Sometimes music is about the groove. We can’t define what a groove is, but like a bad Peter Manoogian movie, we know it when we see it, or in this case; when we hear it. Slow Burn Records is a Russian post-metal label, putting out some of the coolest grooves in the business right now. Compilation 2010 showcases ten Slow …

Genre-defining albums have sprinkled metal’s history with those few releases that transcend what’s been done before. Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All taught us metal could be heavy and still be rock and roll, Quiot Riot’s Metal Health ushered in a decade of hair bands, and Nirvana’s Nevermind killed that decade with a single song. More recently, Amorphis gave us Skyforger and …

It took weeks to figure out what I liked about Beyond the Lightless Sky. I enjoyed the album from first listen, then played it over and over, enjoying it more each time. But what defines Hull? What makes them unique? They’re certainly talented and excellent songwriters, but there are tons of talented bands who write good songs. That isn’t enough …

The 2000s should be known as the decade of boring metal. More passionless music poured out of those ten years than any other I can remember. In purging the flamboyancy of the 80s and early 90s, metal bands lost their passion and originality. That’s why I’m so excited about albums like Aphotic. In a subtle direction shift, Novembers Doom adds …

Metal is rife with various genres and subgenres today. From doom to death, symphonic to folkloric, progressive to rapcore, everyone needs to classify themselves into a comfortable definition. Product of Hate isn’t having any of it. According to the genre tag on their debut EP The Unholy Manipulator, they’re just “Fucking METAL!” There are no ballads, symphonic melodies, flutes, synthesizers, …

Concept albums came into prominence with The Who’s Tommy back in the 60s, and continue a rich tradition of storytelling in music to this day. In TreeLogia (The Album as It Is Not), The Morningside gives us a new twist on the concept album; a fifty-minute single. TreeLogia is an exposition of the song The Trees from previous album The …

While punk died long ago, it left a legacy of rock-and-roll music played loud, played raw and played without concern for narrow scope and genre definitions that curtail so many styles. This leads us to Aiden’s Some Kind of Hate. Born out of love for horror and punk, the album blends the two in an angry and surprisingly fun rock …

La Dispute named their latest album Wildlife, but it just as easily could have been called Introspection and Empathy, because every song falls into one of the two categories. Fans of the band are used to singer/poet Jordan Dreyer opening himself up for the sake of art. What’s new in Wildlife is this new-found appreciation for what is external to …

Awaken to the Suffering, the third full length album from Pathology, brings a new vocalist, but keeps the band’s trademark sound. Pounding drums played at breakneck speed drive the band and the album. Drummer and original band member Dave Astor dominates every song with his energy. It’s difficult to believe anything short of a drum machine can play so fast, …

Macabre – Il Richiamo Dell Ombre represents a marriage between experimental metal and horror. Where Alice Cooper, Gwar and Slipknot had their flings with dark themes, The Undergrave Experience bought the ring and committed. Not just a stage gimmick, Macabre is two songs comprising forty-three minutes of horror movie music. Fusing rock and orchestral instruments with drawn-out doom voices, the …

The Sullen Route is a four-piece band from Volgograd Russia. Moving away from their death metal roots, they branch out into new territory with sophomore release Apocalyclinic. The band’s label Bad Mood Man Music has this to say about their style: “«Apocalyclinic» demonstrates evolution from orthodox doom death metal to the area which cannot be definitely classified: in the new …

Illuminate the Silence are five musicians from Moscow still experimenting to find their own sound. And just like the band’s name, Silverhoney is a non sequitur, leaping back and forth between metal, rock, jazz and even funk. The four-song EP moves in and out of these styles, abruptly switching from one to another throughout. At times, the sonic shifts are …

There’s nothing pretty about Heavy Lord, and that’s a good thing. They don’t have a nice website. Their bio wouldn’t make it past a high school newspaper editor. They don’t even give us last names. What they do give us is uncompromising, heavy rock and roll music. In their own words: “We play ultraloud and uncompromising music like a big …

To truly appreciate a musician who composes film scores, you need to watch a movie from the composer. I found 100 Tears on Netflix instant play and watched cleavers through the skull, cleavers through the stomach and even cleavers through the groin to put some context into Day’s music. In 100 Tears, his work is quite good, but since Ambient …