Rebel Extravaganza

Heavy Metal And Other Occasional Musics And Cultures

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Album Reviews

Album Review: Stormkeep – The Nocturnes Of Iswylm

While there is a Denver sound – make no mistake about it; from the twang ‘n’ travail of early 16 HORSEPOWER to the tent revival atmosphere of SLIM CESSNA’S AUTO CLUB, to the prairie-wide expansiveness of those first several ACROSS TUNDRAS albums to the Western noir of WAYFARER – the “sound” has always been more beholden to an ancient land, olden times, a sense of exploration of the soul and world itself that is truly of its surroundings than to genre convention. In this realm, the symphonic black metal of STORMKEEP may seem out of place, at least on the […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Morgal – The Seventh Circle

Though over a decade in existence, The Seventh Circle is only MORGAL’s second album, and first as a quartet. 2020’s Nightmare Lord was a nasty barrage typical of the band’s native Finland, but one got the feeling that more could be done. Founders SS Exiler [drums] and Crusher [guitars] must’ve felt the same; to that end, a new bassist/vocalist [Tomb Nekrofiler] and guitarist by the name of Killhammer were added to the force. ‘Stormchaser’ wafts in on calm, subtle winds, only for a NIFELHEIM-styled lightning ‘n’ thunder orgy to fuck the sky with fire and acid. The band’s tighter than […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Phantom – Not Midnight Yet

Mexico’s PHANTOM are striking while the iron is hot. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I gave their Tyrants Of Wrath album a big thumbs up. Here’s their follow-up Not Midnight Yet, and this one does everything a follow-up album should do and more. This will certainly be in my Top 10 list this year. Boasting 12 robust tracks, I feared Not Midnight Yet might have some filler. Instead, the material is so uniformly good that I’m hard pressed to pick a favorite song. Mastermind J.C. Necrohex knows exactly what sound he is after, and he’s a clever enough […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Sunswarm – Those Who Do Not Build Must Burn

When I was at university starting in ’90, I remember spending as much time scanning/raiding the racks of magazines at the local Tower Records as time in class. There was a rag I picked up a few issues of there called Industrial Metal. Sure, there were the articles on JUDAS PRIEST, FORBIDDEN etc,; but sprinkled throughout were features on bands such as TREPONEM PAL, SWAMP TERRORISTS and FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY, sparking an interest in and appreciation for the combination of metal’s power and electronic music’s pounding pulse and sonic expansiveness that continues to this day. Enter SUNSWARM and its debut […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Taake – En skog av nidstang

On the very first song, we noticed the pulse in our hand trying to keep up with even half the beat. ‘Einstoeingen go eg’ makes it easy to and encourages head-banging and fist shaking. It’s like a wall of distortion that undulates as a thick curtain in the frozen winter wind. Later in the song, a segment serves a startle but quickly snaps back to rescue as the grim riffs enclose. Next we jump to ‘Et dyr tok min hud’, which is a great title leaping directly into infernal black metal with a much more active riff than the previous […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Nine Pound Hammer – Too Outlaw For Outlaw Country [MLP]

NINE POUND HAMMER swung its first swing four decades ago as BLACK SHEEP, and – aside from a brief stint when guitarist Blaine Cartwright and vocalist Scott Luallen were abducted by Van Aliens from the galaxy of Hillbillicus TNT in order that they might bring their snotnosed, beer drankin’, Hellraisin’ country/punk hybrid to the sextraterrestrial masses – have been at it ever since. Too Outlaw For Outlaw Country continues the spread the gospel of giddyup, the title track already kicking on its way out of the chute, so best we just try to hang on for the ride and not […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Guilt Trip – Armour Of Angels

I dislike raking a band over the coals, but GUILT TRIP from Manchester, UK make it impossible for me to do otherwise. In light of that, their name is especially ironic. Because this is absolutely one of the most generic, non-creative and unoriginal records I have ever heard. Only the fact that FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH exists keeps me from saying it is #1. There isn’t a riff, solo, vocal line or any other aspects of the music on Armour Of Angels that hasn’t been done to death many, many times before. They call their music hardcore, but it’s only […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: FORSMÁN – Brenndar rústir & fuƌrandi fjörur

Ice is beautiful; from icebergs the size of small islands drifting on the world’s seas, to the peaks of the highest mountains, to the frozen lakes of the North. Ice is deadly; from the countless shipwrecks caused by icebergs, to the frozen carcasses on Everest, to the skater or fisherman falling through the not-so-frozen surface of a lake thought to be solid. The same can be said of FORSMÁN’s debut full length, Brenndar rústir & fuƌrandi fjörur (rough translation: Burnt ruins & flowing shores), released via Vesperian. The album begins, ‘Drottinn fyrirgefur allt’ rumbling and roiling, lava boiling and rising […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Wailin Storms – The Arsonist

Durham, North Carolina’s WAILIN STORMS has been at it for just over a decade, peddling its brand of Americana, Southern gothic and would-be post-punk over the course of four albums and countless road miles, now culminating in The Arsonist, released on Season Of Mist. Let’s see if the flame flickers or scorches, then, shall we? I’m sure the introduction to ‘Dead End’ was supposed to be ominous, heralding some sort of tragedy, but what the tragedy is, is that the quarter-baked idea never even becomes a half-baked song. I see where they’re going, attempting to blend the Old West-influenced Gothicism […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Ruyned – Profanum Sacrificium

With previous releases titled Eternal Torment and Sex’n Speed, Timișoara, RUYNED made it clear that its goal was to unleash short but effective battle raids into the lands of modern metal, armed with weapons and vengeance from a time long past. On its second, Profanum Sacrificium, the band switches gears, guided by its vengeful wrath for the travesty of Europe’s roughly two centuries of witch hunting, trials and torment of innocents by the truly guilty. A contemplative guitar and keyboard pattern lulls us into false security, soon to be shredded by the rakish ‘n’ ragged roar of ‘Speedchain’. More precise […]

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