Rebel Extravaganza

Heavy Metal And Other Occasional Musics And Cultures

Album Reviews

Album Review: Feral State – II

Pardon me, PR folks, but if you’re gonna compare a band to BROKEN BONES, that band better drink engine oil through scalded throats, belch up steam like a train in the 1800s, and pack a punch harder than a hit to the cranium with a nail-spiked bat. It’s gotta be memorable as fuck, but it’s also gotta be interesting too, especially since we’re usually talking an album length of under a half-hour. Straight outta Leicester comes FERAL STATE, returning after 2022’s self-titled wrecker with the aptly named II. Straight to the point, as a band of this sort must be. […]

Music News

AKERCOCKE worldwide exclusive album set FORTRESS FESTIVAL 2026

AKERCOCKE to perform Choronzon album in full on Grand Hall main stage. WHOREDOM RIFE to headline the Ocean Room stage. One of Europe’s biggest black metal fests to take place at Scarborough Spa on 30-31 May 2026 Scarborough, UK; 24 August 2025: Fortress Festival, one of Europe’s biggest black metal festivals, has revealed two more bands for its fourth edition set to take place at Scarborough Spa on 30-31 May 2026. London’s AKERCOCKE will perform a worldwide exclusive full album set of their acclaimed 2003 release, Choronzon. The album was praised by the scene when it was released, with many […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Arkhaaik – Uihtis

The human race right now is the weakest it has ever been. Internet, A.I., television, billions of types of legal drugs and all the other “comforts” of modern life have made us into something completely different than our ancestors of just a few hundred years would recognize. Is there any room at all any more for the primal and raw instincts we once possessed in abundance? ARKHAAIK from Switzerland says yes. They have found a way to tap into the dawn times of humanity with the power of heavy metal. Uihtis has done it. When I listened to this album, […]

Uncategorized

TITHE: ‘Burn The Throne Of God’ Video/Single From Portland Death Metal Trio Now Playing; Merciless Third Album, Communion In Anguish, Nears September 19th Release On Profound Lore Records

Portland, Oregon-based extreme/death metal trio TITHE presents a new video/single for ‘Burn The Throne Of God’, the newest preview of the band’s impending third LP, Communion In Anguish, nearing September release on Profound Lore Records. TITHE draws influence from many dimensions of ominous, extreme music and themes to manifest their distinctive, hypnotic, grinding, death metal. Composed of vocalist/guitarist Matt Eiseman, vocalist/bassist Alex Huddleston, and drummer Kevin Swartz, the trio converges to create an arrangement even larger than the sum of its parts. Expanding upon their acclaimed 2023-released Inverse Rapture LP, with Communion In Anguish, TITHE amps up the aggression and […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Sinsaenum – In Devastation

Journeyman Frédéric Leclerq is at it again, a “new direction” being proclaimed with In Devastation, which is a good move, based on how lifeless at worst, mediocre at best SINSAENUM’s output has been thus far. Born from the double-loss of a longtime band member and a parent Leclerq is, apparently reinventing what the group can be – and honestly, it’s far past time. First, the artwork looks straight off the cutting room floor of early/mid-‘00s Roadrunner. Could it be TRIVIUM? Could it be KILLSWITCH ENGAGE? Shit, it could be any of those and doesn’t make me want to hit Play […]

Music News

HELSTAR announce their new studio album, The Devil’s Masquerade, out September 12th, 2025 via Massacre Records

US Metal legends HELSTAR return with their long-awaited 11th studio album, The Devil’s Masquerade, set for release on September 12th, 2025 through Massacre Records. The album will be available as a limited Mediabook, Ltd. Vinyl LP in various colors, and digital formats. The Devil’s Masquerade marks a powerful return to the band’s roots, bringing back the classic creative chemistry between James Rivera (vocals) and Larry Barragan (guitars). The album was produced and mixed by Barragan at Hombre Malo Studios, and mastered by Robert Colwell at Colwell Mastering. Lyrically, The Devil’s Masquerade dives deep into tales of vampirism, demonic possession, and […]

Short Sharp Shocks

METEORA – In This Silence [EP]

Hungarian sextet METEORA showers us with their first outing since …Of Shades And Colours (2022), two new guitarists in the fold, and the first part of an EP trilogy in hand. The title track begins a bit robotic for my taste, but soon a chugging riff greets us, and we’re off. Keyboard trills flourish, a bit of AFTER FOREVER in the dichotomy of vocal styles. ‘Rebirth’ seems purposeful, intentional, and carries us further along the rollercoaster of emotions evoked by symphonic metal played passionately. Done right. My only complaint lies in this mix seeming distant and cold, not enveloping as […]

Music News

ONSLAUGHT – welcome back vocalist Sy Keeler; 2026 The Force From Hell European tour announced

UK thrash metal legends ONSLAUGHT are super stoked to announce the return of their legendary vocalist and fans’ favourite Sy Keeler. Keeler makes his comeback to the band after a 6-year hiatus and will hit the ground running as the band make their long awaited debut tour of Australia in November; his first appearance back will be at the UK’s Damnation Festival at the BEC Arena, Manchester on November 9. Kicking off ONSLAUGHT’s live season 2026 will be their freshly announced 2026 The Force From Hell European run. All dates & ticket info can be found below. Guitarist Nige Rockett […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Bask – The Turning

I can draw a line of sorts from Denver, Colorado’s (now maybe Nashville, TN’s) ACROSS TUNDRAS and their work in the early 2000s to BASK’s newest and fourth album, The Turning, released now in 2025. I could go back further than that, to (also Colorado’s) 16 HORSEPOWER and THE DENVER GENTLEMEN, as well as SLIM CESSNA’S AUTO CLUB, and their use of gothic Americana – usually Western or Southern – to take us back to a time of crop failures, religious camp meetings, exorcisms, Native American “mythology”, what have you. It’s there, I believe… ‘Chasm’ drones us in, pedal steel […]

Music News

WINO: new solo album and single announced on Ripple Music

US doom and heavy metal icon Scott “WINO” Weinrich — the voice of The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, and Spirit Caravan — rises again with his fiercely anticipated fourth solo album, Create Or Die, this October 24th via Ripple Music, and unleashes the first single, ‘New Terms’. “When a friend ended a letter to me with the phrase ‘Create Or Die’, I realized that simple slogan summed up my philosophy completely. Whether it’s making music or art, that’s what I do. It’s what I live for.” Embrace the haunting Celtic vibe of new single ‘New Terms’ Legendary doom metal icon Scott […]

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