January 2011
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Album Review: Black Witchery - Inferno of Sacred...
Black Witchery [USA] Inferno of Sacred Destruction 2010 Full Length Osmose Productions/Hells Headbangers Records Black Metal 8.5/10 I have never been particularly fond of “war metal” bands. Black Witchery’s brand of music has never appealed to me, just like how bands like Conqueror and Revenge never did. Their 2001 and 2005 full length albums were originally considered...
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Album Review: Fen/De Arma - Towards the Shores of...
Fen [UK]/De Arma [Sweden] Towards the Shore of the End 2011 Split Nordvis Produktion Atmospheric Black Metal 8.7/10 I first discovered Fen when I was looking for bands that sounded similar to those such as Amosoeurs and Alcest, bands that manage to fuse elements of black metal, atmospheric music and post rock together to form beautiful music. While I personally found bands like Alcest...
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Interview with Devoid
The Indian extreme metal scene is brewing, with bands such as Demonic Resurrection and Kryptos gaining more exposure of late. We manage to catch up with Devoid, a death/thrash metal band that is currently signed onto Demonstealer Records, and learn more about their craft. Read the interview here.
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Album Review: Mitochondrion - Parasignosis
Mitochondrion [Canada] Parasignosis 2011 Full Length Death Metal 9.0/10 Mitochondrion’s Parasignosis is their second full length effort. Seeing how their first album, Archaeaeon, was praised and the comparisons of their music to various other death metal acts that I happened to like, I knew that this was one album that I had to check out. Read the review here.
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Album Review: Inquisition - Ominous Doctrines of...
Inquisition [USA] Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm 2010 Full Length Black Metal 9.5/10 After an extremely long wait and numerous delays, Inquisition finally released the follow up to 2007’s Nefarious Dismal Orations, Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm, and to my delight they do not disappoint with this record with their music and the bombastic...
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Interview with Gravehill
Gravehill formed in 2001, only to break up and reform again in 2007, and finally dropped their debut full length album, Rites of the Pentagram in 2009 upon mankind. Being reissued in 2010 with the Metal of Death EP as bonus materials, Rites of the Pentagram pays homage to old school death/thrash metal. We talk to Mike Abominator, vocalist of Gravehill. Read the interview here.
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Album Review: Sargon - In Contempt
Sargon [Panama] In Contempt (Promo) 2011 Full Length Death/Thrash Metal 8.8/10 Sargon is the first band out of Panama that I encounter and I have to say, this release has left me extremely impressed. Sargon was formed in 2008 and will only be officially releasing their debut full length album, In Contempt this year. One other interesting fact (that actually really caught my attention) is...
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Album Review: Rudra - Brahmavidya: Transcendental...
Rudra [Singapore] Brahmavidya: Transcendental I 2009 Full Length Black/Death Metal 9.0/10 Singapore’s Rudra returns with their second installment of the Brahmavidya trilogy with Transcendental I. Following the foundations that they have set up with the previous album, Primordial I, Transcendental I displays a more polished side of Rudra, displaying their ability to play extremely fast...
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Album Review: Perdition Temple - Edict of the...
Perdition Temple [USA] Edict of the Antichrist Elect 2010 Full Length Black/Death Metal 8.3/10 The 2009 announcement of Angelcorpse’s split due to musical differences caused much disappointment among Angelcorpse fans, and saw Pete Helmkamp moving on to focus on his other war metal projects such as Order from Chaos and Revenge. On the other hand, Gene Pablubicki and Terry...
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Album Review: X Japan - Dahlia
X Japan [Japan] Dahlia 1996 Full Length Power Metal/J-Rock 9.5/10 Dahlia is the swan song of X Japan before they split up in 1997/1998. While they have created an image with their bombastic hairstyles and dress sense, the band has toned down slightly on this album. This however does not mean that the quality of their music has faltered, as evident by the legacy that Dahlia, 15 years on. ...
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HMT Gluttons Club: Blk 928 Yishun Laska
If you have friends who live or work in the Yishun Central area for many years and you ask them this question: “Where can I find tasty meal in Yishun?”, most likely, they will tell you “Yishun Central LAKSA” or “Chong Pang Nasi Lemak”. These two stalls have been around for more than a decade which make it little wonder that they are so well-known! The laksa stall has moved...
Special column: The Death of Record Stores
R.I.P. METAL HAVEN: An “Armageddon Sale” isn’t a good promotion for any record store, even one that specializes in grim, foreboding heavy metal. But the end hath arrived for Metal Haven. Save new releases, everything at 2003 W. Montrose is on sale. Discounts will increase randomly throughout March and April, and owner Mark Weglarz shuts ‘er down for good by May 1st. Read the full article...
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Interview with Coffins
Coffins is possibly one of the biggest death/doom acts that come out of Japan. The band has released 3 full length albums and a whole host of splits, with a couple more coming up this year. We talk to Uchino, guitarist and vocalist of the band. Read the interview here.
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Album Review: Gravehill - Rites of the Pentagram
Gravehill [USA] Rites of the Pentagram 2009 Full Length Death/Thrash Metal 8.5/10 Gravehill brings to mind old school thrash metal, complete with leather, spikes, bullet belts and spikes. Rites of the Pentagram is their first full length release after their reformation in 2007. Read the review here.
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Album Review: The Wounded Kings / Cough - An...
The Wounded Kings [UK] / Cough [US] An Introduction to the Black Arts 2010 Split EP Doom/Sludge Metal 8.5/10 This split should prove to be a worthwhile listen to fans of slow doom and sludge, definitely doesn’t disappoint. Read the review here.
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Views from the Pit: Asian Worshippers Tour 2011
Date: 16 January 2011 Venue: The Substation Lineup: Humiliation (Malaysia) Draconis Infernum Surrender of Divinity (Thailand) Impiety Impiety kicks off their Asian Worshippers Tour 2011 in support of their latest opus, Worshippers of the Seventh Tyranny on 16th January 2011 at The Substation. This occasion is a significant one for a few reasons, the first being that this is the first...
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Interview with Mathias from Algaion
Algaion released their third full length album, Exthros under Pulverised Records 13 years after their previous full length, General Enmity. Now armed with folk influences in addition to their previous black metal fare, we managed to catch Mathias, guitarist, bassist and keyboardist of the band to learn more about the band’s musical progression. Click here to read the interview!
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Interview with Mathias from Algaion
Algaion released their third full length album, Exthros under Pulverised Records 13 years after their previous full length, General Enmity. Now armed with folk influences in addition to their previous black metal fare, we managed to catch Mathias, guitarist, bassist and keyboardist of the band to learn more about the band’s musical progression. Click here to read the interview!
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Interview with Gravewürm
Gravewürm hit their 20th anniversary last year, and released their latest album, Blood of the Pentagram with a bonus CD featuring rare and unreleased tracks by the band under Hells Headbangers Records. We talk to Funeral Grave, guitarist and studio vocalist of the band to talk more about the history of the band. Read the interview here.
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Interview with God Dethroned
God Dethroned is probably one of the bands around that has constantly released quality albums, with last year’s Under the Sign of the Iron Cross being their latest masterpiece. We manage to catch up with Danny, guitarist of God Dethroned to talk a bit about the band’s album and his experience with the band so far, with this album being his first with the band. Read the interview...
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Interview with Hammergoat
Hammergoat is one of the first Brazilian bands that we interview. As one of the bands that play the art of war metal, we got to talk to drummer/vocalist CB to learn more about their craft. Read the interview here.
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Interview with MD from Tauthr
Tauthr features 3 members of German black metal band, Endstille yet present to listeners an experience that is far varied from what Endstille brings to us. Having released their album Life Losing in 2010, we manage to catch MD and talk to him more about Tauthr. Click here to read the interview!