Brutality is a concept oft-discussed in death metal circles. A band releases a new slab of tunes and writers and fans alike immediately hold it up to some hypothetical scale to see if it measures up. Local death/grind merchants Kayotik not only embrace this challenge but laid down the gauntlet in the very name of… Continue reading Kayotik’s Born Through Brutality
Author: Jeffrey Miles
Review of Graven Image’s The Future Started Yesterday
For this writer, concept albums are a hit-or-miss proposition. The idea needs to both inspire the band musically and power a lyrical thread strong enough to engage the listener intellectually. Nobody wants to hear Dream Theater grind out eight epic songs about waffles. (Or do we?) CT-based metal mavens Graven Image found their muse and… Continue reading Review of Graven Image’s The Future Started Yesterday
Review: Symphony of Malice’s Judgement Day
In the late 70’s and early 80’s bands like Diamond Head, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Samson, and Witchfinder General buried the blues base of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple in favor of quicker tempos, tough-guy guitar riffs, and a denim-clad aesthetic. This movement became known as the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal and… Continue reading Review: Symphony of Malice’s Judgement Day
Bonded Through Hate’s Doomsday: The Rise of Valhalla
By Jeffrey Miles It is no secret I have a soft spot for old-school, Swedish death metal. Bands like Entombed, Grave, Dismember, and Unleashed have always been held in high regard and I’m continually comparing new bands to these greats, most of the time with little success. Outside of Entrails, this is a style of… Continue reading Bonded Through Hate’s Doomsday: The Rise of Valhalla
Review of New Xenosis Album Haunted Skies
Progressive death metal is an oft-overlooked genre in the vast expanses of Metal-dom. While sharing in the knuckle-dragging brutality of traditional death metal, the progressive side adds elements of jazz and prog-rock to create a more cerebral, angular product. The newest release from CT-based Xenosis, entitled Haunted Skies, is tech-death to the core and an… Continue reading Review of New Xenosis Album Haunted Skies