mankvill

To say I was apprehensive about this EP is an understatement.

I remember getting a not-so-great taste in my mouth when the idea of Carnivore A.D. came about some years ago. I'm not saying having two original members from Carnivore is bad - in fact I think it may have been this project's only saving grace - but Carnivore (and Type O Negative) is Peter Steele. Without him, there is no band, even if they got a guy who looks and sounds exactly like him with a heavy dosage of uncanny ... read more

A lovingly-crafted note to the cheese of classic heavy metal - just not a very good one.

I suppose I expected a bit more from Andrew Lee, considering how good Ripped to Shreds and even Houkago Grind Time are. Instead, Heavy Metal Hairspray just seems a bit more neutered. Like it's more concerned with being a parody of hair bands instead of improving on the few really good hairbands a la WASP or Dokken. Like, I can't get the taste out of my mouth that this album is closer to Steel ... read more

Melting Rot's Infatuation With Premeditation is no-frills, no-bullshit goregrind/grindcore right the fuck in your face for 18 straight minutes and it kicks ass. With the grind speed and riffs of Insect Warfare with some of the melodies and groove of Haemorrhage, there's something here for grind fans of any kind. "The Surgeon Was Comatose" has a bounce to it that should make Jig-Ai fans happy, but the album is full of blasting straightforward grind too - "Morbid ... read more

It's so weird that I still kind of think of Winterfylleth as a newer band since I remember when they first came out and first started getting some traction - but The Unyielding Season is their goddamn ninth album in just under two decades! Luckily for us all, it's one of their best releases.

Still dripping with atmosphere and nonstop riffs, opening track "Heroes of a Hundred Fields" is a triumphant, epic piece of black metal that Winterfylleth is known for. "Echoes in ... read more