tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10162918351955152412012-01-27T16:01:34.230-08:00SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.comBlogger4851100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-63339431436153131752012-01-15T15:16:00.000-08:002012-01-15T15:16:46.721-08:00

Purveyors of ass-kicking grind, Terrorizer are back with their third album (second since reuniting in 2005) and fans can expect more relentless and ultra-guttural grind. “Hordes of Zombies” shows little variation in the band’s proven formula, the band has retained their maniac and frantic edge that revolutionized the grind scene back in 1989 with their classic debut “World Downfall” and I guess

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-80955247452268127932012-01-14T19:45:00.000-08:002012-01-14T19:45:32.999-08:00

A little bit of caveman roars and screams, abrasive and sludgy riffs, groovy rhythms and some nods towards black-metal make up the main ingredients for the debut album from Hazzard’s Cure. This four-piece band from Bay Area plies the same type of raucous and caustic sludge that acts like Buzzoven and High on Fire revolutionized, blending Sabbath-driven grooves with some hardcore punk nihilism and

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-654459935140394332012-01-14T08:45:00.000-08:002012-01-14T15:58:06.493-08:00

How can I sum up a band that sounds like everything from Drowningman to Fuck the Facts all at once? This could be post-hardcore. This could be tech-grind. Whatever it is, Burn Everything rolls through bewildering mathematical permutations on the most aggressive side of hardcore just as easily as they unfurl some relentless grindcore attack that decimates all in its path. On the “Last Run through

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-67802928328016994422012-01-13T06:13:00.000-08:002012-01-14T06:14:22.928-08:00

Thorun’s debut EP “Reprise”, released early last year, didn’t make huge waves, but did garner positive reviews and a small following of loyal fans. Their new EP “Chorus of Giants” sees the Wales four-piece improving their songwriting skills, shifting between loose and swinging grooves to powerful, bone-shattering doses of sludge, conjuring up a vibe that is comparable to a grittier Karma to Burn.

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-25415620438758558872012-01-12T00:12:00.000-08:002012-01-12T00:12:45.672-08:00

Swedish group Coldworker are on the verge of releasing their third full-length album “The Doomsayer’s Call”, their first record for independent label Listenable, following two consecutive releases on Relapse Records. It took the band almost four years to come up with the follow-up to their second album “Rotting Paradise”, so I must start by asking if this was a difficult record to piece

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-49313169699997993022012-01-11T01:18:00.000-08:002012-01-11T01:18:37.916-08:00

A side-project for Cretin/Citizen’s Matthew Widener, Liberteer’s debut album “Better To Die On Your Feet Than Live On Your Knees” regurgitates the maniacal and unhinged grind Widener is renowned for, albeit with a experimental edge that surprisingly creates an interesting and captivating sonority . One listen to the 17 songs will be enough to conclude that not only Widener, who plays all

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-31199649099103554972012-01-10T06:25:00.000-08:002012-01-10T06:25:40.842-08:00

One of the first death metal bands that Century Media Records commended, Holland’s Asphyx are still ranked among the elite of underground metal and if there’s one reason the Dutch stand out is because that they can’t really be mistaken for anyone else. That said, “Deathhammer” is unmistakably Asphyx, and the brutal and corrosive old-school death metal tunes contained on this record would sound

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-52483089027904622732012-01-09T03:08:00.000-08:002012-01-10T06:06:20.933-08:00

For those of you who don't know Golden Dawn, I guess a brief introduction to this Austrian act is in order. Originally conceived as a one-man-project by mastermind Stefan Traunmüller aka Dreamlord, Golden Dawn has released two strong records in the late 90’s, including their seminal debut “The Art of Dreaming” which is still heralded as one of the strongest black metal released in that decade.

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-70151449576890276992012-01-08T01:24:00.000-08:002012-01-10T04:26:59.043-08:00

I often complain that I don’t receive a wide enough variety of music to review as sometimes, it seems that everything just sounds the same. Then, this record turns up, and I sincerely don’t know what to call it. There is almost no way to place Antipope in a single genre as this Finnish combo merges a wide variety of styles into a record that sounds ambitiously schizophrenic and irreverent, but

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-33730704396960044912012-01-05T15:12:00.000-08:002012-01-05T15:12:28.267-08:00

Vallenfyre is the new project formed by Greg Mackintosh from Paradise Lost, incorporating members from My Dying Bride, Doom and At The Gates. Whilst the band was incorporated during a shroud of dark unpleasant times for Greg, the music is brutally heavy and unrelenting. This marks a significant departure from the music Greg is known for making. Scratch the Surface caught up with Greg himself to

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-35016476326323297882012-01-04T17:00:00.000-08:002012-01-04T17:00:24.950-08:00

Djent maestro’s Vildhjarta have pulled it out of the bag again with their latest offering “Masstaden”, with their music uttering bowel-moving lows and riffs which are complemented by some discordant beautiful melodies which prove to show both a light and dark side to the band. The riffs are brutally hard and the melodies are haunting, this is exactly the remedy the already over saturated genre of

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-40470093634384296972012-01-03T16:21:00.000-08:002012-01-04T16:47:51.013-08:00

When “Five Scars”, Night in Gales first album in 10 years, kicks in, you do wonder if you’re listening to a metal album here, or if it is the start of a weird classical album as the first track has only orchestration, no vocals no guitars or drums, just classical music. However once the second track “This Neon Grave” kicks in, you’re left with no doubt as to if you’re listening to a metal album.

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-37627213494353462762011-12-18T15:56:00.000-08:002011-12-18T15:56:58.703-08:00

Iron Lamb are something of a super-group featuring members with a vast experience in the Swedish death-metal scene with their involvement in prominent bands such as General Surgery, Repugnant and Dismember. Yet, their first record “The Original Sin” is so much different from what these guys have done in the past and is deeply rooted in d-beat and punk rock, and that to me was a bit shocking at

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-82849140950957843662011-12-18T08:39:00.000-08:002011-12-18T08:39:08.139-08:00

There’s no shortage of old-school death metal lately, and with bands like Entrails and Mr. Death emulating the corrosive sound of Sunlight death metal with surprising results, it’s also nice to listen to a band like Sweden’s Bastard Priest, whose Entombed-styled riffs are combined with a punk/crust twist that for the most part sounds utterly vile. “Ghouls of the Endless Night” captures the naïve

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-85961837249445074682011-12-17T04:26:00.000-08:002011-12-18T08:40:30.233-08:00

It may be their first release ever, but Finland’s Fleshred show on “Bloodtorn” that they have already mastered all the essential aspects of great and extreme death metal. This is amazingly heavy stuff, containing brutal riffs, thunderous, relentless drumming and harsh, guttural vocals. The Finns shred like pros and seem to have all the chops and abilities that bands like Hypocrisy and Vader are

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-40686783515752657492011-12-14T13:53:00.000-08:002011-12-14T13:53:13.633-08:00

As a long time Lacuna Coil fan, I have been looking forward to this album since its announcement. This excitement was tampered however, with a bit of trepidation as I wasn’t a huge fan off their previous album Shallow Life. This trepidation was unfounded however as for me this sees Lacuna Coil back at their best, and may be their best album yet.Listening through it seems like they have expanded

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-5917569781236346562011-12-13T11:10:00.000-08:002011-12-13T14:31:59.231-08:00

Somewhere between Meshuggah-styled assaults and Devin Townsend’s symphonic elegance, you'll find France’s Outcast. Their third full-length album “Awaken the Reason” is as outrageously chaotic as it is delightfully mesmerising and sees the French quintet manipulating a wide range influences with tremendous grace and technical aplomb. The chaotic, but equally delightful “Spin Angular Momenta” just

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-28482457841505374482011-12-13T03:57:00.000-08:002011-12-13T03:57:55.787-08:00

Norway has produced some seriously innovative and weird music over the last two decades. For every five acts crawling out the deep and dense Norwegian forests and resorting to cult black metal methods, there is always a group of musicians clearly bound to take a leftfield road, making music that not only is entirely their own, but it’s also challenging and irreverent. This bizarre pedigree of

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-36302266422232059672011-12-12T03:26:00.000-08:002011-12-13T03:27:22.204-08:00

Eisregen are German, sing in German and most likely will only appeal to a German audience. Who else would tolerate a somewhat cheesy, melodic and atmospheric black-metal record peppered with some industrial-sounding elements that can be best described as Dimmu Borgir-meets-Ramstein?There’s nothing really astounding, or even engaging about “Rostrot”, the record overflows with atmospheric keyboards

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-83518104884395479562011-12-11T02:26:00.000-08:002011-12-11T02:26:07.312-08:00

Arkansas-based death metallers Vore have returned with “Gravehammer”, their first full-length album in seven years. Yet despite the long hiatus, not much as changed within the band, their music continues to be brutal, direct and rooted in old-school aesthetics. The band’s primary focus was always more on creating mid-paced, brutal, chugging riffs that could crush the eardrums of listeners, rather

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-48157011709281848672011-12-10T14:16:00.000-08:002011-12-10T14:16:16.866-08:00

Following an acrimonious split with Dimmu Borgir, ICS Vortex aka Simen Hestnæs didn’t sit around feeling sorry for himself and decided to roll up his sleeves and start working on a number of projects that have been laying dormant for the last few years like Arcturus and Lamented Souls, plus he rejoined Borknagar and even had time to create his first solo effort. Recently issued by Century Media,

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-24557049173829480672011-12-03T14:26:00.000-08:002011-12-03T14:26:08.629-08:00

Made up of former and current members of Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Dark Flood and Catamenia, Finland’s Mors Subita show a lot of promise with their debut full-length release “Human Waste Compression”. Meticulously crafted and intensely delivered, this record finds the Finns fleshing out a fiercer and rougher sound than what they did in the aforementioned acts by blending the no-holds-barred and

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-27282703068535828902011-12-03T14:11:00.000-08:002011-12-03T14:11:44.882-08:00

Horror Movies and Music. These are normally things people assume would go hand in hand, and sometimes, they go absolutely perfectly, like Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie and Murderdolls. Sometimes it can go very badly like much of the entire Horror Punk scene. Thankfully, Zombie Inc. fall into the former category and their brand of Horror Death Metal is a kick that a dying scene really needs right

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-28306670247847446082011-12-03T05:37:00.000-08:002011-12-03T05:37:19.017-08:00

Since the release of their debut ‘Polars’ in 2003, Holland’s Textures have been gradually building a strong reputation as one of the most challenging and skilful acts in the metal scene, which now culminates in their most recent release ‘Dualism’. A record that marks a few firsts for the band, it’s the first album featuring new vocalist Daniel De Jongh and new keyboard player Uri Dijk, and it’s

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-77238248658874436262011-11-30T16:44:00.000-08:002011-11-30T16:44:00.706-08:00

For a first offering, “Diabolical Disguise of Madness” is not far short of staggering. The combination of diverse sounds presented, from ethereal, introspective soundscapes to furious and pummelling elements is astounding and makes it a highly good listen. Well, that, and the expert songcraft, too. There are nods to Meshuggah and Gojira in the way they fuse technical and crushing riffs with dark,

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-24414853953909231582011-11-30T16:35:00.000-08:002011-11-30T16:35:24.457-08:00

If the sleeve and the title don't make it clear, then the first 30 seconds of opener “I Have Seen Him Slay” will spell it out, Denmark’s Deus Otiosus plays brutal death metal.Drawing influences from groups such as Morbid Angel, Immolation and Incantation, the Danes proudly wave the flag of early to mid-90’s death metal and for the most part it works fairly well. Fans of old-school death metal

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-25144565721014896782011-11-30T16:21:00.000-08:002011-11-30T16:21:56.806-08:00

Pain of Salvation is a weird one. It has elements of Blues, Old school prog and Zeppelin era Rock n Roll whilst also featuring orchestration in parts and syncopated and polyrhythmic rhythms. Basically it’s an explosion of musical styles, and it does it well.At first the music swaps styles so regularly it’s quite confusing to follow, but when you start concentrating on the music, it’s a beautiful

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-10259219119376975242011-11-29T16:50:00.000-08:002011-11-29T16:50:12.045-08:00

Having traded US cult label Relapse for French independent Listenable Records, Swedes Coldworker figured out this would be a good opportunity to give an additional kick to their songwriting and performance skills and implement more rhythmic variance into their death-grind sound.Not that there was anything wrong with it, their previous two releases, “The Contaminated Void” and “Rotting Paradise”,

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-89625219522319536562011-11-29T16:24:00.000-08:002011-11-29T16:24:21.991-08:00

Swedish quartet Morbus Chron seek only the ugliest, grittiest and most vicious side of death-metal on their first release "Sleepers In The Rift", totally embracing the nauseating, fetid tone of groups such as Autopsy, Furbowl and Grotesque. Yet don’t mistake the Swedes for another effortlessly listenable old-school Swedish death-metal discharge, unlike most of their peers, Entrails, Crucifyre and

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-20141792122840987422011-11-27T11:34:00.000-08:002011-11-27T11:34:14.670-08:00

Old-school proto-thrash metal is what UK’s Elimination offer on “The Blood of Titans”, the band’s first full-length release since forming in 2007. In a way, “The Blood of Titans” sees Elimination mining the same ground as fellow countrymen Evile and Pitiful Reign, concocting a hard-hitting and head-banging thrash attack that pays homage to 80’s thrash heroes like Metallica, Anthrax, Exodus and

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-48707668421688103962011-11-27T04:15:00.000-08:002011-11-27T04:27:12.865-08:00

My second pick for best album of 2011 is “Pain is a Warning” from that Tennessee noise-rock institution known as Today Is The Day. Led by guitarist and vocalist Steve Austin, the legendary act has been pushing boundaries of extreme music since their inception in 1990, and deserves far more attention and recognition than what they’ve been getting.“Pain Is Warning” is the band’s ninth studio album

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-39076853898904026102011-11-25T00:06:00.000-08:002011-11-25T00:06:32.098-08:00

Evoking the dirty, pestilent atmosphere of early Dismember and Entombed, Sweden’s Entrails are old-school death metal way down to the bone, but they cannot be seen as another bunch of new kids trying to emulate the crusty and infectious sounds of old-school Swedish death-metal as Entrails’ origins go way back to the early nineties.The band has just released their crushing sophomore album, “The

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-32912704170017720472011-11-24T15:40:00.000-08:002011-11-24T15:45:42.125-08:00

If you know Entrails fantastic “Tales from the Morgue” debut issued last year and the old-school Swedish death-metal they play, then you know exactly what you're getting with the new album “The Tomb Awaits”.Still evoking the dirty, pestilent atmosphere of early Dismember and Entombed, “The Tombs Awaits” is a crushing slab of guttural and vicious death-metal with a dash of groove and melody thrown

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-17222041010455437272011-11-22T14:57:00.000-08:002011-11-22T14:57:02.038-08:00

After it’s slow and stagnant death in the late 90’s and early 00’s Thrash music is having a large revival across the board, and I fear that it’s going the same way it did before it died last time. The scene is becoming oversaturated with bands that have leapt onto the bandwagon, had a hit album or two, and then fallen off the radar completely. Untimely Demise seems like it will be one of these

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-25070564042225367182011-11-21T16:07:00.000-08:002011-11-21T16:09:57.111-08:00

People, 2011 is almost over so we thought we’d take a look back at the best albums released so far and point them out just in case you've been living under a rock for the last few months and missed some of these amazing works.So why not start with personal favourites Cave In, their fifth record “White Silence” puts a halt to six years of dormancy and offers some of the most outstanding and

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-1265682839005845562011-11-21T14:47:00.000-08:002011-11-21T14:47:40.480-08:00

There are very few albums that can be classified as both beautifully melodic and gut crushingly heavy. One for Sorrow is one of these albums and it is absolutely brilliant.The melodies are constant and flowing against the backdrop of heavy metal which creates a beautiful atmospheric sound which can lift you up and carry you away. When the heaviness kicks back in it brings you back to earth with a

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-90663499853055141802011-11-21T14:38:00.000-08:002011-11-21T14:38:33.845-08:00

“The Apologist” is the follow-up to last year’s “Ressentiment” and it sees East Of The Wall steering towards a slightly more streamlined and melodic approach, putting a greater focus on more memorable song structures. The group still posses the meticulous craftsman and inventive intricacies that were present in previous works, but the insertion of more melody in detriment of a dissonant harshness

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-82679547181728898612011-11-20T07:01:00.000-08:002011-11-20T07:01:20.688-08:00

With a name like All Pigs Must Die, it's clear that this Massachusetts four-piece are not into the subtlety game and their music is not to be taken lightly. Vile as a gangrene infection and menacing as the great white shark, “God is War” is one of the fiercest, ugliest, most threatening records issued this year. From the get go, “Death Dealer” demonstrates what APMD are all about, enraged and

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-26287841309466962792011-11-20T04:53:00.000-08:002011-11-20T04:53:23.829-08:00

Black metal is a genre of music which is thought off as solely coming from its bleak homeland of Scandinavia, far in the north and cold. Wolves in the Throne Room have set out from Olympia, Washington to disprove this theory and they do it with gusto, whilst also incorporating other elements into their music.For example, take the opening track Thuja Magus Imperium which has a beautiful melodic

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-22912405457377511782011-11-19T05:43:00.000-08:002011-11-19T05:43:45.914-08:00

Since the release of their debut “Polars” in 2003, Holland’s Textures have been gradually building a strong reputation as one of the most challenging and skilful acts in the metal scene, which now culminates in their most recent release ‘Dualism’. A record that marks a few firsts for the band, it’s the first album featuring new vocalist Daniel De Jongh and new keyboard player Uri Dijk, and it’s

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-75633365583719862162011-11-19T04:39:00.000-08:002011-11-19T04:39:08.954-08:00

Listening to "Through the Abacinated Eyes" is akin to getting caught in a bloody violent crossfire in the most dangerous drug cartel in South-America. Throughout 40 minutes, Skirmish holds nothing back and punishes our eardrums with their hyper-aggressive blend of raging riffs, crushing rhythms and furious vocals. In short, it’s heavy as shit.Scratch the Surface asked guitarist Mikko Kupiainen

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-24052282387302794322011-11-18T15:11:00.000-08:002011-11-18T15:11:46.318-08:00

Line-up shifts seem to be an issue for LA's White Wizzard, namely due to the constant changes with their vocalist. Yet while lead singer Wyatt "Screaming Demon" Anderson is gone, his legacy is well marked on the band's second album 'Flying Tigers' where he and his cohorts come into their own.In opting for higher notes in the vein of hard rock 'n' roll this time, Anderson offers a stronger

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-47061858807810932932011-11-16T14:36:00.000-08:002011-11-16T14:36:12.220-08:00

Iced Earth is known for writing some epic music, and this album does not disappoint in that respect. With new vocalist Stu Block (From Into Eternity fame) on board replacing former vocalist Matt Barlow, the pressure was on. Featuring songs such as the full on thrash attack of the opener and title track Dystopia, the beautiful ballad that is The End of Innocence and the power metal vibe of V, this

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-19701449106195569422011-11-15T15:37:00.000-08:002011-11-16T14:37:04.544-08:00

Once at the vanguard of the extreme metal, Earache Records now tries to sell us The Browning, a Dallas-based collective that is described as adventurous for pushing boundaries and pressing buttons in a way that most metal acts would not dare attempt. Well, that’s plain and simple bogus, ‘cause in fact these guys try to pepper their generic deathcore sound with some electronic touches in a attempt

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-54514143803800948872011-11-14T14:31:00.000-08:002011-11-15T16:02:20.349-08:00

HUMAN SCULPTURE – OUR WORLD TORN DOWN With only one year of existence, Finland’s Human Sculpture already shows a strong level of maturity in songwriting and execution on their first effort “Our World Torn Down”.Influenced by groups like The Black Dahlia Murder, At the Gates and Decapitated, the Finn’s sound can be enclosed in this new wave of bands that mix of death-metal brutality and

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-18426546024724076712011-09-23T09:10:00.000-07:002011-09-23T09:11:50.985-07:00

Since 2007 Tombs has putting out innovative tunes that fall somewhere between the coldness and abrasiveness of Scandinavian black-metal and the ferociousness and dissonance of U.S. hardcore, really making a difference on a often uninspired scene,This year, the Brooklyn-based trio is issuing their sophomore record entitled “Paths of Totality”, which is quickly garnering rave reviews from all over

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-24697278566412129322011-09-21T08:38:00.000-07:002011-09-23T08:47:23.443-07:00

Although I’m not a fan of Rap or Hip-Hop I’m aware that there’s this thing called MC battles, where MCs rap against each other to find out who’s the best at improvising some rhymes. So what’s that got to do with Iwrestledabearonce I hear you say.Well, “Ruining it for Everybody”, the band’s newest record really sounds like a ongoing battle between someone like All Shall Perish and Evanescence.

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-12071218681296540752011-09-19T04:53:00.000-07:002011-09-19T04:53:56.038-07:00

Jamey Jasta, the charismatic leader of Hatebreed must be a highly organized fellow to manage all his time and focus on his own band, his musical projects Kingdom of Sorrow and Icepick, his own label Stillborn Records and his clothing line Hatewear. Surprisingly, Jasta even found some time to write and record his first solo record, which was recently issued by Century Media.Everyone acquainted

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-89901353549651729342011-09-18T04:24:00.000-07:002011-09-19T04:43:48.946-07:00

Pioneers of the Gothenburg Death Metal scene In Flames have done it again with their 10th studio effort. Aside from the slightly creepy album name, this is an effort that stands right up there with their widely considered masterpiece "Come Clarity". This is also the first album the band has released without any of the founding members as Jesper Strombald left in February 2010.Even without Jesper,

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-43073801136738919552011-09-17T04:19:00.000-07:002011-09-19T04:24:11.272-07:00

Even though Norway has produced enough rudimentary and cult black metal bands to congest a wide Norse forest, it also has given birth to some of the most compelling and innovative music crafted over the last two decades. This year, The Konsortium are one of the most exciting outfits to fall under this bizarre pedigree of vanguard acts that goes from In the Woods to Kvelertak. While they do

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-56980587555208290902011-09-16T03:56:00.000-07:002011-09-19T04:18:35.394-07:00

Despite their poor choice of moniker (sounds like a drive in restaurant doesn’t it?), Weekend Nachos do an impressive job on ‘Worthless’ of proving their, err worth. This is a filthy, ugly and abrasive blend of grind, doom and punk fury that sits perfectly at home in the Relapse stables alongside the similarly violent and chaotic sounds of Mammoth Grinder, Disfear and Phobia. Throughout fourteen

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-30365890600513386192011-09-15T15:24:00.000-07:002011-09-15T15:24:50.577-07:00

Despite a frequently changing line-up, Chicago’s Novembers Doom has evolved into one of the most interesting and impressive doom outfits of today during the last two decades.Boasting guest appearances from Anneke Van Giersbergen (AGUA DE ANNIQUE, THE GATHERING), violinist Rachel Barton Pine (EARTHEN GRAVE) and the omnipresent Dan Swanö (NIGHTINGALE, EDGE OF SANITY, BLOODBATH), the new album “

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-57423643393172721632011-09-14T16:32:00.000-07:002011-09-14T16:32:00.544-07:00

With 20 years of existence, Portuguese Grog are like a long-standing institution in the worldwide gore scene. This new work marks the return of these veterans to recordings following a prolonged absence that lasted nearly 9 years and shows a reinvigorated band with a fierce hunger to recover all the lost time. The current line-up, with vocalist Pedro Pedra as the only founding member left,

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-47827999353546906042011-09-13T02:28:00.000-07:002011-09-13T02:28:13.363-07:00

Denmark’s The Cleansing return with a new record that even though it doesn’t deviate from their standard and brutal tech-death style, it really shows the band steeping up the game to deliver another crushing slab of death-metal that will surely enthral everyone from the novice to the seasoned listener of the style.Much like their debut “Poisoned Legacy”, “Feeding the Inevitable” is further

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-32925503279742655132011-09-12T02:22:00.000-07:002011-09-13T02:22:45.039-07:00

Drenched in vicious, raw crust-sludge riffs and anguished yowls, it’s clear that Oakland’s Brainoil aren’t in the subtlety game on their second full-length “Death Of This Dry Season”.  Made up of current and former members of Laudanum, Stormcrow, Watch Them Die, Destroy!, Dead Language, Grimple, Pig Heart Transplant, their sound is a mixture of groovy-influenced sludge with a dash of crust

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-49235239995222296242011-09-11T02:04:00.000-07:002011-09-13T02:12:08.503-07:00

StoneLake are a band that although having only formed in 2002, have been around in one form or another on and off since 1984. This 27 year partnership is extremely apparent on this effort, with the guitars and the vocals complementing each other very well. Marching on Timeless Tales is their 5th effort, and the title does seem to suit this band perfectly. With lyrics touching on fantastical

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-67520325340356165992011-09-10T02:46:00.000-07:002011-09-10T02:55:22.627-07:00

Since the release of the 2009’s album “Isolation Songs”, Finland’s Ghost Brigade has solidified as one of the most engaging and inventive acts within the metal scene. Their break-through record was elected album of the month in both Metal Hammer and Inferno magazines and now three years the Finnish group returns with another mesmerizing release that proves that “Isolation Songs” was no fluke.

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-62378506772547068492011-09-09T00:00:00.000-07:002011-09-09T00:00:11.251-07:00

European Death Metallers Nightrage have friends in very high places as they are getting some very big names in metal right now to guest on their latest effort Insidious. Although this isn’t to surprising as this is one of the many bands that now Ozzy/Firewind guitarist Gus G has played in. With members of Firewind (including the legendary Gus G himself), At the Gates, Evergray and Deceptor, this

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-51481188522426351142011-09-07T16:00:00.000-07:002011-09-07T16:00:52.665-07:00

Featuring members from Graves At Sea, Trees, Final Conflict, and Get Hustle, Atriarch’s “Forever the End” dwells in the same slow-dragging and monolithic doom of Graves At Sea. The textures are pretty identical, slow-dragging rhythms with riffs crawling at a snail’s pace, ominous bass lines and drum beats, daunting harmonies and wailing, tortured vocals. The four-piece manages to blend all these

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-10024604076800062622011-09-06T23:47:00.000-07:002011-09-08T23:55:40.926-07:00

Fans of that sludgy musical style otherwise known as swamp metal will probably want to check out Death Valley Driver’s first full-length record “Choke the River” as the Canadians engage in some grandiosely groovy and punchy riffs that reminds me of Down, Crowbar and Corrosion of Conformity. They kick things off with the title track, a bouncy and groovy tune that's sees vocalist Dan Hodgson

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-46268010892168210902011-09-04T16:08:00.000-07:002011-09-07T16:09:19.550-07:00

When listening to 'Aphotic', the latest offering from American romantic death/doom outfit Novembers Doom, it is evidence enough that the band don't expect to break any new ground with the eighth album into their career. At the same time, it can also be heard that the entire record does show some, if only slight changes in the group's style by means of a meatier sound production, weightier melodic

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-46961906069037945512011-09-03T15:54:00.000-07:002011-10-08T10:24:06.997-07:00

Although I never have heard of this Chicago trio before, Cianide exists since 1988 and already recorded six full-lengths including this new one “Gods of Death”. I may not know their previous works, but my guess is that the band haven’t strayed a millimetre from their initial path, which is grounded in old-school death-metal. With a gritty and corrosive sound that falls somewhere between Obituary

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-62547164302298717512011-09-02T16:14:00.000-07:002011-09-02T16:14:10.807-07:00

Evile started out as one of those bands that were caught up in that whole “thrash revival” movement that was going on a few years back. With this, their 3rd effort, I believe that they have finally shed away any forms of “thrash revival” and become a pure metal band. "Five Serpent’s Teeth" is an absolute ball’s to the wall metal album, which will definitely stand up there with their

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-42450552994597264952011-09-01T16:36:00.000-07:002011-09-01T16:37:14.984-07:00

Earth Crisis has always been known for their politically-charged message, which promotes veganism, human and animal rights, and the straightedge philosophy.Yet, the Syracuse NY-based quintet is more than just a voice against negative or dangerous behaviours. They're also one of most influential bands in hardcore and metal delivering albums throughout their 20-plus year career that has been

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-24300370465329705822011-08-29T15:27:00.000-07:002011-08-29T15:27:23.071-07:00

The first time I heard this new record from Swedes Inevitable End I confess that I had to double-check if I placed the right album on rotation. The transformation between “The Oculus” and previous record “The Severed Inception” is so huge that it’s hard to believe that we’re talking about the same band. I personally think this album is a major step forward for the band, because not only the

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-26722518869599861792011-08-28T04:43:00.000-07:002011-08-28T04:52:48.504-07:00

“Until Fear No Longer Defines Us” is the highly anticipated follow-up to 2009's stellar “Isolation Songs”, and despite starting off with a breathtakingly beautiful and entirely acoustic song “In the Woods”, the rest of the album falls in line with the band's previous output.The Finns sound has always been about contrasts, especially the one between light and darkness, and each song on this record

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-91014293804521348522011-08-27T11:35:00.000-07:002011-08-27T11:35:22.450-07:00

Everyone knows the lyric’s to Edwin Star’s classic War (What Is It Good For) War/ Huh/ Yeah/ What is it good for/ Absolutely Nothing. This may not be strictly true as Warbringer have taken their musical and lyrical influence from wartime and have done now for 3 full albums. The main focus here is on the brutal assault of the ears with their violent brand of thrash metal. Most songs on the album

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-44225181993246830572011-08-25T17:25:00.000-07:002011-09-14T12:19:41.934-07:00

Scratch the Surface Magazine | New issue out featuring interviews with GHOST BRIGADE, EARTH CRISIS, NOVEMBERS DOOM, TOMBS and KVELERTAK. Download it for free at: http://www.mediafire.com/?klf31erl2cyklngOr read it on-line here: http://issuu.com/scratchthesurface/docs/scratch_the_surface_issue1 Next issue: Textures, The Konsortium, Iron Lamb, Skirmish, Fleshred, Mors Subita and more.

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-50483505516531824472011-07-09T10:17:00.000-07:002011-07-09T10:17:29.698-07:00

I’ve been listening to “Psychogenocide” for a month now, and the first thing I thought when I heard it was how confident and mature the band sounds like on this new record. How would you say you’ve progressed as a band during these last two years? Barney: I think we’ve progressed quite a lot actually, both musically and as the people who we are. We did tour around the world quite a lot for “

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-14382451842083726082011-07-03T07:54:00.000-07:002011-07-03T07:54:59.688-07:00

In a time where it is increasingly common to listen to completely sterile metal records, devoided of any soul and personality, which were written with musicians trading files over the internet without being together in the same room for a single rehearsal, and were registered with the most sophisticated recording software available like Pro-Tools or something, it’s always comforting to still come

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-66613252448088949662011-07-02T09:46:00.000-07:002011-07-02T09:46:27.663-07:00

There are plenty of similarities between Corpsessed and Gorephilia, a band that I recently reviewed in these pages. Both bands come from Finland, are signed to Dark Descent Records and play a death-metal sonority rooted in old-school methods that brings back memories of old Finnish acts like Demilich, Adramelech and Abhorrence. “The Dagger & the Chalice” is an EP that features 6 tracks and if you

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-7979652854295651042011-06-18T07:39:00.000-07:002011-06-18T07:39:35.087-07:00

For years the cold and harsh reality of war has been the elected subject matter for a wide number of metal bands, from Slayer to Bolt Thrower, from Megadeth to Marduk, they all opted to write about actual events that actually shed more blood than all the serial killers, demons, witches, vampires and other occult characters of this and the other world combined. For Denmark’s veterans Panzerchrist,

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-60185196126178069932011-06-17T19:04:00.000-07:002011-06-17T19:04:22.278-07:00

When I first listened to Inevitable End’s new album “The Oculus” I immediately noticed how relentless and technical some of the new songs are. While the band’s first album “The Severed Inception” represented a true gem of death and grind music, this new album seems a lot more adventurous in style. The differences between the two records are immeasurable, so much that I could have easily mistake

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-69048030968221071252011-06-16T02:25:00.000-07:002011-06-16T02:25:04.611-07:00

That Century Media recognized the potential in this Israel act pretty much says that Sonne Adam must be doing something right ‘cause it’s not everyday that we witness a strong record label the size of Century Media signing an underground death metal act from the Middle East no one has heard of before.Sonne Adam’s debut full-length release is a creepy and sinister journey into the world of

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-87994419171262844802011-06-15T12:39:00.000-07:002011-06-15T12:39:05.582-07:00

“Ascend to Chaos” comes with a release date for 2011, but the music reeks heavily of the primordial days of European death-metal, in particular bands like Demilich, Adramelech and Abhorrence. It also stands perfectly alongside the recent works of fellow countrymen Claws and Hooded Menace, perhaps Gorephilia puts a bit more focus on rabid and vicious tempos than slow and dragging ones. Revelling

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-66882871119493007302011-06-15T04:04:00.000-07:002011-06-15T04:04:55.824-07:00

If you like your grindcore to sound like the ugliest car wreck you ever imagined, then Phobia’s “Unrelenting” is perfect for you. Just like its title suggests, this new EP featuring 16 tracks is intense and ruthless all the way through, it’s fast, ferocious and insane just like any damn good grindcore release should be. This one is all about going straight for the jugular without second thoughts,

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-49074887852258262672011-06-15T03:52:00.000-07:002011-06-15T03:53:10.978-07:00

Danish death-metallers The Cleansing have done very well for themselves in just 2 years. They have signed to Deepsend Records, had their debut album "Poisoned Legacy" nominated at Danish Metal Awards as "Metal Debut Album Of The Year", not to mention that it was extremely well received by press and public, and toured throughout Denmark with label-mates Dawn of Demise. Their second album “Feeding

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-4523457188204284622011-06-14T05:22:00.000-07:002011-06-14T05:22:30.210-07:00

Over the last two years we have been witnessing a growing wave of bands from all over the whole globe with a strong devotion to the traditional and glorious sounds of the 80's. While some don’t sound more than an embarrassing and feeble imitation of what bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate and Black Sabbath had offered us in their golden age, others really nail it and capture the

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-75179055717607762832011-05-29T14:52:00.000-07:002011-05-29T14:52:57.738-07:00

This Cardiff-based and strangely monikered act delivers an ambitious and eclectic debut album, throwing elements of death, industrial, thrash and even nu-metal into a framework that for the most part fits the deathcore standards, however the end result seems a bit more confused than it does inventive. The effort to make their growls and screams heard above all the countless others in the current

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-23029043850231560642011-05-29T04:35:00.000-07:002011-05-29T04:35:20.091-07:00

After almost three years in torpor, Swedes One Man Army & The Undead Quartet emerge with a new album that sees them going back to the more feral and full-frontal assault of their early works. It’s a formula that has proven to be very successful for them in the past, but on their fourth full-length starts to suffer from the “been there done that” syndrome. That’s not to say that “The Dark Epic” is

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-22924786551540218142011-05-29T04:24:00.000-07:002011-05-29T04:24:47.328-07:00

Blatantly abrasive and in your face, the third album from London’s Pariso seethes with the same brutal anguish of acts like Converge and Botch just in a scant 12 minutes. Throughout a short seven tracks, Pariso batter their instruments with demented intensity as if they were just a few seconds away from cracking and setting the studio aflame, offering a blend of caustic and discordant riffs,

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-22009572272269246912011-05-27T18:41:00.000-07:002011-05-27T18:41:11.343-07:00

If you know Bruce Lamont’s work, you never quite know what you’re in for. One thing is certain though, it will never be an easy listening musical experience that you could randomly play on your IPod on the way to work or school. The Chicago-based musician has been pushing the boundaries of music and in particular metal during the last ten years with his main act Yakuza and with multiple

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-17826062617074075642011-05-27T18:30:00.000-07:002011-05-27T18:30:26.247-07:00

Not to be mistaken with the Swedish band that once featured Marco Aro, who spent some time with thrashers The Haunted, this Face Down comes from Paris, France and has elected Pantera as their ultimate source of inspiration. Honestly, the Pantera influence is so outrageously obvious that I almost felt tempted to turn this off after opening song “One Last Walk” ends and slag them off as mere

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-88094038347410737372011-05-22T05:08:00.000-07:002011-05-22T05:08:24.800-07:00

If you ever wondered how Burzum sounded like if crossed with some gothic music in the vein of Bauhaus or Fields Of The Nephilim then the first real theme “Bleak” from Srodek’s second album “Förfall” could be a pretty reliable illustration. It blends that minimal and anguished black-metal of the Norse act with some gothic melancholy a la Bauhaus, a direction that is stretched out through the

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-80834694302619258042011-05-18T16:10:00.000-07:002011-05-18T16:10:08.946-07:00

When I first saw the sci-fi cover of Graviton’s “Massless”, I immediately thought it was a bit Voivodian. Although I cannot say that both acts sound alike, the differences between the two are immeasurable, the philosophy and approach to song-writing is pretty much the same, to twist and bend the limits and rules of music to create songs that defy easy categorization and really stand out from a

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-56193582895363749472011-05-16T15:49:00.000-07:002011-05-16T15:49:16.558-07:00

At the beginning of 2009, Portugal’s We Are the Damned looked like they were facing lean times. Just when the band was preparing to enter the recording studio to tape their sophomore work, charismatic and powerful vocalist Sofia Loureiro left the group due to professional reasons, prompting a sudden line-up change with guitarist Ricardo Correia assuming the vocalizations and recruiting Ricardo

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-37686791114229026882011-05-15T15:23:00.000-07:002011-05-15T15:23:04.758-07:00

Although Angelus Apatrida live right across the border in Spain, I must confesses that I had never heard of them before receiving this record “Clockwork”, which is actually their third full-length album in a career that spans over ten years now. Throughout 13 tracks, including a cover of Iron Maiden’s “Be Quick or Be Dead”, the Spanish quartet delivers a high-octane and tasty thrash-metal that

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Speed/Kill/Hate - seems that these are the principles of this New-York quartet, not necessarily in that order. “Out for Blood” marks the end of a seven-year hiatus imposed by several line-up problems and it really shows a reinvigorated group with an atrocious hunger for blood, determined to inflict as much aural damage as possible. Band leader and guitarist David Linsk, also of old-thrashers

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The name kind of suggests something along the line of retro-rock or 80’s rock-glam, doesn't it? Well this Swedish-based trio does possess a retro obsession, but it’s directed at a punk-charged thrash-metal in the vein of Motorhead and Celtic Frost. The policy of Turbocharged is a simple one, to churn out some direct and raw riffs with a fierce intent and no frills attitude, shout some words

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Remember the speech William Wallace gave to his warriors before going into the legendary battle of Stirling on “Braveheart”? Well, it could as well be Turisas “Stand Up and Fight” theme playing and the reactions would be just as enthusiastic and motivated as the ones portrayed on Mel Gibson’s directed movie. I know it may sound a bit silly for a grown adult to behave like a Dungeons and

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Finland’s NORTHER recently released their first album with new singer Aleksi Sihvonen in the form of Circle Regenerated. For me personally, I always felt NORTHER and KALMAH are two bands that picked up the torch where CHILDREN OF BODOM left off around the time of Hate Crew Deathroll. No disrespect to COB, but I felt they strayed a bit from their original sound and I have always been happy to

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DARKEST HOUR has just released their latest album, The Human Romance. I’ll be honest- I was into DARKEST HOUR years ago, but then they kind of fell off my radar for whatever reason. I was anxious to give the new album a listen and what I can say is that they are back on my radar and are here to stay for some time.The album starts off with a real solemn and sober sounding piece by the name of “

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Hi Jan! Your new album is out on the streets right now and it’s open to public scrutiny, and from what I’ve been reading it’s overly getting some great reviews. Which is harder in your opinion, writing and recording an album, or releasing it out into the world for everyone to hear and judge? “Well it's both part of the game. The first part (writing and recording) is the active part, the release

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-73746892417312477382011-04-28T16:10:00.000-07:002011-04-28T16:10:01.434-07:00

One of the longest running black-metal acts crawling through the Portuguese underground, In Tha Umbra have been around for 15 years now, always doing their own thing with little concern for trends or side-ways evolution. Or at least, that was the notion I had of this four-piece before I listened to this stopgap EP. “Noire” really shattered my perception of In Tha Umbra as it reveals the group’s

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I have been avoiding listening to this album for the last three months now and I can’t tell exactly why. Probably it was the cheap-looking cover and the slightly amateurish song titles like "Mass Murderer's Ejaculation" and "Christ's Incest" that were telling me that “Subliminal Visions” wasn’t going to be my cup of tea. The truth is, as soon as I pressed play and the first song “Call of the

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This Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s quintet plays a folky, dark and melodic black-metal style in the same wavelength as their compatriots Agalloch and Wolves in the Throne Room. Not that you could tell by listening to opening song “Seeing One Last Ray of Light”, an entirely acoustic song with despondent melodies and clean vocalizations that probably has more things in common with The Beatles’ “Norwegian

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This young quintet from Oporto, Portugal plays a strong and varied brand of metal that is hard to nail down in a few pair of words. Throughout six tracks, Equaleft veer from a groove-laden death-metal not too far removed from someone like Gojira to a progressive weirdness that crosses into Naked City territory, without ever appearing forced or unnatural. And that is a great feat for a young act

SCRATCHtheSurfacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12719525905673017116noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016291835195515241.post-45045886299801347472011-04-17T13:42:00.000-07:002011-04-17T13:42:37.696-07:00

After almost three years in torpor, Swedes One Man Army and the Undead Quartet emerge with a new album entitled “The Dark Epic” that shows a reinvigorated group determined to make up for the lost time. Below, vocalist Johan Lindstrand fills in the details behind the making of their latest work. So why did it take the band three years to follow up your third full-length “Grim Tales”, I

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Mark this band’s name on your agenda ‘cause you’ll be hearing a lot from them in the future. Birds in Row are a talented bunch from France with little concern for mass appeal or easy categorization, mixing the bile of punk, the rawness of crust and the muscular power of hardcore into a cohesive, exciting and abrasive whole. That melding is clearly still a work somewhat in progress, let’s not

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A couple of years ago, "There Was A Halo On Your Head" would have sounded a lot more interesting and surprising to me than it is now. See, this Greek quartet plays a sort of metalcore style that has long been considered tiresome and oversaturated, without offering the necessary individual and outstanding traits that could distinguish them from the slew of similar acts. This EP presents the

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