outfit doles out diabolical doses of mid-paced malevolence (“Symptoms”) whose razor sharp buzzsaw guitars cut to the bone (“Depressive/ Abstract/ […]