RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://www.relapse.com/pages/left-to-die-initium-mortis What we have here is akin to a wet dream for any fan of old-school death metal performed by veterans of the genre. As the title of the album, the splendid artwork, and the line-up itself all indicate, this is a homage to the early catalog of the legendary Death and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026 BAND URL: https://kreator.bandcamp.com/album/krushers-of-the-world With Gods Of Violence2018, Kreator, an ANTIFAscist German band who, having attempted formation as Tyrant and Metal Militia in 1982 and Tormentor until 1984, finally had settled on Kreator as Miland “Mille” Petrozza (vocals, guitars), Jürgen “Ventor” Reil (vocals-1987, drums-1994) and Roberto Fioretti (bass-1992), seemed to have lyrically tried…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025 BAND URL: https://testament.bandcamp.com/album/para-bellum The great Roman General Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus once said “if you want peace prepare for war” and that latter sentiment, in Latin “para bellum”, is the driving force behind the legendary Oakland Californian thrash metallers Testament’s 13th full length. After a very good but creatively staggering Titans Of Creation2020,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://edgedcircleproductions.bandcamp.com/album/psychodelic-darkness What we have here is a most interesting musical proposition. Hailing from Chile and nursed in oppressive gloom by mastermind (and multi-instrumentalist) Witchfucker and drummer Thoth, this short and concise slab of hellish black metal infused with speed metal influences titled Psychodelic Darkness is nothing short of a perverted musical feast…
Photo: Ross Sewage The long-running and legendary death metal hounds known as Exhumed are about to unleash their brand-new onslaught titled Red Asphalt via Relapse Records on February 20, and it is an inspired and utterly stimulating piece of work that sees the veteran act on fine form and as musically potent, vile, and entertaining…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://www.megadeth.com/ How to sum up the vital importance and pioneering spirit of thrash metal titans Megadeth? To many of us, Dave Mustaine and his supremely talented cohorts delivered a string of flawless soundtracks to our youths that still resonate with us to this day, and which will undoubtedly continue to inspire and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://goatmilker.bandcamp.com/album/goatmilker From the wonderful albeit rain-soaked city of Bergen comes a strangely invigorating and energetic outfit named Goatmilker, and if for some reason their charming moniker is not enough to convince you that these chaps are fucking cool then their songs undoubtedly will. Somewhere between raw and catchy stoner rock and progressive…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://the-true-deceased.bandcamp.com/ Let me paint you a picture of a bright unscathed new world where mankind would live in joyous peace and cherish his life on Earth, our children would play in safety and real love would own our hearts, true sincerity lives away from greed…Now let me paint you reality’s picture,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://infraredmetal.ca/ There are few things more satisfying as a metal fan than watching a band evolve and consistently deliver, and few modern thrash bands have done that quite like Ottawa’s Infrared. With Manifestation²⁰²⁴, their fourth full-length released (again) independently last September 6th, the Canadians reaffirm their place in the XXI-st…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://www.witherfall.com/ The following expose is not a mere review – it is a personal reflection by a listener reborn.There are moments in a music fan’s life when an album doesn’t just impress—it devastates, heals, confronts, and ultimately resurrects you. Sounds Of The Forgotten²⁰²⁴, the fourth full-length offering from Los Angeles…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://www.flotstildeath.com/ For the past three albums, the eponymous²⁰¹⁶, The End Of Chaos²⁰¹⁹ and Blood In The Water²⁰²¹, the Phoenix Arizonian power thrash heavy metal outfit Flotsam And Jetsam have been on a roll with fantastic records full of heavy metal anthems that make Metallica, Megadeth and even Anthrax sound outdated…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://zakula.bandcamp.com/ In the movie “La La Land”, Keith (John Legend), tells his bandmate and friend, Sebastian Wilder (Ryan Gosling), essentially, that jazz is dying because the latter keeps it too traditional without opening himself for new ideas. How often true of heavy metal, how silly it sometimes sounds in the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://www.instagram.com/vader_band_official/ Polish death metal legends Vader are not merely one of the foremost purveyors of insanely catchy and pummeling tunes of darkness but also exceptionally consistent with respect to delivering outputs that ooze quality and great songwriting chops. They have been around for what seems like forever, yet they have lost none…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://fatesmessenger.com/ In the reviewer’s, indeed, a metalhead’s experience, one of the best moments is when you hear that one guitar sound that just takes you emotionally to the next level, one where you go “Holy cow, who are these guys?!” and your metal is never the same. For me, there…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://holycide.bandcamp.com/ If you miss the essential Megadeth from their first 4 (arguably 5) albums, equally essential Kreator from their first 5, Slayer from their first 6, some Sepultura from Beneath The Remains¹⁹⁸⁹ and don’t mind some D.R.I. thrown into the mix poured into a Sodomic basin, then the Spanish deathly…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: http://www.rage-official.com/ I tell you Jesus Christ was just an ordinary man, but he was wise, much wiser than the rest, the few to see wrote tales about him but time perverted it all – Rage “Echoes Of Evil” One of the bands which had had a very long history, tons of…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://enforced.bandcamp.com/ Thrash metal and crossover (with a little death metal for good measure) can make great bedfellows when handled with passion, talent and caution. Such is the case with the Richmond Virginian trio (yes, the same as Lamb Of God) founded in 2016 by Knox Colby (vocals), Will Wagstaff (guitars)…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://suicidalangels.net/ Once again, I must admit that I have never heard any of the Greek thrash metallers’ previous albums, but, if their 8th album, Profane Prayer²⁰²⁴, released on March 1st via the mighty Nuclear Blast Records, is any indication, to quote “Pretty Woman’s” Vivien Ward, big mistake, huge! Frankly, I have…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://sadusofficial.bandcamp.com/ Before the universally regarded as one of the most brilliant bassists in heavy metal, Steven “you can hear my bass louder than any other instrument in the mix” Di Giorgio, appeared in Death’s seminal Human¹⁹⁹¹ (by many regarded as their magnum opus) he had begun in the Californian technical…
– VENUE: OVO Wembley Arena – DATE: 25.02.2025 – ORGANIZER: Live Nation Photo by C.N. The mighty roar of the thunderous Pantera celebration filled the sold-out OVO Wembley Arena last night to the joy and delight of fans both old and new. With a rapturous and highly energetic crowd spanning multiple generations, there was a…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025 BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/what-lies-ahead A relatively young band in some respects, Frightful came into being in 2016 in Gdansk and have released a couple of demos and EPs since then, but the thing is that they churn out skull-rattling and tightly executed death metal as if they were veterans of the genre. Such is…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://www.exhorder.com/ And you will hear wars nearby and reports of wars far away. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must come to pass, but it is not yet the end. For group will rise against group, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://motherofallofficial.bandcamp.com/ Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy s@#t we don’t need…We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/BloodRedThroneOfficial https://bloodredthrone.bandcamp.com/music I’m going to go on the record and say something this review will prove beyond reasonable doubt: if you don’t like Blood Red Throne you don’t like death metal. Blood Red Throne (BRT) is a band whose music I know intimately thanks to their main founder and one…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://antagonyzemetal.bandcamp.com/ Old school death metal is going through a Renaissance. There are countless labels signing bands influenced by old Death, Obituary and the first two Kreator records. Additionally, some labels specifically promote just old school death metal, which also doesn’t hurt. However, there are few bands who can pull off…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.cavaleraconspiracy.net/ Brothers Igor and Max Cavalera hardly need any introduction, so let us merely skip the formalities and briefly discuss the music instead, shall we? Having the two talented souls reunite and launch the Cavalera (or Cavalera Conspiracy, if you will) project some years back has resulted in us being treated…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.ironaltarband.com/ One of the albums I’ve been meaning to get to reviewing in 2023 but something always got in the way was the 2nd (after the independently released Pillars Of Blood²⁰¹⁸) full length by the Scottish progressive metalcorers Iron Altar, Promethean²⁰²³ released on September 29th via Trepanation Recordings. Despite it’s…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://theocracymusic.com/ The Georgian progressive power metallers Theocracy is one of metal’s lesser known bands, possibly because they are born again Christians (as opposed to cultural Christians) and are not ashamed to sing about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it’s mankind’s only hope. Indeed, as I state in my…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.sylosis-band.com/ Sylosis is a British metalcore act with some thrash and groove metal influences of which you could not tell that they were British just by listening to their vocalist who sounds so like the New American Heavy Metal screamer I was actually shocked to learn he was not an…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/raining-vomit This blistering and maniacal output by the Polish one-man outfit known as Drunk Thrasher is exactly what the mood called for today. Intense, fast-paced, and utterly evil-sounding, this is raw thrash/speed metal from the underground designed to break your neck and strangle you to death. The vocals are caustic and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.brujeria.com/ The Californian grindcore death metal groove act Brujeria (Spanish: witchcraft), which performs their vocals exclusively in Spanish, was formed by John David “Juan Brujo” Lepe, Patrick “Adam Bomb” “Fantasma” Hoed, William David Gould “Güero Sin Fe” Junior (Faith No More) Eric Reed “Jello Biafra” “Hozicón Jr.” Boucher and (until…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://facebook.com/GoAheadAndDieBand It seems ages since the legendary Massimiliano Antonio “Max” Cavalera, the (in)famous ex-Sepultura and current Soulfly frontman, aided by his younger son, Igor Amadeus Cavalera (vocals, guitar, bass) as well as Khemmis’ drummer Zach Coleman, released the explosive bombshell of Go Ahead And Die’s eponymous²⁰²¹ probably because so much…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://facebook.com/angelusapatrida Angelus Apatrida’s eponymous²⁰²¹, which I reviewed here (5.5/6) was a fantastic slab of modern thrash metal with hints of groove and metalcore so, when I saw the Century Media Records alert for the brand new video “Cold” I could hardly wait to sink my ears into it. Indeed, “Cold”…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://m.facebook.com/Witheringscorn There was a sense, after the excellent The System Has Failed²⁰⁰⁴ Dave Mustaine’s intended solo album turned Megadeth’s comeback record (after the supposed 2002 end of the line), that Megadeth was back and stronger than ever. Dave Mustaine did not waste the momentum but, having previously gained former Black…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: http://www.demolizerthrash.com/ Something I have not presented in a good while here is a thrash metal album and it just so happens that the Danish quartet Demolizer has released their 2nd (after Thrashmageddon²⁰²⁰ 2 years after conception as Demolizer) full length creepily named Post Necrotic Human²⁰²³ on July 4th on Mighty…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://carthus.bandcamp.com/ It’s raining independent debuts here at ER so, after the British death thrash groovers Lokust now comes the Australian progressive melodic death metal folk quintet Carthus with Images Of Tyranny²⁰²³ released on July 21st just 3 years after formation. What stands out the most are the band’s extraordinary skills…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.6lokust.com/ Since heavy metal was arguably invented in the United Kingdom, and, specifically in England, it’s been fascinating to watch the Americans “hijack” it and arguably make it better but then observe the Britts emulate that previously emulated music in pursuit of their own sound. This complex conclusion I’ve reached…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://astralborne.bandcamp.com/ Other than the perfect debut from Majesties Vast Reaches Unclaimed²⁰²³ I reviewed here I have not run into a melodic death metal album recently that would so clearly echo the Gothenburg founding fathers of the genre (At The Gates, Dark Tranquillity and In Flames) while remaining fairly unique, that…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://stillbirthofficial.bandcamp.com/ As you listen to the German brutal death metal and death core act’s Stillbirth’s new album Homo Deus²⁰²³ released on April 7th, you may get an impression you’re dealing with one of those young highly skilled ensembles at most on their 3rd installment, stylistically somewhere between All Shall Perish,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://corroderofficial.bandcamp.com/album/both-feet-in-the-grave I friggin’ love these maniacal thrash metal bastards from Trondheim, and this vicious new slice of harsh and punishing music of theirs is even better and more focused than anything that came before, which is saying something. As much as I dig the Tombs of Terror EP (and I still…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://facebook.com/omniumgatherumband While most bands either break or make it by their third album, few drop a debut near masterpiece (Spirits And August Light²⁰⁰³), remain puzzingly average and underdeveloped for the next three albums (Years In Waste²⁰⁰⁴, Stuck Here On Snakes Way²⁰⁰⁷, The Red Shift²⁰⁰⁸)and just when you’re about to give…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/theendreign This utterly fierce and cleverly written debut offering by End Reign not only boasts excellent musicianship but also a compellingly dark atmosphere that is unlike anything else that I have come across. Featuring members of Scour, Fulgora, Pig Destroyer, Exhumed, and Misery Index, and citing influences from thrash metal, hardcore,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.infernaltenebra.com/ I’ve either never had or haven’t had in a while a close 5.5/6 which ended up a 5/6 in the end, subsequent revolutions to clarify the matter failing to deliver. The Croatian melodic death groove metallers Infernal Tenebra’s pre-pandemic predecessor As Nations Fall²⁰¹⁶ was an easy 5/6 but not…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: http://enslaved.no/ Whereas E²⁰¹⁷ was a sore disappointment after the phenomenal In Times²⁰¹⁵, the former seemingly ending the string of top shelf material from Axioma Ethica Odini²⁰¹⁰ and Riitiir²⁰¹², Utgard²⁰²⁰ was a notable, if a partial return to form. I remarked similarly in my review of the album (5/6) where I…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: http://wreckingcrew.com/ Overkill or Over Kill? Looking at the covers of the 30 (!) full lengths by the New York and New Jersey thrash and groove metal legends it seems more the former but the name is actually one word: Overkill, just like Motörhead’s second album it was named after in…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.enforcerofficial.com/ There’s a mildly funny personal story connected to this 6th album by the Swedish speed and traditional heavy rock and metal quartet Enforcer. I had heard of them before with the Death By Fire²⁰¹³ album review by a former ET reviewer Matt Coe but had never actually took the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://unearthofficial.com/ When the official Century Media Records release calls the Boston, Massachusetts quintet Unearth “nothing short of standard-bearers and keepers of the faith for American metalcore” it’s not just a suave public relations rhetoric. As metal was largely losing its raison d’etre at the dawn of the XX Century, Unearth…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://enforced.bandcamp.com/ When I reviewed At The Walls²⁰¹⁹ (5/6), the debut album from the Virginian thrash crossover metallers I called it a mix of co-precipitated aluminium salts of naphthenic and palmitic San Francisco Bay Area thrash acids with crossover hardcore petrol of Cro-Mags, Biohazard and Hatebreed for the most volitile devastation…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://lepercolonydm.bandcamp.com/ The mighty death metal warrior Roger “Rogga” Johansson (bass, guitars) whose musical contributions to the genre run for four lines on Encyclopedia Metallum, is back with another slab of classic extremity, here infused with substantial amount of doom, thrash, groove and even traditional metal, joined by Marc Grewe (vocals)…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://nocturnalbreedofficial.bandcamp.com/album/carry-the-beast I have had a soft spot for these ugly and noisy thrash metal bastards from Norway ever since I saw them lay waste to the John Dee venue in Oslo in March 2005, and Nocturnal Breed rarely disappoint when it comes to unleashing malevolent and sinister tunes that deliver a…
