Reviews

Daydream is just as majestic as I like all my daydreams to be.

Anybody wanna sign up for two and a half hours of acoustic Melvins songs?

Poland has a strong legacy when it comes to death metal, and Dormant Ordeal are intent on sustaining that legacy.

This is grindcore motherfuckers!

Déjà vu has felt more common since the start of the pandemic, but déjà vu isn’t always a bad thing.

Just to clear things up before we start, this is Rhapsody Of Fire, the one that still has Alex Staropoli. Not any of the other six. Recently, some of those offshoots have shone more brightly than the progenitor…

Lords Of Black dare to pose the question: "What would a band like Rainbow sound like in 2021?" The answer is twofold: A little out of space/time continuum and yet pretty darn good.

Some definitions of ‘apotheosis’ refer to it as ‘a culmination or climax of something’; naming your debut record Apotheosis doesn’t give you much place to go for the rest…

So... do we count it as a second comeback album?

Here at Metal Storm headquarters, we like to relax in between all our arduous work as reviewers. Some of us drink, read, or play pool in the lounge room. Radu and I decided to play some D&D when suddenly…

In Latvia, there was Skyforger, there is Skyforger, and there always will be Skyforger. Then there's something that we call "other bands that try to reach the top of rock'n'roll."…

I pump out three reviews of stoner/psychedelic albums from established bands released on the same day, and it turns out that the best stoner album of the month isn't even released until the week after.

There’s been worse ways to celebrate a 25th anniversary than releasing an album like Where Silence Dwells.

Peace Of Mind.

Fluffy like a pillow.

Put the pieces back together again.

Throughout the 16 years I've been listening to metal now, I've listened to over 1,800 albums. The Downward Spiral is the one that has stood out the most and has kept me coming back, discovering…

We’re doomed, doomed.

That is most definitely false. A lot of people who sing are actually horrible people. So Hideous debunked!

Shining like a beacon in the night.

Was the latest Ulcerate too calm for you? Don't worry, The Temple twist that into blackened death.

The fusion of black metal and hardcore typically produces some pretty sinister, punishing results. But every now and then, it can result in something fairly unique and transcendental. Something like Glassing.

For fans of stoner/psychedelic rock, 3 December 2021 was a stacked day for releases.

For fans of stoner/psychedelic rock, 3 December 2021 was a stacked day for releases.

For fans of stoner/psychedelic rock, 3 December 2021 was a stacked day for releases.

Unique folk black metal is pretty hard to come by these days.

A postmodern spin on old school black metal, insistently invoking the iteration involved in a decade of isolated introspection. As Nietzsche said, “The riff is dead, and eternal return has taken…

One of the things I admire from Twelve Foot Ninja (TFN) is the ability to always sound fresh and dynamic while progressing oddly.

A debut album heralded as a masterpiece, a long wait without any new music, and then a sophomore record announced to be but the first part of a two-part opus… where have I heard that before?

Few things can feel as serene as this.

Can you sound trance-like without being psychedelic?

I keep craving things. Sometimes nothing is enough for me. This is not one of those times. The latest Plebeian Grandstand completely fulfills my noisy cravings.

A solid album with some missed potential.

ThunderSteel is often described as Riot's best album, which to me comes as no surprise. Admittedly, Riot were a late discovery for me, after years of listening to the mighty Iron Maiden, and Judas…

The fact that this album even exists after the 2020 that Cynic had is remarkable.

Outre-Tombe’s Abysse Mortifère is killer Canadian death metal with French lyrics. It’s so raw and filthy that it makes even the most beautiful language in the world sound putrid and…

Derrick Vella of Tomb Mold and Justin DeTore of Innumerable Forms join up to create death doom in the logic of dreams. But who is the dreamer?

"Doom metal" is a pretty large umbrella term. But Khemmis keep trying to cover more of that.

With The Bleeding Veil, In Mourning continue to refine their progressive melodeath sound and further establish themselves as a model of consistency.

Grief changes shape, but it never ends.

An eclectic, avant-garde metal one-man project from France? Has Igorrr already released another new album?…

This post-black metal band is more ‘post-‘ and less ‘black’ than ever.

Another Aephanemer album, another gorgeous artwork and another great record.

Is it extreme experi-metal? Blackened prog-doom? Gothic post-death? Yes, and/or no, to each one. Kayo Dot crank up both amps and accessibility, and call it “avant-garde doom”, while their music…

"Cease fire! We spit fire! Sit back and watch it backfire!" So I did, and so I saw. It backfired on them.

Going… going… gone.

Given the large number of supergroups that turn out to be lesser than the sum of their parts, it’s intriguing how many recent collaborations have delivered the goods.

Stoner metal can be a rather hit or miss subbranch of the Metal Tree to cover. Some bands bring dank riffz, trippy atmospheres, and charismatic vocals for days, while many others are just shamelessly rehashing…

Does Devoured By The Oak tick every box on the ‘folk black metal’ checklist? Yep! Is that an issue? Nope!…

‘Stars’ and ‘abyss’ in the album title indicate cosmic black metal; the ‘true’ and ‘raw’ tags on Bandcamp, along with the Immortal-style band picture point…

This is an album of immense subjective value to me. The final Negură Bunget album.

Not on life support yet.

That's not the cover art that I expected for this.

No, not that black album.

Half-cocked.

Once in a while there comes an album that's so divisive that I can absolutely guarantee that you haven't heard anything like it.

Welcome back, it's been too long.

The quality tech-death won’t stop coming this year.

I feel like I’m mentioning every other week how much good melodeath there is this year; well, there’s another sub-genre with ‘death’ in the name that’s doing pretty well too.

Doomy death's murk is something that has permeated OSDM for a long while now. It doesn't seem to stop. It doesn't need to. Not if you have bands like Worm.

Doomy death's murk is something that has permeated OSDM for a long while now. It doesn't seem to stop. It doesn't need to. Not if you have bands like Mortiferum.

At what point do we applaud utter dedication? Thulcandra's not-so-secret mission to continue Dissection's legacy has been well-documented with an unholy trinity of savory yet pestilent gems inked…

Some albums just beg for your attention. Not sure what is in the water in Poland but this country has consistently outdone itself with impressive metal acts lately. Rivers Like Veins is another one of…

While discussing the state of the environment, comedian George Carlin said: “The planet isn’t going anywhere. WE ARE. We’re going away. Pack your shit, folks”. With Decrepit, Funeralium…

If you’re like me, you’ve recently exited the newest Halloween film feeling somewhat disappointed. Not totally cheated, just frowning slightly. Fortunately, there’s an orange lining hiding…

You may not remember Eemil Chen’s previous project, Pave The Path, but a little meander down the path through reminiscence may jog your memory (and leave you bloodied and lifeless in the snow).

It was 31 years ago when Storm Warning was released. Count Raven had a very fruitful decade during the ‘90s, releasing four albums but they also had really long breaks (or break-ups) after that.

Most of extreme metal is against Christianity's vast influence and its political power. But there was a time when it was the Christians suffering the persecutions. So, there's bound to be some…

Here’s an album for everyone disappointed by Deafheaven’s latest.

Callus advertise themselves as ‘down-tuned stoner metal fused with thrash, sludge and doom elements’. Now, sludge and doom regularly go together with stoner metal, but thrash?…