Rebel Extravaganza

Heavy Metal And Other Occasional Musics And Cultures

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Album Review: Coffin Torture – Blennoid

From the unexpected environs of South Carolina, land of Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head and a multitude of other lures for lovers of sun and beaches, Thorfinn and Blind Sampson return with their second full-length under the COFFIN TORTURE moniker, hoping to disgust our eardrums with Blennoid. ‘Ükhsen Uul’ begins this self-described “death sludge” effort with gooey riffs and a near industrial clang ‘n’ clamor to the rhythm section, but the whole affair seems processed, effects-ridden, and with neither the rabid ferocity of death nor the crawl through the sewer-swamp of sludge. While I’m sure the elongated intro to ‘Budo’ was […]

MONSTER MAGNET ANNOUNCE TEST PATTERNS: VOL. 1 TO BE RELEASED NOVEMBER 11TH VIA GOD UNKNOWN RECORDS

Born in Red Bank, New Jersey, the early days of MONSTER MAGNET were a cosmos away from the major-label, alternative rock boom that would suck the band into the shiny MTV world of the early to middle ’90s. Originally formed by Dave Wyndorf, John McBain and Tim Cronin, MONSTER MAGNET came into the world with a lysergic ooze in 1989 with two demo tapes – Forget About Life, I’m High On Dope and I’m Stoned, What Ya Gonna Do About It? – making it perfectly clear from the start where they were coming from. This was a band reveling in […]

Album Review: Caustic Casanova – Glass Enclosed Nerve Center

CAUSTIC CASANOVA’s decision to augment the long-standing trio by adding Jake Kimberly on guitars bears fruit from the start, opener ‘Anubis Rex’ robust and invigorating/-ed, kicking off with some hybrid of spaghetti western, cock rock and surf, a dual-string attack clearly suiting the band. Add to this the trident-pronged vocals, and the D.C. act arsenal’s chock-full o’ ingredients that should guarantee success. But can they put their tools to good use over the course of Glass Enclosed Nerve Center without wandering in the process? If ‘Lodestar’ is any indication, yes, and since the band’s always had rather an “everything up […]

LACES OUT: New York Post-Hardcore Trio To Release Here At The Ashram LP Through Nefarious Industries In November; ‘Kick And Scream’ Streaming + Preorders Posted

Orange County, New York-based trio LACES OUT has been writing steadily throughout the pandemic, cranking out angular ‘90s-influenced post-hardcore. After making their comeback in July with the noisy and turbulent Roger Podacter EP, the group is ready to unleash their full-length debut, Here At The Ashram, a collection of nine juicy tunes picking up where the short and sweet EP left off. Prior to forming LACES OUT, drummer Steve Delucia and guitarist Ed Ciarfella had played together in various projects for nearly twenty years, including Warwick-based post-punk quintet Pigeon of which bassist Ray Wasnieski was also a member. As with […]

Album Review: Queensrÿche – Digital Noise Alliance

No sense in lying to you or to myself. It hurts when a band that meant so much in your younger years seems to have completely turned tail and run on the sound that undeniably both made them a household name in the cottage industry of metal but endeared them to yourself and othersin the process. For me, one of “those” bands was QUEENSRŸCHE. And I couldn’t care less about the legal battles, all of that, so if you want to rehash something that’s been decided (at least by the courts) long ago, might as well go somewhere else. I’d […]

WORM: Florida Black/Doom Metal Collective Issues ‘Shadowside Kingdom’ Single; Bluenothing EP Nears October Release Through 20 Buck Spin + Preorders Posted

‘Shadowside Kingdom’ is the harrowing new single from black/doom metal collective WORM, now playing as the outfit’s Bluenothing EP nears release through 20 Buck Spin. After the massive breakthrough of Foreverglade in 2021, the Floridian swamp winds stir again as WORM conjures the nocturnal evocation of Bluenothing. A four-track, twenty-six-minute mini-album, Bluenothing is an ominous nightside lament demonstrating where the always-evolving fog dwellers have been and the distant domains where they may yet venture. The A-side of Bluenothing features two tracks from the mythic Foreverglade sessions that remained encased in the phantom crypts but are no less masterly than the […]

Album Review: Venom Inc. – There’s Only Black

A pretty bland cover on this one and the font for the band name is about as basic as it gets. But fortunately what’s within pulses with plenty of energy, as VENOM INC. continue to put out strong releases as if they are on a mission. And I think maybe they are… This is probably the fastest VENOM INC. album so far. Only the last two tracks ‘The Danse Macabre’ and ‘Inferno’ ease up on the pedal. Most of the cuts are quite thrashy and drummer Jeramie Kling proves his worth, knocking out rapid fire beats that old Abaddon could […]

CONAN To Kick Off Canadian Tour Run This Month – New Album Evidence Of Immortality Out Now

England’s doom metal masters CONAN are ready to descend upon Canada following the release of their latest full-length studio effort, Evidence Of Immortality, which came out this summer on Napalm Records. The band will kick off a nine-city trek through the country, beginning October 27 in Montreal at Foufounes Electriques. See below for the complete list of dates! Evidence Of Immortality was produced by Chris Fielding and mastered by James Plotkin. The album also sees former band member Dave Perry perform on the track ‘Grief Sequence’. The album’s artwork was provided by the skilled hand and mind of Tony Roberts, […]

Album Review: I AM – Eternal Steel

Begun by vocalist Brandon Hileman in his 20th year, Texans I AM solidified their lineup in 2017, and have since put out a couple albums sparking a level of interest completely relative to the listener’s enjoyment of groove metal. While the Lone Star State has a plethora of fantastic metal bands, I’ll stand on Phil Anselmo’s ego and swear that PANTERA was never one of them. Yet still, their influence looms large, and thus we arrive at Eternal Steel, I AM’s third. ‘The Primal Wave’ is the grabbing of low hanging fruit from an orchard of already rotten fruit, Hileman’s […]

IN THE WOODS… Return With New Album, Diversum, on Soulseller Records in November

Norwegian metal icons IN THE WOODS… have signed with Soulseller Records and will release new album Diversum on November 25. The album will be available on digital, CD, and various limited edition vinyl formats. The album’s first single, as well as pre-orders, will be available on October 6. IN THE WOODS… return with a brand new studio album of avant-garde, progressive black rock and metal managing to deliver another epic masterpiece following untrodden paths and pagan tongue. With the band’s new label Soulseller Records and new vocalist Bernt Fjellestad, the sails are set out to reach new heights. IN THE […]