Rebel Extravaganza

Heavy Metal And Other Occasional Musics And Cultures

Album Reviews

Album Review: False Fed – Let Them Eat Fake

You toss the “formed by members of” tag in front of so many bands, and it often ends up feeling like a resting-on of laurels at best and a “Hey, give us a pass if it sucks, alright? This isn’t our real band anyway!” at worst. But when the ranks of FALSE FED’s “…members of” include members of DISCHARGE, BROKEN BONES, AMEBIX and MINISTRY, you’ve got my attention at least. Kicking off with JP Parsons’ pulsating bassline, snapping drums and a guitar that conjures the much-missed DEAD ARTIST SYNDROME, and MAGAZINE, but with Jeff “JJ” Janiak’s vocals holding more a […]

Music News

CIRITH UNGOL: Cult Heavy Metal Icons Unveil ‘Looking Glass’ Single; Dark Parade Full-Length Nears Release On Metal Blade Records

Cult heavy metal icons CIRITH UNGOL today unveil their latest single, ‘Looking Glass’, with an accompanying lyric video. The monolithic new track comes by way of the band’s impending sixth full-length, Dark Parade, set for release on October 20th via Metal Blade Records. Few bands in the history of the heavy metal underground have a story as remarkable, improbable, or uplifting as that of CIRITH UNGOL. Formed in Ventura, California in the early 1970s, rather than passively channeling their influences, the band was driven to forge an altogether heavier, darker, more apocalyptic sound the world had never experienced before. It […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Malokarpatan – Vertumnus Caesar

If you’ve never delved into the mystic world of MALOKARPATAN before, I strongly advise you to do so. Vertumnus Caesar is a perfect entry point for getting to know this extremely quirky metal band from Slovakia. Their sound has echoes of many of the giants of the past, yet it still manages to be its own animal, with a completely singular identity. These guys really do sound like they’ve come from a different time and place. They are deeply steeped in the lore of Central Europe and their lyrics and song titles are all in jaw-breaking Slovakian that I will […]

Music News

Serpents Oath unleash the first single from their upcoming album Revelation, ‘Blood Covenant’

As black metal fans the world over wait hungrily for Revelation, the third album from Belgium’s SERPENTS OATH, the band have opened fire with a vicious new single taken from the album – ‘Blood Covenant’! The unbridled fury and ritualistic darkness of ‘Blood Covenant’ can be experienced in a new video, available to view now at the Odium Records YouTube channel Speaking about ‘Blood Covenant’ the band said:“When picking singles, we always try to give a diverse selection, so the listener gets a good taste of what to expect from the album. With this first single, that is even more […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Fabricant – Drudge To The Thicket

I remember FABRICANT. You might, as well. Founders Troy Roberts and Pendath basically split tasks evenly for a demo in November 2010 that turned more than a few heads. The iron being hot, they struck, the Drudge To The Thicket demo/single appearing with an expanded lineup by year’s end. 2013 comes, and a split with the short-lived APOCRYPHON seemed to also spell the end for FABRICANT. Now, a full decade later, the duo returns augmented by bassist Ryan Daugherty. ‘Prey To Whom’ bursts forth, blooming twisted beats and distorting riffs, almost like an incredibly more polished DEIQUISITOR. While the song […]

Music News

LEFT CROSS: ‘Unbinding The Covenant’ From Richmond Death/War Metal Band Now Playing; Second LP, Upon Desecrated Altars, Nears November Release On Profound Lore Records

Richmond, Virginia-based LEFT CROSS presents ‘Unbinding The Covenant’, the latest single from the band’s impending second album, Upon Desecrated Altars, nearing release November 10th on Profound Lore Records. Emerging in 2015 with a uniquely hostile brand of war-charged death metal, LEFT CROSS quickly established themselves as a merciless live act seemingly incapable of restraint. Forging and refining their sound over several releases, LEFT CROSS continued their relentless assault while losing none of their murderous intent. Now veterans of countless campaigns, LEFT CROSS returns to unleash their second full-length release, Upon Desecrated Altars. A cacophonous offering, Upon Desecrated Altars joins grotesque […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Slomatics – Strontium Fields

With 2024 being the band’s 20th anniversary, and only one lineup change in that time – that over a decade ago – it’s a fair bet that Belfast’s SLOMATICS has a grasp on its sound, as far as what fits and doesn’t. Wall-Of-Sound amps, a mixture of riff-rockin’ majesty and low-end groove have always been the trio’s “bread and butter”, but they’ve also never shied away from experimentation or journeys into fuzz-fueled psychedelia when the mood (or bong) hits. Speaking of which, though the past has seen the band releasing songs just over 1 and over 10 minutes in length […]

Music News

Ofermod release ‘Agios Ischyros Belial’, the second single from the Drakonian Elitism split with Black Altar and Acherontas

The storm clouds continue to gather and the fury of the Drakonian Elitism alliance grows ever closer to being unleashed! The second track from this unhallowed collection of orthodox black metal is now upon us in the form ‘Agios Ischyros Belial’ from the dark forces of OFERMOD! Heed its unforgiving edicts of inversion and desecration now at the Odium Records YouTube channel Pre-orders for the Drakonian Elitism album, featuring the combined might of unholy trinity OFERMOD, Black Altar and Acherontas are now open! Black metal fans the world over have been desperate for further news of Drakonian Elitism since it […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Freya – Fight As One

Picture it. Sicily. Or, rather, America in the late ‘90s / early 00’s. Landmark metal/hardcore bands like ONLY LIVING WITNESS had called it quits for whatever reason, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE wasn’t the slave to the hype engine they were soon to become, and bands like SHADOWS FALL were making some quality metalcore (emphasis on the metal). Into the fray leapt FREYA, and ‘03’s As The Last Light Drains was, to my ears, a masterwork of the style. Though more hardcore, largely due to the members’ backgrounds, the solos tastefully, the melodic vocals weren’t off-putting and everything fit exactly where it belonged. […]

Music News

SADISTIC FORCE sign to Horror Pain Gore Death Productions – Midnight Assassin set for release on October 13th, pre-orders + single live now

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions are set to release the new album from Austin Texas’ Blackened Speed/Thrash Metal Maniacs SADISTIC FORCE. Midnight Assassin is up now for pre-order and will be released October 13th on CD and Digital formats along with merch. Hailing from Austin Texas, blackened Speed/Thrash Metal maniacs SADISTIC FORCE unleash a record steeped in blood and terror, cultivated from countless hours of true crime research and copious ’80s slasher movie viewings. Midnight Assassin is a nine-track sinister Speed Metal assault inspired by serial killers, stalkers, and necrophiliacs, transporting listeners into a dark and twisted sonic arena that […]

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