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: The Slow Death – Siege

Never has a band been more accurately named. I could feel all the remaining seconds of my life tumble into oblivion as this tedious blob of boring doom metal numbed my very soul. This is one of the dullest records I have heard in a long, long time. Let’s write 20-minute long songs just because we can. Not that they’d actually be better in less than half the time, we’ve got to show we are DOOOOOOOM metal. Stuff and nonsense! It’s getting so that every time I see a song longer than 10 minutes, I cringe internally, because I know […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: In The Company Of Serpents – Lux

First off, I did not see Lux coming. Secondly, why have all the clocks stopped? That’s right folks, its time to tune low and play slow. Opener and likewise gravitational suckerpunch, ‘The Fool’s Journey’ brings to mind images of Thulsa Doom jamming to this in his cave. Brethren, don those robes and nod in silent contemplation as the riff vibrates through you, and prepare for the sludge journey. Here, no lives matter. What you want is of absolute irrelevance. Succumb! ‘The Chasm At The Mouth Of It All’ reminds us that the Wild West wasn’t all cowboys and “injuns.” It […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: The Grasshopper Lies Heavy – A Cult That Worships A God Of Death

Going into a band “blind” for a review is the two-sided coin we critics/celebrants/self-proclaimed journalists flip more and more often these days, as we come to the sobering realization that you simply can’t Hear Everything. Bands pop up on your radar, seemingly out of nowhere, despite having been in existence for sometimes many years prior. Such is the case with yours truly and THE GRASSHOPPER LIES HEAVY. Helmed by multi-instrumentalist/vocalist James Woodard, and completed by Mario Trejo on bass and drummer Steven Barrera, TGLH has moved over it’s 10+ years from a primarily instrumental outfit to a more “standard” band. […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Lucifer’s Hammer – The Trip

There are a lot of ’80s inspired metal bands coming from South America today, but Chile’s LUCIFER’S HAMMER is the king of them all. This wonderful band just oozes metal class from every pore, and fans of great guitar work and melody in particular should waste no time tracking this down. Beyond The Omens was excellent in itself, but The Trip levels up in a big way, as it’s more classical and epic in style, with more complex songs that aren’t afraid to jam a little. Who does LUCIFER’S HAMMER sound like? Early MERCYFUL FATE and HELSTAR are good starting […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Godslave – Positive Aggressive

Ahh, thrash. For me, coming into my teens in 1985, heavy metal was beginning to stake its claim in my pubescent, hormone-driven/angst-ridden/terminally depressed soul. MOLLY HATCHET, OZZY OSBOURNE and TWISTED SISTER were slowly ceding listening time to MEGADETH, DARK ANGEL and CANDLEMASS. Things were getting hectic. And then, thanks to print rags such as Metal Mania, and Kerrang, I began to hear about SODOM, KREATOR, etc. It seemed those German bands had a bite, a hunger, razor-styled riffing and raspy vocals that the US bands just weren’t giving me. To this day, the thrash I do enjoy is mainly of […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Darkthrone – Eternal Hails

Well, true to form, the 19th DARKTHRONE album sounds like it was recorded on a 4-track in a barn somewhere in Norway. That much is expected, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be bad. Eternal Hails is definitely the band’s “doom metal” album. Slower tempos have been a strong part of DARKTHRONE for much of the “primitive punk metal” period of the last 15 years or so, but never have they played such a significant role. To be quite honest, the album is a very mixed bag for me. The doom is across all five lengthy tracks, mixed with the […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Dungeon Serpent – World Of Sorrows

Looking at the cover art of DUNGEON SERPENT’s debut full-length, World Of Sorrows, I was instantly reminded of the CANDLEMASS albums Nightfall and Ancient Dreams. Delving a bit deeper, come to find out that the same artist – 19th century British-American painter, Thomas Cole – is responsible for all. I remember buying Nightfall when it came out, having no idea what I’d be hearing once I got home, and falling so under that spell as to now have the iconic skull-and-spikes image now tattooed on my body. ‘Necroscope’ doesn’t waste any time whatsoever getting down to the business of death, […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Exil – Warning

Umeå, situated in Norrland of Sweden, has a rich cultural history. So much so that – if you’re reading this – you probably either really love or really hate its most famous metal export, MESHUGGAH. But more than this…much more than this…is that if you’re of a certain age, and listened to punk/hardcore, the name “Umeå” was mentioned without irony alongside the scenes of New York, Cleveland, Detroit and LA. That history flows deep within EXIL, though Stockholm is where the elements of this culture-shattering bomb came together to create Warning. Made up of members current and former of U.X. […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Starlight Ritual – Sealed In Starlight

If you’re in the mood for pure heavy metal that sounds a lot “truer” than most of what falls under that heading these days, I introduce you to Canada’s STARLIGHT RITUAL. These guys do things the right way and deliver hard-hitting melodic metal that reminds of HIGH SPIRITS, MAGIC CIRCLE and the like. It sounds authentic, delivered effortlessly, and not with the feeling that the band is trying too hard to fit a certain mold. They apparently started out as a doom band, but many of the tracks here have sizable thrust and forward velocity, starting with ‘Marauders’, where echoes […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Voidgazer – Dance Of The Undesirables

Oh, you had me at “biker prog”, PR dude, if for no other reason than that the utter trainwreck of a STEPPENWOLF / NEKTAR hybrid would be fun to watch go down in flames. Could it possibly be worthwhile, though? Alright, VOIDGAZER, hit me… While the name/project itself has been around for about 5 years now, a complete overhaul in 2019-2020 of all but guitarist Austin Rakey could spell either doom or a reinvention, of sorts. ‘Jesus Take The Needle’, spends around a minute revving the engines, as if to make sure it’s truly good to go. The main riff […]

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