Rebel Extravaganza

Heavy Metal And Other Occasional Musics And Cultures

Album Reviews

ALBUM REVIEW RATING SCALE:
**Please note that this rating scale serves as a reference for albums reviewed prior to 2023.
Numbered ratings will not be added going forward, in hopes that the writer’s impression of the work will suffice.
It will have to.** 

6 – Rarely bestowed. An honor reserved for undeniable classics (or those that should be). The Apex Predator.
5 – Impressive.
4 – Worthy of special recognition.
3 – A solid effort.
2 – The participation trophy.
1 – These are the albums that the 2s beat up on the way home from school.
0 – A waste of both our time and yours.

Album Reviews

Album Review: Barbarous – Initium Mors

The world needs another death metal band like I need an extra asshole. Remember that saying “Opinions are like assholes. Everybody’s got one.”? Well, every city seems to have a death metal band – some more than their share, some more than any of us need – and straight outta the Bay Area comes yet another steaming pile of either excrement or entrails by the name of BARBAROUS. We shall see… Initium Mors (“The beginning of death”) blasts forward with the intro-less ‘Injection Of The Exhumed’, already something in that grisly, sharpened tone recalling the band’s heritage, ala Bonded By […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Cancer Void – First Metastasis

Well, at least CANCER VOID had the balls to call its dreaded intro track ‘Introduction’, so there’s that going for the quintet already. Synths surround and oscillate, and I’m sure this dungeon synth gone Windham Hill sampler is going to sound nothing whatsoever like the actual tunes on here, so let’s just get through this and move on, shall we? You’re already spending nearly 2 minutes of a record that’s less than 20 farting around like the bastard chillun’ of Vangelis and Mortiis. Echoes of INCANTATION permeate ‘Breeding Pyramids’, and the sound is surprisingly organic given the precursor. There’s some […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Black Magnet – Megamantra

Industrial metal that sounds like a swarm of killer androids fashioned from junkyard materials, that’s what you get from BLACK MAGNET. Industrial music has always appealed to me, if done right. That means if done with the proper aggression and atmosphere and not sounding like evil disco music. No worries here…BLACK MAGNET has a suitably abrasive and heavy approach. You can hear influences from all the standard industrial acts here, like MINISTRY, NINE INCH NAILS, FEAR FACTORY, SKINNY PUPPY. Those influences are blended in such a way that BLACK MAGNET has its own sound. Even in the almost “danceable” moments, […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Pulpit Vomit – Hospital Lens

From either the too stupid to ignore or the too good to ignore file (and I’m not sure which), PULPIT VOMIT speweth forth its first full length in the form of Hospital Lens. Several singles brought us here – many holiday themed – but the trio has wisely left the holiday-specific ones off of the debut…what, adding another 3:35 to an already short record woulda killed you? The first of the three already released, ‘Razor Jaw’ scrapes and scrambles, rats in a maze, but we’re the rats and the maze is on fire, and we’re on fire, and, oh yeah! […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Kontusion – Insatiable Lust For Death

Heard of KONTUSION before? Yeah, me neither, but apparently the gruesome twosome of Mark Brozino (formerly of IRON REAGAN and MAMMOTH GRINDER) and drummer Chris Moore from a somewhat important band named REPULSION have been touring like fools across the US since a self-titled demo was spewed forth in 2022. And now, to add to the glut of death metal of the past few years, we’re provided Insatiable Lust For Death. Hey, if it sucks, it’s less than a half-hour long, right? I’ll suffer for your edification. Proud students of the get in, grind, get out school, ‘Endless Horror’ dispenses […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Vindicator – Whispers Of Death

It’s an all out thrash attack from this long-running Ohio band, and they really know what they’re doing. You don’t have to get too deep into Whispers Of Death to realize this is a veteran band that focuses on the essence of thrash. There’s no attempt to update the sound, smooth things out or add some grand concept to what they’re doing…they’re in it to whoop ass and that’s about it. You might not be able to sit down for a week after the ass-whooping delivered here. When VINDICATOR is operating at its peak, they rival EXODUS as far as […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Bright Sunshine – Executive Power Supreme

After shaking up the power structure of the Southwestern service area for the past few fiscal years, regional representatives of the corporate headhunting group BRIGHT SUNSHINE have entered into a partnership with Reptilian Records in hopes to boost brand recognition and expand upon an already lean and mean business acumen with Executive Power Supreme. Alright, time to gather ‘round…everyone, take your seats. Linda? Linda? No, Linda won’t be hosting this meeting due to the Sign-Up Sheet Fiasco of ’22. Focus on the positive here, as we open with ‘Growth Opportunities’, a calamitous ride down a gravel road, slamming into guardrail […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Incinerated – The Epitome Of Transgression

Indonesia’s INCINERATED turned more than a few third eyes inward 2020’s Stellar Abomination. The sheer sonic intrusion held me rapt, elements of Germanic thrash ‘n’ speed – especially in the ragged rage of it all (think KREATOR, Invincible Force DESTRUCTION), but I simply couldn’t get past the way the drums were mixed; not the playing, mind, but the sound itself. Repeated listens brought change and, these days, I fail to remember exactly what I found so irritating about the drums at first. ‘Preludium: The Saint’s Humanity’ does exactly what an intro track (if there must be one) should do, building […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Blind Equation – A Funeral In Purgatory

This was one of the most painful listening experiences I’ve had in a while. I really debated whether I should review this at all, as musically this is my version of Kryptonite. I don’t really enjoy doing super negative reviews. But BLIND EQUATION described themselves as “cybergrind”. With that bit of blatant mislabeling, all bets are off. There’s about as much grind in this as a TAYLOR SWIFT album. Which is to say, none. You want grind? Put in the latest from CAUSTIC WOUND…a tenth of a second of that would annihilate this. I can’t believe this is a Chicago […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Affliction Vector – Contra Hominem

Using the time-honored (or dishonored, should your tastes lean – or not lean – in that direction) two-piece drummer and vocalist/axe-wielder template popularized by DARKTHRONE, Italy’s blackdeath force, AFFLICTION VECTOR, return five years after their Death Comes Supreme EP with debut full-length, Contra Hominem. ‘Antiuomo’ begins, almost KING DIAMOND-esque, what might be a harpsichord providing disjointed, broken dance music for twisted marionets before being blasted by martial drum cadence and vocals more howled than screeched. Throat scraper Ans must’ve really taken his psychiatrist’s words about Primal Scream therapy to heart, as that’s what’s going on here, and to disquieting effect. […]

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