Checking in on the human condition isn’t exactly a chipper task these days. Granted, things haven’t been going smoothly in the world for quite some time, but lately it feels like everything has been kicked into overdrive and the fire is getting out of control. We could dive into examples galore but that’s a little…
Black metal has always had a history with helping people express deep wells of pain and sorrow within their lives. The tortured shrieks, the dark lyrics, and the harshness of the music all make for a natural outlet for artists to purge the demons from their minds or at the very least commiserate with other like…
The old saying goes that if you stare into the abyss too long, it’ll stare back. While that might sound like a frightening prospect to most people, extreme metallers are cut from a different cloth. If you’re a fan of heavy records that effectively mix doom, death, and black metal, the abyss returning your gaze isn’t…
It’s been a long wait, but the first Lord Mountain LP has finally been unleashed upon the world. The Oath, released on January 20 of this year, builds on the promise that Lord Mountain displayed way back in 2016 when they released their self-titled debut EP. Fans who dug the band’s first output will not be disappointed…
Heavy times call for heavy music. It’s no secret that people lean pretty mightily on whatever brand of music speaks to them when the going gets tough. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, you’ve noticed that the going has gotten tough lately for most people. Having a great piece…
The last decade or so has seen plenty of events that make the doom of mankind seem rather imminent. Between economic collapses, pandemics, wars, and environmental destruction, it can feel like the end is nigh and getting out the sandwich board and screaming it from the street corner might start making sense. It’s hard to feel optimistic about the…
Torture and metal kinda go hand in hand, don’t they? Whether it’s death metal bands singing about gruesome ways to elicit pain or black metal bands putting various implements of suffering on an album cover, methods of making humans scream and squirm fit very well within the confines of music’s most extreme genre. Hell, arguably…
This year has seen a plethora of fresh offerings from new bands. There’s something undeniably exhilarating about hearing a debut and knowing that this is a band to watch out for. Whether a band can build off a promising first outing is another story but when the debut is all you have, and damn good at…
You shouldn’t really need an intro for a Jonas Renkse interview. Chances are, you’ve dug his work in one of his bands. If you’re a death metal fan, you are seriously missing out if you haven’t heard anything from his supergroup, Bloodbath. If you’re bread is buttered more on the prog and doom metal side,…
Plenty of artists have gotten lots of mileage out of the end of the world. There’s something about looking at the state of humanity and seeing how precipitously we always sit on the edge of disaster that makes for compelling art. Mankind’s doom and downfall provides myriad avenues for musicians and writers to explore, everything…