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: Skeleton – Ordainment Of Divinity [EP]

After a bucketful of EPs, compilations, a live album and a full length debut (2020’s Skeleton, natch), the Austin, TX hardcore-cum-black-cum-thrash trio (also SKELETON) unleashes a peepshow booth’s-worth of grime in the less than 15 minutes of Ordainment Of Divinity. I suppose one could refer to ‘Skeleton – Opening Rites’ as an intro, but, as it’s the second-longest track on the damned EP, it seems rather cheapening. Granted, what we’re given is marching, and also granted, I normally loathe the fuck out of me an intro, but the mental image this rhythmic tread gave me is of films such as […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Sagenland – Oale Groond

Home is where the heart is, even if the heart is black. SAGENLAND is part of that breed of black/folk metal that is tied to a particular place. In this case, it is the Eastern part of Holland near the town of Twente. The gentlemen of SAGENLAND are very close to their homeland, and have dedicated their music to it. On further inspection, I find the Twente area to be a gentle pastoral place of modest fields, forests and rivers, not too different from my own home in Northern Illinois. That automatically makes me more kindly disposed to them. It’s […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Ewigkeit – Depopulate [EP]

EWIGKEIT’s been a lot of things over its two decades plus, but predictable has never been one. Taking a break from his apparent goal of reimagining his early works album by album, Depopulate is the second EP of new work released by one Mr. Fog since September and – as expected – it’s a step to the side of his last. Where XXIII was an incorporation of EWIGKEIT’s hazed out/dazed out/phased out ‘70s worship, Depopulate centers around various conspiracy “theories” and the evils (both real and too-real-to-be-imagined) regarding pharmaceutical giants, the sword of biotech, and all who live on what […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Nopes – Djork

Listening to Djork is like getting bitchslapped by that chick with a nose ring and shaved scalp that’s still kind of hot anyway. It’ll wake you up in a hurry, but confuse you at the same time. NOPES are described as a punk rock band from Oakland, CA, but I think there’s a bit more to them than that simple description. Punk is there for sure, but also tones of that screechy, skronky noise rock of the early ’90s, and even a dose of weirdness reminiscent of early VOIVOD. It’s loose, super raw, abrasive and sloppy, kind of like MC5 […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Dread Sovereign – Alchemical Warfare

Returning with its all-important third album, Ireland’s DREAD SOVEREIGN have pushed past the redline on every element of its sound from the previous releases. Feeling as if 2020 was such an abysmal year it didn’t “deserve” Alchemical Warfare, the trio intentionally held off until January to unleash unrighteous bloody Hades upon us all. And thus, after the seemingly obligatory intro, ‘She Wolves Of The Savage Season’, well…slowly arrives under pummel and plod. Mind you, this is no weakened, weary tread. Those familiar with Nemtheanga’s podcast know well that such words don’t seem in the bassist’s vocabulary. The real orgiastic thrill […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Tribulation – Where The Gloom Becomes Sound

This is the first time I’ve checked in with TRIBULATION in a while. I remember when these guys were filthy death metal, and on Pulverised Records, but no trace of that band remains on Where The Gloom Becomes Sound. The album title is a fairly good indicator of what you will find within. This is not head-crushing or neck breaking metal, but something more ethereal and haunting, while still retaining a metal edge. If GHOST is too poppy for you, TRIBULATION might be a good alternative that will let you keep your cred. “Haunting” is indeed the best word for […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Wombbath – Tales Of Madness

When I spoke to WOMBBATH earlier in 2020 regarding their newest Choirs Of The Fallen release, the members hinted at re-recording “a song or two” (mostly from the admittedly flushable Lavatory EP days), because of their confidence in the current lineup being able to beef up the material. Now, roughly 9 months later, we have Tales Of Madness, a compilation of 6 (count ‘em!) reworked songs spanning the band’s career, as well as a couple new bits to let us know what they’ve been up to since Choirs… Kicking off with ¾ of the Brutal Mights demo, ‘Tales From The […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Accept – Too Mean To Die

When you get to the elevated level that ACCEPT is at, your albums are pretty much critic proof. The band is going to write what they want and the fans will be there. In this case, Too Mean To Die practically writes itself, following all the hallowed and well worn traditions of ACCEPT. But it doesn’t seem fair to criticize them for sticking to a well worn path when everybody is going batshit crazy over the utter traditionalism of AC/DC’s PWR Up. This is a pure ACCEPT album down to the last note, and the last atom. It follows the […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Mongrel’s Cross – Arcana, Scrying And Revelation

Now, on its all-important third album, the almighty Proscriptor McGovern (ex-EQUIMANTHORN, ex-MELECHESH, ex-a-little-band-you-might-have-heard-of-called-ABSU) joins the advancing force of Brisbane’s MONGREL’S CROSS, a coup for any band. But the inclusion of such a “name” player with such a respected history doesn’t mean crap if the output now isn’t quality, does it? Majestickally leading off with ‘Suffer The Witch To Live’, the beast transforms from militant march to blurred bestial bile flung about the innards of the listener’s cranium, the aforementioned vocalist in as fine a form as ever, but that’s not even the most impressive thing. What’s truly of note is […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Pallbearer – Forgotten Days

On one side of the coin, I’ve never just never “gotten” Arkansas’ PALLBEARER. They’re a doom/doom-influenced band, which should be a selling point for me, they’re from the Southern US, which has its own special brand of sorrow and weight, and perspective on things, which should be another. But I just can’t. After a couple “good enough” albums on Profound Lore, Heartless arrived on newfound home Nuclear Blast, and the band became a buzzword through no fault of their own. On the other side, Forgotten Days purports to be an album dealing with the theme of family, something I myself […]

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