so to tell you the truth, i only reviewed the last two archspire reasons for a few reasons:

1. i saw the cover to bleed the future on aoty n was like "that shit decadent as hell. prob sucks" BUT,
2. i took note of the release dates for this record and its predecessor...october 29th and september 22nd

those are me and my sister's birthdays (not telling u which one mine is)!! what a crazy coincidence!! so i pretty much had to listen to them and i ended up writing reviews. funny how ... read more

people talk a lotta shit about slam n "caveman" dm n all that shit but this is the REAL dummy metal. i hear the off the charts technicality, i recognize how insane the musicianship of this band is. but this is dumb. i listen to it and i think "this is stupid" and that's FINE, but on calamus will animate they literally layer gunshots under the dude's vocals. it's dumb.

this isn't a terrible release, it's just really not my sound and i don't understand how bands like this ... read more

in all honesty, the title track is the only essential cut here. that song alone is what makes this EP worth listening to, cuz man, that shit is some of the catchiest 80's crossover out there! it borders on party thrash with hilarious metallic interpolations of classic surf rock riffs. it's the kinda song you can't help but immediately love. there are a handful of other tracks on this release--five, to be exact--two originals, two live cuts, and a cover of war pigs by black sabbath(??). they're ... read more

trhä. how tf do u say that name? i just be sayin "Trah" in my head. does the lil umlaut above the ä make it pronounced weird? idk. but i do know this is some cool ass usbm (or at least im tagging it as such cuz they're based in illinois)! my good pal Lexa Black Metal has been recommending this artist and more specifically this EP to me for a while so i figured now's a better time than ever to finally give a trhä release the time it deserves. i've been meaning to listen ... read more

from the very first second of ugra-karma's opening track goatzied, impaled nazarene send a message: this shit is even more brutal than the debut. their sophomore effort feels like a significant improvement on all fronts; the tracks feel more complete and fleshed-out, with a heavier emphasis on songwriting. obviously the aggression is still dominant with grinding passages galore, but...dare i say there are some CATCHY-ass moments on this record? like, in the same way the title track of fallen ... read more

here we have the osmose-backed debut of finnish black metal mainstays IMPALED NAZARENE and what a debut it is! i'll admit, while i've always been somewhat interested in this band's penchant for unrelenting extremity (at least in the early days), i haven't really dug that deep into their discography past some very surface level skimming of their more notable releases. i'm tryna change that here and now cuz "tol cormpt norz norz norz..." (not exactly as catchy as "fallen angel of ... read more

in my scream bloody gore review i compared death to metallica, likening the two band's debuts to each other as i feel they share a few similarities. same goes for leprosy; if scream bloody gore is death's kill 'em all, leprosy's definitely their ride the lightning. sure, it's one of their lower rated albums here on AOTY and RYM, generally ranking somewhere in the bottom half of the death discography whenever this band is discussed--that's always interested me, though, because a lot of diehard ... read more

RAHHH RAHHH RAHHH big slimy death motherfucking metal from the midwest, gotta be one of my favorite OSDM classics. first of all, as far as goregrind goes? i take this album over any of the early carcass works. i struggle to name a (primarily) goregrind album i love more than this thang here. horror of the zombies is campy, bright red blood-splattered goodness, complete with horror flick samples and good-natured slaughter aplenty. this is the most overused comparison ever, but i REALLY mean it ... read more

YES, YES, YES!! without question one of the 21st century's most beloved extreme metal offerings is pig destroyer's sophomore release, prowler in the yard. their extraordinarily heavy style of grindcore pulled from different realms of hardcore and metal, synthesizing a crushing edge which--if you're at all into the harsher realms of metal and/or hardcore--UNIVERSALLY SLAPS!! ol' piggy d here benefit from a mix that hits with tastefully crunchy guitars. and of course, the lyrics here are truly ... read more

killer bouncy hardcore with old school taste. zero hour is one of my favorite metalcore songs of the 2020's, and a LOT of good metalcore has been released so far this decade. the riffs are capital "P" PHAT. real THUMPERS on this one with an excellently heavy tone--no-frills pit fodder done right!

season of the dead was one the very first death metal full-lengths ever released. some people argue about whether or not it's Really Death Metal ... i think it is and i dont really care enough to explain why.

maybe i'll elaborate on that thought if i come back to this in the future and decide i like it more than i used to and simply MUST write more about it. i dig this for the most part, but it's not one of my favorites or anything. i don't mean to speak negatively on such an influential and ... read more

death, the consummate death metal band! i'd liken their debut, scream bloody gore, to that of metallica's, the poster children of thrash. it really is the kill 'em all of their discography: the raw, retro-sounding introduction of a new extreme genre to the world, released before the band moves on to more progressive pursuits (and often favored by death metal purists as a result). the development of any metal genre involves years of precursory foreshadowing leading up to the first ... read more

always fun when an old favorite rears its head and reminds you why you love it. this used to be one of my favorite albums of all time and i originally gave it a 100 on my other account in 2019, but rescinded the rating a year later in an attempt to trim the fat of my perfect scores. as much as i still loved them, the misfits were a band that (spare a few tracks) simply fell out of my rotation and i must not have remembered why i loved earth A.D. so much. i impulsively gave it another spin today ... read more

dating back to 1997, two hours to doom by german band mörser is one of the very first LPs in deathcore's history. like metalcore, the contemporary deathcore we've been hearing for the past two decades sounds nothing like the genre it started out as; the sound of deathcore here is a grindy, metallic take on hardcore-anchored death metal. it's actually pretty accessible for those who are fans of vintage 90's hardcore. it's caustic and unhinged, for sure, but the riffs are bangin', the guitar ... read more

edit (6/9/23): yea, this is one of my favorite metal albums ever. not a SECOND of mid to be found

original review (4/10/23): now this here's an all-time metal classic...that i've failed to listen to until recently. but tonight i've changed that, and i'm now intimately familiar with fallen angel of doom... and all of blasphemy's grizzled, infernal glory. i immediately understand how this has built a reputation as one of the most influential underground metal albums, as it still holds up ... read more

tagging this albums gonna be a bitch--not cuz its musically incomprehensible or anything, but because i dont know that much about the anarchist blackened ska crust scene, y'know? i've known about the existence of this particular intersection of genres for a bit, but terms like "crack rock steady(*)" and even "skacore" are relatively new to me. ska punk has just been op ivy and rancid to me for years, now you're tellin me they combined that shit with black metal? ... kinda ... read more

this is my favorite kind of brutal death metal: headbangin', pit-friendly, relentlessly heavy and memorable. ahret dev were far from the first band to play rhythmically-driven brutal death metal, they weren't the only ones doing it in 1997, and a plethora of bands have followed in their footsteps to assure they weren't the last; but as your dear friend gutter420, i feel it is my responsibility to highlight just how badass this little gem is. i'm aware of the long-standing polish death metal ... read more

i'd never heard of sovereign until just recently, when i saw their popularity on aoty and rateyourmusic. seemed interesting and this album was short, so i gave it a shot. hot damn! the drumming, the melodies, the guitar tone, those VOCALS! while yes, this is a thematically dark record by the brazilian two-piece (which is now a one-piece), it's pretty accessible for such a raw and underground band. i find the guitar sound on this thing to be simply intoxicating. chilling yet catchy melodies ... read more

FINALLY! after over a month of waiting, the loyal subjects of gutter420 nation will at last know how i feel about dehumanizer. people have been flooding the streets, banging on doors...it's a rough state of affairs out there. took a break from the black sabbath catalog cuz if i'm being honest with you, as much as i love this band, trudging through their post-ozzy output can be a challenge. of course there are gems--there are more good sabbath LPs than bad ones if you ask me--but i needed a ... read more

i can't tell if more people love or hate 200 stab wounds. in any case, they've been one of the most popular new death metal acts of the 2020's, and they're one of those maggot stomp bands who initially got super hyped up only for a lot of those same people to hate on them for whatever reason. i imagine a lot of the hate comes from some kinda elitist anti-hardcore standpoint, considering this band's affinity for certain hardcore mannerisms. there are breakdowns, slams and chugs galore, garnering ... read more