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Spewing some blasphemous old-school Norwegian Black Metal, today we have Deathcult and their latest 7” release “Seven Are They”. Featuring Hoest from Taake (and others) and the brothers Thurzur and Skagg, which also play or have played with many other Black Metal bands, this release gives the listener a little taste of the band’s commanding sound and blistering energy. | ||
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Featuring a very sultry and jazzy sound, today we have Bay Area outfit Brume and their latest full-length release “Marten”. Featuring eight tracks and nearly 50 minutes of music, this release has a very hypnotic and enigmatic pace, nicely mixing Doom/Occult Rock with more experimental influences. If you are looking for something unique with a chill vibe, but with some heaviness to it, this is a very interesting release to check out. The release opens with the magical “Jimmy”, a six-minute piece filled with moody tempo changes and hypnotic doomy riffs. Susie McMullan’s vocals are quite sultry and perfectly fit the loungey nature of the music, with tracks like “New Sadder You” and its magical cellos, “Faux Savior” and its melancholy, or the dreaminess of “Otto's Song”, showcasing the bands versatility and uniqueness of their style. | ||
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Hailing from Norway, today we have Heimland and their 7” release “Tronearvingens doed”. As a teaser after their 2023 release “Forfedrenes taarer”, this 2 song release continues to show the bands fierce Norwegian Black Metal style. With a very uncompromising and raw sound, this outfit demonstrates they are the real deal and should be kept on any BM connoisseur radar. | ||
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As one of our favorite bands, it was quite a shock when Ronny Thorsen ended the band back in 2013. However, we, as many others, were quite excited that they decided to come back in 2020 and with none other than Aylin on vocals. Fast-forward four more years and we finally have a new release, an EP this time, from this band and it is all that we expected and a bit more. If you've ever been a fan of 2000’s Gothic Metal, you will certainly be familiar with the band, and if not, this is a great release to get you started. Opening with the explosive EP title track, we get the band’s powerful distorted guitars paired with crafty drumming, subtle and yet dominant atmospherics and the singular vocals of Aylin. Bringing back members like Runar Hansen (guitars) and Jonathan A. Perez (drums), the band sounds like in their best days, with superbly catchy and engaging tracks like “Take These Tears”, which send chills down our spine, bringing back memories of the earlier days of the band. | ||
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Unleashing a very interesting and crafty Progressive Black Metal release, today we have Amiensus and their moody “Reclamation: Part 1” release. Featuring eight tracks and nearly 55 minutes of highly intricate music, this album has vibes from bands like Enslaved, Agalloch, all the way to Cynic. With each track introducing an interesting mix of ideas, this release is definitely one of the most unique and enjoyable albums of 2024. Opening with the moody atmospherics of “Blink of the Moment'', the band sets a very Agalloch-esque vibe thanks to its engaging guitar-driven core and excellent vocal (clean and harsh) onslaughts. This dreamy atmosphere bleeds into the catchiness of “Reverie”, a more dynamic piece that features an interesting mix of Progressive elements and engaging melodic passages. The band’s ideas nicely blend different genres and elements together as the mellow “Senses Amplified” showcases. | ||
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Creating something new and different sounding in Metal these days is quite a hard task, however, Sweden’s Dödsrit has managed to do that and pushes it to the limit with “Nocturnal Will”. Over the years the band has been refining their mixture of Melodic Black Metal, Punk, Crust, and even some traditional Heavy Metal. In this release, the six tracks and nearly 45 minutes of music showcase a high-octane sound that is quite epic, melodic, and yet heavy and powerful. Opening with the ravaging “Irjala”, the band starts off with some very Heavy Metal sounding riffs that made us think we had put on an old Dio/Iron Maiden release. The track quickly picks up with intense drumming and a hearty sense of melody, thanks to some excellent melodic passages and exciting guitar leads. The band’s sound is nicely layered to incorporate elements that need more than a few listens to discover, as “Nocturnal Fire” and “Utmed Gyllbergens Stig” demonstrate. | ||
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Hailing from Greece, today we have the sinister Dødsferd and their latest opus “Wrath”. Featuring ten tracks and nearly one hour of crushing Black Metal, this band shows the listener no mercy with their high-octane tracks and fierce sound. Highly recommended for purists of the genre, this album packs a lot of punch and shows that the band means business. Waiting no time to establish a pummeling atmosphere, “Restoration of Justice” opens the release with incisive guitar work and hellish vocals, courtesy of Wrath, one of the most consistent and fierce vocalists in the scene. The band pummels through pieces like “Decay of Sanity”, “Raging Lust of Creation”, and “Spiritual Lethargy”, unleashing long tracks (up to 10 minutes long) of sheer brutality. | ||
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Hailing from France, today we have a pretty interesting outfit with Demande À La Poussière and their mysterious Blackened Post-Metal/Sludge music. In “Kintsugi”, the band unleashes eleven crushing tracks filled with crafty tempo changes, ripping riffs, and punishing vocals. Mixing elements from outfits like The Ocean, Downfall of Gaia, and sludgier outfits, the band creates a very piercing and unnerving unique style. The band starts building a thunderous momentum with the crushing riffs of “Inapte”, masterfully crafting a very unnerving and yet immersive atmosphere, as it transitions to “Kintsugi” and “ La Parabole des Aveugles”, two tracks that showcase the band’s Sludginess. Weaving back and forth between hypnotic dreaminess and punishing dissonance, “Ichinawa” is our favorite track in this release thanks to its engaging tempo changes. | ||
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Hailing from Israel, today we have Tomorrow’s Rain and their highly polished mixture of Gothic/Death/Doom Metal, unleashing their sophomore release “Ovdan”. Making a big impact with their debut “Hollow” and its plethora of high profile guests, with this release the band continues on a similar path, but also starts to showcase more their own style in tracks without guests. The release kicks off with the elegant “Roads”, a Doomy song that features Andreas Vingback (Dark Funeral) and Tony Wakeford on guest vocals, creating a very sultry and jazzy vibe at times. Transitioning into “Sunrise” we get the band’s uncompromising Death/Doom core with crafty atmospherics, guitar leads, and tempo changes. In “Muaka”, the acoustic guitars give a certain Empyrium-esque vibe that transitions into distorted guitars and dramatic leads alongside Attila Csihar’s vocals. | ||
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Unleashing a fierce Black Metal debut, Satanic North comes out of Finland and is ready to rival any of the genre’s best bands with their raw and punishing style. In this self-titled full-length release, the band cranks out ten tracks and nearly 40 minutes of all-out war with their incisive style. Did we mention that this outfit also features Petri Lindroos and Janne Parviainen of Ensiferum fame? With this line-up we get a killer debut filled with old-school vibes. Opening with “War”, we get some foul opening riffs that show the band means business. Having that old-school 90’s BM vibe, the track quickly escalates to all-out rage with blast beats and strong shrieks. One of the band’s strengths is the raw power of their sound, with tracks like “Arise”, “Village”, and “Hatred and Blasphemy” being quite punishing, in part thanks to its double vocal onslaught, and yet featuring some clean and modern production. | ||
Zeal & Ardor - Baroness - Deafheaven
March 8th, 2019 - Houston, Texas
Ensiferum - Septicflesh - Arsis
January 28th, 2019 - Atlanta, Georgia
November 2nd & 3rd, 2018 - Brooklyn, NY
Eye of Solitude - Marche Funebre - Catapult the Dead
March 13th, 2018 - Oakland, California
Enslaved - Wolves in the Throne Room - Myrkur - Khemis
March 9th, 2018 - San Francisco, California
November 6th, 2017 - Atlanta, Georgia
October 29th, 2017 - Rotterdam, Netherlands
October 28th, 2017 - Rotterdam, Netherlands
Brujeria + Powerflo + Pinnata Protest
October 23rd, 2017 - San Francisco, CA
Orphaned Land + Pain + Voodoo KungFu
September 20th, 2017 - Oakland, California
August 16-19th, 2017 - Dinkelsbühl, Germany
August 10th, 2017 - Jaroměř, Czech Republic
August 11th, 2017 - Jaroměř, Czech Republic
August 12th, 2017 - Jaroměř, Czech Republic
July 28-29th, 2017 - Germany
Feb 2-6, 2017 - USA
Feb 2-6, 2017 - USA
Feb 2-6, 2017 - USA
Feb 2-6, 2017 - USA
Children of Bodom + Abbath + Exmortus + Oni
12/05/2016 - The Regency, CA
Sonata Arctica + Leaves' Eyes + Omnium Gatherum
12/02/2016 - Slim's - San Francisco, CA
Epica + Arkona + Fleshgod Apocalypse + The Agonist
11/18/2016 - Social Hall - San Francisco, CA
Fallujah + Between The Buried And Me + Devin Townsend Project
10/05/2016 - Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA
