Chronicles of Chaos

Album Review: BrokeNCYDE - I'm Not a Fan, But the Kids Like It.

Daniel Cairns — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As CoC's idiot purveyor all things recent and happenin', I decided to take a plunge and submerge headfirst into the fetid swamp that is screamo-crunk and their brightest lights, brokeNCYDE. (6.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Forest Stream - The Crown of Winter

Jackie Smit — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Sounding not too unlike every other gang of miseriguts who tried their hands at doom a decade ago after overdosing on _Turn Loose the Swans_, Forest Stream's latest is a pretty undercooked affair. (5 out of 10)

Album Review: Ioannis Anastassakis - Orbital Attempt

Daniel Cairns — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Yep, Ioannis -- to cut a long story short -- can play like a motherfucker, and he isn't afraid of letting everyone know. This record is stuffed to its musically proficient guts with lightning quick licks and fleet fingered riffs. (7.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Iwrestledabearonce - It's All Happening

Daniel Cairns — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

There are even moments that remind me (favourably, I hasten to add) of Mr Bungle's first record. It's a half hour clusterfuck that's compelling and addictive. And very, very fucking heavy. (8 out of 10)

Album Review: Lamb of God - Wrath

Paul Williams — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

On_Wrath_ the listener can definitely hear the improvement that has taken place and even the refining to the sound that was present on _Sacrament_. (8.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Waking the Cadaver - Perverse Recollections of a Necromangler

Daniel Cairns — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I know this is a few years old, but considering Waking the Cadaver are becoming fairly prominent, I deemed it necessary to give their debut record a belated review. (1.5 out of 10)

Chat: Plenty Left to Mutilate - CoC talks to Cannibal Corpse
(Everything you wanted to know about Alex Webster's sordid past and were afraid to ask about his increasingly busy future)

Colleen Burton — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alex Webster was pretty well on his game as he encountered a fellow Western New Yorker in the rather unlikely place of Scotland's capital.

Chat: Swedish Death Metal - CoC chats with Daniel Vala of Obscurity

Yulon Zhu — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Obscurity is a prime example of the glory of the European death metal scene in the '80s. With only two years of activity and no live shows until 2007, of course this band has stayed pretty much under the radar as a cult classic amongst mainly Swedish death-metallers.

Album Review: Anaal Nathrakh - In the Constellation of the Black Widow

Jackie Smit — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Whether the product of fan feedback or simply a case of chief commanding officer Mick Kenney being more incensed at the frumpled state of modern humanity than ever, _In the Constellation..._ presents a marked return to the unhinged, necro stylings of _The Codex Necro_. (8 out of 10)

Album Review: Damiano Mercuri - European Music and Ballads From Renaissance and Baroque Era

Quentin Kalis — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The straightforward and unimaginative title explicitly heralds the album's contents. _European Music and Ballads From Renaissance and Baroque Era_ really is just Mercuri performing songs from the late Renaissance and early Baroque (circa 1500 to the early 1600s) era on his acoustic guitar. (7.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Devilry - Rites of the Spring of Supremacy

Quentin Kalis — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Devilry's earlier years were spent as a typical death metal band before abruptly adopting a more controversial NSBM stance. A seismic shift limited purely to the lyrics, the band remain resolutely death metal without any RAC or folk touches. (7 out of 10)

Album Review: Ekklesiast - The Dead Boughs Will Awake From the Dreams

Quentin Kalis — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ordinarily, the mere admission by a band that they regularly attend church -- without gas-cans and matches -- would constitute a roadblock on the highway to success in a field founded on faux Satanism.

Album Review: Goatwhore - Carving Out the Eyes of God

Jackie Smit — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

_A Haunting Curse_ raised the bar to heights which most bands would falter in bettering. Yet somehow, this New Orleans collective has managed to produce a record that not only handily tops its predecessor, but have managed to unearth a few extra creative gears in the process as well. (10 out of 10)

Album Review: Hatebreed - For the Lions

Jackie Smit — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

For most of you reading this, I imagine that the idea of Hatebreed "Jasta-fying" a selection of metal and hardcore classics elicits about as much clamour and enthusiasm as a trip to the proctologist. (5 out of 10)

Album Review: Locrian - Drenched Lands

Quentin Kalis — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Those familiar with bands in the boondocks of black metal who flirt with power electronics and dark ambience will not consider Locrian's juxtaposition to be groundbreaking, but will be hard-pressed to name any other band that has achieved such a flawless realization. (8 out of 10)

Album Review: Miel Noir - Der Honigflugel

Quentin Kalis — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Erstwhile Bulgarian metalhead Dimo Dimov's recent conversion to the post-industrial temple has been embraced with the zealous enthusiasm of the born agains. (8 out of 10)

Album Review: My Dying Bride - For Lies I Sire

Kostas Sarampalis — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Depressing just for the sake of depressing the fans sounds a wee bit fake. Nevertheless, _For Lies I Sire_ sees the return of the violin. (6.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Neaera - Omnicide

Jackie Smit — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

By now, some of you may have noticed that over the course of the past few years I've taken so many swipes at melodic death metal that my knuckles are on the verge of turning into egg salad. So what makes Neaera's third full length different then? (7.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Obituary - Darkest Day

Jackie Smit — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Across its first six tracks, _Darkest Day_ appears to be on a par with its predecessor, but Obituary show increasing signs of treading water as the clock ticks on. (7.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Razor of Occam - Homage to Martyrs

Jackie Smit — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Cramming vintage vitriol exorcised on the likes of _Show No Mercy_ and the best bits off the relentless black metal assault of Marduk's _World Funeral_ into a admirably tidy package is Razor of Occam. (7.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Regardless of Me - The World Within

Quentin Kalis — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Regardless of Me are yet another nightingale-fronted new entity, but with a pop sensibility far greater than, say, Within Temptation or After Forever. (5.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Siren's Gate - Haunt Me

Quentin Kalis — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Heavenly-voiced songstresses are not normally associated with NWOBHM revivalists heavily indebted to leaders such as Iron Maiden (see "Chains of Pain"), and it cannot be said that Siren's Gate have made it work. (5 out of 10)

Album Review: Skull Branded Pirates - The Legend of Salty Jim

Quentin Kalis — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alestorm should be keelhauled for inspiring the current crop of frilly-shirted tomfoolery, such as this eye-patch adorned quintet of cutlass-wielders, whom I strongly suspect would thrive in a live environment, providing rollicking sojourn. (6.5 out of 10)

Album Review: The Firstborn - The Noble Search

Quentin Kalis — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Their peace-loving beliefs may seem inimical to a violent genre such as metal, but have we not been subjected to far too much juvenile Satanism and half-baked Odinism? (8 out of 10)

Demo Review: Xul - Regie Sathanas

Quentin Kalis — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Drakkar Productions, who have re-released this as part of their demo cassette line, can be counted upon to deliver solid, if creatively limited albums, and this is no exception. (4 out of 5)

Album Review: Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agorapocalypse

Daniel Cairns — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

_Agorapocalypse_ grinds and rages harder than any other release I've heard this year, and is the musical equivalent of being fired out a cannon and into a volcano. (10 out of 10)

Album Review: Anal Blast - Vaginal Vempire

Paul Williams — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

If you have a fetish for songs about blood, sex, death, menstruation, more blood and animals, then you will most probably enjoy the death grind abuse of Anal Blast. (4 out of 10)

Album Review: Brutal Truth - Evolution Through Revolution

Daniel Cairns — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Twelve years on from the seminal _Sounds of the Animal Kingdom_, the band have conjured up an absolute scorcher that'll rip the arsehole off of anybody caught in its line of fire. (9 out of 10)

Album Review: Chris Cornell - Scream

Daniel Cairns — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Firstly, I bet you're wondering why I'm writing a review of Chris Cornell on the site. (2 out of 10)

Album Review: Church of Misery - Houses of the Unholy

Daniel Cairns — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

_Houses of the Unholy_ is a dense, unrelenting, doomy boot to the fanny, and proves once again that Church of Misery are Japan's best import by a country mile. (9 out of 10)

Album Review: Iceni - As Carnyx Screams Consume the Silence

Charlotte Beskeen — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Now brandishing the new banner of Iceni and four new members, the band have churned out possibly one of the most underrated British black metal releases of 2007. (9 out of 10)

Album Review: Isole - Silent Ruins

Alexandra Erickson — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Melancholic, mournful and melodic. No alliteration intended, it's just the emotional response this album invokes. Isole are fast becoming giants in doom and their latest effort, _Silent Ruins_, helps further cement their position as leaders of the pack. (8.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Nervecell - Preaching Venom

Paul Williams — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Still big fans of the breakdown, songs that would inspire crowd participation and exquisitely slow solos to counter the brutality that ensues, Nervecell have definitely proved that they are serious about continuing to play mosh-friendly death metal that gets your fists moving. (8.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Root - Hell Symphony

Quentin Kalis — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alongside Master's Hammer, Root are the Czech cult elite, but sadly little known west of the former Iron Curtain. This is the re-release of their second album, and their first with English lyrics, which are sparse and broken but as Satanic as the day they started. (8.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Root - The Book

Quentin Kalis — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Root is widely regarded as a cult Czech outfit, but this re-released 1997 album is not cult. This is not to cast aspersions on its merits, but simply to point out that this is not the same Root that recorded _Hell Symphony_. (6 out of 10)

Album Review: Ruina - Ukruina

Alexandra Erickson — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Somehow this Ukrainian outfit manages to dip their toes into the tepid and stagnant pool of generic contemporary death metal (and all of its brutality) without drowning in it. (6.5 out of 10)

Album Review: The Devin Townsend Project - Ki

Daniel Cairns — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Seemingly refreshed after his break, sans the addictions that both plagued and inspired his earlier works, Devin has crafted a difficult, unusual collection of music. It also might just be his best yet. (9.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Total Fucking Destruction - Peace, Love and Total Fucking Destruction

Paul Williams — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The album actually contains what can be envisioned as the aural equivalent of peace, love and total fucking destruction, but with very little of the first two. (8 out of 10)

Demo Review: Everwhere - Life & Death

Quentin Kalis — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Everwhere deliver four tracks of Metallica and Megadeth derived thrash metal on this, their second demo. (2 out of 5)

Demo Review: Paranoid Earthling - Rock 'n' Roll Is My Anarchy

Daniel Cairns — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Paranoid Earthling are a scuzzy balls-out exercise in getting it exactly right. They say they're grunge influenced, but I hear more Fu Manchu inspired stoner rock here. (4 out of 5)

Demo Review: Perverse Osmosis - Swarm, Kobold, Swarm

Paul Williams — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

_Swarm, Kobold, Swarm_ is crossover thrash that got hit by a bus of crazy yelling people, who decided that taking the poor pulp of thrash to the hospital to get put back together properly was stupid. (1 out of 5)

Demo Review: Sixkiller Zero - Battle Royale

Quentin Kalis — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

These four sons -- and one daughter -- of Ulster perform grooving thrash metal over the course of five tracks, and it is the woman who is responsible for the monstrous and heavy post-Pantera riffs. (2.5 out of 5)

Demo Review: The Yellow Sign - Ancient

Daniel Cairns — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Yellow Sign -are- progressive death metal, and bloody good whilst they're at it. (3.5 out of 5)

Demo Review: Unleash - Wake

Daniel Cairns — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Well, let's have a round of applause for Unleash, who've sent me perhaps the most piss-soddenly generic demo I've ever received. It's... well, it's fucking Lamb of God, isn't it? (1.5 out of 5)

Gig: Sunset of Age Is Still Far Away - Anathema, Oblique Rain and Leafblade
at Teatro Sá da Bandeira, Porto, Portugal on May 6th, 2009

Pedro Azevedo — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Tonight, Anathema finally got it all together and delivered an outstanding performance, one that ranks among the finest ever gigs I've attended.

Album Review: 1349 - Revelations of the Black Flame

Jackie Smit — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

_Revelations of the Black Flame_ delves so far into reinvention that even hardened fans may find themselves wondering whether they're actually listening to the same band. (6 out of 10)

Album Review: Anubis Gate - The Detached

Quentin Kalis — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Of greater interest is the music, which has everything your nightclad black metal buddies warned you against: lucid vocals in key, an intricate and precise performance with the usual proggy tricks of unusual time signatures and unusual chord progressions. (8 out of 10)

Album Review: Beneath Oblivion - Beneath Oblivion

Quentin Kalis — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This vinyl EP consists of two tracks of doom metal in the vein of Sun O))) and Rwake. (7.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Dominance - Echoes of Human Decay

Quentin Kalis — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Their first release was well-received, apparently achieved cult status and might be worth a listen, but I cannot say the same about this album. (4.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Earth Crisis - To the Death

Jackie Smit — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

They may now fast be approaching a collective age where society would have expected them to have moved on to other, apparently more sensible forms of expression, but the good news is that Earth Crisis show not one iota of ring rust on their sixth full-length. (9 out of 10)

Album Review: From Beneath Billows - Evolve

Quentin Kalis — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Emerging from the heartland of black metal, the four lengthy excursions of _Evolve_ are proof that there is life in Norway beyond frowning raccoon-faced youngsters. (8.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Hymn for the Tortured - Every Night's Another Horror

Quentin Kalis — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I can safely say that this is the first band from Guam (a non incorporated US territory) to grace our virtual pages. Actually, it's probably the first band from any of the Pacific Ocean Island states. (6 out of 10)

Album Review: Ignominious Incarceration - Of Winter Born

Paul Williams — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Being such a young death metal band, I am surprised to hear such a good record from Ignominious Incarceration. (8 out of 10)

Album Review: Insect Warfare - World Extermination

Paul Williams — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Insect Warfare play straight up simple grindcore with the whole idea of the world being destroyed by insects. (6 out of 10)

Album Review: Minotaur - God May Show You Mercy... We Will Not

Quentin Kalis — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Minotaur never managed to attain the elite pantheon occupied by fellow Teutonic thrashers, in part due to their preference for remaining ensconced within established parameters, and partially because they dropped out of the scene shortly after the release of their debut album in 1988. (5.5 out of 10)

Album Review: Nitrous - Outlaw Racer

Quentin Kalis — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Having established themselves as a dominant force in the Estonian metal scene, Nitrous have little reason to steer away from the drag-racing thrash of their debut. (7 out of 10)

Album Review: Oceano - Depths

Jackie Smit — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Only hindsight will tell quite how close Oceano's _Depths_ was to being deathcore's last gasp for air, but it's certainly not far off. (6 out of 10)

Album Review: Opaque Lucidity - Opaque Lucidity

Quentin Kalis — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It is forgivable to believe that Opaque Lucidity are Slavic proponents of funeral doom misery; they are advertised as such and their members are involved in a handful of like-minded projects. (3 out of 10)

Album Review: Samsarra - The Unbeliever

Quentin Kalis — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This is essentially a compilation album consisting of new studio material, live tracks, a track from a previous EP and two acoustic tracks. (4 out of 10)

Album Review: Seventh Void - Heaven Is Gone

Jackie Smit — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Not quite as prone to the temper tantrums of his colleague, Pete Steele, and a consistently reliable force on stage, it was almost always just going to be a matter of time before Type O Negative guitarist Kenny Hickey went into business for himself. (8.5 out of 10)

Chronicles of Chaos

Album Review: BrokeNCYDE - I'm Not a Fan, But the Kids Like It.

Album Review: Forest Stream - The Crown of Winter

Album Review: Ioannis Anastassakis - Orbital Attempt

Album Review: Iwrestledabearonce - It's All Happening

Album Review: Lamb of God - Wrath

Album Review: Waking the Cadaver - Perverse Recollections of a Necromangler

Chat: Plenty Left to Mutilate - CoC talks to Cannibal Corpse(Everything you wanted to know about Alex Webster's sordid past and were afraid to ask about his increasingly busy future)

Chat: Swedish Death Metal - CoC chats with Daniel Vala of Obscurity

Album Review: Anaal Nathrakh - In the Constellation of the Black Widow

Album Review: Damiano Mercuri - European Music and Ballads From Renaissance and Baroque Era

Album Review: Devilry - Rites of the Spring of Supremacy

Album Review: Ekklesiast - The Dead Boughs Will Awake From the Dreams

Album Review: Goatwhore - Carving Out the Eyes of God

Album Review: Hatebreed - For the Lions

Album Review: Locrian - Drenched Lands

Album Review: Miel Noir - Der Honigflugel

Album Review: My Dying Bride - For Lies I Sire

Album Review: Neaera - Omnicide

Album Review: Obituary - Darkest Day

Album Review: Razor of Occam - Homage to Martyrs

Album Review: Regardless of Me - The World Within

Album Review: Siren's Gate - Haunt Me

Album Review: Skull Branded Pirates - The Legend of Salty Jim

Album Review: The Firstborn - The Noble Search

Demo Review: Xul - Regie Sathanas

Album Review: Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agorapocalypse

Album Review: Anal Blast - Vaginal Vempire

Album Review: Brutal Truth - Evolution Through Revolution

Album Review: Chris Cornell - Scream

Album Review: Church of Misery - Houses of the Unholy

Album Review: Iceni - As Carnyx Screams Consume the Silence

Album Review: Isole - Silent Ruins

Album Review: Nervecell - Preaching Venom

Album Review: Root - Hell Symphony

Album Review: Root - The Book

Album Review: Ruina - Ukruina

Album Review: The Devin Townsend Project - Ki

Album Review: Total Fucking Destruction - Peace, Love and Total Fucking Destruction

Demo Review: Everwhere - Life & Death

Demo Review: Paranoid Earthling - Rock 'n' Roll Is My Anarchy

Demo Review: Perverse Osmosis - Swarm, Kobold, Swarm

Demo Review: Sixkiller Zero - Battle Royale

Demo Review: The Yellow Sign - Ancient

Demo Review: Unleash - Wake

Gig: Sunset of Age Is Still Far Away - Anathema, Oblique Rain and Leafbladeat Teatro Sá da Bandeira, Porto, Portugal on May 6th, 2009

Album Review: 1349 - Revelations of the Black Flame

Album Review: Anubis Gate - The Detached

Album Review: Beneath Oblivion - Beneath Oblivion

Album Review: Dominance - Echoes of Human Decay

Album Review: Earth Crisis - To the Death

Album Review: From Beneath Billows - Evolve

Album Review: Hymn for the Tortured - Every Night's Another Horror

Album Review: Ignominious Incarceration - Of Winter Born

Album Review: Insect Warfare - World Extermination

Album Review: Minotaur - God May Show You Mercy... We Will Not

Album Review: Nitrous - Outlaw Racer

Album Review: Oceano - Depths

Album Review: Opaque Lucidity - Opaque Lucidity

Album Review: Samsarra - The Unbeliever

Album Review: Seventh Void - Heaven Is Gone

Chat: Plenty Left to Mutilate - CoC talks to Cannibal Corpse
(Everything you wanted to know about Alex Webster's sordid past and were afraid to ask about his increasingly busy future)

Gig: Sunset of Age Is Still Far Away - Anathema, Oblique Rain and Leafblade
at Teatro Sá da Bandeira, Porto, Portugal on May 6th, 2009