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: FRENZY – 
Blind Justice

In the interest of full disclosure, my enjoyment of comic books during childhood and up to today was/is limited to the classic G.I. Joe, Judge Dredd, Werewolf By Night and Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series. Heavy Metal, though, hunted me down around age 12-13, and I either went willingly, or am still in some Stockholm Syndrome-like “phase” that hasn’t ended over three decades later. And, thus, when FRENZY’s debut album came across my desk, the idea of a true Heavy Metal band inspired by comics at least caught my interest, which means I’m about to either really enjoy or really hate […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: GRASS – Fresh Grass

Brooklyn’s GRASS is billowing with smoke and charm with the physical release of their first EP, Fresh Grass. They have the heavy, SABBATH-infused riffs you would come to expect from a band of its namesake, but I was surprised at how big and catchy the choruses were. The EP starts with ‘Amnesia/My Wall’, and that opening riff could come right off SLEEP’s Holy Mountain. The song moves on, Phil Anton’s wail kicks in at full force, and I am hooked. ‘Black Clouds’ rolls in, and I get this mix of Stevie Ray Vaughan and THE REVEREND BIZARRE. This ended up […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: THE MUNSENS 
- Unhanded

THE MUNSENS…a strange name for an unconventional band. The name has been floating around for years but this is the first time I’ve been able to connect any music to it. It was not what I was expecting, that’s for sure. These days, that’s a good thing, and having a name that you can’t connect to any particular style of music is also refreshing… This Denver band plays some fairly epic material. The first track ‘Dirge (For Those To Come)’ caught me off guard right away…a melancholy, almost post-metal beginning that really does sound like a dirge that soon morphs […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Spirits Of Fire – Spirits Of Fire

If metal bands were ranked and judged like dogs at fancy dog shows, the bloodline and pedigree of SPIRITS OF FIRE would have them winning “Best In Show” hands down. Consider the metallic breeding of bass messiah Steve DiGiorgio, lead guitar phenom Chris Caffery, drum wizard Mark Zonder and oh yeah, the vocals of a guy called Ripper who has sung with a few bands you may have heard of. There is no way that SPIRITS OF FIRE should fail with this purebred talent. I cannot say that the self-titled debut doesn’t have some awe inspiring moments, but there is […]

Album Reviews

ALBUM REVIEW: HORNDAL – Remains

Long live HORNDAL! Their debut album, Remains, brings sludgy, punchy hardcore that almost had me put my fist through a wall just to let out some energy. Remains tells the true horror story of the devil’s destruction of their hometown of Horndal in the 1970s. That story is an interesting read, and I encourage you to read it while listening through this album. The album opens with the single they have been promoting, ‘Wasteland’, and really sets up the rest of the album. This is an anthem to fight for your life, a true call to arms, and I cannot […]

Album Reviews

ALBUM REVIEW: Funereal Presence – Achatius

One man band FUNERAL PRESENCE has given us another reminder that it’s the most off the wall and batshit crazy bands that are the most entertaining. The thing I will remember most about this oddball outsider unit is their use of bells…the clear glorious ringing of tubular bells and the earthy clank of the almighty cowbell. Over the course of these four epic and mind-dizzying tunes, you will hear both kind of bells used to brilliant effect.  The use of bells stands out, but really Funereal Presence deliver crazed extreme metal that is unlike anything else out there. Each of […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Ossuarium – Living Tomb

Certain kinds of death metal are the perfect accompaniment to a walk among the dead. The kind that mixes a suffocating doom with riffs that rot from the head down. Hailing from the fertile Portland scene, OSSUARIUM creates a potent if predictable serenade for your visit to the catacombs. All the expected boxes are checked here. The “cavernous” roaring vocals, the thick and slimy riffs reeking of INCANTATION, even the ghastly cover art of Dan Seagrave. I can’t say I was surprised by any of OSSUARIUM‘s revolting tuneage, but it will surely satisfy any underground death-head’s yearning for morbid metal. […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: The Skull – The Endless Road Turns Dark

Anyone interested in what a perfect metal production job sounds like would be well advised to check out this record. Rarely have I heard a better sounding disk. The bass sound is absolutely phenomenal, the drumming sounds natural and the many varying guitar tones are exquisitely rendered. This is state of the art recording in every way. That perfect sonic palette is applied to some great American doom metal. THE SKULL is basically Chicago’s legendary TROUBLE with some different personnel. If you thought THE SKULL’s first effort For Those Which Are Asleep was heavy, you haven’t heard anything yet. The […]

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