Album Review: The Call of The Iron Peak by The Devil’s Trade

I have heard a lot of artists talk about the idea of channeling negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, pain, and sorrow into their art. This process can often be cathartic and even healing for both artist and witness. Perhaps the process of facing these difficult topics and feelings via the medium of art allows… Continue reading Album Review: The Call of The Iron Peak by The Devil’s Trade

Album Review: Desolator’s Sermon of Apathy (Black Lion Records, Sept. 4th)

My first exposure to death metal, in late 1994/early 1995, came via Obituary’s World Demise and Symbolic from Death.  Both albums turned me on to the genre but it wasn’t until I discovered Entombed that it fully clicked.  Left Hand Path changed my outlook on heavy music and I fully bought in to what the… Continue reading Album Review: Desolator’s Sermon of Apathy (Black Lion Records, Sept. 4th)

Your Bandcamp Friday Wishlist: The August 2020 Edition

Boy howdy, was the underground music scene excited when we heard that bandcamp was extending their very popular Bandcamp Friday promotion for the rest of the year!  It’s almost as if bandcamp cares more about people than the federal government of the United States… But that’s a whole other column.  In case you’ve been escaping… Continue reading Your Bandcamp Friday Wishlist: The August 2020 Edition

Album Review: Misery Signals’ Ultraviolet (August 7th, Self-Released)

When the opportunity to review Ultraviolet, the new offering from Misery Signals, floated across my virtual desk, it piqued my interest more than most. While I haven’t heard their entire back catalogue, I was fortunate enough to sit in on an interview with original bassist Kyle Johnson back in 2014, as a contributor to The… Continue reading Album Review: Misery Signals’ Ultraviolet (August 7th, Self-Released)

Single Review: X-Ray Love’s “Sha La Love”

Speculation and debate about the death of rock ’n’ roll has been rife for decades now. Whenever we feel certain that it is time to close the lid on the casket, another set of bands arrives to show us that rock ’n’ roll his in fact very much alive. New York City’s X-Ray Love are… Continue reading Single Review: X-Ray Love’s “Sha La Love”

Listening Lately: Vestal Claret (Again!) and Drainbow

It’s gettin’ hot in the late July blogosphere….  Today we’ve got Vestal Claret’s just-released remix of their 2011 debut album Bloodbath and Drainbow’s upcoming LP The Tower of Flints blaring from the laptop speakers. Vestal Claret is a band that pushes boundaries; they were doing occult metal before its trendy resurgence, as early as 2006. … Continue reading Listening Lately: Vestal Claret (Again!) and Drainbow

Listening Lately: Brimstone Coven, Khemmis, and Slow Draw

I belong to a dying breed of music listeners that still burns CDs and plays them in the car.  Here’s what’s been in rotation this past week: Brimstone Coven’s new album The Woes of A Mortal Earth is due out August 21st through Ripple Music.  A spin of the promo on the ride to Grandma’s… Continue reading Listening Lately: Brimstone Coven, Khemmis, and Slow Draw